Living full time in an Elite I ?

[Kathlyn]

Do some people live full time in an Elite I ? I'm a healthy 67 yr old woman living near family + RV traveling with them. I like small spaces. 

[SeaDawg]

Back in the day,,several couples full timed in elites. Many of us still spend three to six months in our earlier elites, each year.

Will you have a "base"?

Tow vehicle? Pets?

 

[Mike and Carol]

I remember when Technomadia had their Elite I they were full timers.  

Edited March 22 by Mike and Carol

[Kathlyn]

On 3/21/2024 at 7:54 PM, Kathlyn said:

Do some people live full time in an Elite I ? I'm a healthy 67 yr old woman living near family + RV traveling with them. I like small spaces. 

Thanks for your replies, Mike & Carol, and Sea Dawg! Sorry for the response delay, we were packing for our 7 month RV trip to Nova Scotia from Michigan.  Day 6 now, Boston! I will have a base + no pets. It might be mostly parked. Tow vehicle: I'll have to get a bigger one. We have a dually for the 43' 5th wheel + Toyota Sierra for my A-Liner Scout for now. I like the Oliver floorplan: rear bathroom makes it much more spacious. Olivers seem to be the best. Why get something else only to move up later? Better to start right at the top!

[Coastal Aggie]

I "full time" in mine when im not out working on a ship which is about 9 months out of the year so generally i spend about 2-3 months at a time in mine. Storage is really the only issue with it. the bed of my f150 serves as my garage so its usually packed with my bulky or outdoor gear and i made a sort of under bed dresser drawer for my clothes in order to keep the closet free for bulkier items. If you want to boondock full time you'd need to make significant upgrades to the solar package as well as carry a small generator as even with the lithium and solar package the new fridges being used starting in 2023 draw too much power to go for more than a few days maybe a week of clear skies without needing supplemental charging.

[Jason Foster]

On 4/20/2024 at 4:18 PM, Coastal Aggie said:

I "full time" in mine when im not out working on a ship which is about 9 months out of the year so generally i spend about 2-3 months at a time in mine. Storage is really the only issue with it. the bed of my f150 serves as my garage so its usually packed with my bulky or outdoor gear and i made a sort of under bed dresser drawer for my clothes in order to keep the closet free for bulkier items. If you want to boondock full time you'd need to make significant upgrades to the solar package as well as carry a small generator as even with the lithium and solar package the new fridges being used starting in 2023 draw too much power to go for more than a few days maybe a week of clear skies without needing supplemental charging.

My fridge uses very little power and barely touches the batteries.  

[Coastal Aggie]

12 hours ago, Jason Foster said:

My fridge uses very little power and barely touches the batteries. 

Ill have to look into that then must be a bad parasitic draw somewhere. i assumed it was the fridge because that was the only thing i had running aside from the lights and the maxxair fan on the lowest setting for a couple hours in the evening when id stop for the night on a 3 day drive from Norfolk Va back to San Antonio. mostly overcast but some partial sun i was down to about 25% on the batteries when i got to SA. wen i was driving the 2022 back from alaska i was only down to around 70% after 5 days with the fridge running on propane.

Edited April 23 by Coastal Aggie

[Ronbrink]

@Coastal Aggie If you have an inverter, it will draw 1amp/hour, even when turned off. 

Edited April 24 by Ronbrink

[Jason Foster]

On 4/23/2024 at 11:47 AM, Coastal Aggie said:

Ill have to look into that then must be a bad parasitic draw somewhere. i assumed it was the fridge because that was the only thing i had running aside from the lights and the maxxair fan on the lowest setting for a couple hours in the evening when id stop for the night on a 3 day drive from Norfolk Va back to San Antonio. mostly overcast but some partial sun i was down to about 25% on the batteries when i got to SA. wen i was driving the 2022 back from alaska i was only down to around 70% after 5 days with the fridge running on propane.

I was visiting my parents for almost a week and didn't have the trailer hooked up the entire time because their electrical line was messed up.  We were somewhat conservative and managed to get back to the house with about a 30% charge.  We had the fridge running the entire time, used an electric water pot for coffee, periodically used the microwave, used the Maxxair fan on multiple settings, used the gas heater every night and had the lights on for hours.  

I should clarify that we have the 390 ah Lithium package with 400 watts of solar, though the latter was rarely used because it rained the entire time.

