Hi all,
Well I have a plan for my 2015 Travels. Having sold my 1994 Campervan to a broker in Canada, this only ended one chapter of my travels. With over $5,000 in gasoline costs for my 13K+ mile trip I needed to make a change for cost reasons alone.
I loved my Campervan trip and have no regrets about the cost, but the cost was a concern and with 10 mpg I made decisions on where I went after awhile due to ever increasing fuel costs. It was a fun trip that had a lot of fabulous memories, so I decided to take the opposite extreme by buying a Prius in July. It is a 2011 that only had 8700 miles on it. Since purchasing it I have driven to MD twice and only using a tank of gas each way (440 miles) costing me $26.50 to fill up and having 100 miles I could still go on the 11 gallon tank. That's 56+ mpg!
This will be my new Campervan with the many of the same comforts I had but space is not one of them. The one thing that the Prius has is a climate controlled system that runs off the high voltage drive battery (hybrid). This means that I can leave the Prius in ready mode and the A/C will run off the battery (not the engine). The engine only turns on when the battery needs a charge.
I will be camping from time to time in a 2 man tent as well as sleeping in the mini-Campervan along the way. Oh yes a few motels too. I am not a pioneer doing this with a Prius, following others that have done it before me. I hope to have the most technological one of them all. I have many things planned for the vehicle that I will share over time.
My vehicle fuel estimate for costs to make a similar trip to FL to drop off mom & head to CA and southwest is $1500. A big difference to the 1994 Campervan!
In addition to the 2 man tent I bought I bought a rectangular sleeping bag and 2.5" Thermorest pad. My mummy bag would be too restrictive for 3 months. I also bought a single burner butane/propane stove. An advanced lead acid battery charger. To charges wet cells, AGM, & sealed lead acid batteries. This way when I am at a campground I can charge the vehicle 12 volt battery & sealed lead acid batteries that I will use for accessories when I don't want the vehicle to run. I will be able to charge the sealed lead acid from the vehicle charging system while driving & possibly solar too.
Well more on all the technology later.
Stay tuned to future updates and then my travels.
Brent
