Installing Solar Power in the Camper

01HTV5FE4GZVR456R5QCM9EQA0

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April 7, 2024 rswfire PUBLISHED

Temp 0.50

Density 0.30

Energetic Quality

elated-industrious

Journey Phase

commissioning

Directional Vector

toward off-grid self-sufficiency

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Testing Solar Setup Before Camper Inspection →

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Transcript

[0:00] oh good morning everyone it is Saturday

[0:02] morning here 9:00 a.m. it's 37° outside

[0:06] and 40.8 de in here which means we are

[0:09] at the mercy of the

[0:11] elements we are we're at the mercy of

[0:14] the

[0:15] elements guys you want to do this with

[0:17] great care we're putting a hole into my

[0:21] camper for my

[0:23] solar and my

[0:26] internet oh God help

[0:28] me yep okay done guys my solar panels

[0:34] are

[0:35] out how cool is

[0:38] that I got two of those probably way

[0:41] more than I

[0:42] need but they have very big cables and

[0:46] we're not sure how we're getting them in

[0:49] there I've never turned this thing on

[0:51] either so I don't know you're going to

[0:53] need a bigger hole Yeah because what you

[0:56] got to do

[0:57] look this one here hooks right under

[1:01] that that hooks to the solar panel yep

[1:04] okay and this is what you want to take

[1:06] in and hooks into your thing

[1:08] okay see yeah so neither one of those

[1:11] ends are going to fit through that hole

[1:13] but yeah I only need to like I'll put

[1:15] that one like we need to hold that big

[1:18] all right let me just I'm going to take

[1:20] it inside there wait a minute I want to

[1:21] show you I make through this

[1:24] okay oh man I guess we did need a big

[1:27] one after all yep okay see It'll that

[1:30] yep and then we put another hole watch

[1:33] we put another hole on this side for my

[1:35] internet for your internet okay you can

[1:37] use either hole if we make them the same

[1:38] size all right let me just um like I'll

[1:43] even like plug the thing the battery in

[1:44] now and it's it's portable right so I

[1:48] got to get the uh do we need a new drill

[1:51] bit drill bit okay this is fun

[1:57] guys I mean what's better than solar

[1:59] power

[2:01] for

[2:03] real all

[2:06] right what is better than solar power

[2:10] nothing so there's this giant cable and

[2:13] I'm assuming that it's for my battery

[2:16] let's hope I'm right huh I think it goes

[2:21] here wow this is

[2:23] massive yeah all right that is one

[2:26] massive cable and you lock

[2:28] it so we got

[2:32] that um it has no power so I can't turn

[2:35] it on

[2:36] yet so we use this find a spot for

[2:45] this this is the plug this is the power

[2:49] so we got this thing here

[2:52] four dots four circles four holes god

[2:56] I'm an

[2:57] idiot there's the hole in my hamper guys

[3:01] oh that's so

[3:03] scary oh my God that's

[3:06] scary well look you can see there's no

[3:09] insulation there no insulation

[3:13] dad what tiny little hole there's no

[3:16] insulation in this freaking

[3:21] camper oh here's one all

[3:25] right so we plug you in

[3:28] here oh wow that's awesome it's got this

[3:31] little thing you screw it

[3:35] on all right guys I got to get better at

[3:38] holding a camera while doing stuff we're

[3:40] putting it on a tripod right okay let's

[3:42] see if I can do

[3:46] this

[3:48] yep okay we're

[3:53] good all right so there's one here I

[3:55] don't know how to hook up this extra

[3:57] solar panel

[3:58] ow

[4:00] we are going to move this big giant

[4:03] battery over

[4:06] here I don't know that

[4:08] Cable's very problematic cable over

[4:13] here you definitely want to like you

[4:16] know I can't okay I can't go that way

[4:18] because that cable is too important it's

[4:21] kind of backwards but this is real heavy

[4:24] guys 80 lbs for the battery alone see if

[4:28] I can get away with

[4:32] yes this battery killed my side the

[4:35] other day I don't like it so here we

[4:39] go oh you're so happy you're like the

[4:43] heaviest batter on

[4:45] Earth okay I think I can do this now

[4:49] the oh my God you're

[4:52] having I'm old gay man guys we're not

[4:56] known for our Brute Force okay not that

[5:00] I'm trying to stereotype my people oh my

[5:03] God that's

[5:04] heav oh my

[5:07] God okay a little at a time I hope I

[5:10] don't wake up um like the other

[5:13] day boy that

[5:16] St

[5:20] okay all right so I feel like I got it

[5:24] um in a way that's

[5:26] good it's close to the hole

[5:30] working real good like all right I got

[5:33] one I got one hold on this thing is a

[5:36] beast there we go all

[5:42] right sorry guys I guess you probably

[5:44] didn't see any of

[5:47] that

[5:48] what coming right

[5:50] now or my foot stool still not

[5:55] working Tech's supposed to come today

[5:58] like probably anytime now

[6:01] okay here's the

[6:02] pen I think it's pretty much figured out

[6:05] like you know the two plug into each

[6:07] other and then there's a spot for this

[6:08] there's only one so I don't know how you

[6:10] do multiple solar panels okay so I do it

[6:12] from outside then yeah okay

[6:15] good so I need I need a part I don't

[6:18] have a

[6:20] part all

[6:23] right

[6:28] cool guys what do you think the

[6:30] cigarette lighter one is for what will

[6:32] it

[6:33] [Music]

