RV Podcast 298: RV Battery and RV air conditioner gadget hack for boondocking and moochdocking

We love our RV air conditioner…except when it’s really hot and we’re boondocking or moochdocking and we don’t have enough RV battery power to run it. That's where SoftStartRV comes in. This week on the RV Podcast we dig deeply into RV battery and power management challenges faced by those who enjoy off-the-grid boondocking or moochdocking (camping in the driveways of friends and relatives) and want to run their RV air conditioner. Our guest in the RV Podcast interview segment is a top RV electrical expert who breaks down our power needs and tells us about a way we can run those RV air conditioners under low power with a device called SoftStartRV. Plus, we have RV news of the week… we answer a question on why we’re getting a new Rv in a couple of weeks ...and Tom and Patti Burkett stop by with a great off the beaten path report. RV PODCAST UPDATE ON WHAT MIKE AND JENNIFER ARE UP TO THIS WEEK Mike & Jennifer Wendland, hosts of the RV Podcast..this week we talk about RV battery issues, a product called SoftStartRV and boondocking and moochdocking This episode comes from the road… We’re in Jacksonville, FL, staying at Hanna Park on the Atlantic, just east of town. We share what we’re doing here and look forward to our travel to Michigan next week and, at the end of the month, our purchase of a new RV… the 2021 Wonder by Leisure Travel Vans, built on the new Ford Transit chassis. We’ll share the reasons we’re making the switch when we answer one of our listener questions coming up in a few minutes, RV PODCAST NEWS OF THE WEEK If traveling to Alaska, expect to take COVID-19 test If you are thinking of visiting Alaska this summer, the state now requires a COVID-19 test before t]raveling around the state. The new rules took effect Saturday. The COVID-19 test is required within 72 hours before flying into Alaska. But, if you are unable to do that for some reason, or you are driving there, you will need to quarantine at your own expense for 14 days once you arrive or take a COVID-19 test at the airport and quarantine until the results are back. You may not quarantine in an RV, and you may not go out for groceries or anything other than medical care during this time. We recently interviewed someone about ways to get your RV to Alaska while the Canadian border is closed (click here) and wanted to share this, too. For the complete list of Alaska rules, click here. President Trump and the first lady hitting the road in an RV? Well, that's what he said At a press conference last weekend about the economy starting to rebound after COVID-19, President Donald Trump said he might get an RV, and head to upstate NY with the first lady. While that off-the-cuff comment may have drawn the headlines, we have to reiterate it again - LOTS of newbies are buying and renting RVs right now. They are making travel plans to camp because of COVID-19 safety concerns about airplanes, cruises, and hotel rooms. To see more about why many say this is the year of the RV, click here. Here is a new one: Man buys an Airstream trailer for studio office during quarantine Speaking of newbies, we saw a story last week out of California about a man in the Silicon Valley who bought a 22-foot Airstream trailer for his office. He parked it in his yard,and set it up to be his office with a souped up conference table. The trailer, on a 30-year-loan, costs $370 a month, is a deductible business expense, and he can sell it when he is done. This is the first time we have seen a story of someone buying a camper for zoom calls, but in these times, we see how it makes sense! More campgrounds continue to open, but check before you go Again, more and more states are starting to permit camping. California is expected to start opening campgrounds June 12, Wisconsin state parks are open today, June 10, Oregon opened more campgrounds yesterday, June 9 ,while other states, like Michigan, remain closed for a few more weeks. As always, if you are heading out, check ahead. The best place we have found for knowing what is open is Campendium which you can access by clicking here. If heading out camping, be sure to protect yourself from ticks It is tick season in much of the country, and as you prepare to get outside, and maybe even enjoy a campground, be sure to protect yourself from ticks. Ticks are showing up in more and more places throughout the country, Jennifer and I have observed, and the nasty creatures can carry a host of diseases. Best thing to do is wear long sleeves and pants when heading out, spray yourself with bug spray, and do a tick search of yourself and your pet after hitting the trails. And if you have one on you, be sure to remove it with sharp tweezers by grabbing its head, and yanking it out. To see more tips, click here or here. This part of the RV Podcast is brought to you by RadPower Bikes, America's #1 e-bike brand, offering direct to