I think... I think I'm in love. My wife and I are about to purchase a Thor Outlaw to travel with our four kids and dog. Not sure how I've only just discovered you guys but you're doing what we're planning on doing. Our kids will also be in travel sports so boondocking at soccer and baseball fields is in our near future.
Looking great out there! I am happy my Company, Un Plugged RVs was able to install your Battle Born and Victron Energy system. Get back to use and we will install that solar for you. Amazing video, and I am so jealous of the places you show in this vid!!! Take care guys. Go Unplugged, Stay Unplugged!
My wife shared your channel with me and said “Mark these guys are just like us!” We bought a 2018 Vacationer XE 32A in September and can relate to everything you all have done. I’m in the process of upgrading our batteries to Lithium this month. Margi wants me to remove our valances…thanks for that 😅 Enjoying your channel. Keep it up! Side note. We stayed in the same spot at Peaks of Otter 5:52
AWESOME guys! Couple of Senior’s and NEWBIES at RVing! With a cat not a dog! Hubby thinks we should get sponsorships on TH-cam ! Saving this video. Very good intel!
Thank you! We want to contribute back to the community that has also been so generous with its knowledge as well! Its really an amazing group of people and we are so happy to be a part of it!
I just found your channel and subscribed. Sweet battery bank - great job! You can't go wrong with Victron. Neat bug zapper too. We're old folk living on a fairly tight budget, so we had to design and build our system ourselves, as our budget permitted. Five years ago, we retired, sold everything and went FT. It was the best decision we ever made. We discovered we love boondocking and quickly learned the advantages of solar. We decided to build our solar/battery system in 2 phases, a 12v system for our basic 12v DC needs and a 48v system for our 110v A/C needs. We started by building a 620-watt liftable solar array on the side of our motorhome. We lift it to the optimal angle to boost its output vs flat mounted panels, especially in the winter. It makes a nice bedroom window awning too, practically lifting itself with a couple gas struts, and it's easy to clean with a windshield squeegee, standing safely on the ground. We finished the 12v part of our build last January, with the addition of a 560ah LiFePo-4 battery that we built with 8, 280ah "A" grade prismatic cells (about the same as 2 Game Changers). We use a Heltec 330amp BMS, and a 5a active balancer to keep the cells synched up. It cost us less than $1,500 to build this 560ah 12v, 7.1Kwh battery, including the high amp BMS and balancer. We chose these cells rather than a pre-built battery because they fit perfectly under the steps of our MH where our old pair of GC-2 golf cart batteries used to reside. We insulated the battery compartment, cut a 1" hole in our step risers and installed a tiny computer CPU fan to keep this space at close to room temperature, so we don't have to worry about the BMS shutting down charging if they get too cold - or their life reduced from getting too hot. We use an 80A Progressive Dynamics LFP converter/charger, a 1,000w Renogy inverter, an Epever 50a MPPT charge controller and a Lnex battery monitor. This entire 12v system cost us under $3,500 to build and takes care of all of our basic off-grid needs except for air conditioning and microwave use. By mounting our solar array on the side of our coach, we left the roof free to rack 8, 550W Sungold Power solar panels (4,400 watts) down the length of our 35ft Class A, 15" off our roof, above our AC, fan shrouds, etc. They will cover the entire roof, providing some nice shade with plenty of cooling air underneath, further increasing solar output and reducing the heat load on the air conditioners too. We bought them for only 51 cents/watt shipped to our door. We're in the middle of this build now. We bought our aluminum racking material in Yuma, where we're wintering over this year, for around $400. Our solar panels, wiring, breakers, etc. arrived a couple week ago, but we're taking our time to get everything in and installed over the winter. At 67 yrs old, we're moving much slower these days. Our Sungold Power all-in-one 48V, 5,000W Inverter/100A charge controller/battery charger just arrived last week. Our 48v battery bank will use 16, 320ah grade A prismatic cells which only cost us $1,726 from EEL batteries. The 200amp Heltec 16s BMS we're using just arrived from China yesterday. Together with our 560ah 12v bank, we will have a total of 23.5 Kwh of batteries onboard (equal to almost 7 Game Changers) - kept charged by over 5,000 watts of solar. We removed our rear rooftop AC and will be replacing it with an EG4 28.5 seer-2, 12k btu mini-split heat pump on the upper rear of our motorhome. This second phase will provide 24/7 off-grid air conditioning, supplemental heat from the heat pump and allow occasional usage of our soft start equipped Furrion AC in the front of our MH during peak afternoon hours, as well as give us whole house 120v ac power. We'll soon have total off-grid electrical independence for a total budget of around $11,500, reserving our 5,500w generator for back-up use only. Take care, we hope to see you down the road!