[6:36] power well imagine how much power can

[6:38] come through these

[6:41] pie wow that's going up against the camp

[6:45] on against a wall you get it with some

[6:47] silicone on it cool and then it's going

[6:50] to have made more fill it to

[6:53] this all right and then I'm going to

[6:56] slice this into like a star shape so the

[6:58] rubber fall back I like that cool and

[7:01] that's what I was calling a grommet I

[7:02] don't think it is a grommet but that's

[7:03] what I meant just so you know keep the

[7:05] water out do you know what it's called

[7:07] see there's a guy's race car my

[7:09] neighbor's a race car driver

[7:11] guys his engine's quite

[7:14] loud hope so if it ain't loud very fast

[7:20] I wonder where he goes do you think he's

[7:22] like an amateur

[7:26] or on it that's got name so pretty

[7:31] cool shout out to my neighbor that I've

[7:33] never

[7:35] met one time they waved to me when I was

[7:37] putting Christmas decorations

[7:39] out that's the extent of my interaction

[7:42] with them I mean I don't have wood you

[7:58] know

[8:01] sorry guys I Ain't Over the Mountain Dew

[8:04] yet I sure wish I was I mean I only took

[8:07] all my teeth right I'm telling you that

[8:10] stuff's

[8:11] addictive it's just addictive as

[8:14] cigarettes I hate Mountain Dew I

[8:17] seriously would like to just just

[8:20] um talk trash about them on YouTube all

[8:23] day long I'm so happy we're doing this

[8:26] this I I can't wait to test these oh I

[8:30] can't wait to turn this

[8:32] on oh my God we're GNA get solar

[8:35] power I wonder if it can run my ceramic

[8:41] heater if you want get a piece of wood I

[8:45] don't need it now

[8:47] oh all

[8:53] right like what would I have a piece of

[8:55] wood for you know ain't no Cowboy or Boy

[8:59] Scout anymore I was never a cowboy it

[9:03] was a Boy

[9:05] Scout oh I hope you guys are having a

[9:07] good day I am Tech gu was supposed to be

[9:11] here by

[9:12] now I'm coming in

[9:16] mother

[9:19] oh oh my poor cats let me show you my

[9:22] cats hey guys I can guess what you want

[9:26] look at you

[9:28] too go say hi to my mom she hates being

[9:30] on

[9:34] camera hi Mom

[9:37] hi dad's going to get a bigger drill bit

[9:40] so we can do the

[9:42] solar I'm excited wa well I don't know

[9:47] what to do

[9:48] now I was very busy but he distracted me

[9:51] your phone's going off that was

[9:55] Dad hold

[9:58] on I'm getting

[10:00] her I think on wait I don't think I got

[10:04] it do you hear him okay no I'm

[10:09] okay

[10:12] okay oh wait I want to

[10:15] go to

[10:17] Lowe's

[10:19] why your birthday oh you want to take my

[10:22] Lowe's stuff

[10:25] back cuz you know there's a little bit

[10:27] of that

[10:28] still all they got to do is look it up

[10:30] by my phone number awesome Tech guy is

[10:32] here he's going to do the cables over

[10:35] there and then fix the step ladder just

[10:37] in case he needs me I figured I'd be

[10:39] working on this out here don't know that

[10:42] I can really set this up where you'll

[10:43] see me we can

[10:46] try I

[10:49] guess TR you down here there we

[10:53] go you really need to get better

[10:56] out oh I take videos don't I

[11:03] something

[11:09] else there we

[11:13] go now looks like you guys are here with

[11:17] me this tape keeps coming off which

[11:19] don't make sense it's refle but we

[11:21] didn't use a

[11:22] lot know I need a cold it is freezing

[11:28] all

[11:30] my C ising to come out

[11:39] here stupid then's going to want out

[11:58] items

[12:00] oh yeah you're

[12:03] good I let my people know you're here if

[12:06] you want to say hi to the camera

[12:13] over

[12:14] okay I

[12:17] first first

[12:21] buddy hold

[12:23] on going to be right here okay right

[12:28] here

[12:37] down

[12:58] yeah

[13:28] how do did you get

[13:30] out hold on Oliver Stay Stay Stay Stay

[13:34] oh my God

[13:35] buddy well that

[13:47] was all

[13:58] right

[14:21] okay right here

[14:24] dude okay he

[14:28] good

[14:40] nightmare are you happy in

[14:46] there all

[14:48] right well I kind of want to W

[14:58] around

[15:04] are you

[15:06] happy you a happy little

[15:12] cat I feel like I have an

[15:18] A need a lot more of these

[15:22] Stu are you happy I didn't know I could

[15:24] just put him in his cat carry that was

[15:26] my mom's idea be happy he's outside with

[15:30] me that is

[15:32] convenient I will do that a

[15:36] lot man you lucky I didn't lose Oliver I

[15:39] that scared the crap out of

[15:44] me that what was the lesson learned let

[15:47] me tell

[15:48] you didn't realize that one side was

[15:51] open I'll make sure they're secure in

[15:53] the

[15:55] future but I knew he would be a little

[15:57] bit afraid out here he doesn't like a

[15:59] lot of

[16:00] noise so being in the front yard that

[16:03] just didn't seem like a good idea to

[16:04] start

[16:05] with May it's different though I

[16:09] guess you're having fun of there dude he

[16:12] just likes the air I

[16:17] guess a good

[16:19] cat you're a good cat baby

[16:24] bab

[16:27] hi

[16:31] yeah oh yeah I

[16:40] do

[16:42] okay you see they are V and be

[16:49] good I don't know how to do anything so

[16:52] I'm now about to learn something new

[16:57] here

[16:59] okay so I stick the tip cut that tip

[17:02] wherever you want to but I want it small

[17:04] so you put it in the

[17:06] here you squeeze that see it's got a

[17:08] Clipper in there right okay now still

[17:10] got a plastic seal inside there that's

[17:13] what this is

[17:14] for push it down in there a bunch of

[17:17] places okay

[17:20] yeah okay then you just take this and

[17:23] put it

[17:24] away like so right now this goes in this

[17:28] way down first up to here

[17:32] now once I start squeezing this it's

[17:34] going to start coming out now the catch

[17:36] is every time you're done using it you

[17:39] push this button in release the pressure

[17:41] if you don't it'll just keep going

[17:45] out I can see the neighbor's truck oh my

[17:51] God start a little bit on the back of

[17:53] this one right around where the screws

[17:55] are going to

[17:57] be

[18:07] okay cuz we're going to seal it later

[18:10] now I'm going to push that now stop that

[18:12] from coming out but I'm still going to

[18:13] wait I'm still going to lay it down so

[18:16] the tip and let it drip off right

[18:22] okay try to light that up

[18:27] good

[18:33] led up

[18:35] here come on obviously my be one might

[18:39] want to get a rag cuz we're going to

[18:41] want to all right I got

[18:44] something you can

[18:57] use

[19:02] what this shall

[19:05] do and my M

[19:19] do oh here's my

[19:23] co where you went got to get

[19:27] something I got

[19:29] to are you good Bailey H you good in

[19:35] there you I think he must feel secure in

[19:38] there cuz he's out in the front yard

[19:40] he's not

[19:42] complaining he really does like that

[19:45] thing maybe I should put Oliver in

[19:48] his melee feels very secure in that

[19:52] maybe that's all I needed and I didn't

[19:54] even know

[19:55] it say hi Mom

[20:00] all right let

[20:05] me all right got both my cats out

[20:11] here all seems to be doing

[20:15] okay I'm right here buddy right

[20:19] here that's

[20:21] loud it's

[20:24] okay I'm right

[20:26] here Bailey you're not getting out of

[20:28] there there dude if you want to be

[20:30] outside that is where you're going to be

[20:33] okay

[20:35] Oliver come

[20:37] on don't be that

[20:48] way should I bring the wires out or wait

[20:51] or what are we doing you can bring the

[20:52] wires

[20:55] out that's the best I can do on a silic

[20:57] corn I'm not real good at me

[20:59] come out

[21:01] pretty you want it not to leak so that's

[21:04] most important

[21:06] yeah I mean are the holes ready or yeah

[21:11] take a look I'll them out just don't get

[21:13] your finger in the silicone

[21:15] now we should we wait for it to dry no

[21:18] there's no silicone in

[21:19] there all right

[21:23] um

[21:25] yeah a drag you going to throw this crap

[21:27] up now put something in put some kind of

[21:29] a screw or something in the end it's

[21:31] going to it's going to get hard and then

[21:33] that whole tube will be wasted all right

[21:36] what about the inside you're going to

[21:38] have to pull them back out why are you

[21:39] doing that oh is this is the wrong way

[21:41] you're right I got to do it from the

[21:43] [Music]

[21:46] inside solar

[21:54] power oh my God look at

[21:57] this so I'm going to feed these through

[21:59] here I

[22:12] guess all

[22:18] right all

[22:21] right right I'm going to plug this in

[22:25] all right let's see

[22:27] here

[22:29] H there's three sides of

[22:32] this I thought this had to be on

[22:36] top there we go okay we got

[22:40] it we got

[22:42] it

[22:57] cool

[22:59] all right might need to move my solar

[23:02] panels a

[23:03] bit I'm right here Oliver sorry dude I

[23:06] forgot about

[23:14] you all right oler ain't happy let's

[23:18] take him

[23:19] inside

[23:21] okay I hear you I know you're such a

[23:25] sensitive little man so sensitive

[23:30] we'll take you in the

[23:32] house this cat is so

[23:36] sensitive even after it's in your pocket

[23:39] okay yeah don't lose it M's like

[23:42] whatever I'm trying to get out of

[23:44] [Music]

[23:46] mine you can get out

[23:48] [Music]

