This is the second post in my Lessons Learned series. To read the first post, on planning, follow this link. I have a lot of gear and gadgets. I am techie, an early adopter, a geek....however you might like to put it, that's me. Plus, work and photography bring tech requirements of their own. Keeping it all charged can be a challenge when you are boondocking or on the road. This continues to be something that I am tweaking. I always want to be more efficient, more simple, if possible, and think about power, less. I learned and confirmed some things about my set-up...

If you missed part 1, check it out, here! When I first bought my T@b, I looked into solar and people recommended that you know should how much power you will use before you purchase your solar set-up. They were right. The problem was, I had no idea how much I might use. To be honest, this type of advice might be just a little overwhelming for the average new RV owner. It was for me. There was so much to learn that I just didn't have the bandwidth to learn about my power usage and all of the language associated with batteries and solar, at the time. Fast forward almost 2 years and now I understand...

The new 2016 T@bs that are starting to come off of the line now and make their way to new owners have a battery monitor installed by the factory. Kudos to Little Guy and Pleasant Valley for addressing this and helping owners have a better understanding of their battery health. It appears that they are install the SeaLvel II monitors which will monitor tanks and battery. According to the manual, the SeaLevel II will, "The system also shows the RV battery voltage by measuring the voltage which powers the display. " This is an OK method to keep track of your battery and will work for many...

This post was updated on April 14, 2018, to be more clear about the role of an EMS versus a surge protector and to add information pertaining to RV Hot Skin. They aren't cute, they don't come in different color choices, and probably aren't something you would run out and show your friends, but surge protectors might be the most important accessory you purchase for your T@b, or any RV, for that matter. When I started researching T@bs, I saw owners discussing surge protectors, so I started to do a little research on them. I thought, "Do I really need to plunk down more money for yet another...

The T@b is the first RV many of us ever own. I thought I would pass along a few things I wish I had known, from day 1, about battery life and maintenance. These are things dealers should educate new RV owners about, but most often do not. I am hoping some of our battery experts will jump in and correct anything I might have wrong or add to what I have in this post. People have different views on what works best, but here is what I have found the most helpful, to me. The Basics Your battery requires active management, unlike your car battery. This is not unique to the T@b. RVs, including...