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Many times I have slept in my 4Runner, with my head about 3 feet away from the compressor end of the old-style Engel MT45. It doesn't bother me at all. I think it helps to have it positioned on a cushioned, sound and vibration absorbing surface. In my 4Runner, it sits on the rear cargo area...

Maybe look at a smaller 'maintainer' type solar charger for dedicated use on the starting battery. I got a Renogy 10W MPPT unit for $40 and change, and it does a really good job of keeping the starting battery charged. It's small (about 10x14") and can be placed on the top of the dashboard and...

I assume that the main purpose the GPS equipment is showing where you are on a map and maybe displaying a route. $800 to $1400 worth of Garmin stuff or $40/year for 20 years of Gaia. If you include the purchase of an iPad Mini 6 along with Gaia, the cost is approximately a wash. Gaia will...

It is my assumption, based on reading the available material about inReach, is that during your text dialog with the GEOS operators, you can inform them that the emergency is mechanical only and they can then dispatch towing/recovery services. Since I've never gotten stuck or crashed in a...

"The Engel (and older ARB that were rebadged Engel) are a completely different compressor. It's a Sawafuji swing line compressor that is very simple, just one moving part. Their consumption can be quite a bit lower than Danfoss" Endorse. My 10-year-old Engel MT45 uses about 35-40 watts when it...

When I had an Inmarsat iSatphone Pro (Mk 1), which uses a geostationary satellite system, it was very sensitive to the direction the antenna was pointed. In my part of North America, the Inmarsat bird was about 45º up from the horizon and about 10º east of due south...it was in fact sitting...

I have read that you can join the starting battery with another same-spec (or close) battery via heavyish cables (#2 prob fine) to make the equivalent of one giant starting battery. The second batt can be somewhere else besides the engine compartment. Lots more reserve over relying only on the...

Last I checked, Zodi was dead (about 2 years ago?). The copyright notice on the website (just looked) is 2015. If they're back...great!

My vehicle is small, so compactness is paramount. Using either sun or stove to heat about a gallon of water, I use this Nemo https://www.nemoequipment.com/products/helio. The four legs and shape remind me of a piglet.

I just washed a 1994 Marmot Gore Tex down bag. Turn it inside out in both the washer (front load only) and dryer and it dries as fast as normal down bags.

I've had the Scepter 10L and 20L water cans...always in 'United Nations blue' for water...for ≈20 years. I originally selected them for their ruggedness. If I was to roll my vehicle into a ditch in a waterless location, I want the water cans to survive. The new (post 2019) screw lids with...

I'd think about a holster-type camera storage. These bags can be anchored with webbing and offer significant padding. There are many different ones for sale, but this is one I've used.https://www.lowepro.com/us-en/protactic-tlz-70-aw-ii-lp37278-pww/ I usually use one of these and keep a...

I have found this Pelican flashlight extremely handy when crawling under the vehicle:https://www.pelican.com/us/en/product/flashlights/right-angle-light/3410mcc Uses 3 AA batts, works great on rechargeable Nimh AA cells. But keep extra AA's nearby 'cause the Pelican will go through them pretty...

The Garmin "TopoActive" map that comes with the Garmin Montana 700 series units, and the Gaia Topo on the Gaia platform are both claimed by those respective providers to be based on OSM---so, OSM must have a topographic map as well as the paved street maps, no?

In approx 1999-2000, my friend Chris and I visited the famous Mojave Phone Booth. Chris had a 4 banger 1st gen Tacoma (visible in the background) and I had my first FJ 60 (not shown). For navigation I used the 1st edition Trails Illustrated Mojave map, plus dead reckoning. We arrived at...

New data: https://www.androidauthority.com/apple-iphone-14-emergency-sos-satellite-rescue-3251490/ Also, if Apple elects to continue it's satellite SOS/crash detection service instead of losing interest and dumping it in a few years (which they are notorious for in the software field), they...

The writer of the article describes a two-way exchange with the dispatcher.

I use doubled trash compactor bags. So thick that small amounts of liquids and sharp edged things like canned food lids will not cause a leak. Twist the bag top and put a 2"spring clamp on it in order to keep it closed while moving on the road.

I bought a Renogy 100W suitcase (w/ the cheapo PWM charge controller) from Amazon because it was ≈$25 cheaper than from Renogy. But Amazon's easy returns turned out to be useful; I returned 2 and kept the 3rd one. When I finally took it on an actual camping trip (as opposed to testing it in...

Name a feature or function within Gaia. That feature may only work some percentage of the time. If, every time you try to use that feature, it happens to be "having one of it's spells" and either non-functional or super slowed down, it is now 100% failure as far as your use of it is concerned...