[23:49] Oliver come on

[23:51] out come on

[23:54] buddy here you

[23:57] go

[23:59] two right

[24:02] bailing take these

[24:04] yeah okay dude come

[24:08] on this one's getting bad

[24:12] too sit on there see the hold on

[24:19] baby I mean if you want out that bad

[24:22] then you got to be out in an indoor

[24:23] space dude I'm

[24:26] sorry Oliver where are you

[24:30] going oh my God there's too much

[24:39] happening all

[24:42] right okay here's the Moment of

[24:45] Truth why are there four of them so I

[24:48] can put two out

[24:50] here I guess I can probably one panel on

[24:53] each one if you want I guess cuz I do

[24:55] have two panels you have two of these

[24:57] well yeah have another pan this is

[24:58] that's integrated it don't come

[25:03] out thought it could have like up to

[25:05] four but maybe it's just

[25:07] to

[25:10] okay cuz he wants

[25:16] out tell my C

[25:19] is

[25:22] okay here we go

[25:25] scary oh we got a Time

[25:30] Hello nice to see you 356 Watts wow how

[25:35] many 356 that's more than I thought it

[25:38] was charging right now it was 300 I

[25:40] thought it was a 300 B is that what it's

[25:42] charging right now I mean that's what it

[25:44] says 344 348 okay so it's going up and

[25:48] down a little bit

[25:49] Yeah AC Off DC off all right I mean

[25:53] that's really the best I can do I'm fine

[25:55] with that cable being out you know I'll

[25:58] figure something out but I need to get

[26:00] an extension cord so the solar can be

[26:02] out

[26:03] further you know um and just do a better

[26:06] job over

[26:07] here but it's on and we have solar that

[26:11] is

[26:12] awesome

[26:14] so that one

[26:25] off that's on too

[26:29] how do you make the screen come

[26:31] on sorry guys

[26:41] my and this is plugged

[26:48] in you're locked

[26:52] locked let's

[26:54] see you were

[26:57] working I didn't do anything

[27:00] here what could I done though

[27:04] really hey guys come on turn

[27:09] on I think it's

[27:12] charging

[27:13] no think I got

[27:18] solar

[27:24] okay are hooked

[27:27] up

[27:29] I your

[27:38] room

[27:45] understand why isn't that screen on that

[27:47] screen should be on right I mean it just

[27:49] makes sense the screen would be on it

[27:52] was

[27:53] on car button's not doing anything oh I

[27:57] see they even numbered 1 2 3 4 that's

[28:01] interesting so you go like this and I

[28:04] think you can only go in one way

[28:10] really

[28:13] okay oh you are a touchcreen I should

[28:16] have just tried that oh my God that's

[28:18] funny oh my god I'm an idiot too okay

[28:21] let's see PV shut down system completely

[28:24] oh it's ask me no don't oh that is so so

[28:28] cool all right let's see maybe you have

[28:31] to turn these on maybe that's why they

[28:33] didn't

[28:33] work charge my phone wirelessly please

[28:38] let's give this a try shall we guys

[28:40] charge my

[28:42] phone wow this is fascinating not

[28:47] charging maybe this is a DC port or

[28:49] something I don't know what do I

[28:52] know um DC

[28:57] on yep there we go we have it's charging

[29:00] my phone

[29:02] now

[29:04] wow we are charging my phone from solar

[29:08] power I mean oh my

[29:12] God oh my God that's

[29:16] awesome so what's the difference between

[29:18] DC and

[29:21] AC this is awesome guys so

[29:25] cool I'm not us I mean are these the AC

[29:28] yeah AC output okay so if I'm using my

[29:32] plugs 20 amps Max how do we know if

[29:35] we're like charging and not like how do

[29:38] we know if we're consuming more power

[29:41] than we can like we want to use less

[29:43] power we want to charge the battery up

[29:45] right but I want to put my big plug on

[29:48] it doing with all my stuff that's the

[29:52] only one all my stuff's plugged into

[29:53] that and see if we can get it to run

[29:56] from here this is 78% I wonder what that

[29:59] means definitely need to read some

[30:02] books DC load

[30:06] zero oh yeah and I have

[30:09] um

[30:13] grid

[30:19] grid I mean all I can do is try right

[30:22] guys what if I could run my my new um

[30:26] ceramic gater in high from this thing

[30:28] that would make a world of difference in

[30:30] this

[30:32] camper this is

[30:35] awesome all right guys this thing has an

[30:37] indicator we're already nearing 100 well

[30:41] we got 60% I mean maybe had a charg in

[30:44] there already I don't know I never

[30:46] turned it on

[30:48] um cuz if it charges that fast I means

[30:52] kind of need a second one but don't have

[30:55] the room for it and it weighs a lot

[30:59] but man that would be awesome if they

[31:02] charge that fast they charge that fast I

[31:06] don't need two solar panels either I got

[31:08] it cuz it said it was on sale but you

[31:10] know what it turned out to be like sort

[31:12] of a scam cuz you know they're always

[31:14] that price really s or not there's a

[31:17] squirrel out there hi squirrel I love

[31:21] squirrels they're cool they're

[31:24] playful this is so

[31:26] awesome I mean there's only one way to

[31:29] find out how much power we

[31:31] use this is going to be an interesting

[31:34] experiment I

[31:36] guess really got to get these wires

[31:39] cleaned up I don't like living this

[31:42] [Music]

