It's been a while since I've been here as we were not able to go boondocking due to health, work and family issues. Other changes include we became me and I retired. Starting 1/1/17 the trip will not be a week or two, it is for good. I point the nose south and will attend two rallies in Quartzsite then who knows.

That's right, this is not a drill. Time for the the rig to prove itself worthy of its design. I bet it can.

I had help getting the three 250w panels on the roof after I mounted the feet. It took a deep breath to start putting holes in the roof, once started I ended up putting 49 holes in it all together.

Currently they are ran in series through a modified PVC conduit fitting that will accommodate the 1/0 welding wire when I go parallel. That was a 1/2 inch hole to drill and required several deep breaths.

The three 157 pound, 225 Ah Lifeline AGM batteries are in a custom box where one of the  dinette seats use to be. This placed the batteries over a axle where it doesn't affect the tongue weight. They are wired in parallel with 1/0 cables using a 16 on crimper to put the terminal ends on.

The controller is on the wall behind the batteries making for a very short run between them. The Tripp-lite 1250fc inverter is in the storage bay below the controller.

You can see the Blue sea switches for the controller and inverter, there are two more for the trailer supply line and solar feed from the panels. The fusing is Blue sea terminal fuse blocks. A 60a for each the controller and house supply. 200 amp for the inverter. (inverter is not connected in this photo.)

Also I had the air conditioner removed from the roof and the axles flipped. This gave me more room up top for the panels, more clearance below for rougher roads. The A/C was traded straight up for a fantastic fan and it is indeed fantastic.

I also had a new awning fabric and a power jack installed. The nice thing about pulling the battery off the tongue is now I can try to mount a 800w inverter generator up there in case of emergencies. It was on sale at Home Depot for $158 and I couldn't pass it up.

Getting rid of the dinette seats means a loss of seating and storage. A cushion fits on the battery box if needed and the open floor space will allow me to use more comfortable seating as in my anti-grav chair or a rolling office chair. It also gives me a large area to put things while I travel instead of filling the walk way. The bare area of floor shows how much area the dinette took up.

There is still more to be done but it will have to be done on the road as I am out of time. I had to start packing and making the changes in banking, address, insurances, etc. I hope to have the packing up of my stuff done this weekend and then it's on to packing up the trailer.

I got a Amazon Prime membership for the free two day shipping, it has been a godsend getting things here in time. Certainly worth it seeing that two fuses was going to cost a extra $50 to get here on time.

I did get a storage unit for things that I am not ready to get rid of yet. My RC airplane collection did not sell and I am glad. I had a birth defect corrected in my left eye and I will be able to see them again. The unit became even more important when I noticed tools growing feet. In one day they were packed up and safe. My first order of business on the road will be to sort them out and reduce.

Looking forward to departure I have been watching the forecast for a few reasons. First of course is safe driving. Second is if it will be too cold to operate the propane refrigerator. They don't like temperatures under 20 F. I may end up dewinterizing the lines and buying my food once I get to where it is warm enough for both.

8 days and counting.