First off, we got a new kitten. His name is Odin. He is tiny and purrs loudly and likes to cuddle necks. The other cats are getting used to him, we have him in a dog crate for now and take him out frequently to play with him, but the cats haven’t actually interacted with him. They growl and hiss at him, but that’s about it. They should come around though, it just takes a little time when introducing a new pet into a household.
Second, my dad and I built a platform for the bed today. It was about as difficult as I figured it would be, lots of cutting, some screws, 2x4s and plywood. Its a little bigger than the mattress, so once we get that, we’ll throw it on top and have somewhere to sleep on for now. I would like to eventually build something better though that covers the water tank and still allows access to it, while also giving us some space to move around the bed. That will happen when we go to Florida though, I hope, as we’ll have access to full power, more tools, and some expertise.
I’m not sure what I want to build yet, but I’m thinking if we can put something on hinges so it folds up and we have access to the underneath, we’ll be good. Then we can also put bins under and have them for storage for winter clothes or cat food or something. Things we don’t need to get to often, so it wouldn’t be terribly easy to get to. If we could put some cabinets on, that would be good as well, but not necessary.
Next up is getting some electronics. I’m going to get a backup camera and a GPS, and that should be doable soon. Then I may have to run the wire, unless I get a wireless version. It will require the occasional charging on the camera, but if its wireless, it won’t drain often since it won’t be used that often. It would just be nice to have.
I’d also like the RV-specific GPS from Garmin, but its about $400. We will get that before we leave, but probably immediately before we leave.
Other than that, there are things like a TV, which we could use while we live in the apartment still, and sell the old AC one we have. The one I want to order is DC and AC powered, so we can use it off battery. We have other entertainment that is all DC powered as well, so that should be good.
Finally, we need to add solar, which I’ve talked about before. I want to get at least 600 Watts, but that is easy. We can get 160 Watt panels for about $1/Watt, so the cost is manageable. Batteries is the more expensive part, but even that isn’t horribly expensive. Then there is cable and a charge controller. Those are a few hundred, but again, reasonable. We will probably buy those and have them shipped to Florida, so we can just install it when we get there.
After that, we will be power independent and shouldn’t have to use the generator very often. We do also need to get new batteries now, at least an engine battery since the one in the RV is completely dead and we need to start it to move it. If I disconnect it after we leave each time, it shouldn’t drain any more and it’ll be all good.
That’s all for now.
