technology

Noovo rental: Noovo Plus van interior

Continuing the tour of our rental Noovo Plus van, this is the second of four posts:

  1. The exterior (yesterday).
  2. The interior (this post).
  3. Exterior details (coming tomorrow).
  4. Electrical & plumbing (coming Thursday). 

Standing in the sliding doorway, looking towards the rear:

Noovo Plus interior

Looking the other way towards the cab, with the seats turned around and windows covered:

Cab with seats turned around and window covers

Dash:

Dash

David sitting in driver chair with pull-down desk:

David sitting in driver chair with pull-down desk

Light switch and electrical outlet:

Light switch and electrical outlet

Pull-out storage bin below desk, that can be used as a step:

Pull-out storage bin below desk, that can be used as a step

Driver chair with manual adjustments:

Driver chair with manual adjustments

Cubbies next to the sliding door, with light switches:

Cubbies next to the sliding door, with light switches

Kitchen, with single burner induction cooktop and sink:

Kitchen, with single burner induction cooktop and sink

Single burner induction cooktop; this will be replaced by a two-burner invisible cooktop in our van:

Single burner induction cooktop; this will be replaced by a two-burner invisible cooktop in our van

Kitchen sink, water and filtered water faucets; water pump switch, electrical outlet, lift bed buttons:

Kitchen sink, water and filtered water faucets; water pump switch, electrical outlet, lift bed buttons

Kitchen drawer:

Kitchen drawer

Opposite the kitchen sink, the convection microwave and air fryer:

Convection microwave and air fryer

Convection microwave and air fryer

Below the microwave, the freezer and fridge:

Opposite the kitchen sink, the freezer and fridge

Freezer and fridge

Wet bathroom with self-cleaning roller door, cassette toilet, covered TP, and shower:

Wet bathroom with self-cleaning roller door, cassette toilet, covered TP, and shower

Shower head:

Shower head

Ceiling light/fan:

Ceiling light/fan

Ceiling AC and lift bed, with storage underneath:

Ceiling AC and lift bed, with storage underneath

U-shaped lounge below the lift bed, with height-adjustable table:

U-shaped lounge below the lift bed, with height-adjustable table; the sides can fold in for easier access

The table sides can fold in for easier access:

U-shaped lounge below the lift bed, with height-adjustable table; the sides can fold in for easier access

Back doors open, enjoying the view during breakfast:

Back doors open, enjoying the view during breakfast

Back doors open:

Back doors open

Bed, reading lights:

Bed, reading lights

I tucked a phone/AirPods/watch charger behind the lounge seat cushion, and it was reachable from bed; we’ll probably want to add a shelf there:

I tucked a phone/AirPods/watch charger behind the lounge seat cushion, and it was reachable from bed; we'll probably want to add a shelf there

Looking from the bed back towards the front:

Looking from the bed back towards the front

Noovo rental: Noovo Plus van exterior

I took over a hundred photos of our rental Noovo Plus van, so I’ll split them up into four posts:

  1. The exterior (this post).
  2. The interior (coming tomorrow).
  3. Exterior details (coming Wednesday).
  4. Electrical & plumbing (coming Thursday). 

Then next week I’ll have posts about our travels and stays in the van.

The exterior of the van:

Noovo Plus exterior

Noovo Plus exterior

Noovo Plus exterior

Noovo Plus exterior

Noovo Plus exterior

Noovo Plus exterior

Noovo Plus exterior

Noovo Plus exterior

Noovo Plus exterior

Noovo Plus exterior

Noovo Plus exterior

Set up at an RV park:

Set up at a RV park

Stay tuned for the interior tomorrow.

Power Watchdog smart surge protector

I’ve had a Power Watchdog smart surge protector for years, but I recently upgraded it to the new version, after a campsite pedestal issue partially melted the plug on my old one. This new model adds Wi-Fi support, a more compact form factor, protection for the plug, and built-in display dimming.

Unboxing:

Power Watchdog

Power Watchdog

The updated Power Watchdog app, which also lets you turn the power on and off without having the flip the breaker:

Power Watchdog app

A nice improvement is the ability to change the dog face brightness; no need for a dimmer shade sticker anymore:

Dog face brightness

The Power Watchdog connected:

Power Watchdog connected

A nice upgrade.

