My Blog

OFF GRID CAMPING

THOUGHTS & DISCOVERIES

PRODUCT REVIEWS

SUNRAY 109 MODS

Ocala National Forest

Ocala National Forest

To me, camping is about experiencing nature. The last thing I want to see is a Class A RV parked next to me with a family trapped inside watching a big screen TV. I want to see the sky and stars, listen to the wind. Hear the gentle tapping of things falling from the...

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Prepare to Tow

Prepare to Tow

"Plan everything". That's just me. Two years ago, when buying a vehicle, I chose the vehicle that gave me the best performance, premium features, fuel economy without power compromise, and the ability to tow modestly if needed. I knew then that I intended to change...

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Empower Adventures

April of 2019 was Greg's 49th birthday. Two friends, Nicole and Stephan joined us at Empower Adventures in Oldsmar to go Zip-lining and rope walking. The course was reasonable enough for kids, but interesting enough for adults. We had a fun time - highly recommended...

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Neighborhood Ornament Party

Neighborhood Ornament Party

Our little neighborhood on North Lotus Drive has a Christmas tradition that has now spanned 20 years. The neighborhood ornament exchange began in 2002 and was first held at Jan & Steve's home. More of a late-night Christmas party, the ticket to entry was bring a...

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Backyard Sanctuary

Backyard Sanctuary

Greg has been working exceptionally hard to make our backyard into something lush and inviting. We love where we live and we love our modest little 1961 home. Being about a half-mile from the coast though has it's price. The biggest challenge is that we don't really...

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Dunedin’s West End

Dunedin’s West End

  Dunedin’s downtown core is the heartbeat of the city, but the true nerve center of downtown has definitely shifted to the City’s west-end district. This 500 foot by 300-foot section of downtown Dunedin called Stirling Commons is the most walkable segment of the...

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TRU Hotel, by Hilton

TRU Hotel, by Hilton

This was my first stay at a TRU by Hilton. It’s hard to criticize a hotel that’s only 1 month old – everything is fresh and new. But if I look past that I could give you a long list of things that Hilton did right with the TRU business model:

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Adding a Charge Port

Adding a Charge Port

There's been many times, while boondocking using only battery power, that I've wanted to charge a phone or other USB device, but wanted to have access to it outside without having to crawl into the camper.  Here's a simple method to install a USB Charge Port in the...

Thermostat Swap

Thermostat Swap

One of the more simple ugrades you can do to your camper is to replace the existing bi-metal analog heater thermostat with an inexpensive digital version. This video explains how to simply swap it out and to adjust the new thermostat's program to activate the display...

Dimming the Lights

Dimming the Lights

I love our little Sunray 109 Camper. It's a very efficient feature-packed trailer, right down to the use of LED lighting. That LED lighting is positioned perfectly in various spots and it's very bright which is normally a great thing - except when you want to relax at...

Easy Start

Easy Start

In this full-length episode I install and evaluate a Micro-Air EasyStart air conditioner soft-start module on a window AC unit in a compact camper, in this case a Sunset Park RV model Sunray 109. Information on the Micro-Air EasyStart air conditioner soft start module...