With the exception of the 3G USB stick, all of this equipment was ordered through the 3GStore.  While their site isn’t a winner from a visual design point of view, it’s well-done from a business point of view.  They tell you what they like and dislike about each product, their on-line chat was quick and helpful, as was their email based support.  So far everything about my experience with them says they know what they are talking about.

It looks like our equipment is going to consist of two laptops and my iPhone.  Possibly a printer - we haven’t made that choice yet.  What I wanted to avoid was having to always re-configure the individual machines based on if internet was available via a cell card or campground wifi.  I wanted the head-end of the system to be able to switch between available sources, keeping all downstream components ignorant of where the connectivity was coming from.

The 3GStore answered that with the heart of the system I ordered, the Cradlepoint MBR1000 Router.  You can read the specs on that page, but the sell point for me was being able to plug-in both a wifi source and 3G source and have the router choose, and even failover/failback.  It’ll even do load-balancing if we have higher bandwidth needs.  Cool!

From there I needed the equipment to feed it both wifi and 3G.  For 3G the big choice was which provider.  I have AT&T on my iPhone and it’s been average.  Fellow road-trippers the Technomads recently had issues with Sprint which sent them off researching other connectivity options.  They recommended the Millenicom Advanced Plan which will run $60/month with a 10GB usage limit.  This is double the 5GB plans both Sprint and Verizon offer directly, and the Millenicom plan is said to use the Verizon footprint anyway so coverage should be the same.

The USB device with the Millenicom plan allows an external antenna, so I ordered the Omni RV Antenna.  It uses standard coax so my hope is to get this mounted to the crank-up TV antenna currently on the trailer, and just tap into the trailer’s coax wiring for getting the signal to the router inside the trailer.

I hope to use campground wifi to keep me away from the 3G 10GB limit, so I also purchased the recommended Pepwave Surf Mini, to which I’ll add a Hi-Gain Antenna for better reception.

With equipment, startup fees and shipping my costs were around $665.00 - which seems pretty reasonable. Let’s hope the installation and usage goes as well as the ordering process did.

Today’s trailer project was to get the totally uncomfortable couch and dinette out of the main living area.

RV furniture is never well-constructed, and the main purpose of both of these items were to make down into beds so the trailer could be advertised as “Sleeps 8”.

Yea, if you’re a roaming tribe of camping midgets. 

We don’t need the extra sleeping space and would really prefer a comfortable place for us all to sit (especially if the weather isn’t favorable outside).  The dinette table is freestanding & collapseable so we’ll pack that along, but otherwise the existing furniture just doesn’t work for us.

So with an hour and a half or so of work the couch and dinette were in the driveway.  The couch had to be pulled apart with a crowbar, and I’m not sure how easy it would be to re-install.  The trailer might have been built around it.

And yes, I was having flashbacks to a few years ago when we re-did The Disastermobile where the front yard had a similar scene:

Anyway, with the RV furniture out we have a decent space to work with:

We’re still figuring out the details but it looks like for seating we’ll be re-using a couple pieces from our house.  We’ve had 2 of these Chadwick Sectional Sofa pieces since pre-kids and they are still holding up fine.  They could stand a good cleaning and possible re-covering but will work well because they be used together as a loveseat or apart as chairs.  Either way we’ll leave them freestanding so they can flip around to view out the window:

To those pieces we’ll add two Poang Chairs from Ikea as they are both comfortable and reasonably-priced:

We’re still figuring out some storage (to replace what we lost by removing the dinette) and some smaller tables for working/schooling/eating.  Stay tuned.