[31:43] way but all right so we take ourselves

[31:46] off grid

[31:48] power sh power

[31:51] and we just plug

[31:55] in and see what happens

[31:59] it's hard to deal with one hand

[32:05] okay okay I hear stuff coming

[32:08] on okay it's running the water

[32:13] dish my ring

[32:15] device this remic here but it's not on

[32:18] right now this was on I think it's

[32:21] plugged into

[32:23] it um oh my monitor doesn't standby on

[32:27] my laptop

[32:29] oh on the

[32:31] Internet it's

[32:33] on and we're good so let's see what it

[32:35] says about

[32:37] load

[32:39] 79% I mean if that's what I think it is

[32:43] we're using 150 watts right now I'd say

[32:47] and we're getting 350

[32:51] Watts oh just jumped to

[32:54] 230

[32:56] interesting

[33:01] wow this might actually work out oh my

[33:06] God oh my God this might actually work

[33:13] out finally sealed my door

[33:16] here my dad's doing this part ready

[33:21] yeah get up in here

[33:24] first

[33:26] oops

[33:43] you got to stay in here Bailey you'll be

[33:46] fine hang out with your grandma we not

[33:49] going to have much time with her you

[33:51] know you're going to regret

[33:56] it

[34:15] growing is it going to just keep doing

[34:17] that yep or is it it's going to do it

[34:20] for a while or is it just going to

[34:22] harden like that or is it going to get

[34:23] bigger it's going to get

[34:26] bigger

[34:38] there so we want to keep our holes open

[34:40] m that's where it goes

[34:43] into so I've shut down my solar panels

[34:46] for the day they weren't they were

[34:48] generating some power not a lot and I

[34:51] think I got my battery up to maybe 80%

[34:53] but they weren't out there that long

[34:55] couple of hours I'm super thrilled you

[34:57] know

[34:58] and we are going to run my new

[35:01] prop and let's just see if we can get

[35:03] through the night with this thing you

[35:04] know we can this is also hooked up to

[35:08] all my other stuff right now and it's

[35:11] using so we're running off battery you

[35:14] know and it's using well that's a lot

[35:16] 1,600 Watts that thing isn't going to

[35:18] stay on long I'd

[35:21] say it think at 62 though so I

[35:26] guess um

[35:29] well it thinks it's 61 in here even

[35:31] though my other Thermostat say 68 so

[35:33] I'll have to you know fo around with

[35:35] that to figure out cuz that thing

[35:37] doesn't have to stay on you can set a

[35:39] temperature I'm so happy about that you

[35:41] can't do that with a propane

[35:43] heater I think it'll get us through the

[35:45] night I really do I'm going to bring the

[35:46] cats out

[35:47] here and we're just going to do some

[35:50] stuff out here I want to put up some

[35:51] lights some strip lights I got some

[35:54] ones real pretty and just

[35:59] not only make this a home but make this

[36:02] the place that I love you

[36:05] know so it's been a long day guys oh

[36:10] it's been an awesome day to you I'm very

[36:12] excited

[0:00] oh good morning everyone it is Saturday

[0:02] morning here 9:00 a.m. it's 37° outside

[0:06] and 40.8 de in here which means we are

[0:09] at the mercy of the

[0:11] elements we are we're at the mercy of

[0:14] the

[0:15] elements guys you want to do this with

[0:17] great care we're putting a hole into my

[0:21] camper for my

[0:23] solar and my

[0:26] internet oh God help

[0:28] me yep okay done guys my solar panels

[0:34] are

[0:35] out how cool is

[0:38] that I got two of those probably way

[0:41] more than I

[0:42] need but they have very big cables and

[0:46] we're not sure how we're getting them in

[0:49] there I've never turned this thing on

[0:51] either so I don't know you're going to

[0:53] need a bigger hole Yeah because what you

[0:56] got to do

[0:57] look this one here hooks right under

[1:01] that that hooks to the solar panel yep

[1:04] okay and this is what you want to take

[1:06] in and hooks into your thing

[1:08] okay see yeah so neither one of those

[1:11] ends are going to fit through that hole

[1:13] but yeah I only need to like I'll put

[1:15] that one like we need to hold that big

[1:18] all right let me just I'm going to take

[1:20] it inside there wait a minute I want to

[1:21] show you I make through this

[1:24] okay oh man I guess we did need a big

[1:27] one after all yep okay see It'll that

[1:30] yep and then we put another hole watch

[1:33] we put another hole on this side for my

[1:35] internet for your internet okay you can

[1:37] use either hole if we make them the same

[1:38] size all right let me just um like I'll

[1:43] even like plug the thing the battery in

[1:44] now and it's it's portable right so I

[1:48] got to get the uh do we need a new drill

[1:51] bit drill bit okay this is fun

[1:57] guys I mean what's better than solar

[1:59] power

[2:01] for

[2:03] real all

[2:06] right what is better than solar power

[2:10] nothing so there's this giant cable and

[2:13] I'm assuming that it's for my battery

[2:16] let's hope I'm right huh I think it goes

[2:21] here wow this is

[2:23] massive yeah all right that is one

[2:26] massive cable and you lock

[2:28] it so we got

[2:32] that um it has no power so I can't turn

[2:35] it on

[2:36] yet so we use this find a spot for

[2:45] this this is the plug this is the power

[2:49] so we got this thing here

[2:52] four dots four circles four holes god

[2:56] I'm an

[2:57] idiot there's the hole in my hamper guys

[3:01] oh that's so

[3:03] scary oh my God that's

[3:06] scary well look you can see there's no

[3:09] insulation there no insulation

[3:13] dad what tiny little hole there's no

[3:16] insulation in this freaking

[3:21] camper oh here's one all

[3:25] right so we plug you in

[3:28] here oh wow that's awesome it's got this

[3:31] little thing you screw it

[3:35] on all right guys I got to get better at

[3:38] holding a camera while doing stuff we're

[3:40] putting it on a tripod right okay let's

[3:42] see if I can do

[3:46] this

[3:48] yep okay we're

[3:53] good all right so there's one here I

[3:55] don't know how to hook up this extra

[3:57] solar panel

[3:58] ow

[4:00] we are going to move this big giant

[4:03] battery over

[4:06] here I don't know that

[4:08] Cable's very problematic cable over

[4:13] here you definitely want to like you

[4:16] know I can't okay I can't go that way

[4:18] because that cable is too important it's

[4:21] kind of backwards but this is real heavy

[4:24] guys 80 lbs for the battery alone see if

[4:28] I can get away with

[4:32] yes this battery killed my side the

[4:35] other day I don't like it so here we

[4:39] go oh you're so happy you're like the

[4:43] heaviest batter on

[4:45] Earth okay I think I can do this now

[4:49] the oh my God you're

[4:52] having I'm old gay man guys we're not

[4:56] known for our Brute Force okay not that

[5:00] I'm trying to stereotype my people oh my

[5:03] God that's

[5:04] heav oh my

[5:07] God okay a little at a time I hope I

[5:10] don't wake up um like the other

[5:13] day boy that

[5:16] St

[5:20] okay all right so I feel like I got it

[5:24] um in a way that's

[5:26] good it's close to the hole

[5:30] working real good like all right I got

[5:33] one I got one hold on this thing is a

[5:36] beast there we go all

[5:42] right sorry guys I guess you probably

[5:44] didn't see any of

[5:47] that

[5:48] what coming right

[5:50] now or my foot stool still not

[5:55] working Tech's supposed to come today

[5:58] like probably anytime now

[6:01] okay here's the

[6:02] pen I think it's pretty much figured out

[6:05] like you know the two plug into each

[6:07] other and then there's a spot for this

[6:08] there's only one so I don't know how you

[6:10] do multiple solar panels okay so I do it

[6:12] from outside then yeah okay

[6:15] good so I need I need a part I don't

[6:18] have a

[6:20] part all

[6:23] right

[6:28] cool guys what do you think the

[6:30] cigarette lighter one is for what will

[6:32] it

[6:33] [Music]