Hi I really enjoyed your video especially the part about the liquid Springs I watch the install of your liquid Springs I’ve seen it on other TH-camrs and that was one of the reasons why I was more on the side of a diesel but now I know I can also get a gas RV and still have the feeling of a diesel while riding so thanks for the video
Thank you so much! It really is an amazing system. And for those that don't want to get a diesel pusher for one reason or another, it a perfect option for a better ride on a gas chassis!
Thank you for all the great information. I am a person that like to invest in the right tools or equipment for longevity use. I took note of your upgrades really good.😁
pretty cool to see how far you guys have came in you're journey! we actually met you "Spencer" at Sundance campground just outside glacier national park in July....it was my buddy tanner an I the 2 dairy farmers from ohio on motorcycles! just wanted to say hello an wish you well!!!
Hey dude! Thanks for the message! Hope you guys had a great rest of your trip. You headed out again this summer? We'll be back in Glacier again because it was that amazing!
5 of these batteries would take up a significant amount of space in a Class B. But it would probably be more than enough power to be full time off-grid.
Where did you get your battery and inverter upgrade done. I wont be doing it id mess it up. Also i watched vids on people combining thier black and grey tanks
We have a 2022 fleetwood bounder, same sort of setup. I’m also looking to upgrade to lithium. Did you install all the components yourself? If so how easy is it?
If it was a simple battery replacement I probably could have done it, but with all the other components we added, it was out of my realm. So we had the guys at Un-Plugged RVs in Sanford, FL do the install and they did an amazing job for us! We HIGHLY recommend going with the lithium upgrade!
I went to the Internet on the go page and they only offer a verizon SIM card. Did you have to go to ATT or am i missing something. I would like to have a different carrier than my current cellphone(verizon).
We did have an AT&T card with them originally, but AT&T changed their terms and pricing, substantially. So we now have a Verizon SIM in our Internet on the Go router.
I"ve been a fan of your channel since it first started. Though we aren't fulltimers, your plunge into RVs and your family personalities and dynamics seem quite similar to our own. One question that I hope doesn't seem too cynical, but I think it is relevant in the economic world of Youtubing: I see that you have promo codes for the router and the TPMS as well as a hashtag for the Patriots items. If you don't mind me asking, have the items you featured sponsored you guys or were you given considerations in the cost/installation because you are TH-camrs? I recognize that this doesn't make the reviews invalid, but it is nice to know when there might be some incentives behind the scenes. For instance, I need to get a TPMS, but there are examples of other channels (Well, one very popular one in particular.) that have touted one kind as being the best thing since sliced bread that I was about to pull the trigger on...until they got another sponsor and then that one was better than both sliced bread and sliced cheese! I enjoy your adventures and look forward to seeing more of them this year!