[Jason Foster]

15 hours ago, Ronbrink said:

@Coastal Aggie If you have an inverter, it will draw 1amp/hour, even when turned off. 

My inverter automatically turns off when not in use but because of old habits, I just turn it on when I need it and shut it off as soon as I am done.

[Patriot]

On 3/21/2024 at 7:54 PM, Kathlyn said:

Do some people live full time in an Elite I ? I'm a healthy 67 yr old woman living near family + RV traveling with them. I like small spaces. 

Kathlyn - 

Welcome to the forum! 
To answer your originally post. We have not met anyone living full time in an Elite 1. As long as you are comfortable in a smaller trailer I bet you will do just fine. Personally we would not choose to full time in our larger LEll for many reasons, it’s not for us. That said, we certainly could if we had to we had to. Enjoy you Elite 1!

Happy and Safe Travels!
 

 

Edited April 25 by Patriot

[Wandering Sagebrush]

On 3/21/2024 at 4:54 PM, Kathlyn said:

Do some people live full time in an Elite I ? I'm a healthy 67 yr old woman living near family + RV traveling with them. I like small spaces. 

Hi Kathlyn,  I must have missed your post while traveling last month.  A belated welcome to you.  We met a lady full timer while camping in Anza Borrego.  She was in a 16’ Airstream Bambi, pulled by a Toyota Tacoma, had been on the road for a couple of years, and was very happy with the lifestyle.  It sounds like you would do quite well as a full time RVer.

[Coastal Aggie]

@Jason Foster The lithium pro package on the LE1 which is what i have is only about 2/3 the capacity of the LE2's having only 260AH of lithium and 240 watts of solar. On a full sun day its just barely enough to hold the batteries at a constant level and maybe get a couple % of charge but only for a couple hours either side of the suns peak. I might have some parasitic draw somewhere but after doing some rough math compared to what you're describing it looks like its just an inadequately sized system for running that fridge. i definitely dont leave the inverter on just turning it on and off as needed. Probably what ill end up doing is removing the battery tray to fit some larger batteries similar to what @rideadeuce has done as well as adding a pair of skinny 90W panels that ive had my eye on to either side of the AC. i was super happy with the performance of the system on my 2022 with the propane fridge so if i can get the 2023 up to at least a week id be happy with that. Of course a likely much cheaper option would be to source another propane fridge but thatd most likely require cutting a new exterior vent like the 22's and earlier models have.

[GeoffChapman]

We just returned from a 5 week trip west in our 2021 LE1 with 260 AH of lithium newly installed and 300 W of solar - 200 W on top and an outboard extra 100W panel. We had several 5-day boon docking sessions and never had a problem with keeping power around 100% - or getting it back up to 100% after a cloudy day.

BUT, we had mostly sun and we have the 3 way refrigerator running on propane. The bigger challenge in boon docking was running out of fresh water, or needing to dump grey or black tanks. Full time would need water and sewage hookups, at least, we suspect. And electricity via shore power or a generator in cloudy seasons.

One other challenge - we needed to develop careful choreography and rhythms to live well in a tight space. And our dog had to learn them as well!! We actually had a lot of laughs as we figured them out!! 

Geoff

 

[Coastal Aggie]

@GeoffChapman that tracks along with my experience in the 2022 didnt experiment a ton with it before its unfortunate demise but 7 days from san antonio to fairbanks arrived with i think around 60% and 5 days back from fairbanks before the crash and i was at about 75% that morning both ways being mostly overcast the whole time. For 2023 and onward they've switched to 12/120v only fridges so no option to run it on propane and i think its just too large of a power draw for spending any significant amount of time boon docking.

[ScubaRx]

On 4/24/2024 at 8:10 AM, Ronbrink said:

@Coastal Aggie If you have an inverter, it will draw 1amp/hour, even when turned off. 

Wow, that's 24 amps/day, for nothing. I was unaware of this. So, apparently there's no way to actually turn the inverter completely off?

[GeoffChapman]

1 hour ago, ScubaRx said:

So, apparently there's no way to actually turn the inverter completely off?

 Before I got the lithiums in March, I’d been turning the inverter off with the button on the inverter under the aft dinette seat - rather than with the button on the remote. It was my impression that completely shut it off and eliminated the draw from the inverter - whereas turning it off with the button on the remote kept it on standby, hence the small draw.  True or not?

