Driven Out of the RV

The weather warmed up in Virginia, indicating the time had come for us to move on. So, we headed north to Massachusetts, trading nearly 90-degree temperatures for pleasant 70s. After two beautiful days, a heat wave brought sweltering, unseasonable 90-degree temps, giving us an extremely warm welcome. 

Moochdocking at Bob’s brother Bill’s, we were plugged into a 15-amp circuit for electricity, which meant we couldn’t run air conditioning in our trailer. Operating even one of our two air conditioners requires 30 amps of power. We opened all of our windows and turned on our RV vent fan in the ceiling to help propel any hot air out. 

Despite our efforts, Tagalong couldn’t combat the area heat advisory that brought hot temperatures and high humidity with a heat index of up to 99. The thermostat in our bedroom peaked at 97 degrees. With sweat beading on our foreheads and pooling in our arm and knee pits, we were driven out of the RV. Thankfully, we were able to hang out in the air-conditioned house.

Unlike summers in Arizona, where even nighttime temperatures hover around 100 degrees, the air in Massachusetts cools as the sun fades, making it possible for us to sleep in our own bed. On the hottest day, our bedroom thermostat displayed a balmy 87 degrees at bedtime. With fans in front of our bedroom windows pulling in cool outdoor air and our ceiling vent fan moving out hot air, we were able to doze off. 

Hope on the Horizon

The only way to run Tagalong’s air conditioners in low-powered conditions like we found ourselves in was to power up two generators, something we’d never used them for. Since we were parked between two houses in a small community, we thought we better not try that.

We had been wanting to replace our power inverter for a while for one that would allow us to combine energy from shore power and our solar panels. Evicted from our rig, we decided to fork out the nearly $2,000 to purchase the unit. And to our surprise, we found it on sale for 40% off. That sealed the deal.

Before the part arrived, Bob watched videos and researched how to install the unit. Equipped with that knowledge, he ordered some other parts for the installation.

Delivery day came. We had ordered a 12-volt unit. We received a 48-volt one, not compatible with our battery setup. Bob called customer service after normal business hours. The out-of-country rep said he made a call to the warehouse and received confirmation that the correct unit was in stock and would be shipped to us — scheduled to arrive a whole week later.

The delay risked our ability to install and benefit from the unit before departing Massachusetts. While we waited for the replacement, Bob prepped the trailer: changing our three lithium iron batteries to lay on their sides, lowering the shelf above them to allow more room for the larger unit, and changing wires and connectors to accommodate the higher power of the new unit.

Anticipation

The replacement arrived a day early. Yay! Only it was the wrong unit … again, the same model we had received the first time. Bob quickly sent it back. Lacking confidence that Amazon could provide what we requested, he ordered the correct unit — for the same price — from a different vendor. 

With time running out and the Fourth of July holiday potentially affecting shipping, we had the unit sent to an upcoming destination to make sure we didn’t miss it. Bob continued ordering more parts and doing more prep work to make the installation go as smoothly as possible. 

Meanwhile, the heat wave ended, and cooler temperatures returned, allowing us to spend more time in the trailer. 

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