Hi Michael, thank you for the kind words and support! You ask a valid question. And yes, on many of the items we have received compensation or consideration in exchange for sharing about them on our social platforms. And I, like you, always have an eye on whether people really think what they say, or if their "opinions" were part of the deal. So I appreciate where you are coming from. Kristi and I both come from marketing backgrounds and chose to use that experience as part of the work we do as we travel. But one thing we always said from the start is that we will only work with brands and products that are a natural fit into our lives. We have turned down opportunities because they just didn't work or we wouldn't actually use the thing in real life. Do we receive items that are gifted and get compensated for sharing,? Yes. That is part of how we make a living. But before anything else, we want to build a community of people that can trust us and know that if we are telling you about something, we believe in it and use it. We actually had a different TPMS prior to the TireMinder and I never talked about it because it was only just ok. I wouldn't have recommended it to a friend, and in turn would not share it with our community. But when we got the TireMinder, I was really impressed with how much better it was. And now that we've used it for over 8 months, I'm happy to share it because I know it works. Is it the best one on the market? Maybe, maybe not. But I love it because it works and performs great for me. And I believe it will for others as well. I want you and all RVers to buy a TPMS. Any TPMS. If the TireMinder looks like it will fit your needs, please use our code. If it doesn't, I still want you to buy a TPMS of any brand. Its a vital tool that could help to avoid a catastrophic event. The first one I got was not one that was recommended, but I got it because I learned what a TPMS was from a TH-cam video. So I'm happy if the only thing I've done here is introduce someone to a product they didn't even know existed before. In the social media world, its tough to discern the genuine opinions from the "here today, gone tomorrow" ones. With that understanding, we want to be a resource for our community. One they can trust. When we were starting this journey, we had no clue what we were doing and relied on information from several TH-camrs when making purchase decisions. But before pushing the buy button, we always researched a little more. And I would encourage everyone to do the same. Don't buy just because I said its great, take the time to make sure its something that works for how you are going to use it. There are no universal fit products, but I can tell you what works for us. That was a bit of a long winded response, but hopefully it makes sense and gives you an idea of where we are coming from. We're always happy to share our thoughts and opinions on the things that make this lifestyle work for us, and these videos are one way of doing that. We want to inspire others to Seek Adventure and Embrace Opportunity! And when we find products or services that may help them do that, we are all about providing that information as a resource. And if we can also put food on the table from that, bonus. Thank you for watching our videos, Michael. We very much appreciate the support!
@@adventurtunityfamily Thanks for the response, and I apologise for taking a while to acknowledge it. (Stupid life getting in the way!) I recognise that the marketing and sponsorship is a significant source of income for the digital creator and Youtubing entrepreneurs. With your marketing background, I don't need to tell you that sponsored "reviews" have been around for a while. I remember when the car "reviews" started hitting newspapers back in the day. They would have a big article with glowing praise about a new model while including a few not-really-critical comments just to keep it "objective" (looking). ("While not the most powerful engine on the market, the responsiveness and access to the available horsepower more than makes up for the smaller power plant.") Over the last few years in the internet age, I'm afraid it has reached the point that people like me are quite cynical because it is almost impossible to find unbiased, unsponsored reviews. For your sake, I'm glad I made the comment so that you could be open about the relationships and standards you have for your recommendations in your response. For our sake, I hope you are able/willing to follow up with commentary about where any products may have some downsides or maybe you have discovered something else that works better. Thanks for what you do, and if you're ever in need of a place to park in central Ohio (There ain't anything here, but we are on the way to everywhere!), reach out...we have a 50 amp plug on the outside of the house, some extra rooms, free laundry, and a lovable Newfoundland! Michael
I think... I think I'm in love. My wife and I are about to purchase a Thor Outlaw to travel with our four kids and dog. Not sure how I've only just discovered you guys but you're doing what we're planning on doing. Our kids will also be in travel sports so boondocking at soccer and baseball fields is in our near future.
Looking great out there! I am happy my Company, Un Plugged RVs was able to install your Battle Born and Victron Energy system. Get back to use and we will install that solar for you.
Amazing video, and I am so jealous of the places you show in this vid!!! Take care guys. Go Unplugged, Stay Unplugged!
Thanks George! You and your crew did an amazing job with the install and we are loving the ability to camp Unplugged!!
You all have one of the best RV Living channels on TH-cam. Very fun, positive, and find the best in every situation.
