Noob- Minivan with a cat

Newbie's Corner
1

Hello hello :wave:

Im Bob the Dinosaur. Its nice of you to stop by.
I have been living in a minivan with my kitty full time for 3 weeks now. Traveling North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Iowa and Wyoming for work. I go from job to job, i dont know whats comming untill i get a call. Longest drive has been 13 hrs so far. I stay in the city/area where i did the job to cut down on gas while im waiting to get a cash buffer saved up.
I dont have a home location to return to.

So far what i have:

Two Jackery 290’s
A/C cooler (Fan with Ice water fed Radiator)
100w foldable solar 8m connection
Super soft kitty
Slat bed 6.5’L 30"W
6 cube shelf for storage
Totes under bed for storage
7 gallon container for water
PO Box for mail/packages
Gym membership for showers
Always in town so i can have cold/hot food whenever
Bathrooms are always near

What i want in the near future:
Smoke/Carbon detector
300ish watt solar for roof
2-3 battery bank
Solar charge kit
Paint van white (currently black -_-)
Diesel heater
A/C unit that will work with my setup
Anything to make my kitty have a good life (shes 8)

Currently doing work when it comes in trying to save up for full blown solar.
Diesel heater is only 150ish off amazon. Not too worried with how warm our last winters have been.
Still going to get it before November.

Thats all i have for now. Ask me anything.
38/M

2

Greetings & Welcome!

Sounds like you have some plans… I would do an isolator BEFORE solar to see if it’s sufficient. I no longer want or need solar.

I actually prefer portable heaters, that don’t require any power. I don’t want to depend on having power for heat. You need ventilation to prevent condensation anyway. I certainly agree with detectors though.

For many years I used a swamp cooler quite successfully. It didn’t require ice, only water, and when used correctly was far more efficient at cooling than any air conditioner. Today, I have a Peltier powered heat pump. It’s great for both heating & cooling for anything above freezing. Below freezing I need additional heat because it’s only good for about a 50° difference in indoor temps. If I heat up with the stove though, the heat pump can maintain the temperature. Mine is the liquid candle powered version, but the 12v models use very little power as well. A guy who makes them, sells them at the big hoorah in Quartzsite AZ every winter. It was cheaper than just a chinese diesel heater.

Cheers!

"Be the reason someone smiles today!" ~ Van_Dweller