Starlink mounted on RV roof

We use Starlink as our primary internet service, though with cellular as a backup. We used to use an Actuated gen 2 dish, but earlier this year bought a new Standard gen 4 dish, with the intention to mount on the roof of our motorhome, so we can have Starlink internet service while driving down the road, plus don’t have the hassle of setting up the dish each time we stop.

To mount the Starlink dish to the roof, I bought a magnetic mount, so we’d be able to somewhat easily remove it if needed:

Starlink dish in magnetic mount

Our coach roof is fiberglass, so I also got a metal plate for the mount to stick to:

Metal plate

I bought a modem mount that holds the Starlink modem and power supply, but decided I wanted a different arrangement:

Starlink modem and power supply mount

Instead I bought a different mount that I thought would work better, with separate pieces for the power supply and modem; they are meant to screw to the wall, but I attached them with heavy-duty velcro strips:

Starlink power supply and modem

Starlink power supply and modem

Cellular internet cupboard on the left, Starlink on the right:

Starlink power supply and modem

While at Oregon Motorcoach Center we got them to install the Starlink mount on the roof for us:

Starlink mount installed

Flying my drone later, showing the Starlink mount installation:

Starlink mount installed

Starlink mount installed

Starlink mount installed

Starlink mount installed

The wire from the dish going across the roof to a new junction box on the back of the front cap:

Starlink mount installed

Starlink mount installed

So nice to have Starlink always available. The only downside of the roof mount is if we park under trees, but most of the time the dish can still see enough sky to work well.

BLUETTI Elite 30 600W 288Wh portable power station

We have a Starlink Mini dish mounted on the roof of our truck, for use when we are driving in areas with little or no cell service, which can be quite nice. It was plugged into a 12V outlet by the back seat. But a minor inconvenience with it was that this outlet loses power when the truck is turned off, so we lose the internet connection, and it takes a minute to re-establish after starting the truck again.

To address that, I got a BLUETTI Elite 30 600W 288Wh portable power station. It is plugged into that 12V outlet, and the Starlink dish is plugged into its 12V outlet.

So now we can control whether or not to start the Starlink connection by turning on the DC output of the battery, and it can continue as long as we like. Plus the power station may be useful for other uses when out and about.

Unboxing:

Unboxing

Front of the power station; it has an input for DC or solar panel, three 12V DC outputs, two USB-C, two USB-A, and two AC outputs:

Power station

AC input on the side:

Power station

Stats:

Power station

Initially charging the battery via AC:

Power station

In the back seat of our truck, with 111W input from the truck (while idling) and 26W output to the Starlink Mini dish:

Power station

It has an app, which is more convenient to adjust settings:

App

NZ: internet and cellular connectivity

While in New Zealand we of course wanted internet connectivity, for navigation, planning, entertainment, and work — Jenn worked for the first week of our trip, and I kept in touch with my customers and clients.

Like in the US, coverage can be mixed in NZ, with some areas with limited or no reception. To ensure we could get connected when needed, we planned four options: Starlink, cell-based Wi-Fi in the van, and two phone cell plans.

The van rental came with a Wi-Fi hotspot, which had an unlimited (but rather slow) plan on NZ’s 2degrees cell network. We didn’t use this very often, since it wasn’t very fast, maxing out at about 12 Mbps down, 10 Mbs up, but typically much slower. But it was definitely nice to have.

Jenn and I each got a travel eSIM for our iPhones. To maximize coverage, we each got different networks; I had a One NZ 40 GB travel plan, and Jenn got a similar Spark travel pack. I figured that 40 GB was plenty of capacity, and it was; we each used a bit less than half. These plans were designed for visitors to the country, so lasted for 90 days then expired, rather than a regular prepay account. They included voice, text, and data; there are international providers that just have data, but we wanted the safety net of voice and text, though only used those features a few times. These cell networks of course varied depending on where we were, but I measured them at around 90 Mbps down, 5 Mbps up.

Finally, we also used Starlink satellite connectivity. I brought our Starlink Mini dish and its cables in my carry-on suitcase. It may seem silly or futuristic to bring a satellite dish in a suitcase, but it’s really small, about the size of a laptop, and was super useful. Like in the US, we used Starlink as our preferred network when around the van. I measured it at around 250 Mbps down, 30 Mbps up.

