Certainly more than the standard Power Point 25a, 12VDC connection that comes in the Ford Bronco. This worked great around town when I had limited items plugged into it, but when I loaded it up with an electric cooler and my laptop, the system went out. I can understand this, and after doing all of the ‘electrical math’ (Ohm’s Law) I could see where the system couldn’t handle everything at once which should have blown the fuse. My major issue comes with the fact that the fuse didn’t blow out, but the wires under the dashboard melted through. Not good at all. Did Ford protect a small wire with a big fuse? I can’t tell yet, the wire has been vaporized.
The next step for this is a set of big honkin’ wires that will run directly from the battery into the cab of the truck. I’ll engineer this myself to make sure there aren’t any issues, but I think I want a second battery and larger alternator to go with it. Losing that source of power and using a laptop that has a 45-minute run-time on batteries brought communications to a halt.
The Ubiquiti card was a god-send! I was able to connect to some networks that, based on their names, were over 1 mile away when I was still inside my truck (being inside vs. outside cuts the signal dramatically). I would like to get a magnetic mount external antenna so that I can work from inside while my connection doesn’t need to go through the steel cage of the truck.
The truck itself has Goodyear Fortera TripleTred tires which have a good rolling resistance (fuel economy) and AWESOME “stick to the road” capabilities. Yes, I tested trying to hydroplane and skid, but it didn’t work… these things stick! Couple that with a healthy dose of Rain-X on the windshield and I had a hard time knowing when it was raining! All I could go by was watching others slow down, other cars and their windshield wipers, and sticking my arm out of the window to feel the rain. The tires couldn’t feel the slippage… because they didn’t slip! The drops rolled off the windshield as soon as they hit… without using my wiper blades!
Another ‘technology’ that I used was a product called “5-hour energy”. It is about 2 ounces of sour liquid loaded with B vitamins that you drink in order to raise your alertness without caffeine. No edginess, no jitters, just alertness. It’s not what fueled the trip entirely, but once or twice my eyes got tired and this little gem stopped me from wondering if I should pull over or not… for a few hours! On the trip home, I knew how far I had to go and knew it was going to be tough. With 5-hour, I was able to get home in confidence and unpack the truck before falling asleep. I wouldn’t suggest drinking more than one, but then again… I’m not a doctor. Just be safe.
The next road trip will have a few things that this trip didn’t. I’ve been road trippin for years with no major issues, but then again, I’ve never tried to work while on the road through vast expanses of limited connections. I am so dead-set on trying this again with a few modifications to make it work better.
I suppose above all of the technology, what it really takes to be a road trippin mofo is the desire and/or willingness to eat and sleep poorly and drive incessantly while loving it! Without this ability you are no longer experiencing a road trip, you are just headed to a destination. But in the real world, I must work to survive. There has to be a way to combine the two!Православни икони