[6:36] power well imagine how much power can

[6:38] come through these

[6:41] pie wow that's going up against the camp

[6:45] on against a wall you get it with some

[6:47] silicone on it cool and then it's going

[6:50] to have made more fill it to

[6:53] this all right and then I'm going to

[6:56] slice this into like a star shape so the

[6:58] rubber fall back I like that cool and

[7:01] that's what I was calling a grommet I

[7:02] don't think it is a grommet but that's

[7:03] what I meant just so you know keep the

[7:05] water out do you know what it's called

[7:07] see there's a guy's race car my

[7:09] neighbor's a race car driver

[7:11] guys his engine's quite

[7:14] loud hope so if it ain't loud very fast

[7:20] I wonder where he goes do you think he's

[7:22] like an amateur

[7:26] or on it that's got name so pretty

[7:31] cool shout out to my neighbor that I've

[7:33] never

[7:35] met one time they waved to me when I was

[7:37] putting Christmas decorations

[7:39] out that's the extent of my interaction

[7:42] with them I mean I don't have wood you

[7:58] know

[8:01] sorry guys I Ain't Over the Mountain Dew

[8:04] yet I sure wish I was I mean I only took

[8:07] all my teeth right I'm telling you that

[8:10] stuff's

[8:11] addictive it's just addictive as

[8:14] cigarettes I hate Mountain Dew I

[8:17] seriously would like to just just

[8:20] um talk trash about them on YouTube all

[8:23] day long I'm so happy we're doing this

[8:26] this I I can't wait to test these oh I

[8:30] can't wait to turn this

[8:32] on oh my God we're GNA get solar

[8:35] power I wonder if it can run my ceramic

[8:41] heater if you want get a piece of wood I

[8:45] don't need it now

[8:47] oh all

[8:53] right like what would I have a piece of

[8:55] wood for you know ain't no Cowboy or Boy

[8:59] Scout anymore I was never a cowboy it

[9:03] was a Boy

[9:05] Scout oh I hope you guys are having a

[9:07] good day I am Tech gu was supposed to be

[9:11] here by

[9:12] now I'm coming in

[9:16] mother

[9:19] oh oh my poor cats let me show you my

[9:22] cats hey guys I can guess what you want

[9:26] look at you

[9:28] too go say hi to my mom she hates being

[9:30] on

[9:34] camera hi Mom

[9:37] hi dad's going to get a bigger drill bit

[9:40] so we can do the

[9:42] solar I'm excited wa well I don't know

[9:47] what to do

[9:48] now I was very busy but he distracted me

[9:51] your phone's going off that was

[9:55] Dad hold

[9:58] on I'm getting

[10:00] her I think on wait I don't think I got

[10:04] it do you hear him okay no I'm

[10:09] okay

[10:12] okay oh wait I want to

[10:15] go to

[10:17] Lowe's

[10:19] why your birthday oh you want to take my

[10:22] Lowe's stuff

[10:25] back cuz you know there's a little bit

[10:27] of that

[10:28] still all they got to do is look it up

[10:30] by my phone number awesome Tech guy is

[10:32] here he's going to do the cables over

[10:35] there and then fix the step ladder just

[10:37] in case he needs me I figured I'd be

[10:39] working on this out here don't know that

[10:42] I can really set this up where you'll

[10:43] see me we can

[10:46] try I

[10:49] guess TR you down here there we

[10:53] go you really need to get better

[10:56] out oh I take videos don't I

[11:03] something

[11:09] else there we

[11:13] go now looks like you guys are here with

[11:17] me this tape keeps coming off which

[11:19] don't make sense it's refle but we

[11:21] didn't use a

[11:22] lot know I need a cold it is freezing

[11:28] all

[11:30] my C ising to come out

[11:39] here stupid then's going to want out

[11:58] items

[12:00] oh yeah you're

[12:03] good I let my people know you're here if

[12:06] you want to say hi to the camera

[12:13] over

[12:14] okay I

[12:17] first first

[12:21] buddy hold

[12:23] on going to be right here okay right

[12:28] here

[12:37] down

[12:58] yeah

[13:28] how do did you get

[13:30] out hold on Oliver Stay Stay Stay Stay

[13:34] oh my God

[13:35] buddy well that

[13:47] was all

[13:58] right

[14:21] okay right here

[14:24] dude okay he

[14:28] good

[14:40] nightmare are you happy in

[14:46] there all

[14:48] right well I kind of want to W

[14:58] around

[15:04] are you

[15:06] happy you a happy little

[15:12] cat I feel like I have an

[15:18] A need a lot more of these

[15:22] Stu are you happy I didn't know I could

[15:24] just put him in his cat carry that was

[15:26] my mom's idea be happy he's outside with

[15:30] me that is

[15:32] convenient I will do that a

[15:36] lot man you lucky I didn't lose Oliver I

[15:39] that scared the crap out of

[15:44] me that what was the lesson learned let

[15:47] me tell

[15:48] you didn't realize that one side was

[15:51] open I'll make sure they're secure in

[15:53] the

[15:55] future but I knew he would be a little

[15:57] bit afraid out here he doesn't like a

[15:59] lot of

[16:00] noise so being in the front yard that

[16:03] just didn't seem like a good idea to

[16:04] start

[16:05] with May it's different though I

[16:09] guess you're having fun of there dude he

[16:12] just likes the air I

[16:17] guess a good

[16:19] cat you're a good cat baby

[16:24] bab

[16:27] hi

[16:31] yeah oh yeah I

[16:40] do

[16:42] okay you see they are V and be

[16:49] good I don't know how to do anything so

[16:52] I'm now about to learn something new

[16:57] here

[16:59] okay so I stick the tip cut that tip

[17:02] wherever you want to but I want it small

[17:04] so you put it in the

[17:06] here you squeeze that see it's got a

[17:08] Clipper in there right okay now still

[17:10] got a plastic seal inside there that's

[17:13] what this is

[17:14] for push it down in there a bunch of

[17:17] places okay

[17:20] yeah okay then you just take this and

[17:23] put it

[17:24] away like so right now this goes in this

[17:28] way down first up to here

[17:32] now once I start squeezing this it's

[17:34] going to start coming out now the catch

[17:36] is every time you're done using it you

[17:39] push this button in release the pressure

[17:41] if you don't it'll just keep going

[17:45] out I can see the neighbor's truck oh my

[17:51] God start a little bit on the back of

[17:53] this one right around where the screws

[17:55] are going to

[17:57] be

[18:07] okay cuz we're going to seal it later

[18:10] now I'm going to push that now stop that

[18:12] from coming out but I'm still going to

[18:13] wait I'm still going to lay it down so

[18:16] the tip and let it drip off right

[18:22] okay try to light that up

[18:27] good

[18:33] led up

[18:35] here come on obviously my be one might

[18:39] want to get a rag cuz we're going to

[18:41] want to all right I got

[18:44] something you can

[18:57] use

[19:02] what this shall

[19:05] do and my M

[19:19] do oh here's my

[19:23] co where you went got to get

[19:27] something I got

[19:29] to are you good Bailey H you good in

[19:35] there you I think he must feel secure in

[19:38] there cuz he's out in the front yard

[19:40] he's not

[19:42] complaining he really does like that

[19:45] thing maybe I should put Oliver in

[19:48] his melee feels very secure in that

[19:52] maybe that's all I needed and I didn't

[19:54] even know

[19:55] it say hi Mom

[20:00] all right let

[20:05] me all right got both my cats out

[20:11] here all seems to be doing

[20:15] okay I'm right here buddy right

[20:19] here that's

[20:21] loud it's

[20:24] okay I'm right

[20:26] here Bailey you're not getting out of

[20:28] there there dude if you want to be

[20:30] outside that is where you're going to be

[20:33] okay

[20:35] Oliver come

[20:37] on don't be that

[20:48] way should I bring the wires out or wait

[20:51] or what are we doing you can bring the

[20:52] wires

[20:55] out that's the best I can do on a silic

[20:57] corn I'm not real good at me

[20:59] come out

[21:01] pretty you want it not to leak so that's

[21:04] most important

[21:06] yeah I mean are the holes ready or yeah

[21:11] take a look I'll them out just don't get

[21:13] your finger in the silicone

[21:15] now we should we wait for it to dry no

[21:18] there's no silicone in

[21:19] there all right

[21:23] um

[21:25] yeah a drag you going to throw this crap

[21:27] up now put something in put some kind of

[21:29] a screw or something in the end it's

[21:31] going to it's going to get hard and then

[21:33] that whole tube will be wasted all right

[21:36] what about the inside you're going to

[21:38] have to pull them back out why are you

[21:39] doing that oh is this is the wrong way

[21:41] you're right I got to do it from the

[21:43] [Music]

[21:46] inside solar

[21:54] power oh my God look at

[21:57] this so I'm going to feed these through

[21:59] here I

[22:12] guess all

[22:18] right all

[22:21] right right I'm going to plug this in

[22:25] all right let's see

[22:27] here

[22:29] H there's three sides of

[22:32] this I thought this had to be on

[22:36] top there we go okay we got

[22:40] it we got

[22:42] it

[22:57] cool

[22:59] all right might need to move my solar

[23:02] panels a

[23:03] bit I'm right here Oliver sorry dude I

[23:06] forgot about

[23:14] you all right oler ain't happy let's

[23:18] take him

[23:19] inside

[23:21] okay I hear you I know you're such a

[23:25] sensitive little man so sensitive

[23:30] we'll take you in the

[23:32] house this cat is so

[23:36] sensitive even after it's in your pocket

[23:39] okay yeah don't lose it M's like

[23:42] whatever I'm trying to get out of

[23:44] [Music]

