I think that not feeling like talking to a camera all day everyday is a perfectly acceptable feeling and the end result with narration equally enjoyable.
I carry a Honda 2000 gen for the last twenty years. Never a problem. The 1000 is one of the most reliable Gen on the market. The resale value stays close to the purchase price . Go for it you won’t be disappointed! You never know what will happen to that complicated system you have in the van. This generator can be a life saver. Install a draincock on your auxiliary fueltank and have your own filling station.
Ha, it might have hurt the power production but wow oh wow your time spent in these small towns has upped your viewership production...been lovin it! Thanks so much for sharing this wonderful trip.
We just returned from an epic road trip to Alaska! We drove all the way from North Carolina to Oregon then to Alaska and back to NC, covering a whopping 11,000 miles (17,700 KM) and spending a whole 3 months on the road. My granddaughter joined us for the last month of our adventure, and she’s only 12 years old! We had an incredible time exploring the Yukon, and we lived in Alaska for 47 years before making the move to NC to be closer to our grandkids (and escape the winter, haha!).
You fed my heart on a day that has been really difficult and painful. You fed me joy for neighbors, adventure with a puppy, fun on a ("pirate" boat) . You gave peace. Thank you
I like the generator idea. Cheaper & easier. Boom, bang, done. OMG I loved the lake! I've never seen the kayak before. LOVE it! Cruzzie resting his head on the front was adorable.🥰
I absolutely love this video of all the places you took us on including the views and my favorite was the boat ride with you and Cruzie this is so relaxing.
Better power management would help. Leaving the starlink on all the time is wasteful. You know your power needs, why wait until you’re down to 5% ? It’s like a self inflicted wound, but glad your out there having fun.
Chrome you are a spokesperson for van life ,anyone watching you is saying,hey let’s get a van and hit the road! Sold my Econoline to my grandson and his first trip was to camp down by the river!
so crazy- you and Matthew at VanLifePlus both posted videos this week about how your batteries died. He drove around Calgary for over an hour to charge up. I must say that YOUR view was much more beautiful :)
That suspension bridge is epic, the view is gorgeous. I love the one Capilano bridge in Vancouver, but it is so commercialized. This one is perfect. I need to get myself up there. . . SOON!, thank you for giving me motivation.
Chrome . Dual high output alternators or even a single high output into dual DC - DC chargers set up . Instead of a generator . Victron do 30A DC - DC chargers that you could dual . But Victron also now do a 50A DC - DC that you may be able to dual up on . Either would at the very least halve the time it would take to charge or double the amount of charge you could get in a given time period compared to your current set up . Either would be a lot less un-neighbourly than a generator running for hours on end and cost less to run in the long run too . YMMV Fattrucker
I have a suggestion If you get a generator and you wanna go with 1 a little bit bigger you could always mount it to the top of a box And get a cover for it Just a thought
Victron now makes an Orion XS which is a 50 amp DC DC charger. If you upgraded your alternator to a high-amp alternator, and put in two Orion XS you would be dumping 100 amp’s into your battery every hour of driving
Hey Chrome , went to the Yukon and Alaska earlier this summer . Drove thru white pass where you are now ,insanely beautiful . Also stayed at Kathleen lake . So beautiful,I couldn’t believe my eyes . Already planning another trip . Enjoy .
Just when I think I had a favorite video you bring out the Kayak! You and Cruzie were in such a beautiful peaceful place and yes it was epic 😎 ✌️✌️Smooches for Cruzie 💋 🐾 🦴
Look at the Bouge RV flexible solar panels. I have two of them. Virtually indestructible, lightweight, and you stick them (tape is on the back) to the top of your cargo pod, therefore you don't need any more space. HOBOTECH did a thorough review of them, even shooting them multiple times, and they still worked.
Mr chrome , you have the left paddle upside down in the one shot. Adding more batteries isn’t going to fix your issue of not being to charge them. What you need is to manage your loads or adding a better DC to DC charging. I highly recommend looking at a ecoflow generator because your issue is going to be transferring power from the generator to the batteries. Because the issue will be Honda generator is AC and then converting that back to DC
LiFePO4 batteries can be charged at a very high rate. Depending on the battery specs and the specs of your charger, you may be able to charge 80amp/hour with a 1000watt generator.
A small generator would be a great backup for when you can't maintain your batteries from solar and is a more economical option then driving your van everywhere. You could run it during the day time to boost your batteries to max and then shut it down for the night. If you have the room to store it, it would be a great option for you. A lot of those small generators run fairly quiet as well. I am enjoying this seasons adventures from you. It almost makes me want to travel to those places as well. With my rig I only get about 7 mpg and would cost a small fortune to get out to where you are right now. So, I guess that I'll have to stick to northern Michigan and the upper peninsula for my outdoor scenery. Love your videos!
We bought a generator it’s a duel fuel, I’ve heard running it on propane is better for the generator, it’s cleaner than gasoline. We’re not on the road, we bought it to recharge our Bluetti’s during a power outage.
