Off Grid Solar Camping (no generator, no propane!)

Today, we walk you through a true day in the life boondocking in solar! Our DIY ambulance expedition vehicle doesn't have propane or a generator so we are 100% powered by the sun!
We are using 4 of Grape Solar's 300 watt panels. This is our second time using these panels and we LOVE them! You can find them at:
Home Depot: www.homedepot.com/p/Grape-Sol...
Amazon: amzn.to/3jOQVZe
Nutella Cheesecake reciepe:
INGREDIENTS
1 cup crushed Oreo cookie crumbs, about 12 cookies
2 tablespoons butter melted
12-ounces cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup Nutella
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon all purpose flour
2 eggs, room temperature
1 egg yolk, room temperature
6 oz. milk chocolate, finely chopped
1/3 cup heavy cream
2/3 cup coarsely chopped Rolo candies
Handful of hazelnuts, chopped
INSTRUCTIONS
Prepare a 7 inch springform pan by coating it with a non-stick spray.
In a small bowl, combine the Oreo cookie crumbs and butter. Spread evenly in the bottom and up the side of the pan. Place in the freezer for 10 minutes.
In a mixing bowl mix cream cheese and sugar at medium speed until smooth, blend in Nutella, heavy cream, vanilla, and flour. Mix in eggs one at a time just until blended; don’t over mix.
Pour batter into the springform pan on top of the crust. Cover top of springform pan with aluminum foil.
Pour 1 cup of water into the pressure cooking pot, and place the trivet in the bottom. Carefully center the filled pan on a foil sling* and lower it into the pressure cooking pot. Fold the foil sling down so that it doesn’t interfere with closing the lid.
Lock the lid in place. Select High Pressure and set the timer for 50 minutes. When beep sounds, turn off pressure cooker. use a natural pressure release for 10 minutes, and then do a quick pressure release to release any remaining pressure. When valve drops carefully remove lid. Remove cheesecake and check the cheesecake to see if the middle is set. If not, cook the cheesecake an additional 5 minutes.
Remove the springform pan to a wire rack to cool. Remove aluminum foil. When cheesecake is cooled, refrigerate covered with plastic wrap for at least 4 hours or overnight.
When cheesecake is chilled, prepare topping: Place half of the chocolate in a mixing bowl. Heat heavy cream on medium high heat until it comes to a boil. Remove from heat and immediately pour cream over chocolate and stir until chocolate is completely melted. Add remain chocolate and stir until chocolate is completely melted. Cool until ganache is thickened but still thin enough to drip down the sides of the cheesecake.
Spoon chocolate ganache on top of the cheesecake, spreading to edges and letting the ganache drip down the sides. Pile coarsely chopped Rolo candies on top. Sprinkle hazelnuts on top. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
We're Ginger & Greg, full-time digital nomads living and traveling in our DIY Ambulance Expedition Vehicle! Join us on our journey by subscribing here and check out our instagram for more on our day-to-day life on the road: / driventoadventures
OUR CAMERA GEAR:
DJI Osmo Pocket: amzn.to/32IW9M3
Osmo Pocket Mic Adapter: amzn.to/2QdueBh
Rode Wireless Go Mic: amzn.to/34Z9WzO
Sony A6300: amzn.to/2QcKwua
GoPro Hero 4: amzn.to/370JR4Z

Пікірлер: 108

  • @josephhomes1008
    @josephhomes10083 жыл бұрын

    This thing is more and more impressive every time you make a video and please don’t stop making content we live watching your story

  • @DrivenToAdventures

    @DrivenToAdventures

    3 жыл бұрын

    Oh wow! Thank you so much for the kind words! It really means a lot

  • @toddramsay977
    @toddramsay9773 жыл бұрын

    That cake looks scrumptious, does he like coconut, cuz it screams shredded toasted coconut. Yum! Yes, Please!

  • @DrivenToAdventures

    @DrivenToAdventures

    3 жыл бұрын

    He’s not a coconut fan but I would have liked it 😉

  • @scottgilsdorf2938
    @scottgilsdorf2938 Жыл бұрын

    Happy birthday! Love living vicariously through you both! I’m a techie that recently started looking at solar and really interested in the Tesla batteries! Love the creativity with the bed! Thanks for sharing! B safe u 2!