Appointments

• House, truck and trailer insurance
• Accountant
• Orthodontist
• Post Office - forwarding of mail
• Haircut for MsBoyink
• Meetup with MsBoyink’s best friend
• Schedule bathroom repair with tile guy
• Eye exam for Data

Clothing

• Go through Boyinks current wardrobe
• Donate outgrown clothes
• Go through MsBoyink’s current wardrobe

Other Stuff to Buy

• Family radios
• Bike: MsBoyink
• Kitchen: Sharp Knives
• Kitchen: New food storage containers
• Portable wash machine
• Keyboard for Storybird
• 4-cup coffee pot
• George Foreman grille
• Electric frying pan
• Travel iron/mini ironing board?
• Vacuum cleaner filter OR new vacuum

Livelihood

• Figure rough 3 month itinerary
• Complete revision of EE class for EE 2
• Factor StartupWeekends and Barcamps into route
• Followup on scheduling classes
• Sponsorship paperwork
• Get first meetups figured out and scheduled
• Choose and sign up for an online backup solution
• Order microphone and tripod for iPhone4

Trailer Needs

• Roof Caulking dressed up
• Kingpin box painted
• Check H20 pump operation on 12v
• Change single 12v battery for dual 6v
• Travel bag for bikes
• Purchase and install Internet infrastructure
• Get a desk setup figured out
• Convert step to storage
• Get tires inspected and probably replaced
• Check into new mattresses
• Figure out replacement furniture for couch and dinette
• Decals for rear of trailer with URL
• Find a wall-mount guitar holder
• Replace electric heating element in hot water heater
• Get copies of keys made
• Investigate burglar alarm
• Buy additional plastic storage drawers for kids

Truck

• Receiver hitch painted
• Buy and install towing mirrors
• Find a used bed cover
• Buy locks for 5th wheel hitch
• Buy keyless entry fob
• Decal requirements figured out

All of this in addition to a weekend camping trip with family, and Boyink teaching another 4-day class here in Holland before we leave. 

This will all be worthwhile, right?

The tires on the truck were a 245/75/16 - and I always felt they looked a little small for the truck.  Friends suggested the ride might also improve a bit with a taller tire.  The truck has 4.10 gearing in the rear axle, which is more gear than I really need for what we’re towing.  I ended up going up one size to a 265/75/16 in a Bridgestone Dueler AT Revo 2.

Initial driving impressions are that the ride is a bit smoother - but that could be just because I want it to be true. I am liking how the truck looks with bigger rubber - the stance doesn’t scream “2WD!” like it did before.

The South by Southwest® (SXSW®) Conferences & Festivals offer the unique convergence of original music, independent films, and emerging technologies. Fostering creative and professional growth alike, SXSW is the premier destination for discovery. http://www.sxsw.com

I’ve been to the Interactive portion of the festival the past three years, and have heard it more accurately described as “spring break for geeks”.  In addition to presentations by industry leaders, awards, and (lots of) after-hours parties, a significant aspect of the festival are the audience-proposed panels covering an incredible array of topics.

This year, one of the proposed topics is Technomadism - Living/Working Full-Time on the Road, and we’re pleased to be included as one of the prospective panelists.

The panel suggestion was headed up by Chris Dunphy and Cherie Ve Ard - the full-time traveling duo known as the “Technomads” and found on the web at http://www.technomadia.com.

They’ve rounded out the panel with Ben and Karen - Ben teaches Photoshop through Kelby Training and Karen is Photographer and Designer. They travel together on a large modern bus, while Ben is also having a vintage bus along the lines of the red & white one in the movie RV reconditioned.

Also on the docket are Sean and Louise who work with the Red Cross.  They also live aboard a converted bus, theirs tall enough that the driver’s quarters are under the living area and with storage bays tall enough to carry motorcycles in.

The viewpoint we’d bring to the panel would be full-timing as a family, and we’d also be the freshest converts with a little more than six months of road time under our belts.

This panel will focus on practical tips on how to leave a fixed-place existence behind and explore a life of technomadism. Topics covered will include selecting the right arsenal of technology to work successfully on the road, constructing your ideal mobile home (wheels, sails, backpacks, or…), and legal issues such as domicile, voting, vehicle registration, and taxes.