My wife shared your channel with me and said “Mark these guys are just like us!” We bought a 2018 Vacationer XE 32A in September and can relate to everything you all have done. I’m in the process of upgrading our batteries to Lithium this month. Margi wants me to remove our valances…thanks for that 😅 Enjoying your channel. Keep it up! Side note. We stayed in the same spot at Peaks of Otter 5:52
AWESOME guys! Couple of Senior’s and NEWBIES at RVing! With a cat not a dog! Hubby thinks we should get sponsorships on TH-cam ! Saving this video. Very good intel!
Glad you enjoyed the video! Welcome to the wonderful crazy world of RVing!
I like how you both share all your research, ideas and gadgets. You are very generous with your knowledge. Thank you !! 😊
Thank you! We want to contribute back to the community that has also been so generous with its knowledge as well! Its really an amazing group of people and we are so happy to be a part of it!
I just found your channel and subscribed. Sweet battery bank - great job! You can't go wrong with Victron. Neat bug zapper too. We're old folk living on a fairly tight budget, so we had to design and build our system ourselves, as our budget permitted. Five years ago, we retired, sold everything and went FT. It was the best decision we ever made. We discovered we love boondocking and quickly learned the advantages of solar. We decided to build our solar/battery system in 2 phases, a 12v system for our basic 12v DC needs and a 48v system for our 110v A/C needs. We started by building a 620-watt liftable solar array on the side of our motorhome. We lift it to the optimal angle to boost its output vs flat mounted panels, especially in the winter. It makes a nice bedroom window awning too, practically lifting itself with a couple gas struts, and it's easy to clean with a windshield squeegee, standing safely on the ground.
We finished the 12v part of our build last January, with the addition of a 560ah LiFePo-4 battery that we built with 8, 280ah "A" grade prismatic cells (about the same as 2 Game Changers). We use a Heltec 330amp BMS, and a 5a active balancer to keep the cells synched up. It cost us less than $1,500 to build this 560ah 12v, 7.1Kwh battery, including the high amp BMS and balancer. We chose these cells rather than a pre-built battery because they fit perfectly under the steps of our MH where our old pair of GC-2 golf cart batteries used to reside. We insulated the battery compartment, cut a 1" hole in our step risers and installed a tiny computer CPU fan to keep this space at close to room temperature, so we don't have to worry about the BMS shutting down charging if they get too cold - or their life reduced from getting too hot. We use an 80A Progressive Dynamics LFP converter/charger, a 1,000w Renogy inverter, an Epever 50a MPPT charge controller and a Lnex battery monitor. This entire 12v system cost us under $3,500 to build and takes care of all of our basic off-grid needs except for air conditioning and microwave use.
By mounting our solar array on the side of our coach, we left the roof free to rack 8, 550W Sungold Power solar panels (4,400 watts) down the length of our 35ft Class A, 15" off our roof, above our AC, fan shrouds, etc. They will cover the entire roof, providing some nice shade with plenty of cooling air underneath, further increasing solar output and reducing the heat load on the air conditioners too. We bought them for only 51 cents/watt shipped to our door. We're in the middle of this build now. We bought our aluminum racking material in Yuma, where we're wintering over this year, for around $400. Our solar panels, wiring, breakers, etc. arrived a couple week ago, but we're taking our time to get everything in and installed over the winter. At 67 yrs old, we're moving much slower these days. Our Sungold Power all-in-one 48V, 5,000W Inverter/100A charge controller/battery charger just arrived last week. Our 48v battery bank will use 16, 320ah grade A prismatic cells which only cost us $1,726 from EEL batteries. The 200amp Heltec 16s BMS we're using just arrived from China yesterday. Together with our 560ah 12v bank, we will have a total of 23.5 Kwh of batteries onboard (equal to almost 7 Game Changers) - kept charged by over 5,000 watts of solar. We removed our rear rooftop AC and will be replacing it with an EG4 28.5 seer-2, 12k btu mini-split heat pump on the upper rear of our motorhome. This second phase will provide 24/7 off-grid air conditioning, supplemental heat from the heat pump and allow occasional usage of our soft start equipped Furrion AC in the front of our MH during peak afternoon hours, as well as give us whole house 120v ac power. We'll soon have total off-grid electrical independence for a total budget of around $11,500, reserving our 5,500w generator for back-up use only. Take care, we hope to see you down the road!