  • @RustyCas999
    @RustyCas9992 жыл бұрын

    For an AC load like an Instapot you can monitor the total power usage using a simple Kil-a-Watt.

  • @fasteddie4107
    @fasteddie41072 жыл бұрын

    This was fun to watch. Thanks for putting it out there. Your thinking regarding solar power, propane and generators, and having autonomy, was exactly what led me to be one of the first people (if not the first person) to put a solar panel on my Mini Cooper S back in 2009, which was written up in QST Magazine. It generated so much power that I had fans keeping air flowing in and out of my car during the day (in So California heat), in addition to running my ham radios without running my car. Fun stuff. Safe travels.

  • @dreigm512
    @dreigm5123 жыл бұрын

    first of your videos I've watched. subscribing.

  • @stephaniemihlader2081
    @stephaniemihlader20813 жыл бұрын

    So glad we can enjoy your journey through these videos. We love and miss you guys!!!

  • @DrivenToAdventures

    @DrivenToAdventures

    3 жыл бұрын

    It means so much to us that you guys are following along! We miss you so much!!!

  • @jcvanier
    @jcvanier3 жыл бұрын

    Love how functional the layout is. Good job!

  • @DrivenToAdventures

    @DrivenToAdventures

    3 жыл бұрын

    Thanks so much!

  • @kaoskev
    @kaoskev3 жыл бұрын

    This could be my type of day. Great hammock setup too.

  • @DrivenToAdventures

    @DrivenToAdventures

    3 жыл бұрын

    Thank you!

  • @GoFar_RoamFree
    @GoFar_RoamFree3 жыл бұрын

    Awesome video! That solar setup is amazing. Absolutely love your rig~

  • @DrivenToAdventures

    @DrivenToAdventures

    3 жыл бұрын

    Thank you!

  • @PAPOLE1
    @PAPOLE12 жыл бұрын

    Happy birthday great video

  • @robthomas43
    @robthomas433 жыл бұрын

    Hope you had a great birthday! Ty both so much for sharing this. Everyday I save more money I’m getting closer to my goal of owning & converting my own Ambulance. Thx for helping to keep my eyes on the prize.

  • @DrivenToAdventures

    @DrivenToAdventures

    3 жыл бұрын

    Thanks for following along!

  • @nightfall22
    @nightfall223 жыл бұрын

    Oh man laughed so hard watching this. 🤣😂 you both have such awesome chemistry. Happy belated birthday brother. Damn, I’m all caught up. I want more ☹️🥺

  • @DrivenToAdventures

    @DrivenToAdventures

    3 жыл бұрын

    Thank you so much!

  • @mahtabakar1842
    @mahtabakar18423 жыл бұрын

    Great job. And Happy birthday

  • @RichardCrabbe403
    @RichardCrabbe4033 жыл бұрын

    Happy Birthday Greg! You guys did a great job on the rig build!

  • @DrivenToAdventures

    @DrivenToAdventures

    3 жыл бұрын

    Thank you!

  • @richbowie76
    @richbowie763 жыл бұрын

    Don't get divorced !

  • @cmega3777
    @cmega37773 жыл бұрын

    Great job.

  • @DrivenToAdventures

    @DrivenToAdventures

    3 жыл бұрын

    Thanks!

  • @kjell-olavaaser3368
    @kjell-olavaaser33683 жыл бұрын

    Nice camper! Love that you just use solarpower!

  • @DrivenToAdventures

    @DrivenToAdventures

    3 жыл бұрын

    Thank you!

  • @MM-tz1dv
    @MM-tz1dv3 жыл бұрын

    I watched a lot of your videos tonight. So many that I lost track of the time and it is now 4:00am. I liked your baking efforts for Greg's birthday. I could almost taste the cake just by your reaction to eating it. Our camping has been put on hold for 18 months, partly because of covid. We hope to resume some kind of camping later this year. Keep up the excellent videos.

  • @DrivenToAdventures

    @DrivenToAdventures

    3 жыл бұрын

    Thank you so much! So much of our lives have been on hold too. I hope we all can get back to normal soon!

  • @alwaysbepreparedwithjeff3245
    @alwaysbepreparedwithjeff32453 жыл бұрын

    thanks Again For Sharing

  • @DrivenToAdventures

    @DrivenToAdventures

    3 жыл бұрын

    My pleasure

  • @TomRoszko
    @TomRoszko3 жыл бұрын

    Your best video to date. Good job guys.

