Search Results

Our Journey We are John and Patty Tracey RV Enthusiasts Additional LiTime Blog About Us When our 3 kids were between ages 9 -16 we took our first ever cross country trip. We spent 30 days on the road. Our goal was to see the country, be together and have fun. We set 3 rules to guide us on that first trip. No hotels, No fast-food and No driving at night. We spent those 30 days visiting a myriad of National Parks as well so many as other magical places in this great country. We did it all tent-camping out of our car. It was a revolutionary trip for all of us in many ways. Most importantly, it bred in us, a thirst to travel more and see more. Our dream to RV came true with our first 1986 Yellowstone Class C. This thing was run down a heap of junk and was scary to drive. It cost us a mere $3000. It was a loud, heavy, gas-guzzler with no fuel gauge and dangerously poor mirrors. However, it showed us that we really loved to travel in an RV. Many years, countless trips and 4 travel trailers later, our kids were grown and we looked forward to retirement and living full-time in our RV. We had done so much, but there was still so much to do and see. We loved the RV life. As school teachers, we would spend every summer traveling the country in an RV. Life in an RV is spectacular. It is this phenomenal place where the front yard changes with the days and weeks, but home is always where we are. The Good Things in Life As we grew older we began to enjoy the creature comforts of home. You know, the simple stuff like electricity, a coffee maker, the internet, and of course, Netflix. In my younger years one of my hobbies was building and flying radio controlled model airplanes. This was back before lithium batteries were introduced and even before they became safe. However, my interests with the hobby focused on converting and building electric powered radio-controlled model airplanes. The industry did not have the technology it does today so I would build my own batteries from cells in the configurations I needed. It did not take long for the world to catch up. Today we can buy an electric radio controlled, well almost anything, that is ready to fly as soon as you open the box. Well, needless to say, I have always had a high interest in electronics and power systems. So each RV I owned always had a modified power system. Each increasingly more advanced. The Real Price of a cup Coffee I wrote an article outlining our evolution through many RV and power systems . There is a link to it above. I joke that the journey through learning about and building multiple solar-powered RVs was really just a very expensive way to make a cup of coffee. The short version is that, during a visit to the Smoky Mountains National Park, we would wake up before generator hours. So, we would drive down the road, start the generator and make coffee. We needed a better solution. I know, I know…pour over. But that makes for a boring story! Well, 3 RVs later, each with progressively better power systems, we don’t ever need to worry about waking up anyone with a generator anymore. Today we have 965W of solar panels, 900Ah of LiTime lithium batteries and a full Victron setup, complete with a Multiplus 3000 inverter/charger and a Cerbo networking hub. With this setup we can completely sustain our power needs as long as the sun cooperates. Even when it does not, we have enough reserve energy stored in our batteries to get us through those dark days! Time to Hit the Road As plans generally go, our plans changed. After multiple diagnoses, 4 surgeries and unfathomable other treatments over a period of 5 years, my life was changed. This led to me no longer being able to work or do many of my past passions due to my disabilities. It was at this point that my wife and I could really see that life was too short. We needed to start it right now. She retired and we hit the road. For the last 1.5 years we have been happily staying home and watching our front yard change. We have been traveling and spending the cold months camping in the warmer south west states. We have 2 kids and grandchildren in Connecticut. We get to moochdock there during the summer. Though with our solar power system we do not even need to plug in. Giving Back My strong desire to learn has always been accompanied by an aspiration to help others. I created this website where I post the many articles I have written to help other RVers better understand their RV’s power systems as well as how to improve them. The evolution of the use of lithium batteries in RVs has developed so quickly in such a short time. Only a few years ago an upgrade to a 100Ah lithium battery would break the bank. Today we have companies like LiTime that are making lithium batteries that are not just affordable but also of a high quality. This has opened the door for so many RVers to upgrade their power systems incorporating these lithium batteries as the core of their power needs. The use of an inverter in an RV, only 2 years ago was limited to making a pot of coffee. Today, it is both possible and affordable to live off the grid like you would in a regular sticks and bricks home. My passion to share what I know and learn has driven me to write more and more articles to help other RVers realize and build power systems of their own. I have even created a spreadsheet where someone can enter their prospective solar panel wattage, their battery size, and power needs and even the weather. They will get a readout of how their system will perform over a week's time. Playing with lithium batteries and solar power is just one passion I still get to enjoy. Other Interests Along with being a techy, I love taking photographs. I use 2 Nikon Z6s with an assortment of lenses. I am not able to go as far off the beaten path these days but I still try to capture as creative shots as I can. Along with writing and photography, the ukulele has a piece of my heart. This small, gentle, melodic musical instrument absorbs and occupies both my time and my mind. I enjoy the peace it brings me and how well it fits into the traveling RVer life that I have begun to write about it as well. I recently completed a persuasive article about 10 reasons you need a ukulele in your RV . I have other articles about the joys of a ukulele in your RV too. Patty is an extremely active and outgoing individual. She makes long lasting friendships everywhere we go. Her list of hobbies while on the road, include Pickleball, any chance she gets. She also loves fitness and working out. She always fits yoga and working out into she busy schedule. She is also a flat water kayak enthusiast as I am too. We carry Oru foldable kayaks in the back seat of our truck. RV life is not all fun and it is not just a vacation. It is life with all of its obstacles and joys and revelations. It is a journey, as is life in itself. We are glad to be here and to be able to take the ride. YouTube Photo Gallery