The 1100 Honda generator you can expect maybe 8-9 amps of 120v power. Not sure the amp draw of your system. If you have a 40amp draw system you are needing a 4800w generator. Something also to think about. Hondas are nice generators.
Get a high output alternator and run a bigger power wire like a zero gauge wire from your alternator to your battery banks they will charge wayyyyy faster also it will keep you topped off more often
Another option for power conservation is to pick up a Starlink Mini. It draws less than half the power as the Gen 2 dishy you have and it runs on DC, so there's less power loss from the DC to AC to DC conversions. It also can be flat mounted on the roof and still gets great speeds. I'm getting about 120mb down and 15mb up even while driving. Generator is a great idea though! I have a similar setup and I struggled with power a ton last spring. I might just pick up a generator to have a backup plan.
Consider a propane powered generator. Cleaner burning. Runs longer off of a 20 lb tank. Propane can be used by other appliances. Propane never goes bad. Gasoline does require stabilization for storage. Hondas can be converted to run on propane.
Hi Chrome this is the perfect time to have a small quiet inverter generator like my 2500 watt. Very easy on gas and hardly makes any noise. With it you CAN stay put in a beautiful lakeside camping spot and still charge up your system in times when the solar gain does not quite do the job. I realize that part of your problem is the level of power that you require as a heavy content provider. There are times when using a "genny" and being able to remain stationary is the desirable plan. Great scenery and Cruze seemed to enjoy the kayak more this time. Have a nice day. Tom in the Maritimes at the NB-NS border
My generator sucks gas from the gas tank. Besides the limitless power, it runs my window A/C plus my microwave and coffee maker. The only downside is noise and that’s why I have a power box too.
UPGRADE your alternator to a PowerMaster 200 Amp. Bypass your Victron DC-DC charger and wire directly with a beefy solenoid(with time delay for engine warm up). You’ll get 130 amps at idle too. This will max out (safely) the alternator and maximize charge speed, which should be within spec of the batteries. This is how our Pleasure Way Sprinter RV was wired from the factory. The batteries charge fast on short drives.
Can you get a larger WATT dc to dc?? Maybe a few flex panels for when you’re chilling? Or front hitch 2000 power inverter. I have a champion. Things so quite runs my whole rig AND charges batteries!
Happy Birthday Amanda. Tell Chrome I use a 1000 watt Sportsman generator for his exact scenarios. Only use it a handful of times a year but sure comes in handy. Have had it for three years and has worked flawlessly. Also about a third of the price of a Honda. Depending on how big his house charger is he needs to make sure 1000 watts is enough. Again Happy Birthday Amanda and you rock!!!
y-e-a .....so I'm on holiday in the van watching you on my laptop on holiday in your van, and i'm thinking Damn ! your holiday looks better than mine. lol Some of the camp sites you are visiting are just stunning!! I'm on holiday with my dog too but he's only 8 weeks old so could a while before we go kayaking together. lol
Get a Mechman alternator they produce way more power then a stock alternator. There used in car stereo systems. I run a 240 amp alternator in my truck.
Hi Chrome 😎 & Cruzy 🐶! It's so Beautiful in Canada! I'd have a hard time sitting still because I'd want to experience it all 😉😃; If you have a Phobia of heights that bridge is not your cup of tea for sure 😁; Great Video!🤗👍; Thank You For Sharing the beauty of Canada on your adventures -🫂❤️-😎&🐶; SEE You Both Soon 🙂
Youve driven through some beautiful scenery and this video has the best so far! Some of it reminds me so much of my home country, Scotland, the hills (not the taller mountains) around the lakes are like hillsides around lochs.
If you get a generator (Sorry, I am a few weeks behind on videos) - Get a PROPANE generator, then you can just use one of your propane canisters and replace it when you go back to town
Do you have Bluetooth app access to check the batteries themselves? Victron bmv 712 isn’t very accurate with lithium batteries % charge figure. So it’s always worth checking your battery app to see the actual levels of charge.
Do you run a dedicated (second) alternator for house generation. You may want to consider it, you could double your power input (house + engine alt) while adding redundancy to the truck for reliability should an alternator fail in the middle of nowhere you could switch the house alternator to the engine. Also it would assuming the two 12v systems latch together with a latching relay during engine operation >11.1v, increase output. The other option is a 240A alternator. A third option is my old (diesel) truck had a PTO, with a 10KW generator head on it, so the main engine was my generator, and I ran my house on it for a week during the Hanukkah blackout of 2006 in the seattle area. IT generated full power not far from idle 1050rpm vs. about 500rpm). The only downside was the PTO was a leaky thing, have to top off the transmission fluid every 6-8 hours you ran it.
the 1000 will not be ok for you. i think that upgrading your alternator to very high capacity or adding a second high capacity alternator with mecanichal disconect will serve you beter. your engine is more than capable to charge you in no time since you have lithium and they accept high currents