  • @DrivenToAdventures

    @DrivenToAdventures

    3 жыл бұрын

    Wow, thanks! Did you catch your cameo?

  • @TomRoszko

    @TomRoszko

    3 жыл бұрын

    @@DrivenToAdventures no, missed it.

  • @DrivenToAdventures

    @DrivenToAdventures

    3 жыл бұрын

    @@TomRoszko I guess you have to watch again 😂

  • @grimmseti
    @grimmseti2 жыл бұрын

    I would love to hear the full details of this. I intend to at some point build me an RV MUCH like yours!

  • @toddramsay977
    @toddramsay9773 жыл бұрын

    If you have to, you can always go to a CG for the night and plug in. If you have 4 cloudy days, you will have to or get a portable gen most likely. Great video!

  • @DrivenToAdventures

    @DrivenToAdventures

    3 жыл бұрын

    Absolutely. We can also charge from our alternator while driving although it’s currently a pretty low amount. We may add a second alternator dedicated to charging to Tesla’s.

  • @22valvecummins
    @22valvecummins3 жыл бұрын

    need a video on your battery set up. Pros/cons, and if you would do it again(with the Teslas)

  • @DrivenToAdventures

    @DrivenToAdventures

    3 жыл бұрын

    Hoping to do that video next month.

  • @johnmiller8884
    @johnmiller88843 жыл бұрын

    That's pretty impressive, and matched exactly with the rule of thumb of 1/2 your rated power * (daylight hours - 2) i.e 1200 rated Watts /2 = 600 Watts * (10-2 hours) = 4800 W/hrs. Exactly what you got. Thank you for the very realistic look at power generation and use. Hope that diesel heater is working right now.

  • @DrivenToAdventures

    @DrivenToAdventures

    3 жыл бұрын

    It’s always good when things work out like you expect 😉 thanks for following along!

  • @Colorado4x4Van
    @Colorado4x4Van3 жыл бұрын

    Very nice...warmer than here...high of 0f today!

  • @DrivenToAdventures

    @DrivenToAdventures

    3 жыл бұрын

    Now we’re stuck waiting out a winter storm in San Antonio... high of 4F tomorrow 🥶

  • @Colorado4x4Van

    @Colorado4x4Van

    3 жыл бұрын

    @@DrivenToAdventures How is the new rig in the cold? Love what you've done...hope we'll get a chance to exchange notes in person some day!

  • @DrivenToAdventures

    @DrivenToAdventures

    3 жыл бұрын

    It’s actually holding up really well! The spray foam insulation was definitely the right choice plus the extra rigid foam. We’re staying warm and toasty even with the big windows. And we absolutely want to meet up with you! Everything is up in the air but we really want to do the Colorado expo in august and spent a good chunk of time in Colorado before it if we can

  • @Certawin
    @Certawin3 жыл бұрын

    Well first, Happy belated birthday Greg. And ya know it's not right to throw your food at each other. Lol that game looked like a riot. And pretty cool how efficient the solar is. That's a testament to how well you planned out the system. Would be interesting if they made a solar hot water heater. That could be used on a rig. Great video, and looks like a great place as well.

  • @DrivenToAdventures

    @DrivenToAdventures

    3 жыл бұрын

    Thanks so much!

  • @reesepancakes9964
    @reesepancakes99643 жыл бұрын

    That cake looks amazing

  • @DrivenToAdventures

    @DrivenToAdventures

    3 жыл бұрын

    If you’re nice, maybe I’ll make it when I see you this summer

  • @reesepancakes9964

    @reesepancakes9964

    3 жыл бұрын

    @@DrivenToAdventures please do

  • @lovebaja
    @lovebaja3 жыл бұрын

    If Greg could take it down from a 10 to about a 7 or 7-1/2 that'd be good. ;-)

  • @DrivenToAdventures

    @DrivenToAdventures

    3 жыл бұрын

    😂😂😂

  • @mattolsson8816

    @mattolsson8816

    3 жыл бұрын

    LOL

  • @EarthRoamingAdventures
    @EarthRoamingAdventures3 жыл бұрын

    Yep Diesel water heaters are brilliant.