Thousand Trails Campground Review Chesapeake Bay RV Resort Glouchester, Virgina The drive in Route 198 from route 17 heading south into the campground is a little tight with little to no shoulders. Coming from the south your GPS may lead you up route 606 from route 17. This road has no shoulders. The driveway into the park is about ½ mile of paved road. It too is a bit tight in some spots if you need to pass an outgoing rig. There is plenty of room if both drivers are conscientious and follow the posted speed limit. Arriving at the gate we were quickly checked in and directed to a campsite that met the criteria we were looking for. They also allow you to explore and choose a site of your preference. Campsites All sites at Chesapeake Bay RV Resort have full hook-ups. We were immediately impressed by the size of our campsite and noticed this was true throughout the campground. The sites are larger/wider than most campgrounds we have been to. There is quite a bit of room between sites so we were not cramped. The majority of the sites are easily accessible even for big rigs. There is a mix of tree-covered sites as well as open-sky sites. We had site D02 which gave us the ability to use our Starlink after some repositioning. There are a number of seasonal sites but these sites are generally in the outside areas of the park. The stretch of sites that are along the pools, pickleball, and other activity areas are however predominately seasonal sites. Campground amenities I have to start with the ice cream! They have a great selection of Hersey’s brand hard-serve ice cream. The prices and quality are similar or better than you may find at an ice cream shop. The White House Cherry was a favorite. We also bought an extra pint of Coldbrew Caramocha to indulge in at desperate times when there is no good ice cream nearby. Additionally, the camp store is well stocked with your usual supplies. They were closed on Monday, but open the rest of the week. We are picky about our coffee so we can not tell you how the camp store coffee was, but we can say the coffee we make is excellent! Feel free to stop by for a cup. For access to the Piankatank river, they have a concrete boat ramp with 2 fishing piers. This is a great spot to watch the sunrise and enjoy the morning fish jumping and an occasional blue heron in flight. The “beach” area is not far from the piers but it is not a sand beach as you might expect. Instead, it is a break-wall with a set of steps entering the water. In another section of the park, they have a kayak rack near a small lake that is large enough for a small adventure. Sadly, we did not get our ORUs out on this trip because I am still recovering from a spinal cord stimulator surgery. The campground has 2 pools, 4 pickleball courts, a game room, mini golf, a playground, a hot tub, and probably a few other things I missed. We sat in the hot tub twice and we were alone both times. Oddly the shower heads in both the men’s and women's showers next to the hot tub are awkwardly low. Lower than the shower in our old KZ camper, where I always felt like I was doing squats while taking my military-style shower. You need to crouch down to get under them. The water was plenty hot enough though. The 2 pools were closed for the season, but I imagine they would be very refreshing in the hot Virginia summer. We felt that most of the park was clean and well maintained. We were there in the last week of September, so they were decorating the park with a fall and Halloween theme. We learned that they do Halloween here. They close the roads to traffic and let the kids trick-or-treat. They do this not once but 3 times! They have Halloween the weekend before and after Halloween too. If you are going to be there, stock up on candy. Campground activities While we were there they had line dancing, candy bar bingo, tie dying, a chili cook-off, a scavenger hunt, and some other family-friendly activities. I wish we could tell you about some of these activities but we did not make it to any of them. Sites, views, walks around the campground We always walk and explore every campground we visit. It is fun to see the different campers and meet new people. One day we walked out to the section with the cabins. They were all empty however it was a nice walk. This then led us to a small trail past the kayak pond and back down to the river. It’s a short, but worthwhile adventure. Cell reception Cell reception with Verizon was great. A neighbor with T-Mobile was not too happy with their service. Sorry, we can not write about other cell providers. We use Star Link as a primary source of internet on the road. We intentionally found a site with a view of the north sky. We were on site D02. There are just enough trees though that we needed to be pretty strategic while setting it up. Ours was great for watching Umbrella Academy on Netflix, There were interruptions to our internet every once in a while. Most of the time it worked great. Other times it was incredibly frustrating. Star Links are getting more popular! We saw about 6 other Star Links in use here. Dish Networks were all over the place. It seemed like everybody had 2 or more Dish network dishes! What is up with that? Are we missing something?