Hi I really enjoyed your video especially the part about the liquid Springs I watch the install of your liquid Springs I’ve seen it on other TH-camrs and that was one of the reasons why I was more on the side of a diesel but now I know I can also get a gas RV and still have the feeling of a diesel while riding so thanks for the video
Thank you so much! It really is an amazing system. And for those that don't want to get a diesel pusher for one reason or another, it a perfect option for a better ride on a gas chassis!
You two are fun. Keep up the good work and the good times
Thank you for the kind word and checking out our videos!
Just randomly watching this video and I was shocked to see that low clearance underpass in my hometown lol
Ha! Always cool when that kind of coincidence happens!
Loved Kade’s little wink at the end. So adorbs!! 🥰
Had to include that...the kid has charm to spare!
Need to come back in May for topless weekend. That beach is full of jeeps from one end to the other.
I bet thats awesome! So sad the water is gone though 😥
Thanks for all the useful information. Drive safely.
Tnank you! Hopefully it was help in some way.
Awesome upgrades.
They've really improved how we can operate on the road!
Thank you for all the great information. I am a person that like to invest in the right tools or equipment for longevity use. I took note of your upgrades really good.😁
Thank you! Thats why we share, to hopefully provide good information for others to be able to make their decisions with!
pretty cool to see how far you guys have came in you're journey! we actually met you "Spencer" at Sundance campground just outside glacier national park in July....it was my buddy tanner an I the 2 dairy farmers from ohio on motorcycles! just wanted to say hello an wish you well!!!
Hey dude! Thanks for the message! Hope you guys had a great rest of your trip. You headed out again this summer? We'll be back in Glacier again because it was that amazing!
That first scene looks like port a (Aransas) to me.
If you have 5 of those batteries on a class b plus plus as much solar as you can put will that be enough to be full time off grid
5 of these batteries would take up a significant amount of space in a Class B. But it would probably be more than enough power to be full time off-grid.
All stuff I would want
Where is Texas are y’all? We are in Texas now!
Hello and We love you guys! could you tell me where you filmed this video at? Thats awesome to pull right up on the beach ⛱️
Thank you! This was filmed in Galveston, TX. There are several beaches in the area that allow camping right on the beach!
Where did you get your battery and inverter upgrade done. I wont be doing it id mess it up. Also i watched vids on people combining thier black and grey tanks
We had the install done at Unplugged RVs in Sanford, FL. They did an amazing job and we would highly recommend them!
I found it lol I overlooked the link LOL
We have a 2022 fleetwood bounder, same sort of setup. I’m also looking to upgrade to lithium. Did you install all the components yourself? If so how easy is it?
If it was a simple battery replacement I probably could have done it, but with all the other components we added, it was out of my realm. So we had the guys at Un-Plugged RVs in Sanford, FL do the install and they did an amazing job for us! We HIGHLY recommend going with the lithium upgrade!
I went to the Internet on the go page and they only offer a verizon SIM card. Did you have to go to ATT or am i missing something. I would like to have a different carrier than my current cellphone(verizon).
We did have an AT&T card with them originally, but AT&T changed their terms and pricing, substantially. So we now have a Verizon SIM in our Internet on the Go router.
@@adventurtunityfamily thanks for the update.
I"ve been a fan of your channel since it first started. Though we aren't fulltimers, your plunge into RVs and your family personalities and dynamics seem quite similar to our own.
One question that I hope doesn't seem too cynical, but I think it is relevant in the economic world of Youtubing: I see that you have promo codes for the router and the TPMS as well as a hashtag for the Patriots items. If you don't mind me asking, have the items you featured sponsored you guys or were you given considerations in the cost/installation because you are TH-camrs? I recognize that this doesn't make the reviews invalid, but it is nice to know when there might be some incentives behind the scenes. For instance, I need to get a TPMS, but there are examples of other channels (Well, one very popular one in particular.) that have touted one kind as being the best thing since sliced bread that I was about to pull the trigger on...until they got another sponsor and then that one was better than both sliced bread and sliced cheese!
