GREEN RV

150 Video/Audio/Blog Updates ・ 90 Personal Appearances ・ 48 States ・ 36 Live TV Segments ・ 12 Months ・ 4 Seasons ・ 2 Oceans

ONE MOBILE BASE CAMP

SEE THE NEW VIDEO HIGHLIGHTING THE MOBILE BASE CAMP WITH BRIAN BRAWDY..Click here!

About the Exterior

Welcome to a quick tour of the exterior of the Mobile Base Camp. From nose to tail, our rig is designed to explore the far reaches of the United States and Canada regardless of terrain, seasonal weather and temperature conditions and the natural and man made hazards that befall any modern day adventure.

The 2008 Lance Camper is at the heart of our operation. Situated atop a Ford F350 Super Duty 4×4 (featuring a power stroke v8 turbo engine with Ford’s clean diesel Technology), the Lance Camper 1181 is the most spacious, toughest, versatile yet comfortable Truck Camper I’ve experienced. It truly helps me take the roughing it out of roughing it.

That said, one of our major goals on the Conservation through Exploration Tour is to go off road and off grid: To be as pioneering, independent, self-sufficient and environmentally friendly as possible.

The Mobile Base Camp relies on Rickson Truck Wheels outfitted with Bridgestone 19.5 inch tires. These wheels are the most dependable, long lasting and safest wheels on the market today. The low rolling resistance gives us better fuel economy in a more environmentally friendly tire. Now, the custom tailored Super Springs SSA24’s enhance the suspension beyond belief. Nobody works harder than the U.S.Border patrol; If they can rely on Super Springs in their vehicles, so would we. Rounding out the Suspension System we use front and rear sway bars and the Reflex Stabilizing System from Roadmaster. The combination of these 5 products greatly strengthen and secure the Mobile Base Camp while widening our scope and ability to search out our next adventure over some of the toughest terrains and weather conditions.

The increased capacity of a Transfer Flow 60 Gallon fuel tank allows us to extend our search for biodiesel in areas of the country (and during certain times of year) where biodiesel is not as commonly found.

When it comes to harnessing the natural energies of the wind, sun and rain, we rely on the 12 Volt/200 Watt AirBreeze Wind Turbine, the most powerful wind generator in its class, (6) 85 Watt Kyocera Photovoltaic or PV Panels (more commonly known as solar electric panels) and (4) 100 Amp Lifeline Deep Cycle batteries. With an abundance of natural energies, we needed to find a way to convert that energy into usable 110/12 Volt applications. A Xantrex RS 3000 Sine Wave Inverter/Charger and a Xantrex 40 Watt Charge Controller converts and distributes the energy throughout the rig.

All aluminum mounts for the wind, solar and water harvesting capabilities were customized and fabricated by W.F. Enterprises specifically for the Mobile Base Camp. Thanks to a newly designed on-board rain gutter and Katadyn water filtration system, we are able to collect and harvest rainwater.

In addition to helping us forecast the rain, the 2 Garmin GPS units with Nexrad Weather antennas also provide impeccable navigation for the Mobile Base Camp, keeping our fuel consumption to a minimum.

The Super Winch High Performance Recovery Series packs 16,500 pounds of pull to help with those sticky situations for self-recovery or aiding those we meet along the way that might need a hand. To hold our Super Winch we needed a superior bumper so we called on the engineers at Trail Ready to create a 3D cad designed and CNC fabricated, Mig Welded heavy-duty bumper. Highlighting the exterior of the Mobile Base Camp are PIAA lamps, bulbs and high intensity L.E.D’s.

Now tucked away beneath the rig is the Extreme Outback ExtremeAire Magnum air compressor from our friends at Extreme Outback. This compressor not only powers an array of on board tools but also helps with climate driven changes in tire pressures and emergency tire replacement.

The MotoSAT G74 Satellite System allows me to stay in touch, via the internet, with events of the day as well as posting my blog entries and video and audio podcasts from the field.

Finally, our Yakima rack and storage system transports our bikes and extra gear for extended stays in the wilderness also helping us remain as self contained and self reliant as possible.

There you have it. A quick rundown of the exterior of the Mobile Base Camp. We would love your feedback and suggestions.

About the Interior

The interior of the Mobile Base Camp is designed to be both comfortable and functional as the base of operations for our adventures as well as our production of my audio/video podcasts and blog reporting.

Our mobile production facility is anchored by 2 Apple Mac Book Pro laptop computers. In addition to updating our blog with the new iPhone Wordpress features we use our computers in conjunction with the Marantz PMD60 Digital Recorder and Bose Acoustic Noise Canceling Headphones to produce authentic, real-time audio website content, reports, product testing reviews and notes from the field.

With our Canon EOS1 still cameras and Sony Z1U video cameras our goal is to capture the experiences and adventures along the Tour.

Most times we chart our own course, though we follow and track breaking news and “This Just In” stories in the chance that we can respond and assist or gather information for interviews like past appearances on CNN, FOX News, Good Morning America, The Early Show, The New York Times and NBC, ABC, CBS and other national and local cable news outlets.

Once again, our Garmin GPS units not only serve to get us to the story in as direct and sure a route as possible, but help us, thanks to the Nexrad Weather Satellite capabilities, to stay ahead of changing weather conditions on the road.

With our goal of being off the grid and treading lightly on our environment, all the above electronics are powered by our onboard solar electric panels and wind turbine. The Tri-Metric Battery readout display, inside the Lance Camper, is a valuable tool to track our energy needs and patterns.

Free, off grid energy is just a part of Conservation through Exploration Tour plan. Our onboard recycling containers make it possible to collect rainwater and also store plastic, aluminum, paper and glass until we reach the next recycling center.

The Mobile Base Camp is just that, a Base Camp or jumping off point for whatever story, adventure or exploration lay ahead us. When it comes to personal gear to beat back cold, rainy, windy or snowy conditions, the Gore closet stores a full line of apparel manufactured with the guaranteed to keep you dry promise of the GORE-TEX fabrics. Coats, pants, hats, gloves and footwear that I have relied on now for over 6 years.

Now, the Windstopper Fabric from W.L. GORE works on those days where wind chill is a concern or on those cool crisp mornings or evenings when you just want to play outside. YOU pick the company. Arc’teryx, The North Face, Mountain Hardwear, Marmot and many other respected companies.

Another line of products that I am proud to use and endorse helps in emergency first aid or survival situations. The rig stores multiple Adventure Medical Kits, designed by a medical doctor with hospital instruments so you know you can trust it when you need to.

There we are. A quick rundown of the exterior and interior of the Mobile Base Camp. We would appreciate your feedback and suggestions.