For months I deluded myself into thinking I didn’t need to use my CPAP when sleeping for the 10 days we’ll be camping. I finally came around to reality and realized this was insanity. Life before the CPAP was miserable. I woke up with headaches every single day that lasted until about noon. I didn’t want to spend my time in Sturgis taking painkillers just so I felt well enough to enjoy my vacation.

About a week ago, when reality hit, I knew I had to get my ass in gear. To start, I knew I needed a marine battery and a power inverter.

This is the power inverter I bought:

Being that we would be out for 10 days, I figured I would need a way to recharge the battery. I didn’t want run the bike to charge it up so I knew I would have to go the solar route. I had 2 requirements: 1) It needed to charge even if it wasn’t sunny and 2) It had to have a charger controller. A charger controller is absolutely crucial to avoid over-charging the battery and possibly creating a dangerous situation. I did some research and ended up buying a Sunforce 58033 Coleman 18 Watt Solar Kit:

The solar kit is being delivered today. I want to test it out to see if perhaps we can run a fan off the battery as well and still be able to get enough of a charge built back up the next day. We do have battery operated fans we’re taking with anyway, but it would be nice to have the Dyson cooling fan with us as well. I think the cooling part of the fan will draw too much energy to make this an option, but even if we can just move air with it, that’s enough. The Dyson pushes more air than any fan I’ve ever had. I’ll let you know how it goes.

Other than that, after putting it off for two weeks, I finally set the Aspen up to make sure all was well. Turns out it was, I ended up just wiping down the cushions with Clorox Disinfecting Wipes. The thing I didn’t do and am still pondering about, is fixing the Bed Caddy.

The Bed Caddy is basically a camper-wide set of mesh pockets at the foot of the bed that you can store items in. It’s basic, but it’s damn handy. It’s normally held on by a strong adhesive strip, but by the end of the week I spent camping in May, it was slowly working it’s way off. I ended up taking if off and storing in a plastic tub before I packed the camper up. I think what I need to do it to get some wide, super strong Velcro and attach it that way. The other option is to screw it in, but I’d rather not be putting in holes in the Sentry if I can avoid it.

We leave for Sturgis in 5 days and I only have 2 more work days after today. Hot damn!