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Hi there! We are the Curren Family. We traveled full time in our Airstream from 2013-2017 and now split our time between our small condo in Teton Valley, ID and the road.

As avid, outdoor, travel and adventure enthusiasts we are here to provide tips, advice, and inspiration to help you develop healthier and stronger family relationships.

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Power Upgrade: My Plan for Self-installing Solar

After evaluating our needs, and figuring out what I don’t know about installing solar, we sought for recommendations for a professional installer. We began conversations that started good, and gradually got worse and worse. This happened while I was camping just next door to Dave Zimmerman in the middle of the Mojave Desert. Dave happens…

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  • […] My Plan for Self Installing Solar Panels Drop-in Multi-State Converter Upgrade Solar Power Install Part I – Panel Mounting Solar Install Part II – Self-Install Combiner Box Solar Power Install Part III – Self Install Running Wire Solar Install Part IV – The Wire Panel Adding Bigger Batteries Installing a 2000 Watt Pure-sine Inverter Automatic Transfer Switches Cost Breakdown […]ReplyCancel

Power Upgrade: Drop-in Multi-stage Converter Upgrade for the Airstream

For some insane reason, our Airstream came from the factory with a single-stage charger. When connected to shore power (or a generator), the converter provides both 12V DC power to the Airstream, and also charges the house batteries. As a single-stage converter, it has only one mode: charge. This single charge mode is neither fast…

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  • Replacing the converter is a great idea. I replaced our 7355 with a Powermax Boondocker so our AGM batteries would not get fried by the stock converter.

    You may want to look into a Trimetric battery monitor (http://www.bogartengineering.com/products/TriMetric) if you don’t have anything already. It is a great way to watch your battery usage.

    RogerReplyCancel

  • Mike G

    Hi Folks,

    I also swapped out the converter and the series 24 batteries with 2 Full River series 27 6volt 220 Amp ADM batteries. They fit in same compartment. You do have to remove the series 24 plastic base holder and the cover to slide them in. Once in re-rivet cover back on. The batteries are great for us, can run furnace all night (lowest 17° outside) and still have 75 to 80% capacity in AM. We use a generator to charge them back up.

    MikeReplyCancel

    • Sam

      Dual 6 Volts are our most likely upgrade. The upgraded converter did a great job reducing our generator usage, which I do appreciate. Though today, my panels did all the charging!ReplyCancel

  • Robert Jacobs

    Please add me to your mailing list.
    thanksReplyCancel

  • […] Plan for Self Installing Solar Panels Drop-in Multi-State Converter Upgrade Solar Power Install Part I – Panel Mounting Solar Install Part II – Self-Install […]ReplyCancel

Take Your Garage With You – Retrax One Truck Bed Cover

After purchasing our truck, I began searching for a great way to keep items in the bed of the truck secure and out of the weather. The market is full of various truck bed covers, which turn out to be called Tonneau Covers. They mostly fall into the categories of roll-up vinyl, hard top, folding,…

Truck Purchasing Decisions

We got an email asking us about our truck purchasing decisions. The email ended up being long enough that I gave it a rework, and here it is as a blog post! Consider this an open invitation: If you want to hear about something we don’t have posted to the blog, email us! Choosing a…

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  • Nick

    Hi, what year is this truck? Thanks!ReplyCancel

    • Jess

      It’s a 2006. We’ll add that in to the post. thanks!ReplyCancel

  • I was curious about the brand of bike rack you have on your truck? We have a rolling tonneau cover and haven’t found one that will work with it!ReplyCancel

  • I have similar reasons to you Sam. I chose gas first because I know my way around it, and the second reason will make you feel confident in your decision, $70 oil filters for diesels. A lot of folks talk about the MPG with diesel, but because every aspect of diesel ownership costs more, you have to own the diesel for at least 5 yrs before the fuel savings help you break even. So for me, I decided we needed to at least be on the road for a year, and grow our family more before we decide we need to move towards that.

    And I have to agree with the size, the smaller half tons are easier to maneuver in parking lots. The big advantage we have over the guys with F250’s is not having a solid front axle. So the turning radius on our truck’s is superior.

    Although I will say Dodge has stepped up their game with the newer trucks for interiors. I’ve always been a chevy guy and the Ram won me over.ReplyCancel

  • Can you please send your decision process. When you purchase the Dodge truck. Appreciate your help and thank you!
    Continue safe travels!ReplyCancel

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