My Overpriced Backup-Plan

Last night showed me that I needed a better plan to deal with a loss of power in Wanda. Okay, so what do I do if I am out of power and/or out of Propane? As it stands I freeze or sit in Trea with the heater on max as she idles. I knew that I needed a better plan. 

Simply to be able to do this, cost me almost seventy bucks!

Why? This little guy cost that much, that’s why.

Okay, let’s start from the beginning. Wanda takes 120 VAC / 30 Amp, which is twice as much current as your typical house line. Her outlet looks like this.

The cord that plugs into her looks like this

The other end of that cord looks like this

Now to plug into a regular outlet I put on an adaptor 

As long as I don’t draw too much power this is fine, as remember a typical line of power is only 15 Amps. I have tried to do this with Jenny’s other plug but she her breaker keeps tripping.  So I can only run the furnace and the battery charger, and maybe a few lights; any more than that and I risk tripping the breaker. When I am plugged into a regular outlet I seem to be okay, but Jenny’s outlets are not geared to give as much power as I need. 

The solution is Jenny’s 120 VAC/ 30 amp plug, but it looks like this

Yet Wanda’s cord looks like this, remember.

That is where this little adaptor comes in, 

That means I can do this

This means that I can run jenny and run that electric heater inside Wanda, thus being able to augment Wanda’s furnace, and even run the microwave (but probably not at the same time). This is important as it means that I am using Jenny at her full capacity and my independence is assured. 

If I ever find myself out and about without access to a power outlet I can now rely on myself to give me the power I need to not only recharge Wanda’s batteries but also run the heater inside. I tested this yesterday and everything ran fine, but I didn’t run the microwave. 

I did plug in and get with the electric heater Wanda’s furnace barely came on. The weather was warm enough that I was even able to put the slide out out for the evening, it was a nice treat. 

We are due for warmer weather with it staying somewhere between -10 and just above 0 C. I know that the really cold weather will return soon but at least for now, it is warmer. When the really cold weather returns, I know that I will be fine, I will survive. 

This month’s paycheque, I am planning to put it to that second credit card, as well as paying off Wanda’s repairs on the first card. It is progress and moving forward and it is important for me to actually make a payment on that second card. I need to see that I am not enduring this for no reason. 

My goal is that by April 1, (okay at latest the end of April) that my second card will be done. That will have been done during the time that I should have put that money towards renting a room. Once that is done, I will be positioned well to get that last and final card done on or before the end of August 2015. 

Then and only then will I start to write a book about this experience. When I am done, when I am successful, and in my saving phase, then and only then will I write the book about what I have learned during this process and journey.