KYD Off-Grid Build with Airstream Nuts & Bolts

This blog includes links and product descriptions for most of the products used in our off-grid Dream Build with Airstream Nuts & Bolts. Congratulations to Daniel Bohlen for guessing the exact weight and winning two Battle Born GC2 batteries!

What does “off-grid” mean for RVing?

In the RV space, off-grid basically means that you can camp without hookups. You might also hear this referred to as “dry camping” or “boondocking.” Most RVs come off the lot with the basic electrical, water and sewer systems you need to do this for a day or so. You’ll likely have a fresh water tank, water pump, and black and gray storage tanks. But for more than a few hours of camping without shore power, you’ll need some off-grid modifications to your electrical system.

What does your RV need to be off-grid ready?

Nothing. The factory lead-acid batteries will run your 12v systems, such as the tongue jack, lights, water pump, or electric awning. If you have fresh water in the tank, you’re good to go for a night at a Harvest Host or some secluded spot using BLM land.

But the moment you want to watch TV or run a small appliance such as a coffee maker, you’ll need AC power (stuff that plugs into a conventional outlet), and that’s when you need to convert your battery power (DC) to 120V power (AC). To convert the power, you’ll need an inverter, which makes your batteries discharge at a faster rate—and that’s why off-grid mods require a bigger battery bank.

Now that you’re watching TV, sipping coffee and living normally away from the grid, if you want to stay longer than a night, you’ll need a way to recharge your batteries, and that’s when solar comes into play. If you’re super power hungry, like us, you might need a lot of solar to recharge your battery bank. Alternatively, you can use a generator to recharge faster.

Speaking of generators, if you want to run your AC on your batteries, you’ll need a generator anyway. Generators are great for mitigating the cost of your lithium/solar build.

We enjoy being off-grid for a couple of nights at a time, and we like the flexibility to stop at a Cracker Barrel or Love’s truck stop at the end of a long travel day. We also really enjoy Harvest Host stays and staying with friends at their homes.

In between a night or two of dry camping, we’re okay with staying at RV parks to dump, do laundry, and re-fill. To accomplish this style of “camping,” we would be perfectly fine with 2 Battle Born lithium batteries, a 1200-watt Victron inverter, 400 watts of solar (mostly to keep the system charged while in storage), DC-to-DC charging so we can re-charge while driving to the next stop, and a portable generator to use AC power from time to time, getting us back on-line if we should miscalculate our battery usage.

So did we need all these upgrades? No. Our desire for privacy, combined with wanting to share what’s possible in the world of lithium and solar, led us to create a Dream Build.

Where do you start?

Since episode 1, our message has been, “Start Small, Start Now.” We knew we were ready for an adventure and wanted to change things up, but it almost didn’t happen! We almost fell into the trap of waiting for the perfect dream. (As if it wouldn’t be fun if we didn’t have just the right truck, trailer or equipment!)

Once we validated that RV life was for us, it was easier to make it more of a priority, upgrade our RVs to fit the families needs and share the process so others in the community could learn from our experience, and mistakes!

Looking back now, we can hardly remember Ginger 1.0 or the problems we encountered, but we remember our experiences like it was yesterday. That’s why things depreciate over time, but experiences appreciate.

One of the benefits of starting small (even if you don’t have to) is you’ll appreciate the camping gear that adds convenience later. In many cases, your first RV isn’t exactly the best fit and it’s good to pay your dues, make a few mistakes and develop a camping style before investing a bunch of money into that RV.

When it comes to expensive RVs or solar, remember to start with what you have and where you are. You can always improve over time. We all have different needs and styles of RV travel, so not all of the items listed in the blog are for everyone. We wanted to document a “dream build” to show what’s possible; take what’s right for you, and leave the rest.

Airstream Nuts & Bolts

Ronnie, the founder of Airstream Nuts & Bolts, is the real deal. His attention to detail and off-grid design is second to none. Airstream Nuts & Bolts works on Airstreams only (as the name suggests). During most of the year, he works on just one Airstream at a time.

Off-grid builds take a week or less, depending on the scope of the project. Most customers drive from many states away and stay on-site during the build process. Ronnie also participates in the design process, helping customers select the right equipment based on their needs. Airstream Nuts & Bolts has a weekly flat-rate labor charge of $6,250, but could be more depending on the scope. This pricing model is nice so there are no surprises.

You can reach out to Ronnie using the contact form on his website here.

Are lithium batteries worth it for RVing?

We are major fans of lithium for many reasons, but mostly because we’re too negligent to keep lead-acid or AGM batteries operational.

A lead-acid battery must be kept above 50% capacity for the health of the battery. Easier said than done! Especially if you don’t have a battery monitoring system—and most lead-acid battery owners don’t. To make matters worse, when a lead-acid battery dies, it takes a major hit to the longevity of the battery. After several hits, it no longer charges at all. Lead-acid batteries are cheap… but not that cheap. If you have to change them several times, you’ll be approaching the cost of lithium.

