Aloha and have you taken your pod to Burning Man?
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Topic: Aloha and have you taken your pod to Burning Man?
Posted By: Linakai
Subject: Aloha and have you taken your pod to Burning Man?
Date Posted: 26 May 2017 at 1:56am
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Aloha kakou! I am about to purchase my very first r-pod 178. My situation is a bit unusual from most in that I live (as in grew up and grew old here) in Hawaii but my r-pod will live with my relatives in Oregon (my niece graciously jumped at the chance to host it - gee, I wonder why - and my sister and brother-in-law are about 3 miles away from her). This gives my husband and I an excuse to do what we've wanted to for years - explore the continental US on our own terms. It all started when I decided I wanted to go to Burning Man next year in celebration of turning 65. My daughter agreed to abandon her family and coming with me. We aren't stupid - doing this in a tent seemed like a super poor decision so I looked to rent something. Long story short I ended up here. And I'm very excited. So is my sister, her daughter and their spouses.  I've been lurking on this forum for several weeks in anticipation of my big jump and have found some very interesting and helpful entries/comments. If there are any people that have done the Burning Man thing in their pod, I'd love to hear their experiences. Mahalo!!!
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Replies:
Posted By: Leo B
Date Posted: 26 May 2017 at 6:05am
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Welcome to the group!! Congrats on your 178!!
------------- Leo & Melissa Bachand 2017 Ford F150 2021 Vista Cruiser 19 csk Previously owned 2015 Rpod 179 2010 Rpod 171 |
Posted By: StephenH
Date Posted: 26 May 2017 at 10:08am
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Aloha and Congratulations on your R-Pod! My wife and I spent 5-1/2 years on Oahu when I was stationed at Schofield Barracks. We had the opportunity to get to Maui, Hawaii, and Kauai. I have not been to Burning Man, but I did spend a couple of months in the desert at Fort Irwin, California at the National Training Center plus 7 years in the high desert of Arizona at Fort Huachuca, Arizona. The desert is a place of extremes. During the day, expect it to be extremely hot. Once the sun goes down, the lack of clouds and humidity will mean the heat radiates away quickly. The nights can be quite cold. It will be quite different from what you experience on the Islands where the ocean moderates the temperature extremes. There won't be any trade winds to help either. I'm not trying to scare you off. I just want you to be prepared to survive the desert environment. Since Burning Man will have hookups, you will need to be prepared for boondocking. Solar would be great in that situation. Dual 6V batteries (wired in series to provide 12V) will be great also. However, that will not run the AC. You would need a generator of sufficient size to do that. The 'Pod will get hot, especially during the day. Being able to open windows and run the vent to promote airflow will certainly help. Rigging some sort of reflective canopy over the top so that the sun does not directly hit the top of the 'Pod and slide-out would probably help also. It should not touch the top of the 'Pod, but have space to allow for the vent to operate or, if you have power, the AC to operate. It sounds like it will be quite an experience for you. It will be interesting to hear about your experience when you complete this adventure. ------------- StephenH Happy is the man that findeth wisdom,... http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=7712 - ouR escaPOD mods Former RPod 179 Current Cherokee Grey Wolf 24 JS |
Posted By: Linakai
Date Posted: 26 May 2017 at 12:28pm
| Mahalo, Stephen! That was exactly the kind of info I need. Will a 2k Honda generator keep my a/c running? I was planning on doing solar also and am curious about the maximum panel wattage I can reasonably mount on my new baby. The reflective cover is a great idea which, of course seems counterintuitive when it comes to using the solar but since staying cool is the priority I'll go with cover. And lots of gas for the generator. 😸 |
Posted By: GlueGuy
Date Posted: 26 May 2017 at 1:10pm
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A 2K watt generator will give you "about" 14 amps of continuous usage. If the A/C is below that, then go for it. Be advised that even with a 20 amp plug, that is less than what you might normally have. Just have to be prudent with your power usage. For example, a 1000 watt microwave is using about 8 amps. ------------- bp 2017 R-Pod 179 Hood River 2015 Ford F150 SuperCrew 4WD 3.5L Ecoboost |
Posted By: StephenH
Date Posted: 26 May 2017 at 1:12pm
Under those conditions, I would not expect the Honda 2K generator to be adequate. A pair run in parallel would do so, but would cost a small fortune to purchase. If you have a way to carry a larger single generator, a 3K inverter-generator would be more than adequate. You could look at other, parallel capable brands and see if you can find adequate power at a reasonable price. If you intend to mount the panels on the roof, then yes, it would be counterintuitive to put a reflective cover over the top. If, however, you would have them free-standing (but secured to your 'Pod with a sturdy lock), Then a reflective cover makes perfect sense. Assuming you get the awning, facing the awning side toward the south with the refrigerator vents toward the north will help also. The awning will shade the side of the 'Pod and the refrigerator will not have to deal with