Geoff

[Jason Foster]

12 hours ago, Coastal Aggie said:

@Jason Foster The lithium pro package on the LE1 which is what i have is only about 2/3 the capacity of the LE2's having only 260AH of lithium and 240 watts of solar. On a full sun day its just barely enough to hold the batteries at a constant level and maybe get a couple % of charge but only for a couple hours either side of the suns peak. I might have some parasitic draw somewhere but after doing some rough math compared to what you're describing it looks like its just an inadequately sized system for running that fridge. i definitely dont leave the inverter on just turning it on and off as needed. Probably what ill end up doing is removing the battery tray to fit some larger batteries similar to what @rideadeuce has done as well as adding a pair of skinny 90W panels that ive had my eye on to either side of the AC. i was super happy with the performance of the system on my 2022 with the propane fridge so if i can get the 2023 up to at least a week id be happy with that. Of course a likely much cheaper option would be to source another propane fridge but thatd most likely require cutting a new exterior vent like the 22's and earlier models have.

If you have the Isotherm Cruise 130, it draws an average of 400 watts per day, or 16.7 watts per hour, if what I have read is correct.  Your 260AH batteries have 3,120 watt in them which will run this fridge for 7.8 days from 100% charge to 0%.  Of course they would shut off before that to protect themselves. 

Your 240 watts of solar should produce 900 to 1500 watt-hours per day assuming it is sunny, and they are clean, which should allow you to run this fridge indefinitely by itself.  You should probably look at other electrical items you are using.

[Ronbrink]

10 hours ago, ScubaRx said:

Wow, that's 24 amps/day, for nothing. I was unaware of this. So, apparently there's no way to actually turn the inverter completely off?

I don’t think the inverter is ever actually Off unless the battery power is totally isolated, as evidenced by the 1Ah draw indicated on my EMS which  is likely that of the inverter in ‘standby mode’.  In my situation, the Xantrex only has an initial charge; in talking with the maker’s tech I was told my unit was not operating correctly and to check the settings. To date I have not resolved the issue. Currently, I have to flip the inline surface-mount circuit breakers to both the Xantrex and DC to keep from depleting the battery bank when in storage. 

[rich.dev]

11 hours ago, GeoffChapman said:

Before I got the lithiums in March, I’d been turning the inverter off with the button on the inverter under the aft dinette seat - rather than with the button on the remote. It was my impression that completely shut it off and eliminated the draw from the inverter - whereas turning it off with the button on the remote kept it on standby, hence the small draw.  True or not?

Geoff, this is what I was advised by Oliver…..

Always leave the inverter off on the inverter, and control the inverter from the silver button on the remote. My remote is mounted about eye height just forward of the pantry on the street side. 

Also , Oliver recommended turning the inverter off on the remote when connected to shore power. They say that if your inverter is on, and you lose shore power, your batteries might be depleted without you knowing it is happening. 
** the draw of the inverter is not the concern here, but more so the 120V appliances you might leave on that would draw your battery down.

So, in a nutshell, use/push the silver button on the remote in (on position) to turn on the inverter to supply 120V power to appliances. 

Leave the silver button on the remote out (off position) unless you are not connected to show power and wish to run 120V appliance on inverter power. 

Turning the inverter off when you don’t need it will conserve 12V battery power. 
 

 

Edited April 27 by rich.dev

[bugeyedriver]

On 3/21/2024 at 6:54 PM, Kathlyn said:

Do some people live full time in an Elite I ? I'm a healthy 67 yr old woman living near family + RV traveling with them. I like small spaces. 

Welcome Kathlyn!  I head out every year with my Elite I and have stayed out traveling for stretches up to 7 months at a time.  The 10lb dog and I enjoy the small spaces and, when befriending someone in a Class A motorhome, I'll sometimes tell them that "I have everything in my trailer you do, except the wasted space".   (Hahahaaaa)    I've also met more than a few full-timers in their sixties and seventies living in small trailers similar to ours.  It is certainly doable, but, you may need to figure out how to dispose of a house and all of the accumulated "stuff" that has gathered over time.  A life without lotsa "stuff" can be very freeing, mentally.  Also, with some Google searches, you can find ways travelers handle their mail and establish a state residence for tax purposes.

It is totally doable.  Enjoy the journey . . .