consumer pricing on powerful premium electric bikes. Now with free shipping RV PODCAST LISTENER QUESTIONS OF THE WEEK QUESTION: Was wondering if there is a particular CB channel that RV'ers use when they are traveling? Thank you. – Ed ANSWER: Ch 13 supposedly is the RV'ers channel, but since most road information is found on the truckers channel 19, that's where most travelers listen. QUESTION: I have been watching your channel back to back for last few days. I totally, love you guys. I have 2 questions for you. First, Why did you choose Ford over Mercedes motor home from leisure travel for your new RV? I want to know with respect to maintenance cost and fuel efficiency. Second, Do you think it is easier to get gas over diesel while on the road? Is there any restriction in city for the size of motor-home that can be driven during a certain time of the day? Thanks – Vicky ANSWER: We explain the features we like… the new Ford Transit chassis grades, availability of all-wheel drive, a gas engine, twin rear beds (something we really want), massive garage storage and to get experience on a different chassis besides the Mercedes Benz Sprinter. Do you have a question you’d like us to answer or a comment on the things we’re discussing on the RV Podcast? If so, we invite you to leave us that question or comment on the special voicemail number we have for the podcast – it’s 586-372-6990. Or, just go to the RV Lifestyle travel blog and scroll down the page. You’ll see that number prominently posted on the blog. This part of the RV Podcast is brought to you by Battle Born Batteries, maker of quality, safe and reliable lithium batteries that can be installed in just about every RV. Get in touch with Battle Born to find out what lithium batteries and an upgraded energy management system can add to your RV Lifestyle. Check them out at https://rvlifestyle.com/lithium RV PODCAST INTERVIEW OF THE WEEK The SoftStartRV installs on the RV air conditioner to help it run off your RV battery system and low power hookups. It's a promising gadget for those who like boondocking and moochdocking Understanding RV batteries and how to run an RV air conditioner while boondocking or moochdocking SoftStartRV is the solution RV INTERVIEW OF THE WEEK Okay. It's summertime. It's hot. And that means we depend on our air conditioner a lot. The problem is we're not always plugged into electricity and because air conditioners take so much startup energy to get them running, to get that compressor going, many times we are stuck not being able to run it. We just don't have enough power with our coach batteries or if we're moochdocking, we don't have anything except maybe a 110 volt outlet from a neighbor or relative's garage and that's not enough to run the air conditioning. At least it hasn't been until now. Now there's a new product called SoftStartRV. And we are going to talk about that in this interview of the week. We're going to show you what it looks like and how it works and why, for those of us who like to boondock and moochdock, it is a game-changer. Our special guest is Mike Sokol. Mike is an engineer and he is the guy who literally he's got a book out, wrote the book on RV electrical safety. Here's the video version of the interview about running an Rv air conditioner with the SoftStartRV: Here's the transcript of the interview: Mike Wendland: We are lucky to have as our guest on this part of the podcast and the video, Mike Sokol. Mike's an old friend. He is an expert on all things electrical involving the RV and much more. And he joins us from his mad scientist lair, somewhere in North America. Hey Mike, how are you? Mike Sokol: Well, very good. It's actually, it's high atop Funkstown Hill in Funkstown Maryland. I can oversee the Antietam down there. Yes, it is the lair, I like that. Mike Wendland: I like it. Well, hidden out there somewhere. Mike, I got this SoftStartRV just on basically hearing about it and I'm right in between RVs now. I'm not going to put on the one I'm selling in the week, but I'm going to put it on my new one. But this is, as I wrote in the blog the other day, I think a game-changer for those who like to boondock, who like to moochdock, but are frustrated every summer by not being able to run the air conditioner. Would you explain in layman terms how this works and why this indeed is a game-changer? Mike Sokol: Certainly. The first part of this is that RV air conditioners are pretty big because RVs don't have the best insulation. Something that can barely cool your RV, you could hang meat if you were doing this in your living room. They take a fair amount of power to run. It's not really the power that you need to run that gets you into trouble, it's the power that you need to actually get it started, which is the real problem. I can even draw a little diagram if you want to see. Mike Wendland: Yeah, Let's do this. Mike Sokol: Okay. Let me go ahead and we have a compressor running on an RV.