How Does a 50 Amp RV Service Compare to a 30 Amp RV Service? RVs come in many forms and sizes. The type and size of the electric service is often relative to the size of the RV. Today, most smaller RVs come with a 30 amp service. Larger RVs often have a 50 amp service. There is a significant difference between these 2 services. To understand the differences and why an RV may have a 50 amp service it helps to understand the electrical grid supplying power to the campground. The electric grid that supplies power consists of 2 hot legs and a neutral. The current cycles with a frequency of 60 hz which is 60 times per second. Each of the hot legs has a voltage of 120VAC. For large appliances like an electric oven, a clothes dryer, a well pump or a household hot water heater, the two hot legs are connected to the appliance to supply 240VAC. This is 2 times the 120VAC from each leg. The advantage to this is that with a higher voltage, less current can be used. This allows for smaller wires to be run. In your house you have the two hot legs and the neutral entering your main breaker panel. You also have a separate ground wire. One 120VAC leg supplies ½ of your panel and the other supplies the other ½. In your RV you will have the same thing if you have a 50 amp service. If you only have a 30 amp service you will only have one of the legs. Your campground will have split their 120VAC legs to evenly distribute the loads. At a 50 amp pedestal, you may see a 50 amp receptacle for a 4 wire plug. The 4 wires for the 50 amp receptacle are 2 hot legs, 1 neutral and 1 ground. Notice in the image to the left that the 50 amp breakers are joined. They trip at the same time. You may also see a 30 amp receptacle for a 3 wire plug. The 30 amp receptacle is 1 hot leg, 1 neutral and 1 ground. This panel also has a 20 amp service on the right. ​ ​ ​ ​ If you have a 30 amp service in your RV, then you simply have 1-120VAC leg run through a 30 amp main breaker that runs all of the 120VAC components in the RV. If you have a 50 amp service, then you will have 2-120VAC legs, each run through a 50 amp main breaker. With the 50 amp service you will have the loads divided among each leg. This may also be called a split phase. For example, if you have 2 air-conditioners, one will generally run off 1 leg and the second will run off the other. One significant difference between a 30 amp service and a 50 amp service is the amount of power. A 50 amp service does not just have 20 amps more. You technically have 70 amps more. The reason is because you have 2 legs, each able to supply 50 amps. The 30 amp service only has 1 leg that is able to supply 30 amps. Let’s look at this in terms of power. Power is amps time volts. A 30 amp service can supply a max of 30 amps X 120 volts = 3,600 watts. A 50 amp service and supply a max of 50 amps X 120 volts + 50 amps X 120 volts= 12,000 watts. So a 50 amp service can supply 3.33 times the power of the 30 amp service. ​ If you have a 50 amp service but only have a 30 amp service available you will need an adapter. What is nice about this adapter is it will combine both legs of the 50 amps together. This will convert your 50 amp service into a 30 amp service. All of your breakers will be live and everything in your RV should work. Just NOT at the same time!!!! You are now limited to 30 amps! Speaking of adapters. Get some!!! I never complain that I have too many adapters.

