I sort of already started on this project, before I really fully nailed down the goals and expectations. But that seems to be the way things go with me these days, so I'm alright with it 🙂.

Ok, I have a good idea of what I want in a final electrical solution. It needs to be reliable, flexible extensible and it needs to have enough capacity that I don't have to worry about how I use it (within reason).

Ok, so the simple setup I started with fell flat. I'm a natural-born problem solver, and this is a problem I'm fully qulified to solve!

So, what did we learn?

1. We need much more capacity
2. We need faster charging, with more options
3. Solar is unlikely to be successful as a single charging option

Great, so, get a bigger solar generator! After all, the ECOFLOW Delta has 5x the power of your current solution, and charges extremely fast.

Back in Starting Electrical, I wrote about a simple solution to getting some power deployed in my van. This was excellent, as it gave me the ability to practically measure how I really used power with some test trips.

What I discovered was what I needed wasn't necessarily a massive battery bank, but the ability to efficiently use that bank. This efficiency comes in three parts. In this post, I'll discuss the challenges that came from the portable battery solution.

Fortunately, this park is the real deal. This is a great park for taking the kids and/or bikes. My hike was unfortunately scuttled a bit by weather and flooding, but it was still an enjoyable visit and a park worth visiting. The park was well maintained and the trails were generously wide and mostly paved or at least hard-packed.

Finally, a break in the weather again! I chose Summit Lake because it was advertised as having hard-packed trails and we'd just had a super rainy spell, and it was a perfect fit for the day.

I've hiked this park before, so when I was nearby to knock out a certification exam I had a lunch picnic and dealt with some emails before driving back home... I'm counting it for now, but I reserve the right to come back again!

Turkey Run is a pretty famous park, so when an opportunity to go hike it early in the season when it wasn't going to be too busy came by I had to jump. I was lucky enough to be joined by my niece and, I guess my brother and sister-in law came too...

Shakamak offers some great trails and some pretty great looking family cabins. While I visited, I hiked trails 2 and 3. This park includes some great amenities, and is very well kept. Highly recommended!

Cataract Falls and Lieber SRA make up the Cagles Mill Lake property. This is a pretty gorgeous place to visit though fairly short on trails. Excellent picnicking and family activities though. I hiked the nature trail at Cataract Falls with my mom, and enjoyed a picnic by the lake.