[23:46] mine you can get out

[23:48] [Music]

[23:49] Oliver come on

[23:51] out come on

[23:54] buddy here you

[23:57] go

[23:59] two right

[24:02] bailing take these

[24:04] yeah okay dude come

[24:08] on this one's getting bad

[24:12] too sit on there see the hold on

[24:19] baby I mean if you want out that bad

[24:22] then you got to be out in an indoor

[24:23] space dude I'm

[24:26] sorry Oliver where are you

[24:30] going oh my God there's too much

[24:39] happening all

[24:42] right okay here's the Moment of

[24:45] Truth why are there four of them so I

[24:48] can put two out

[24:50] here I guess I can probably one panel on

[24:53] each one if you want I guess cuz I do

[24:55] have two panels you have two of these

[24:57] well yeah have another pan this is

[24:58] that's integrated it don't come

[25:03] out thought it could have like up to

[25:05] four but maybe it's just

[25:07] to

[25:10] okay cuz he wants

[25:16] out tell my C

[25:19] is

[25:22] okay here we go

[25:25] scary oh we got a Time

[25:30] Hello nice to see you 356 Watts wow how

[25:35] many 356 that's more than I thought it

[25:38] was charging right now it was 300 I

[25:40] thought it was a 300 B is that what it's

[25:42] charging right now I mean that's what it

[25:44] says 344 348 okay so it's going up and

[25:48] down a little bit

[25:49] Yeah AC Off DC off all right I mean

[25:53] that's really the best I can do I'm fine

[25:55] with that cable being out you know I'll

[25:58] figure something out but I need to get

[26:00] an extension cord so the solar can be

[26:02] out

[26:03] further you know um and just do a better

[26:06] job over

[26:07] here but it's on and we have solar that

[26:11] is

[26:12] awesome

[26:14] so that one

[26:25] off that's on too

[26:29] how do you make the screen come

[26:31] on sorry guys

[26:41] my and this is plugged

[26:48] in you're locked

[26:52] locked let's

[26:54] see you were

[26:57] working I didn't do anything

[27:00] here what could I done though

[27:04] really hey guys come on turn

[27:09] on I think it's

[27:12] charging

[27:13] no think I got

[27:18] solar

[27:24] okay are hooked

[27:27] up

[27:29] I your

[27:38] room

[27:45] understand why isn't that screen on that

[27:47] screen should be on right I mean it just

[27:49] makes sense the screen would be on it

[27:52] was

[27:53] on car button's not doing anything oh I

[27:57] see they even numbered 1 2 3 4 that's

[28:01] interesting so you go like this and I

[28:04] think you can only go in one way

[28:10] really

[28:13] okay oh you are a touchcreen I should

[28:16] have just tried that oh my God that's

[28:18] funny oh my god I'm an idiot too okay

[28:21] let's see PV shut down system completely

[28:24] oh it's ask me no don't oh that is so so

[28:28] cool all right let's see maybe you have

[28:31] to turn these on maybe that's why they

[28:33] didn't

[28:33] work charge my phone wirelessly please

[28:38] let's give this a try shall we guys

[28:40] charge my

[28:42] phone wow this is fascinating not

[28:47] charging maybe this is a DC port or

[28:49] something I don't know what do I

[28:52] know um DC

[28:57] on yep there we go we have it's charging

[29:00] my phone

[29:02] now

[29:04] wow we are charging my phone from solar

[29:08] power I mean oh my

[29:12] God oh my God that's

[29:16] awesome so what's the difference between

[29:18] DC and

[29:21] AC this is awesome guys so

[29:25] cool I'm not us I mean are these the AC

[29:28] yeah AC output okay so if I'm using my

[29:32] plugs 20 amps Max how do we know if

[29:35] we're like charging and not like how do

[29:38] we know if we're consuming more power

[29:41] than we can like we want to use less

[29:43] power we want to charge the battery up

[29:45] right but I want to put my big plug on

[29:48] it doing with all my stuff that's the

[29:52] only one all my stuff's plugged into

[29:53] that and see if we can get it to run

[29:56] from here this is 78% I wonder what that

[29:59] means definitely need to read some

[30:02] books DC load

[30:06] zero oh yeah and I have

[30:09] um

[30:13] grid

[30:19] grid I mean all I can do is try right

[30:22] guys what if I could run my my new um

[30:26] ceramic gater in high from this thing

[30:28] that would make a world of difference in

[30:30] this

[30:32] camper this is

[30:35] awesome all right guys this thing has an

[30:37] indicator we're already nearing 100 well

[30:41] we got 60% I mean maybe had a charg in

[30:44] there already I don't know I never

[30:46] turned it on

[30:48] um cuz if it charges that fast I means

[30:52] kind of need a second one but don't have

[30:55] the room for it and it weighs a lot

[30:59] but man that would be awesome if they

[31:02] charge that fast they charge that fast I

[31:06] don't need two solar panels either I got

[31:08] it cuz it said it was on sale but you

[31:10] know what it turned out to be like sort

[31:12] of a scam cuz you know they're always

[31:14] that price really s or not there's a

[31:17] squirrel out there hi squirrel I love

[31:21] squirrels they're cool they're

[31:24] playful this is so

[31:26] awesome I mean there's only one way to

[31:29] find out how much power we

[31:31] use this is going to be an interesting

[31:34] experiment I

[31:36] guess really got to get these wires

[31:39] cleaned up I don't like living this

[31:42] [Music]

