Preparing for solar is nothing short of a root canal.  Now I've never had a root canal so I am just going off of others.  Solar prep is hard to plan, can be painful to the pocket and if done incorrectly can leave you stranded without power.  So far, that's all I've learned, not really but that's how it seems.
After purchasing our camper, I started researching the vast solar world in RVing.  Everyone has an opinion.  One person will tell you it's all about the watts, another will tell you it's all about the amps.  Others will tell you to put panels on every square inch of the camper while someone else will tell you it's all about the controllers and batteries.  And then there is the discussion of wiring, which I could write a novel about. 
Brands of panels I have come to understand doesn't really matter much.  Yes, reputable brands will give you 25 year warranties and others will have invaluable customer service and support.  Some, but not all, will have tons of information listed on their websites for easy learning while others won't.  It takes a lot of reading between the lines to get a grasp of it all. 
I have a rather extensive understanding of electricity and wiring.  I've had some in college classes and I have taught electrical engineering for many years.  I know the difference from series and parallel circuits which is a plus but reading some of these articles and blogs can make your head spin. 
I finally settled on getting a couple of panels and controller with a bluetooth output.  Took a run to the store to pick up a couple of 6 volt golf cart batteries (I'll be adding 2 more in the near future).  So far, I haven't really put any load on the system but from doing multiple readings of voltage and amps, it seems to be working like a charm.  Yes, I did a power audit before ordering but you never know til you get started if it will work.  I tried to mount the controller out of the way but accessible and the batteries are all tucked away.  I stilll have to mount a vent since I bought flooded batteries, it's all the rage to purchase decades old tech.  I couldn't justify the added cost of AGM or Lithium cells and if I maintain what I have correctly, what I got should last a long time.
I know I didn't write about which brands or any specifics in this post but I just wanted to let you know where my mindset was to start with.  I will post more specific information on my setup and photos to help others.

Is it spring yet?  After I buttoned up the camper for the winter months I started reading and
researching any and everything I could get my hands/eyes on.  Places to visit, where to park for this, where to find that.  It's been fun for the most part learning as much as I can about RV life and the in's and out's of living on the road.
After I closed up the camper, I started making lists of things I wanted to do to fix it up.  Things I wanted to improve upon or just plain repair.  The list has been reworked several times.  Moving around the priority order and adding and removing various things.  Reading all the blogs and forums as not helped finalize the list in any way.  I would read one post about boondocking and they realize I needed a bigger batter.  Read another and begin thinking about having an over the air antenna.
All these ideas and many more intrigue me and make me wonder if I will ever get back on the road and the weather isn't helping.  Today as I write this, it's gonna be in the 70's but just last week, we barely made it out of the 30"s.  The warm weather sure does make you want to pack up and hit the road but this is NC and our biggest storms hit in March.  But today does give me a chance to go start working on my list.
I guess I am just anxious to start exploring and trying all this newly learned knowledge to see how it goes.  You can only join so many forums and websites and after awhile, the information and opinions start to run together in your brain.  With that being said, I do enjoy some of the postings about camper modifications and and seeing what others are doing to enhance their experiences.  But that just leads to more things added to the list.  Mr. Groundhog, I'd like a recount on your 6 more weeks of winter so I can hit the road.

Having grown up a boy scout and living in the woods, I thought I would be prepared for RV life too.  Yes, I cook at home and know my way around the kitchen thanks entirely to my mom when I was growing up.  In recent years, we have become such a busy family that the convenience or inconvenience of eating food on the go has become expensive and very unhealthy for me and my family.
When I started researching everything that I should have in my camper, I kept running across this pot that people would always put near the top of their lists as must haves.  So being the connected guy that I am, I added it to my amazon Christmas wish list along with many others things steaming from the basics to the really wished for.  So Christmas arrives and low and behold, I've got my very own Instant Pot. 
Now what should I do with it?  From first glance, it looks kinda complicated and scary.  I remember watching my mom and grandmother using a pressure cooker when I was younger and all the stories that told me about how dangerous it was.  I also remember the time my grandmother needed help removing the cooker lid that was now part of her kitchen ceiling.  I started looking up recipes and reading articles of the best way to use it becoming aware that I should start practicing on my family and experimenting.
I have found several recipes that we all enjoy and have also adapted a few of my own in the little time that I have had the pot. I have found that this little gem can not only steam cook a meal but you can also use it to prepare other meals or just use it to brown meat or cook bacon with very little splatter.
Over all in just a few weeks, I give it 2 thumbs up but lets see how it does in a few months when we take it on our first trip.  Stay tuned...

As I have been getting ready to travel this great country of ours I am realizing how much I still have to do.  It's too cold outside to work on the camper so I have started several endeavors to get make my journeys as enjoyable as possible.  One of those tasks has become learning how to cook all over again.  Being a former boy scout, I learned most of what I needed to know to be able to survive in the wilderness for extended periods of time.  What I have come to realize, that knowledge is somewhat limited to cooking by a campfire and living out of  a backpack.

Before it got so uncomfortably cold, I took my truck camper up to Stone Mountain State Park in North Carolina.  I am ashamed to say that I've never ventured up there even though I've live within a couple of hours of it for 28 years.  My family sent me alone as they didn't quite trust my new RVing knowledge and wanted to make sure they would have a good time when I had it all figured out.  After my weekend, I didn't freeze to death, the camper worked better than expected.  My cooking skills need improvement.  I ate well, but after the smoke alarm going off several times and having to figure out where to pour the grease I realized I needed to rethink things.

Another thing on my radar is preparing to boondock!  This part of my learning curve is really the most intriguing and scary too.  To be able to stop and setup for the night without having to pay or for the experience is awesome.  There are parts to it that worry me but if I am prepared for the various needs then I'm guessing it will be a great experience.  But with it all, it seems to me that I will need to find a RV campground or 2 along the way, just to take the stress off the camper and my nerves too and to say the least, to get cleaned up with true hot shower. 

In the coming weeks, I hope to detail all these details along with others, the trip itself, what and where I want to go and the reasons why.  I hope you join me for the ride.