A beginners guide: What is an Amp Hour Ah and how does it apply to your RV? What is an Amp Hour? The term Amp Hour- (Ah) comes up a lot while talking about RV batteries. I have often heard people express that they do not understand what this means. My hope here is to explain this concept and to give some examples as to where it applies. ​ Amp Hours is basically a measurement of capacity. It tells us the capacity of a battery. Essentially it tells us how much energy it can supply. The more Ah a battery has, the more energy it can supply. A 200Ah battery has twice the capacity that a 100Ah battery has. Think of it as a bucket of water, The larger the bucket, the more Ah or, in the bucket’s case, the more water it can hold. So what exactly is an Ah and what does it really mean? One Ah, is the ability to supply 1 amp of current for exactly 1 hour. For example, a 100Ah battery can deliver 1 amp for 100 hours. If it was delivering 100 amps it would only last 1 hour. It can also supply 50 amps for 2 hours or 25 amps for 4 hours etc… Notice that no matter the amps and times referred to in those above examples, all equal 100Ah. 1A X 100h =100Ah, 100A X 1h=100Ah, 50A X 2h = 100Ah, and 25A X 4h = 100Ah. How does this apply to its actual use? Okay, let’s say you are using 10 amps from your 100 Ah battery. How long can you do this before it is dead. First, an Amp Hour is really amps multiplied by hours. Amps X hours = Ah, as shown in the above examples. To standardize the measurements of batteries, we always state the number of amps it can deliver in ONE hour. A 100 Ah battery can deliver 100 amps for 1 hour. A 200 Ah battery can deliver 200 amps for 1 hour. Notice that in describing the battery capacity, we always use the amps delivered in ONE hour. However that is not really how we use batteries. We use them for more than 1-hour, I hope. Okay, back to that 100Ah battery using 10 amps. How long will it last? 100Ah / 10A = 10 hours. Wait, where did that equation come from? I used algebra: If A X h = Ah then Ah/A=h. Now when I know the capacity of a battery and I know the current (in amps), I can find the time (in hours) it will last. Let's use some more complicated numbers this time. Now let’s assume the 100Ah battery is delivering 7.5 amps. How long will this last? 100Ah / 7.5h = 13.33 hour or 13h and 20 min. Let’s use that 7.5 amps now with a 200Ah battery. We know the 200Ah battery is twice the capacity so we can guess it will last twice as long. Let’s check the math anyway. 200ah / 7.5 A = 26.66 or 26h and 40 min. Yup, that is twice the time. We got it, battery capacity divided by the current = the run time. So here is a real world example for your RV. You have a 50 Ah battery, the weather is hot. You need to cool off the RV. Your overhead vent fan uses 3.5 amps at full power. How long will it last? 50Ah / 3.5A = 14.29h or 14h 17.4min. Now is this realistic? Not exactly. The reason is because you have other things running and may or may not also have some solar recharging your battery. However this does give a good base ground to start at understanding how the Capacity measurement of a battery applies to its use in your RV. ​ Using a Battery Meter One thing I need to point out here is that a battery's voltage is dynamic. Yes, it changes as its state of charge changes. But it also changes as you use it. Your battery may have a resting voltage (not being used) of 12.6 volts. However as soon as you begin to drain the battery, the voltage immediately drops. Also, the harder you work it, the lower the voltage will drop. But, when the battery stops being used the voltage will slowly recover. For example, the 12.6V battery may show 12.1V when being used. Then, it will slowly recover to 12.5V when the load is removed. It is important to understand this when using Voltage to measure your batteries remaining capacity. A voltage meter will work but it is not a very accurate measure of the battery’s true SOC. You can find tables published online to relate a battery’s voltage to its SOC. See the graph below for an approximation of the Depth of Discharge of a Lithium Iron Phosphate (LiFePO4 ) and a Flooded Lead Acid Battery. ​ Here is link to some well written articles by Alex Beale found on his website, Footprinthero . He has some tables he created showing different batteries Voltage Vs. SOC https://footprinthero.com/lead-acid-battery-voltage-charts ​ The following Battery monitor comes preinstalled in the stock Grand Design 226RK Furrion High Precision Battery Monitor User Manual https://support.lci1.com/documents/furrion-high-precision-battery-monitor-user-manual-im-fen00032-v3.0 ​ Here is a link to the many battery monitors from Victron Energy https://www.victronenergy.com/battery-monitors ​ ​