The SXSW Panel submission process includes voting from the community, and the “Panel Picker” just went live yesterday.  If you plan on attending SXSW and are interested to hear more about becoming a “TechNomad” please add your vote:

http://panelpicker.sxsw.com/ideas/view/5496

This will be my “mini-garage”, a place to store tools, jumper cables, air hoses, wheel chocks, etc.  The trailer’s storage areas look large now, but I know we’ll probably fill them up quickly as we truly move in for our year.  We’ve also felt a need for additional secure storage just in using the truck as a day to day driver.

Another one off the list!

I had a couple of reasons for doing these; one is that with the installation of the onboard air compressor I was already doing most of the wiring needed for these.  I had another spot in the switch panel, and one of these lights in my junk pile.

Another is that with the Florida tint on the windows it’s hard to see when backing up at night.  We like the tint for keeping the interior cool and maybe a bit more secure, but seeing when backing up is pretty important too.

Lastly - while we don’t plan to be setting up the trailer at night I’m figuring it will happen at some point, so I’m hoping these will make that easier by being able to see the trailer tires and jacks while still connected to the truck:

I know many tire issues are caused by improper inflation - and this quote strikes to the heart of the issue.

85 percent of all tire air pressure losses are the result of slow leaks that occur over a period of hours, days, or months. NHTSA

I’m guilty of it as well - not checking tire pressure as often as I should, even with compressed air available literally three feet in front of the truck when it’s in the garage.  As I started thinking about this trip I had nasty visions of attempting to finagle the truck and trailer combination into gas stations to check the tire pressure.  I had already put on on-board air compressor on my previous Jeep, and knew that decent-quality 12v pumps were now available for under $100, so set out to outfit our tow vehicle with a similar setup.

The Pump
I started with a Q Industries MV50 12v Air Compressor from Amazon:

These pumps have been around for a couple of years and well-liked by the off-road community where tire pressure changes are frequent.  The unit is reasonably priced at around $60 (the similar compressor I had installed on my Jeep was over $200), and easily adapted for different situations.

Adapting the Compressor
The unit is designed to be portable, coming equipped with a travel bag and clip-on leads for power.  Our Chevy truck had a nice large open spot under the hood, however, so I took action to adapt the unit for permanent mount by:

• Removing the handle.
• Removing the gauge and plugging the hole left behind.
• Removing the rubber feet to enable those spots to be used for screws.
• Modifying the wiring to bypass the included switch (I siliconed it over hoping to keep the wiring out of the elements).
• I also, on the recommendation of the other writeups on the internet, inspected the connections to the compressor’s relay and did indeed find one cold solder connection to fix.
• The unit also comes setup to have the negative side switched, I changed that so the positive side would be switched instead (so the load would light up an illuminated dash switch).

The last step was figuring out what to do for an air outlet.  The threads on the compressors main outlet are non-standard, so I couldn’t easily remove it’s mail fitting and hard-connect an airline.  I settled for this arrangement - a quick connect coupled to a tee, with a adjustable pressure-relief valve on one output and the remaining outlet used to connect the air line:

Wiring the Truck
The truck’s original stereo had both a CD/FM headunit with a remote cassette deck mounted further down in the console.  The headunit has been replaced with an aftermarket version which left the cassette deck inoperable.  I removed it, and used it’s mount to create a switch panel big enough for two switches with paired-up fuses (the 2nd set to be used for some auxiliary back up lights):

The switch panel slides into place like the original cassette deck did - making wiring an easy chore:

Once in place it ended up looking pretty good:

From there I sourced power under the truck’s hood (the ‘02 Chevy has a remote jumper cable connection point that worked well) and ran the loom across the firewall:

In my box of spare 12v parts I found a distribution block big enough to handle the 12v power, the trigger power from the dash switches (that connect to relays), and the ground connections for both the air compressor and auxiliary lights:

Mounting the Compressor
The compressor fit into the target spot almost like it was designed to fit there.  It nestles under the fender support, and one of the mounting holes actually lined up with a hole already in the fender:

The pump is narrow enough to allow room for the hood spring when the hood is closed:

I was only able to get 3 feet mounted, as the front inner one ended up directly under the hood/fender support.  I used both double lockwashers and Loc-tite on the 3 feet I did mount, so I’m hoping that works well enough.