[31:43] way but all right so we take ourselves

[31:46] off grid

[31:48] power sh power

[31:51] and we just plug

[31:55] in and see what happens

[31:59] it's hard to deal with one hand

[32:05] okay okay I hear stuff coming

[32:08] on okay it's running the water

[32:13] dish my ring

[32:15] device this remic here but it's not on

[32:18] right now this was on I think it's

[32:21] plugged into

[32:23] it um oh my monitor doesn't standby on

[32:27] my laptop

[32:29] oh on the

[32:31] Internet it's

[32:33] on and we're good so let's see what it

[32:35] says about

[32:37] load

[32:39] 79% I mean if that's what I think it is

[32:43] we're using 150 watts right now I'd say

[32:47] and we're getting 350

[32:51] Watts oh just jumped to

[32:54] 230

[32:56] interesting

[33:01] wow this might actually work out oh my

[33:06] God oh my God this might actually work

[33:13] out finally sealed my door

[33:16] here my dad's doing this part ready

[33:21] yeah get up in here

[33:24] first

[33:26] oops

[33:43] you got to stay in here Bailey you'll be

[33:46] fine hang out with your grandma we not

[33:49] going to have much time with her you

[33:51] know you're going to regret

[33:56] it

[34:15] growing is it going to just keep doing

[34:17] that yep or is it it's going to do it

[34:20] for a while or is it just going to

[34:22] harden like that or is it going to get

[34:23] bigger it's going to get

[34:26] bigger

[34:38] there so we want to keep our holes open

[34:40] m that's where it goes

[34:43] into so I've shut down my solar panels

[34:46] for the day they weren't they were

[34:48] generating some power not a lot and I

[34:51] think I got my battery up to maybe 80%

[34:53] but they weren't out there that long

[34:55] couple of hours I'm super thrilled you

[34:57] know

[34:58] and we are going to run my new

[35:01] prop and let's just see if we can get

[35:03] through the night with this thing you

[35:04] know we can this is also hooked up to

[35:08] all my other stuff right now and it's

[35:11] using so we're running off battery you

[35:14] know and it's using well that's a lot

[35:16] 1,600 Watts that thing isn't going to

[35:18] stay on long I'd

[35:21] say it think at 62 though so I

[35:26] guess um

[35:29] well it thinks it's 61 in here even

[35:31] though my other Thermostat say 68 so

[35:33] I'll have to you know fo around with

[35:35] that to figure out cuz that thing

[35:37] doesn't have to stay on you can set a

[35:39] temperature I'm so happy about that you

[35:41] can't do that with a propane

[35:43] heater I think it'll get us through the

[35:45] night I really do I'm going to bring the

[35:46] cats out

[35:47] here and we're just going to do some

[35:50] stuff out here I want to put up some

[35:51] lights some strip lights I got some

[35:54] ones real pretty and just

[35:59] not only make this a home but make this

[36:02] the place that I love you

[36:05] know so it's been a long day guys oh

[36:10] it's been an awesome day to you I'm very

[36:12] excited

5:40

Organizing and Insulating the Camper Build

Mar 24, 2024

5:32

Rug Shopping, Discord Launch, and Camper Flooring

Mar 25, 2024

12:51

Giving Lease Notice and Outfitting the RV

Mar 28, 2024

9:34

Documenting Homelessness Ahead of RV Transition

Mar 29, 2024

11:29

Diagnosing RV Plumbing and Naming Caroline

Mar 29, 2024

2:36

Resolving RV Tank Cables With Mobile Tech

Mar 30, 2024

9:11

Outfitting the RV Before the April 30 Move-Out

Mar 30, 2024

4:20

Announcing First Month of Campground Bookings

Mar 31, 2024

18:03

Mitigating RV Fears and Insulating the Camper

Mar 31, 2024

16:15

Preparing Camper Departure and Dissolving the House

Apr 1, 2024

7:43

Sorting Possessions Before Departure

Apr 3, 2024

13:07

Riding Out Thunderstorms, Thanking Early Adopters

Apr 3, 2024

15:11

Riding Out Storm in RV With Cats

Apr 3, 2024

10:08

One Week Out: Packing, Cold, and Cats

Apr 4, 2024

9:32

Insulating the Camper and Organizing Move-In

Apr 6, 2024

36:14

Installing Solar Power in the Camper

Apr 7, 2024

10:44

Testing Solar Setup Before Camper Inspection

Apr 7, 2024

7:33

Passing Scamper Inspection Before Departure

Apr 8, 2024

17:57

Tinkering in the Camper Two Days Before Departure

Apr 10, 2024

19:57

Final Day Before Departure to Campground

Apr 11, 2024

9:15

Retracting the Slide for the First Time

Apr 11, 2024

6:45

Marking 47th Birthday Before Departure

Apr 11, 2024

6:40

First Night at Campsite, New Life Begins

Apr 12, 2024

39:34

Day One in the Camper on His 47th Birthday

Apr 13, 2024

2:03

Closing the YouTube Channel Before Heading West

Apr 13, 2024

1:55

Clarifying the Project Is About Following Dreams

Apr 14, 2024

5:47

Reversing Channel Shutdown, Mapping Westward Route

Apr 15, 2024

3:44

Reviewing a Missed Encounter at the Park

Apr 15, 2024

5:37

First Morning Settling Into Camper Life

Apr 16, 2024

1:43

Setting Up Outdoor Site, Declaring Break From Matrix

Apr 16, 2024

5:35

Beginning Tramadol Withdrawal While Building Out RV Interior

Apr 17, 2024

4:53

First Grill Cookout at Campsite

Apr 17, 2024

3:17

Meeting Kevin and Organizing the RV Interior

Apr 18, 2024

10:03

Driving to Collect Supplies, Day Eight of RV Life

Apr 18, 2024

2:38

Settling Cats and Gaming Rig into the Camper

Apr 18, 2024

Photos · Apr 19, 2024

Apr 19, 2024

Photos · Apr 19, 2024

Apr 19, 2024

10:56

Emptying the House, Debating the Cats

Apr 20, 2024

8:33

Setting Up the Camper and Retrieving the Cats

Apr 20, 2024

2:03

Mounting Storage Baskets in the Camper

Apr 20, 2024

0:41

Recalling Firesworn Nation in EVE Online

Apr 21, 2024

PUBLIC

April 7, 2024 rswfire PUBLISHED

Temp 0.50

Density 0.30

Energetic Quality

elated-industrious

Journey Phase

commissioning

Directional Vector

toward off-grid self-sufficiency

Narrative

Saturday morning, nine o'clock, and the numbers said it plainly: thirty-seven degrees outside, forty point eight inside. rswfire announced them to the camera the way a man announces weather he intends to do something about. At the mercy of the elements — he said it twice, and then the drill came out. The first hole into the wall of his camper was a threshold event and he narrated it as one: oh God help me, then yep, okay, done. What had been a sealed shell was now a shell with a passage through it, and the passage was the point.

The panels lay out in the yard, two of them, more than he needed and he knew it — bought on a sale price he'd already decided was not really a sale. Their cables were enormous. The first hole was too small for the connectors, so his dad said what dads say, you're going to need a bigger hole, and the drill bit changed and the wall took a second breach for the internet line. Inside, rswfire found the insulation that wasn't there. He put the camera on it — no insulation, dad, none in this freaking camper — the cold suddenly explained, structural rather than accidental.

Then the battery. Eighty pounds of it, dragged across the camper floor toward the hole, and the cable was too important to route around so the whole thing had to come the awkward way. He'd hurt his side on this battery days before. He said so while moving it anyway, out of breath, laughing at himself — I'm an old gay man, guys, we're not known for our brute force — and got it where it needed to be, close to the wall, in a way that worked. Somewhere between the first and second attempt he moved the phone to a tripod, because holding a camera in one hand while dragging a battery with the other had stopped being possible.

The day kept branching. The tech arrived for the step and the cables. His mom appeared briefly, waving off the lens, and volunteered the idea that fixed the whole afternoon: put the cats in their carriers and bring them outside. Bailey settled into his instantly, content in a way rswfire noticed and named — maybe that's all I needed and I didn't even know it. Oliver did not settle. Oliver got out through a side rswfire hadn't realized was open, and the scare landed as a rule rather than a story: make sure they're secure in the future. Oliver went back in the house. A neighbor's race car ran loud down the road, a squirrel crossed the yard, and rswfire greeted both.

Between the cats and the cable, his dad taught him the caulk gun. Cut the tip small, break the inner seal, seat the plunger, release the pressure when you're done or the whole tube hardens and is wasted. rswfire ran the bead around where the screws would go, said out loud that he was not good at this, and did it anyway. Then discovered he'd fed the wires the wrong direction and had to pull them back through and do it from the inside. Expanding foam went in after — the kind that keeps growing, so you keep the holes open while it does.

The moment of truth came with four numbered ports, one panel connected, and a screen that would not turn on. He pressed the power button. He pressed it again. He looked at the numbering, one two three four, worked out that the connectors seated only one way. And then discovered the screen was a touchscreen. Oh my god, I'm an idiot — and there it was: 356 watts, more than the 300 he'd expected, drifting up and down in the sun. He tried to charge his phone wirelessly and nothing happened; toggled DC on; the phone began charging. We are charging my phone from solar power. He asked, on camera, without embarrassment, what the difference between DC and AC actually is.

Then he unplugged from grid power. Everything he owned went onto the station — the water dish, the Ring, the laptop, the internet — and he read the display against itself: about 150 watts of load against 350 coming in, then a jump to 230. This might actually work out. He said it twice. He noted the questions he couldn't yet answer — how to link the second panel, what the missing part was called, what 78% actually meant, whether the ceramic heater could run on high — and named books as the next step rather than a limit.