I mounted the Starlink Mini dish on the metal roof of our campervan, using a magnetic mount that I had delivered to Nev’s place:

Starlink Mini

I wasn’t sure about getting powerful magnets through airport security (the guidance I read wasn’t clear), so felt it was safer to order one for delivery to NZ rather than bringing that too… plus less bulk in the suitcase.

I routed the Starlink cable across the roof and down the side, held in place with Command Strip clips (that were easily removed at the end of the trip, without leaving any residue), then through the passenger door:

Starlink Mini cable

The Starlink cable was plugged into a 12V to 24V step up adapter:

12V to 24V step up adapter

Which was in turn plugged into the 12V socket on the Ecoflow battery, so it would continue to run when the van was in motion:

Ecoflow battery

At least until the battery ran flat; it only lasted about five hours running the Starlink; it was a rather small battery. We could have plugged it into the 12V outlet on the van, but five hours was enough most of the time, and we could fall back to cellular options other times.

Between the Starlink dish and three cell plans, we usually had internet coverage when we wanted it.

Starlink Mini mounted on our truck

We sometimes explore areas without cell service, as we travel around the US… plus we are exploring New Zealand in a van. 

We really enjoy using Starlink with our coach, and wanted to bring a dish to NZ, but our gen 2 dish is rather bulky. We decided to get a Starlink Mini dish, which is much smaller, and has the router built in. It was small enough to fit in carry-on luggage for our NZ trip, and mounts on our truck and the NZ van via a magnetic mount, powered from a 12V outlet (aka cigarette lighter).

It isn’t needed all the time, so we can pause the dish when not needed. In fact, with Starlink’s current policies, they charge $5/month for Standby Mode, which has unlimited slow data (500 Kbps), so is still useful for occasional or minimal use.

Here’s the 12V power in our truck (the white USB dongle is a wireless CarPlay adapter):

12V power

The cable is routed out the rear window, which can still latch closed:

Cable out rear window

The cable is clipped to the roof, with a couple more clips on the edge to hold the cable when the dish is removed from the roof:

Cable and clips

The Starlink Mini dish is securely attached to the roof via a magnetic mount:

Starlink dish in magnetic mount

Handy!

Dashcams

If you’ve enjoyed my RV travel videos on YouTube, you may have wondered what I use to record them.

I use a dashcam, listed on Amazon as the “ROVE R2-4K Dash Cam Built-in WiFi 6 GPS Car Dashboard Camera Recorder with UHD 2160P, 2.4″ IPS Screen, 150° Wide Angle, WDR, Night Vision”.

I actually have four of these cameras: one in the coach windshield to record a timelapse of our travels, and a second one next to it to record real-time, in case of accident; one in a side window to record a timelapse of campground activities (which I occasionally post, but is usually not that excitng), plus a fourth in our truck, again recording real-time for accidents.

Here are the two in the coach windshield; the one on the left is the one used for timelapses, and the one on the right is for real-time (the box between them is the Mobileye sensor):

Dashcams

The left one is attached via Command Strips to ensure it remains straight:

Dashcam

Not the fanciest dashcams, but they get the job done.

RoamLink cellular service

We use Starlink as our primary internet service nowadays, but for places where there are too many trees to see the sky, or for one or two night stays, and on travel days, we use an unlimited RoamLink Wireless plan from MobileMustHave.

RoamLink

RoamLink is a single SIM cellular service that works with all three major carriers, and is compatible with our Pepwave modem (MMH can also sell bundles with a modem). It automatically checks each of the carriers, and picks the one with the best signal.

So anywhere we go that has cell coverage from any of the carriers, we have network connectivity. Speeds vary, of course; usually not as fast as Starlink, but often fast enough to stream etc.

We used to use separate SIMs for each network, which was rather expensive. Paying for one cell service (plus our phones, plus Starlink), while not exactly cheap, is much more affordable.

A good internet connection is important for our work and leisure, so between Starlink and RoamLink, we’re almost always covered.

Check out RoamLink (this link will give you 5% off, and a little kickback for me, but I’d recommend it even without that).