Thought I would post an update as I did get it out for a longer shake-out trip. While not my desired method of using this rig (this was all at reserved campsites), I wanted the security of a campsite in case something didn't work out (water, power, whatever). Also, I had a tight timeline for this trip (as I wanted to get back to the Grand Canyon, and didn't want to use much time off from work). So, left on Wednesday, after work, for Moab. Then worked half a day, and drove on Thursday to Mather Campground on the South Rim of the Grand Canyon, and stayed there for Thrs/Fri/Sat nights. I'll add a couple pics at the end, but they're really just *truck parked at campground* type pics.
First, water. I didn't think this would be an issue since I don't yet have my hot water solution done. Given that, I did used it a bit to quickly rinse off (although it was cold and windy while I was there, which gave me a chance to test other things). Generally though, on this trip I only used about 5 gal of water. I think that if I am going to use the shower very often (I trail run, and sweat a lot), I'm going to need a way to replenish the water supply if I really go off-grid. I did use some of the shower pouches this time around, and find those to be pretty nice for what they are. Better than nothing by a long shot, but it's not as refreshing as rinsing off.
Second, heat. Thank god I had the little heater (along with a bit of indoor space). When I woke up to work on Thursday morning, it was probably around 30 degrees outside, and that's not great for working on a computer. I was able to create a little area in the canopy camper to sit and work, while I also fired up the jetboil to make coffee, all with the heater keeping it very pleasant. While in the canyon, it got down in the 20's every night, and it was windy enough that campfires were really not that helpful (and I don't really love making fires in high wind, being from Colorado). So, for the first couple nights, I would make dinner, then find a way to cozy up inside with the heat on before needing to get in bed. Also, the material on the tent of the canopy camper did great in the wind, keeping some heat in, and no noticeable condensation with just me in there.
Last, electrical. This is probably the system that got the best test/usage of all of it, and I was more impressed than I expected. When I got there, of course the system was 100% charged. I ran lights, the ARB fridge/freezer (always on this trip), fan for the furnace, charged devices...and I think that I woke up to the battery around 80% (105Ah battery). It was a cloudy/rainy day, and by the time it was getting dark, I was back to 98% capacity. The following day, it was about the same when I woke up, but with a normally sunny/cloudy day (it wasn't cloudless, but not rainy and such), the battery was back to 100% by lunch. I didn't expect the 130W solar panel to keep up quite this well (I never believe the ratings on things as I find there's inefficiencies in these systems that often go unaccounted for). So, I think that as long as there was reasonably good sunlight every-other-day-ish, this would be a system that never needed another power source other than the sun (given how I use electricity in it anyway).
So, the shake-out trip was great. I can't wait until the snow starts to melt in the mountains a bit more here so that the trails open up for more than getting muddy. It's time to get this out of campgrounds, and into the element it was designed to work in (although, nothing against a nice campground from time-to-time, just not my goal).