Photo Collections

Ukulele Review & Videos Get 10% off Kala Brand Products by using my affiliate link https://kalabrand.com/TLR Beginners check this out!!!!! Four Chord Simple Ukulele Course Get 10% off Kala Brand Products by using my affiliate link https://kalabrand.com/TLR Shop with my Amazon affiliate links ​ ​ $129 All Solid Acacia Wood Concert Size AKLOT Ultimate Travel Ukulele from Journey on Amazon Enya EUC 25D Mahogany Top Concert Ukulele Enya Nova U Ukuleles on Amazon Enya X1 series Ukuleles on Amazon Kmise Soprano Ukulele on Amazon Journey Tek Extreme Ukulele Tra vel Bag on Amazon Flight Travel Series Ukuleles on Amazon Low cost Solid Wood Ukulele Ulumac Concert Ukulele, All Solid Mahogany Ukulele Humidifiers D'Addario Accessor ies Ukulele Humidifier Pro MusicNomad Humilele Ukulele Humidifier

Heading 3 THE TREKPOD The Hiking Tripod that Saves your Back Go to my ETSYsite to buy About the TREKPOD This is a lightweight tripod that uses hiking or trekking poles you are probably already carrying. This design is great for saving weight on longer hikes. It is great for photographing landscapes, group selfies and video cameras. It can also be used to support flashes and microphones. I call this tripod a TrekPod. I designed it using CAD and I print them using 3D printers. Each TrekPod is designed to be used with either Black Diamond poles or Leki poles. I have designed adapters to allow the smaller Black Diamond poles to fit into the holes for the larger Leki poles. This will allow you to use a mix of each brand. I include 2 adapters with each TrekPod. Each TrekPod comes with 2 stainless steel bolts. The ¼-20 fits smaller equipment like a Go Pro, small cameras and other types of gear. There is also a ⅜ -16 that will allow the use of larger gear like ball-heads. I was very pleased with the weight the TrekPod would support. I have a photo of it holding my Nikon Z6 with a Tameron 150-600 telephoto lens. It is important to note that this is not an expensive and super sturdy tripod. Trekking poles are flexible and do not allow this setup to be rock solid. The TrekPod does not need it, but I designed 3 clip-on straps that connect each pole to the others. This makes it more stable and, most importantly, makes it more movable when it is set up. In other words, with the straps on, you can pick it up by one pole and move it around. It also prevents excessive stress on the TrekPod by keeping the legs at a 25 degree angle. Here is a tip on the use of the TrekPod or any other tripod- For most landscape photos I use either a shutter release or a 2-5 second timer. This allows me to set up the shot and release the shutter without disturbing the camera. Using the timer allows any vibration or slight movement from my pressing of the button to stabilize before the shutter actually releases. What if you only have 2 trekking poles? Yeah, there is a slight problem with this design. Here are some solutions: Travel with a partner who also uses poles. Take some of the money you were going to spend on a light-weight tripod and buy yourself a second set of really nice hiking poles. Buy a cheap set of poles. Coming soon – I am working on designing an adapter to use a Mono-Pod as one of the poles. You can buy a Mono-Pod to use with the TrekPod. (I am currently designing the adapter for this). Many higher quality tripods come with one pole that screws off and can be used as a Mono-Pod. You can leave your heavier tripod home and take the TrekPod and mono-pod for tougher hikes. ​ We are selling our products through Etsy . If you have questions just email me at TravelingLightReflections@gmail.com TravelingLightReflections@Gmail.com GIVE US A SHOUT travelinglightreflections@gmail.com

All Posts Check back soon Once posts are published, you’ll see them here.

Recommended Products LiTime 100Ah group 24 size Lithium Battery ​ Read More LiTime 100Ah group 31 size Lithium Battery This is placeholder text. To change this content, double-click on the element and click Change Content. Read More This is a Title 02 This is placeholder text. To change this content, double-click on the element and click Change Content. Read More This is a Title 01 This is placeholder text. To change this content, double-click on the element and click Change Content. Read More