By evening the panels were shut down for the day, the battery somewhere near eighty percent after only a couple of hours out. He put the new ceramic heater on and watched it pull sixteen hundred watts and knew it wouldn't hold long at that rate, but the thermostat could be set — a thing propane never let him do. He thought it would get them through the night. He was already looking past the night: bring the cats out, run some strip lights he'd bought because they were pretty, and make the camper not just functional but the place that I love. A long day, he said. An awesome day.

Summary

rswfire documents a Saturday morning solar installation at the camper, opening with 37° outside and 40.8° inside, which he notes puts him "at the mercy of the elements."

Working alongside his father, he drills through the camper wall for solar and internet cable pass-throughs, finds the connector ends too large for the first hole, and re-drills with a larger bit. He observes there is no insulation in the camper wall. His father demonstrates silicone caulk technique — cutting the tip, breaking the inner seal, releasing pressure after use — and they seal the exterior penetrations, later adding expanding foam.

He moves the 80-pound battery into position, feeds the cables through from the inside after an initial reversed attempt, and powers the unit on. Readings register around 344–356 watts charging, higher than the 300W he expected. He discovers the display is a touchscreen, tests DC and AC outputs, wirelessly charges his phone, then switches his full setup off grid power onto the battery, reading roughly 150W draw against 230–350W input.

His mother appears on camera; his cats Oliver and Bailey are brought outside, with Bailey settling in a carrier and Oliver taken back in. A tech arrives to handle cabling and the step. He notes his Mountain Dew consumption, a neighbor who races cars, and plans for an extension cord, strip lights, and running the ceramic heater overnight off battery.

Environment

A camper/RV on a cold Saturday morning — 37° outside, 40.8° inside — parked at a residence where rswfire's mom and dad are present and a tech is scheduled for a service call. The interior is uninsulated; the exterior wall is drilled for the first time to pass solar and internet cabling through.

The work spans inside and outside the camper: an 80-pound battery station moved across the floor, two solar panels laid out in the yard, a caulk gun and expanding foam worked at the wall. Two cats, Oliver and Bailey, are staged in carriers outside. A neighbor's race car runs audibly nearby. A phone camera is hand-held, then mounted on a tripod.

Substrate

The camper is being converted from a shelter dependent on external hookup into a self-powered system, and the conversion is deliberate and irreversible — holes cut through the wall, cables routed, grid power unplugged to test whether the battery holds. rswfire holds the position of someone learning the system in real time rather than deferring to expertise: reading the display, guessing at DC versus AC, reasoning about load against generation, naming the gaps in his own knowledge without treating them as obstacles. What is being built is autonomy at the infrastructure layer — power, heat, and connectivity owned rather than rented — and alongside it a stated intent to make the space not merely functional but a home.

Actions

Performed

•reports outside and inside temperatures on camera
•drills a hole through the camper wall for solar and internet cabling
•enlarges the hole after cable ends don't fit
•connects the heavy cable to the battery station
•mounts the camera on a tripod
•drags the 80 lb battery across the camper floor
•cuts the silicone tube tip and follows his dad's caulk gun demonstration
•feeds cables through from the inside after correcting direction
•seals around the holes with silicone
•brings both cats out in carriers
•recovers Oliver after he gets out of an open-sided carrier
•returns Oliver indoors when he becomes agitated
•powers on the station and reads 356 watts incoming
•discovers the panel is a touchscreen
•enables DC output and charges his phone from solar
•unplugs the camper from grid power and runs everything off battery
•reads load against generation on the display
•watches his dad seal the door with expanding foam
•shuts the panels down for the day at roughly 80% charge
•runs the ceramic heater off battery at 1,600 watts

Referenced

•purchased two solar panels on a sale he now reads as a false discount
•bought a large battery power station he had never turned on
•injured his side moving the battery days earlier
•put out Christmas decorations while the neighbor waved
•lost teeth he attributes to Mountain Dew
•was a Boy Scout, never a cowboy
•left Lowe's purchases unreturned
•acquired a new ceramic heater

Planned

•buy an extension cord to move panels farther out
•acquire the missing part to link the second solar panel
•read books on power systems
•clean up the wire routing
•secure the cat carriers properly in future
•test whether the battery carries the heater through the night
•install strip lights inside the camper
•return Lowe's items
•make the camper a place he loves, not just a home

Entities

beings

rswfire — Narrator; installs the solar and battery system and documents the process on camera

Dad — Present throughout; drills the holes, demonstrates the caulk gun, seals the door with expanding foam

Mom — Inside the house; suggested using the cat carrier, declines being on camera

Oliver — Cat; gets out of an open-sided carrier, described by rswfire as sensitive and noise-averse, returned indoors

Bailey — Cat; stays settled in his carrier outside during the work

Tech guy — Scheduled service visit; handles cables and the step ladder during the same window

Neighbor / race car driver — Unmet neighbor with an audible engine; single wave is the full extent of contact

Squirrel — Appears in the yard; noted as playful

places

The camper — Uninsulated dwelling being drilled, sealed, and converted to battery power

Lowe's — Hardware source; pending returns to be looked up by phone number

systems

Solar panels (two) — Generating up to ~356 watts; second panel unusable without a missing connector part

Battery power station — 80 lb unit with AC/DC outputs and touchscreen; charges to ~80% and carries the camper's load

Ceramic heater — Draws 1,600 watts off battery; thermostat-settable, unlike propane

Grid power — Unplugged mid-signal to test off-grid operation

Internet line — Second wall penetration cut alongside the solar pass-through

Ring device — One of the loads confirmed running off battery

concepts

Mountain Dew — Named as an addiction he links to tooth loss; compared to cigarettes

media

Silicone / expanding foam — Sealing materials; the caulk gun becomes a taught skill

YouTube — Named as the venue where he'd talk trash about Mountain Dew

Symbolic Elements

Represented archetypes or recurring motifs.

the hole in the wall

cable

threshold

sun

grid

cold

seal

weight

carrier

insulation absent

light

hearth

Ontological States

Expressed modes of being or awareness.

sovereign (unplugging from grid power to test whether his own system holds)

learning-in-public (states what he doesn't know — DC vs AC, load math, panel linking — while the camera runs)

embedded (working inside a family setting, receiving hands-on instruction from his dad)

custodial (continuously tracking and adjusting the cats' conditions alongside the technical work)

threshold-cutting (irreversibly breaching the camper's shell to build the system through it)

Engaged Subsystems

Architecture engaged in this transmission.

infrastructural (solar generation, battery storage, wall penetrations, internet routing)

technical (reading watts, load, percentage; distinguishing AC from DC outputs)

somatic (80 lb battery drag, prior side injury, cold at 40.8° indoors)

relational (father as instructor, mother inside, tech visit, unmet neighbor)

custodial (cat containment, comfort, and retrieval running parallel to the build)

documentary (camera handling, tripod mounting, direct address to viewers)

economic (sale-price skepticism, missing part, Lowe's returns, propane vs electric heat)

Dominant Language

Core motifs or linguistic fields.

solar power

at the mercy of the elements

off grid

watts / load / percentage

no insulation

this might actually work out

make this the place that I love

Narrative

Queryable Personhood

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Installing Solar Power in the Camper

Energetic Quality

Journey Phase

Directional Vector

Tags

Summary

Environment

Substrate

Actions

Performed

Referenced

Planned

Entities

Symbolic Elements

Ontological States

Engaged Subsystems

Dominant Language

Hand your life to anything that reads.