My poor man's Earth Roamer design.

[DzlToy]

If the panels are rated at 1000W, then that's what you can get in full sun

Correct, but you will only get this peak input for a few hours per day. The rest of the day may only produce 200W or 500W. Thus a 1kW array may produce 4 - 5kW for the day. If you are in the shade, skiing in Breckinridge for a few days or parked in the city, you may only see a quarter of that or half of that.

Do you then choose a sunny place or do you travel based on your energy needs, possibly changing your route or travel plans?

I am building in a box that will have the space for about 40kw of LIFEP04 batteries, and for now I plan to have a 'light hybrid' using a modified transfer case that will allow me to assist or drive solely as an EV, but I see what I am doing as just being 'ready' when the cost of batteries plummets below $100/kwh.

At current prices (used Model S packs), 40kW costs about USD$7,000, which is not a large investment when you look at what some customers are paying for up-market rigs. ($300,000 - $750,000) Cutting that price in half would be a boon to the market, for sure.

Interested to see what you guys come up with.

 

[straypoet]

We have similar goals. I want this camper to last me for the rest of my life as well. I already have 20kWh in batteries, so if I can get similar modules, I will double that capacity. But waiting as long as possible means I hopefully pay less.

What batteries are you using?

The compartment is sized to fit the CALB 180AH cells. ( terminal up).
Yeah, prices have really fallen the last few years. I am hoping to finish the construction of the camper itself in about a year. Then I’ll spend another 6-8 months working out details. Hopefully by then we are <$100/kwhr for bare cells.

 

[CappyJax]

Correct, but you will only get this peak input for a few hours per day. The rest of the day may only produce 200W or 500W. Thus a 1kW array may produce 4 - 5kW for the day. If you are in the shade, skiing in Breckinridge for a few days or parked in the city, you may only see a quarter of that or half of that.

Do you then choose a sunny place or do you travel based on your energy needs, possibly changing your route or travel plans?



At current prices (used Model S packs), 40kW costs about USD$7,000, which is not a large investment when you look at what some customers are paying for up-market rigs. ($300,000 - $750,000) Cutting that price in half would be a boon to the market, for sure.

Interested to see what you guys come up with.

The average a flat panel will produce during the day in the winter is around 70%. That means during a 12 hour day, 1kW of panels will produce 8.4kWh. So, 4kW will produce 33.6kWh. Overcast will reduce that by 75% which is 8.4kWh. This will likely be more than a enough to keep the camper warm in winter using the heat pump, and I always have the Espar to back it up.

I expect the camper to cost $100K and the rig to cost another $100K. I will then have an Earth Roamer sized vehicle with more capability for 1/3rd the price, PLUS, I can easily upgrade the chassis at any time.

 

[Joe917]

Where are you getting your numbers? You are way over estimating your real world panel output, I would say by a factor of three.
Comparing it to an Earthroamer is a bit of a stretch. The biggest feature of Earthroamers is the integrated cab-cabin. You are building a flatbed camper.

 

[straypoet]

I expect the camper to cost $100K and the rig to cost another $100K. I will then have an Earth Roamer sized vehicle with more capability for 1/3rd the price, PLUS, I can easily upgrade the chassis at any time.

$200k for the rig isn’t really what most would consider a ‘poor mans’ anything! I’m trying to imagine where all that cost would go. I mean everlanders did theirs for a lot less than that. A lot. Unless you had someone else do all the labor.
I have some big plans, and my budget is $20k for the basic conversion, and an additional $10k for upgrades ( including the battery bank) have you plotted out the full budget? You might be surprised how much you can save by doing the labor yourself.

 

[CappyJax]

Maybe you should add the excess solar after Ford comes up with an electric F550. Panel prices are only going down.

Yeah, I thought about that. But I don't have a garage, so I will be renting one, and easier to do it all now, especially considering I will be living in it full time. Also, there will be days where even 4800W won't be enough.

Where are you getting your numbers? You are way over estimating your real world panel output, I would say by a factor of three.
Comparing it to an Earthroamer is a bit of a stretch. The biggest feature of Earthroamers is the integrated cab-cabin. You are building a flatbed camper.

I get my numbers from real world experience which aligns with the math and science of solar panels.

The integrated cab/camper is the least attractive feature of the ER for me. You are stuck with that chassis and can’t swap the camper. A pass through window is fine for me.