the solar heating of that side of the 'Pod. If you look at my mods (link in my signature), you will see what I did to help. I painted the AC cover gloss white. I have not had a chance to test it, but I expect it should help with cooling since the black cover would absorb more heat than the white cover. If you do this, proper surface preparation is key to getting the paint to adhere. I sanded with fine-grit sandpaper to remove the gloss and then cleaned with denatured alcohol before spray-painting the cover with a good paint made for outdoor plastic furniture. It wasn't my original idea, but it made sense to me. I will get to try it this summer after we pick up our R-Pod from being repaired at the factory. ------------- StephenH Happy is the man that findeth wisdom,... http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=7712 - ouR escaPOD mods Former RPod 179 Current Cherokee Grey Wolf 24 JS |
Posted By: Linakai
Date Posted: 26 May 2017 at 1:53pm
| Wow! You are my new best friend! Thank you. This is all invaluable. I think for Burning Man I should just rent a 5k generator that can live in the back of the pickup along with the water bladders I intend on purchasing and now the gas cans to run the generator. Also free standing solar panels make a ton of sense. Place them in the sun and the pod in the shade regardless of where I am. Perfect!!! That also means I can increase the number of panels without worrying about their roof footprint. |
Posted By: StephenH
Date Posted: 26 May 2017 at 8:56pm
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5K would be way overkill. If you can find a 3K Inverter-Generator, that would be adequate and much more quiet. Your neighbors at Burning Man might not appreciate the roaring of a 5K generator. I found this about https://burningman.org/event/preparation/playa-living/generators/ - Burning Man generator guidelines .The whole site has more information on RVs that will be of use for you as you plan your trip. For Solar, you may wish to check this topic: http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=9989&PID=93510&title=solar-questions#93510 - http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=9989&PID=93510&title=solar-questions#93510 Do a Search on "solar" and go through the pages of posts and you will find several topics that are apropos to solar panels, batteries, etc. ------------- StephenH Happy is the man that findeth wisdom,... http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=7712 - ouR escaPOD mods Former RPod 179 Current Cherokee Grey Wolf 24 JS |
Posted By: GlueGuy
Date Posted: 26 May 2017 at 9:35pm
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StephenH is right. A 3KW generator should be more than adequate. It will provide at least 25 amps for you, and if your stuff can live on a 20 amp shore connection, you are good to go. As he pointed out, a 5KW generator will be a lot more noise, a lot more fuel, and a lot heavier. Not to mention that it would be capable of over 40 amps, which more than your shore connection can tolerate. Don't expect to live on solar. It's more about keeping your batteries topped up when your usage is low. Even a heavy-duty solar setup will only provide 200-300 watts worth of power. ------------- bp 2017 R-Pod 179 Hood River 2015 Ford F150 SuperCrew 4WD 3.5L Ecoboost |
Posted By: Linakai
Date Posted: 26 May 2017 at 10:28pm
| Awesome! Thank you both! |
Posted By: TheZediKnight
Date Posted: 28 Sep 2017 at 10:15am
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Greetings Linakai! We bought our R-Pod 180 a few months ago. We absolutely love it. I've been to Burning Man 13 times. So I know a lot about how to camp, survive -- and have fun -- on the playa. We didn’t go last year, but may try next year if we can get tickets. Expect a full boondocking experience on the playa. The R-Pods hold a wonderful quantity of water and have good sized waste holding tanks, too. I think it will do great. However... dust WILL be a problem with any RV. You will need to take steps to keep the dust out. Playa dust is more that just typical annoying dust. It is very fine and high in alkaline. It's hard to clean up, gets into vents and is a bit caustic if left on surfaces. Even taking all precautions, plan on giving yourself a week to clean the trailer and all your gear. We have taken RV's before, but not our cute, new and CLEAN R-Pod. Here is my advice for dust abatement: Put down rugs everywhere possible and drag them out daily to shake the dust out. Cover your bedding with a sheet to be removed before sleeping. Nothing is more annoying than sleeping on a dusty pillow. Keep the door & windows closed whenever possible. Also try to reduce foot traffic as much as possible. Avoid running the AC unless absolutely necessary. Set up a "Costco Barn" or other structure outside the trailer for shade and to promote a communal/friendly camp. Tape off the tiny window slit vents to prevent the dust from getting into the window panes. Dust will get in there and seems to stay forever. Other topics: If you have a quiet Honda generator, your camp neighbors will appreciate it. If you are VERY lucky, you might be able to flag down a pumper truck some time during the event. There is no buying/selling on playa, but the pumper trucks are an outside service for the porta johns. Sometimes you can get them to pump your holding tanks. So have a couple hundred bucks cash on you, plus a little booze for bribery. ;-) There are also several BM RV forums. You can google those and get some pretty good info. Here is an important one: https://burningman.org/event/preparation/playa-living/rvs/ Feel free to message me if you have questions. <dusty hugs> Zed |