RV Air Conditioners

2 Comments

1. expreacherman

   Posted September 14, 2010 at 1:59 pm | Permalink

   Book,

   As has been pointed out, the cost of manufacture of Solar Panels and the cost to you and Mr. Book will far exceed any financial or “green” benefits.

   30 years ago, when I could afford to throw away a few thousand dollars, I tried a solar pool heater — here in S. Florida. (I am allergic to cold). It was a messy and expensive disaster. So was the solar water heater for the house.

   Likewise I tried a solar panel for “boondocking” with my RV but all the unattractive paraphernalia cost more than I wanted to invest. Instead I just used my RV generator and contentedly puffed CO and CO2 and whatever into the air.

   The cost outweighs the benefits.. except maybe to soothe the liberal soul.

   ExP(Jack)

2. snutr

   Posted November 6, 2010 at 5:40 pm | Permalink

   OK. That puts it more into perspective. Just remember that Airstream trailers, although wicked pissa cool, have price tags that take into account the “cool factor”. Also, if you want to maintain the resale value of the Airstream you’ll have to repair it with pricey parts — even more so if it is a vintage Airstream. For $5K, you could get a nice setup that has a generator, heater etc. to the point of being a small mobile home. If something breaks, then the repairs will be less costly and you won’t be dipping into your savings. Think about it, just a [decent RV alone can cost you $2,500. Another option is to get a [yurt A 16ft/200sq ft Buffalo Mountain yurt would run you $3,500. The remaining $1,500 could be spent on putting in a nice small wood stove and other amenities. It sounds like wood would be free where you’ll be staying. Just looking at some of the kits from the different companies — it sounds like they have flexible options — you can pick up insulation where you are and make it quite cozy. Also there is less infrastructure to repair (the repairs would be easy and less costly — fabric and wood). It would cost you considerably less ($1,500 or even less) if you just bought plans and built it yourself. Just throwing out other options for you. The only reason I mention the yurt thing is that I met a guy who built one from plans and it’s really quite cozy yet offers flexible living space so you can have room to breathe. Your dog will probably also appreciate the extra room to move around versus being always underfoot in the aisle of the airstream. What sold me was the ability to have a tiny wood stove that heats the whole thing (almost *too* well — it was like a friggin’ sauna in there). He had an outhouse (which you could substitute with a composting toilet — though they are very pricey) and his “kitchen” was a [propane powered camping He had a real sink and the water was stored overhead in a large container (gravity feed) and the gray water was shunted into a dry well under neath the yurt. I’m sure a simple gravity shower system could work the same way (use a solar camping shower or something). The yurt was built on a raised platform to allow for firewood storage underneath. Lights were kerosene lamps and candles with light from the wood stove too. Electricity was powered by a [diesel Anyway, yes, your plan as described could work with some creative effort on your part, but I believe that there are other more efficient, effective and cost effective options than the airstream although less mobile. Let us all know how it turns out. Sounds exciting and interesting.