 

[CappyJax]

$200k for the rig isn’t really what most would consider a ‘poor mans’ anything! I’m trying to imagine where all that cost would go. I mean everlanders did theirs for a lot less than that. A lot. Unless you had someone else do all the labor.
I have some big plans, and my budget is $20k for the basic conversion, and an additional $10k for upgrades ( including the battery bank) have you plotted out the full budget? You might be surprised how much you can save by doing the labor yourself.

Considering an Earth Roamer is three times as much, this build will be cheap. And I will be doing the mechanical work myself. The electrical system alone will be around $24000. And this will be my full time home.

 

[straypoet]

Considering an Earth Roamer is three times as much, this build will be cheap.

Ok, One last reply from me....

"Considering that a Patek Philippe is $60,000, my own self-made watch is cheap at only $30,000....."

My point is this: build what you want and need. No comparison to what a boutique hand-built vehicle costs is a valid comparison to what yours will cost because 70-80% of that cost is labor and design cost amortized.

Best of luck, I hope it turns out to be exactly what you want it to.

 

[CappyJax]

Ok, One last reply from me....

"Considering that a Patek Philippe is $60,000, my own self-made watch is cheap at only $30,000....."

My point is this: build what you want and need. No comparison to what a boutique hand-built vehicle costs is a valid comparison to what yours will cost because 70-80% of that cost is labor and design cost amortized.

Best of luck, I hope it turns out to be exactly what you want it to.

what is your point? Are you somehow offended that I am comparing it to an Earthroamer? Are you offended that I am doing the work myself?

 

[ExpoMike]

what is your point? Are you somehow offended that I am comparing it to an Earthroamer? Are you offended that I am doing the work myself?

I think his point was, in his opinion $200,000 for a rig build is not a "poor mans" anything. Sure compared to a Earth Roamer is might be cheap but that would be the same lines of saying an Earth Roamer is cheap compared to a 747 airliner. All comes down to your own perspective. Interested to see what you build.

 

[Alloy]

Yeah, I thought about that. But I don't have a garage, so I will be renting one, and easier to do it all now, especially considering I will be living in it full time. Also, there will be days where even 4800W won't be enough.


I get my numbers from real world experience which aligns with the math and science of solar panels.

The integrated cab/camper is the least attractive feature of the ER for me. You are stuck with that chassis and can’t swap the camper. A pass through window is fine for me.

We have 2.6Kw of solar. Between Nov and Feb we've never come close to 70%.

On days when there isn't a cloud in the sky we might only see the sun for 1 hour due to the sun being blocked by trees and hills.

On clear days when there is no direct sun and no shade each 330w panel will produce approx. 16 watt hours.

 

[Joe917]

Yeah, I thought about that. But I don't have a garage, so I will be renting one, and easier to do it all now, especially considering I will be living in it full time. Also, there will be days where even 4800W won't be enough.


I get my numbers from real world experience which aligns with the math and science of solar panels.

The integrated cab/camper is the least attractive feature of the ER for me. You are stuck with that chassis and can’t swap the camper. A pass through window is fine for me.

Well my real world experience after 5 years on the road with 630 Watts of panels is you can expect an average of 4X the rated panels max output in Watt hours. for us that is 2520 Watt hours. Using your math and science we should be getting 70% X 12hrs X630W = 5292 Watt hours. More than double our real world. Good luck.

 

[CappyJax]

Well my real world experience after 5 years on the road with 630 Watts of panels is you can expect an average of 4X the rated panels max output in Watt hours. for us that is 2520 Watt hours. Using your math and science we should be getting 70% X 12hrs X630W = 5292 Watt hours. More than double our real world. Good luck.

How are you measuring that?

 

[CappyJax]

We have 2.6Kw of solar. Between Nov and Feb we've never come close to 70%.

On days when there isn't a cloud in the sky we might only see the sun for 1 hour due to the sun being blocked by trees and hills.

On clear days when there is no direct sun and no shade each 330w panel will produce approx. 16 watt hours.

70% is based on a flat panel and full sun exposure. I didn't think I needed to explain that.

 

[CappyJax]

I think his point was, in his opinion $200,000 for a rig build is not a "poor mans" anything. Sure compared to a Earth Roamer is might be cheap but that would be the same lines of saying an Earth Roamer is cheap compared to a 747 airliner. All comes down to your own perspective. Interested to see what you build.

It is a figure of speech.