I enjoy your adventures and look forward to seeing more of them this year!
Hi Michael, thank you for the kind words and support! You ask a valid question. And yes, on many of the items we have received compensation or consideration in exchange for sharing about them on our social platforms. And I, like you, always have an eye on whether people really think what they say, or if their "opinions" were part of the deal. So I appreciate where you are coming from.
Kristi and I both come from marketing backgrounds and chose to use that experience as part of the work we do as we travel. But one thing we always said from the start is that we will only work with brands and products that are a natural fit into our lives. We have turned down opportunities because they just didn't work or we wouldn't actually use the thing in real life. Do we receive items that are gifted and get compensated for sharing,? Yes. That is part of how we make a living. But before anything else, we want to build a community of people that can trust us and know that if we are telling you about something, we believe in it and use it.
We actually had a different TPMS prior to the TireMinder and I never talked about it because it was only just ok. I wouldn't have recommended it to a friend, and in turn would not share it with our community. But when we got the TireMinder, I was really impressed with how much better it was. And now that we've used it for over 8 months, I'm happy to share it because I know it works. Is it the best one on the market? Maybe, maybe not. But I love it because it works and performs great for me. And I believe it will for others as well. I want you and all RVers to buy a TPMS. Any TPMS. If the TireMinder looks like it will fit your needs, please use our code. If it doesn't, I still want you to buy a TPMS of any brand. Its a vital tool that could help to avoid a catastrophic event. The first one I got was not one that was recommended, but I got it because I learned what a TPMS was from a TH-cam video. So I'm happy if the only thing I've done here is introduce someone to a product they didn't even know existed before.
In the social media world, its tough to discern the genuine opinions from the "here today, gone tomorrow" ones. With that understanding, we want to be a resource for our community. One they can trust. When we were starting this journey, we had no clue what we were doing and relied on information from several TH-camrs when making purchase decisions. But before pushing the buy button, we always researched a little more. And I would encourage everyone to do the same. Don't buy just because I said its great, take the time to make sure its something that works for how you are going to use it. There are no universal fit products, but I can tell you what works for us.
That was a bit of a long winded response, but hopefully it makes sense and gives you an idea of where we are coming from. We're always happy to share our thoughts and opinions on the things that make this lifestyle work for us, and these videos are one way of doing that. We want to inspire others to Seek Adventure and Embrace Opportunity! And when we find products or services that may help them do that, we are all about providing that information as a resource. And if we can also put food on the table from that, bonus.
Thank you for watching our videos, Michael. We very much appreciate the support!
@@adventurtunityfamily Thanks for the response, and I apologise for taking a while to acknowledge it. (Stupid life getting in the way!)
I recognise that the marketing and sponsorship is a significant source of income for the digital creator and Youtubing entrepreneurs. With your marketing background, I don't need to tell you that sponsored "reviews" have been around for a while. I remember when the car "reviews" started hitting newspapers back in the day. They would have a big article with glowing praise about a new model while including a few not-really-critical comments just to keep it "objective" (looking). ("While not the most powerful engine on the market, the responsiveness and access to the available horsepower more than makes up for the smaller power plant.") Over the last few years in the internet age, I'm afraid it has reached the point that people like me are quite cynical because it is almost impossible to find unbiased, unsponsored reviews.
For your sake, I'm glad I made the comment so that you could be open about the relationships and standards you have for your recommendations in your response. For our sake, I hope you are able/willing to follow up with commentary about where any products may have some downsides or maybe you have discovered something else that works better.
Thanks for what you do, and if you're ever in need of a place to park in central Ohio (There ain't anything here, but we are on the way to everywhere!), reach out...we have a 50 amp plug on the outside of the house, some extra rooms, free laundry, and a lovable Newfoundland!
Michael
What do these upgrades cost you?
400 watts of solar and put the generator away