  • @CITAP1
    @CITAP13 жыл бұрын

    Instapot Nutella Cheesecake? Must hide this from my niece. A Nutella Addict. The solar looks to be working out nicely. I don't know I could live without an oven for pizza, roast, fries. An airbake oven may work if it were large enough. Hope things keep going well for you guys on this shakedown run. Take care...

  • @DrivenToAdventures

    @DrivenToAdventures

    3 жыл бұрын

    We do have an air fryer oven as well :)

  • @roberttoth396
    @roberttoth3963 жыл бұрын

    A great video and I love your rig. The game looked like great fun, come on Ginger hit him in the face!!!!

  • @DrivenToAdventures

    @DrivenToAdventures

    3 жыл бұрын

    OMG that phrase made me literally laugh out loud!

  • @FlyingCameraGuy
    @FlyingCameraGuy3 жыл бұрын

    Great job on the video and Greg's birthday! Glad you still not in Texas with the weather they are having. Just got off the phone with my mom SE of Dallas and she is without water. Dianne wants the recipe for the cake.

  • @DrivenToAdventures

    @DrivenToAdventures

    3 жыл бұрын

    I put the recipe in the description :)

  • @DrivenToAdventures

    @DrivenToAdventures

    3 жыл бұрын

    Oh and we did end up stuck in Texas for the storm but we made it!

  • @FlyingCameraGuy

    @FlyingCameraGuy

    3 жыл бұрын

    @@DrivenToAdventures All your video descriptions are gone for some reason. I checked several different videos and the descriptions are gone. The description for this one was there 2 days ago.

  • @justynstoyanoff3927
    @justynstoyanoff39273 жыл бұрын

    I didn’t catch if you mentioned it in the video but how many amp hours of batteries do you have in your battery bank?

  • @theoteam4641
    @theoteam46413 жыл бұрын

    Oh wow, we also have our Tesla to be at 24.8V max lol

  • @kimflood8720
    @kimflood87203 жыл бұрын

    Great video! I'm still trying to figure out if I can make that cake into a Keto Recipe. Probably not! :(

  • @johnkassay7064
    @johnkassay70643 жыл бұрын

    Love watching your videos! Still waiting on the electrical video... Did you rip out all the original wiring and start over or did you save some from the ambulance?

  • @RustyCas999

    @RustyCas999

    2 жыл бұрын

    In the video they did on the cost of their build, he said he reused a lot of the original wire, spending only $30 for additional wire.

  • @melissahoffman4687
    @melissahoffman4687 Жыл бұрын

    Is there another option to charge your batteries on a rainy day?

  • @theoteam4641
    @theoteam46413 жыл бұрын

    We also have a Tesla battery in our campervan. I actually want to build our next van on all electric. We currently have 620W of solar and it tilts with linear actuators. We have actually got about 749W max from them. I cant wait to build the next van and make it all electric. This video is nice to know what uses less power etc. We are also thinking of installing something like the ElectriQ 9000 BTU WiFi A++ air conditioning system because it uses very little power. We want to have about 4-10 Tesla battery on our next build and also have about 1000-2000W solar panels that will tilt :-). What do you think?

  • @roam4fun853
    @roam4fun8533 жыл бұрын

    I would have driven to West TX for some of that cake...., and I’m not even a cheesecake type of guy. Have fun!

  • @DrivenToAdventures

    @DrivenToAdventures

    3 жыл бұрын

    haha thank you!

  • @ckamonosomez9321
    @ckamonosomez93213 жыл бұрын

    Nice to see how you celebrate your birthday. Btw, do you also celebrate Mother's day with your mom and sisters like that?

  • @robertrisk93
    @robertrisk933 жыл бұрын

    What did you say, Ginger at 23:00? I couldn't listen clearly enough.

  • @PattyDung
    @PattyDung3 жыл бұрын

    Must be quite a shower at 0.69 KWh. I take quite a comfy 10 min shower by heating 6 liters from 10ºC to 40ºC, using only 0.22 KWh. The trick is a finer spray head that's turned on & off (pump uses 0.01 KWh) and some good containment of the hot humid air. If the water is not hard, you'll get a faster soap rinse-off with a little calcium chloride in the rinse, or wipe down with CaCl2 before final rinse.

  • @411robbie7
    @411robbie73 жыл бұрын

    Where is the video of your power set up??