There are too many benefits of lithium to count, so let’s start with the value. The life of a lithium battery is 3,000 to 5,000 lifecycles, and this is recorded in the Victron battery monitor system. As an example, our last Airstream had 6 Battle Born GC2 batteries and over 2.5 years of camping, we only used 61 charge cycles. That sounds too low, but a charge cycle is when the battery goes all the way to the bottom and back up to the top. So if we dry camp one night and use only 25% of the battery, it would take 4 nights of dry camping to reach 1 charge cycle. When we’re plugged into shore power, no charge cycles occur.

This is an important consideration for resale value. Lithium batteries essentially have an odometer; if you stick with desirable brands that stand behind their product, like Battle Born, you’ll get some of your investment back if or when you sell your RV.

Another advantage to lithium is that you can use the entire battery capacity, not just half (as with lead-acid). This means that one lithium battery is equivalent to two lead-acid batteries, and it’s half the weight. Plus, lithium doesn’t discharge gas, and you can install them pretty much anywhere in the coach that has space.

We’ve had Battle Born batteries since the start and they continue to offer stellar customer service and support. You can get pricing and other details here.

Victron for electrical system planning

From our perspective, Victron is the leader in inverters and off-grid components. In all of our builds over the years, we have not had a single issue with Victron components.

Below is a list of all the blue (Victron) parts we used in our off-grid dream build.

Victron Quatro GX Inverter 12/3000 X2
Victron Multi-Control
Victron BMV 712
Victron 712 Temp Sensor
Cerbo GX
GX Touch 70
Orion XS Smart Buck Boost 50A DC/DC
Victron Smart 150/85 MPPT

Lifting the Airstream with a Dexter lift kit

Not all Airstreams require a lift, but when they exceed 27 feet in length, there is a fair amount of distance behind the rear axle. In our experience, RV parks and civil engineering are not like they were when cars and trucks were smaller. Without a lift, we can hardly tow in or out of an RV park without dragging the bumper.

Lifting an Airstream is a fairly simple process and you can purchase the Dexter lift kit from eTrailer here. Just get the serial number listed on your Dexter axle and find the right part.

We don’t notice any difference in how it tows, but if we were forced to provide an answer, we would lean toward it towing better. Of course, the secondary purpose of the lift kit is that it’s required for the onboard generator mount, which we’ll cover next.

Be sure to check your axle to order the right lift kit. This is the one we used for our 2020 30′ Airstream Globetrotter

Adding an on-board generator with the airkrafters jenRAK

This mod was love at first sight. When we met Ronnie at Rainer National Park and he gave us a tour of his GT30, this was the single best upgrade we’d ever seen. Perhaps it’s because we spend so much time out west and prefer to camp off-grid with the AC on. There is a common misconception that the AC can be run on lithium alone—which is technically true, but just not as long as you’d need to stay cool all night long and have any juice* in the morning. *Power, not OJ.

Portable generators certainly get the job done, but they are a hassle to move around, and we found ourselves choosing RV parks over dry camping options just for the convenience.

Having an onboard generator changes that, because it is a push-button start and fairly quiet. To make this possible on an Airstream, Airkrafters created the jenRAK, which takes the place of the spare tire. The spare tire is relocated just in front of the fresh water tank. The fresh water tank has 8” of clearance before the lift; after the lift, the spare tire rack has 9” of clearance.

Airkrafters has designed many products for the Airstream, including the erPODS that we also enjoy. Not only do erPODS increase airflow, but they have reduced the noise when the AC is running. We can also point them directly at ourselves on hot days, much like the AC in a car. To our surprise, they improved the aesthetic of the interior and have a much more seamless look and feel than the pictures online.

You can get pricing for all Airkrafters products here.

Installing a Smart Plug system

If it’s not broken, don’t fix it. This is how I’ve felt about the Smart Plug over the past few years. But when Ronnie recommends a product, it’s usually worth it, and he was right again about the Smart Plug.

The technical benefit of the Smart Plug is more contact surface on the terminals, reducing heat. The benefit to the end user is that the plug is easier to operate and has a more secure connection to the side of the RV.

We also used a Smart Plug for the Starlink CAT5 cable, which we will discuss in more detail in a future episode about RV travel and the internet.

You can get pricing for the Smart Plug from eTrailer’s website here.

The ultimate skylight upgrade

We suspected the OEM skylights were lightweight based on how loud they were when it rained, but we had no idea just how flimsy they really were until Ronnie pulled them right off! Ronnie worked directly with Maxim Skylights to help create all the sizes for Airstream models. You can order the right model by filling out the order form on Maxim’s website here.

As you can see in Part 1 of the solar series, replacement is simple. Just make sure to use the right sealant.

What is an AC Easy Start?

We’ve used Easy Start devices on our past four RVs, which should tell you how much we like them. An Easy Start smooths out the initial surge of power when you start your RV air conditioner, making it possible to run the AC using an inverter or smaller generator. But there are other benefits, as Ronnie shares in the episode—by reducing the stress on your AC, an Easy Start can help your unit last longer.

You can save $25 on the device by using promo code KYD1. If the promo code is not active, sometimes the device is available on Amazon at a lower price.

Updates:

This blog will be a work in progress. We’ll make updates based on your feedback and include more links. For the other off-grid products found on Amazon, you can get those items on our Amazon store.