This is a preview….
Source of all pics in this thread: https://www.google.com/search?q=disgusting+RV
I assume the reader understands the tenuous balance between VALUE and LIABILITY.
(lol)
COVID sparked a fresh wave of “Van Life”… this misconception that you can buy a mobile house and beat the game of life. The reality is far from the dream, and key phrases like the following are your first clue
- Rat Infestation
- Wet-Rot Wood
- Mold infested fabrics
- Broken Down Engine
- Nowhere to park
- Dumping Black water
- Registration, Insurance, …
Right?
So we will get into a longer story later, but the TL;DR is that folks buy a roached out RV thinking that they can live in there and…
Well… things do not always work out. In the industry we call it “Triple P”
- Piss
- Poor
- Planning
Quickly one finds that the project is FAR beyond the scope of their capabilities and understanding. RV’s are built like boats… but with inferior materials. Every single bit of it is stapled, glued, laminated, FUCKING GARBAGE that is totally un-reworkable and a nightmare in full.
Boats… are built just as fucked, but at least they have to use higher quality materials.
RV’s… are built of balsa wood and cheap vinyl
So to fast forward for you…
- The Humans fail to make the space livable
- The roof leaks
- The studs are rotten
- The fabrics are unsalvagable
So… you then “GUT” the RV
Believe it or not… that actually VASTLY increases the value of the vessel! All that liability and labor is out of the way and now you can
- Check for leaks
- Check for creaks
- Seal the mouse holes
- Seal the roof
- Ah……
But -> What folks seem to not understand… is that this either COSTS MONEY or TAKES TIME AND SKILLS. If you dont have an epic skillset for salvaging, all the free time in the world, a solid background in DIY building, a willingness to spend in the right places…
Well… then you FAIL
That is where this story starts. In the failing of “Van Life” aspirations, turned liability. Our target is something that
- May or may not be registered
- May or may not run or even have an engine
- May or may not have a leaking roof
- May or may not have DOT tires rolling
- May or may not have mice
- May or may not have an interior….
It may or may not have an Ingress Rating (IP Rating) sufficient for our purposes
Enter my Application
We need “Mobile Stationary Storage”
Basically we need a dry spot on wheels to house thousands of pounds of lithium batteries
🙂
Source: Toothy Smile Search
Are you starting to smell what I am stepping in?
- Find a half finished RV or Trailer project that is TOO FUCKED to recover
- Haggle down the price by the ACTUAL and CURRENT cost of materials
- Derail their project
- Instead of building a human habitat, build a Battery and Inverter habitat
It will have many properties that we desire*
- The ability to built it in one place and deploy it in another
- All the learnings and backing of standard procedures for sealing
- Nice soft suspension
- Assumed IP Rating
- Reasonable Security
- Yea you could sleep in there…
It will likely come with many things you need!
- A big flat surface on top for panels
- A big flat surface inside for batteries
- A bunch of walls for mounting inverters
Possibly even more….
- An AC cooling system compliant with 12V and vibration rated
- Facilities for passing AC 120V 30A in and out
- Inherent Stealth Mode
The most interesting aspect is the MOBILE part of “Mobile Stationary Storage”. The ultimate is of course a Transportainer…. but one thing everybody misses is the HUGE TILT you suffer when you move one
Better strap your load bruh!
…
Anyhow
I have for many years toyed with the idea of utilizing Cars, RV’s, and Trailers for use as “Battery Housings”. To date I have not had a project LARGE enough to justify such a large space. I now do… with the help of Battery Hookup and poor Chinese Manufacturing… The market is flooding with pull-down lithium in truckloads.
…
Before you scoff
Do some math on how YOU would try to stow cubic yards of cycling lithium.
-Schindler