  • @RustyCas999
    @RustyCas9992 жыл бұрын

    Wait… what was the last surprise?

  • @timothytisor3006
    @timothytisor30063 жыл бұрын

    Nice....🙄👍

  • @DrivenToAdventures

    @DrivenToAdventures

    3 жыл бұрын

    Thanks!

  • @bobcalgarycanada8582
    @bobcalgarycanada85823 жыл бұрын

    Just like a bunch of Files Backup is Good

  • @DrivenToAdventures

    @DrivenToAdventures

    3 жыл бұрын

    We can charge from our alternator while driving so that’s our backup :)

  • @mscris503
    @mscris5033 жыл бұрын

    How did you do during the 🥶 freeze in Texas ?

  • @DrivenToAdventures

    @DrivenToAdventures

    3 жыл бұрын

    Surprisingly well! Our heated lines worked and we survived it!

  • @Invictus13666
    @Invictus136663 жыл бұрын

    Would angling the panels make any real difference?

  • @fibranijevidra

    @fibranijevidra

    2 жыл бұрын

    It would make a signifficant difference, and it dies not complicate a setup much.

  • @buzbee4me
    @buzbee4me3 жыл бұрын

    Are you guys ok? Where are you? I hope the Texas cold didn't ground you there.

  • @DrivenToAdventures

    @DrivenToAdventures

    3 жыл бұрын

    We're safe in Arizona! Upgrading our tires and fuel tanks and hope to be back on the road soon. You can see more of our day to day stuff on Instagram :)

  • @boun_viaggio_usa9989
    @boun_viaggio_usa99893 жыл бұрын

    I think the mining of lithium probably has a worse effect on the environment than a generator.

  • @DrivenToAdventures

    @DrivenToAdventures

    3 жыл бұрын

    I don’t know anything about that but our batteries are from a wrecked Tesla so better with us than in a landfill 🤷‍♀️

  • @nickriggs7004

    @nickriggs7004

    3 жыл бұрын

    How many kilowatts of battery do you have ?

  • @boun_viaggio_usa9989

    @boun_viaggio_usa9989

    3 жыл бұрын

    Nick Riggs if you're asking me, my rig is mostly converted to 12 volts D.C. With only 3.2 kilowatts of power which might as well be nothing. Though it's more than enough to boondock about 3 to four days before I move on. Additionally I have installed an AGS which monitors the battery voltage and temp if I want it too. In cool weather I have been able to run the furnace which can take me well into the morning. I do think all of the lithium tech and the 100's of watts of power is amazing, but it's pricey, and that money buys a lot of fuel for me to travel around. And while I'm driving to my next destination I'm charging my batteries which are topped off when I get to my next destination. Disregard if you were messaging "driven to adventure".

  • @Luishdzzz
    @Luishdzzz3 жыл бұрын

    Hey guys, i love the setup, It's a good idea to have a wire going into the battery of the truck with a switch installed. It can give you power In emergencies and you can jumpstart yourself if need be. I have a high output alternator, I charge up fully as I drive. I'm driving anyways so I think its efficient.

  • @DrivenToAdventures

    @DrivenToAdventures

    3 жыл бұрын

    Hey! We can't connect both batteries directly because the truck is 12v and the camper is 24v. It's a great idea though. We can charge the 24v batteries from the truck when the alternator is running through a dc to dc charger.

  • @Kmattern1
    @Kmattern13 жыл бұрын

    Please give us the cheesecake recipe!

  • @DrivenToAdventures

    @DrivenToAdventures

    3 жыл бұрын

    I just added it to the description!

  • @buzbee4me
    @buzbee4me3 жыл бұрын

    what happened? did you guys got divorced?

  • @DrivenToAdventures

    @DrivenToAdventures

    3 жыл бұрын

    Nope! Hoping to post again soon :)

  • @patrickmaloney6440
    @patrickmaloney64403 жыл бұрын

    Great video guys! Happy Birthday Greg! Very impressive performance from the solar setup :-)

  • @DrivenToAdventures

    @DrivenToAdventures

    3 жыл бұрын

    Glad you enjoyed it :)

  • @patrickmaloney6440

    @patrickmaloney6440

    3 жыл бұрын

    @@DrivenToAdventures Yes I did, except having just started dieting to burn off my lockdown physique, watching you baking a cake was torture!!