The Outlet
Once the pump was mounted I ran flexible rubber air line down the truck’s frame to the rear bumper.  I drilled a hole through next to the license place for the air outlet - figuring this spot would be usually half-way between truck and trailer tires.  It’ll also be handy for airing up bike tires etc.

You’ll note I had to use some washers to space out the connection for a good seal.  I bought stainless washers in hopes that they won’t rust.

The Inflation Tool
This is a leftover from my Jeeping days - an inflation tool consisting of a plumbing valve, to a three-way manifold, to a pressure gauge and then to a “whip-hose” (which has an flexible end), to a clip-on chuck:

The benefit of this tool is that you can clip the chuck onto the tire and then stand up.  The hose allows for some flexibility, and to check the tire pressure you just clip the valve handle.  The gauge then reads what the tire has, so there is no need to disconnect the compressor to check pressure.  The gauge is large and much easier to read than the pencil type gauges.

Operation
The basic process is to get the hose out and get everything connected, then switch on the compressor.  Flip the valve lever to check pressure, and when it’s correct leave it flipped and disconnect the chuck and move to the next tire.  The compressor can be left running, as once it reaches roughly 95 PSI the adjustable relief valve will start bleeding pressure off.  This protects the compressor from reaching its limit and shutting down or overloading.  I set the relief valve to 95 PSI because the highest pressure we should need on the trip is 90 PSI for my road-bike tires.

One more big pre-trip task done!  Time is getting short, and I need to start focusing on the trailer again.

MsBoyink has declared that we will be departing on our big adventure on September 20th.  With a real date on the calendar and that date residing in the month after the current month, we are really starting to feel the stress of getting our preparations done.

Here’s just a taste of what those preparations have consisted of over the past couple of weeks.  This is a combined list between MsBoyink and myself.

House

• Dealt with a zombie bathroom remodel project.  This was supposed to be all done while we were away on a business trip but took way longer, and even once “done” hasn’t really been.  We had some tile put down and the grout just won’t stay in place.  The guy we hired to do it will be back for the 4th time this week with a different approach that we’re hoping works.
• Cleaned house top to bottom as result of that bathroom project.
• Prepped that bathroom for paint as that wasn’t part of the hired out work.
• Continued basement purging and sorting.
• Purchased a new used laptop for the family as the netbook we tried just wasn’t cutting it.  This required setup time to get the necessary applications loaded and network access configured.
• Cleaned up said netbook so that we can sell it off.
• Restored and re-cleaned of said netbook because the first go-round was too intensive and network drivers were deleted.
• Inventoried and sold off of some homeschooling curriculum.

Family

• Took Storybird to writing camp 4 days this past week.
• Had Orthodontists appointments for both Data and Storybird.
• Visited out of town cousins and Grandparents.

Truck

• Onboard air project - made a custom switch panel, bought all parts required, completed most of the under-hood and under-dash wiring.
• Bought supplies and also ran wires for auxiliary back up lights.
• Scheduled service - oil change, transmission flush, rear differential flush.

Trailer

• Modified spare tire carrier to remove the unnecessary swing-down feature and the side-to-side slop that feature induced.
• Wire-wheeled and painted rear bumper and hitch.

Business

• Continued work on a second edition of our ExpressionEngine book - hours of editing, identifying and working with some initial reviewers, working with an illustrator for the cover, etc.
• Various quotes for potential new projects.
• Completed another 4-day ExpressionEngine class here in Holland
• Scheduled and promoted another class for right before we leave.

Oh - and mix in the normal stuff like grocery shopping, laundry, dishes, family time, sickness, church and if you are still wondering why the blog has been a bit quiet, well, you shouldn’t be any more.  We’ve been quiet - but the tide is coming in.