What's new

UBCO 2X2 Adventure, Special Edition, and Similar

I've wondered about trailering PV, but only as filling an RV or van roof with panels, and having a good sized lithium battery bank. To do stuff inside. But certainly not for propelling a heavy vehicle down the road, pushing the wind.

I just installed an electronic soft start thing called Easy Start in one of the two RV trailer air conditioners, each 14.5kBtu. Not cheap at $340, but what a huge difference! Without it my 3200i fuel injected Honda generator cannot start one air conditioner. I loads way down then kicks out, even with Eco mode off. With the Easy Start, the Honda and my 2400W Yamaha can start the compressor no problem.

Evolving tech helps do more with less, and innovation in EVs and PV isn't done yet. But the low energy density of PV is a hard reality no amount of wishful thinking can get around. Too bad there's no Easy Charge that works like magic.
 
The ideal is significant PV and battery capacity to steamroller the loads. However I keep bouncing around in the thinking phase between a major solar instal for 240V split phase just like a house, and more moderate solar, even DC only, and run a generator when I need AC. I'm moving ahead with a moderate plan. Save the Mongo solar system for later.

It's weird to idle my Yamaha 2400 IHSC to charge an UBCOs from a generator, and that's been going on for hours now. It's 11 pm and time to shut the generator down. It's very quiet, but tonight is perfectly still and we've windows open to let in the cool mountain air.

I could spend a bunch more and charge the UBCOs from solar, then again I don't live on my large parcels, I just visit them for pleasure/work.

Our off-grid needs are pretty modest. The RV trailer has mostly 12VDC kit, and when I need AC I just pull start a generator.

The well pump I will install in the coming week in the new well is a Grundfos SQFlex, which runs off a wide range of DC and AC currents. I will pump water via generator at first, then install the solar. I bought a 3-panel Grundfos solar direct kit, but I changed my mind and won't be filling a water storage tank mid day to also need a pump to pressurize from a cistern. I'm expanding to a battery-type solar system for the water, and going old school with air over water pressure tank (bladder tanks suck). With a pressure tank the super efficient Grundfos well pump will do all the work.

To deal with the high altitude winters I'm housing the water support hardware and all solar hardware except the PV array of course in a 1500 gallon polymer cistern buried under ground. The coupling to terra firma will have all that hardware at near 60 degrees year round. No frozen water or lithium batteries.

Today I dug the line trench and the pit for the big cistern:
IMG_9105.jpeg

I just can't wrap my brain around an electric backhoe. Hard to match the HUGE amount of work that a small amount of diesel can do. All the digging in hard ground today (the above was half or less dug) was done with less than a gallon of the miracle fluid.
 
Last edited:
This thread was a good inspiration. Even though I didn't exactly find the vehicle of my choice. I still bit the electric bullet. I see alot of potential for ev platforms. Silent gymkhana at 11pm is cool. And electric brakes are epic. All from a 30lb scooter. I think the products would benefit from some older rider's input though. For mods, customization and interface.

Yup I got the best review here for the UBCO..
 
UBCO TRAIL REALITIES
I just returned home from being by myself on the mountain property from 1/8 moon to well into full moon (nice to be disconnected from the calendar and clock). Stints of 'aerobic brush and trail work' from about 6 to sundown... after working a full day on many other things - and during a warm period of days typically topping out at about 90 degrees. Had to shovel in the water to shoo off dry mouth, which was at about every 15 minutes in the late afternoon.

A big step forward was finally committing to a route of advanced trail after 2 years if trips, walking all over to try top piece together a route to cross the first of 4 major ridges. The place is a 3D puzzle extraordinaire, and even with my God-given gift of 3D visualization and terrain memory, a challenge to find a rideable route through. Sadly, the UBCO limits out at this first sandstone band, about 1/8-mile from camp:
230705 Trail Work First Band_.jpg


I did strap on the chest mount GoPro to discuss and demonstrate what the UBCOs are suitable for. Uploading those large files hopefully today to post links.

SOLAR-ELECTRIC
To charge the UBCO's 48V 3.1 kWh battery requires 120V. What makes the most sense is a solar system capable of at least that, so I don't have to run a generator for about 4 hours to charge from a deeper discharge. I've gone back and forth on the scale of the solar-electric, and this trip had me maybe switching directions - again, maybe - dividing my well system from a more future main system, as I did find a reasonably good area for a good sized ground-mount PV array less than 200 feet from the trailer. That got me entertaining again a larger system in split phase 240V with its own ground-coupled enclosure for thermal stability. Oh well, like miles of possible trail work there's the thinking, and then there's the doing.

Victron does make good stuff and so do many others. It's hard to get away from the Chinese stuff, and that could be important when empires clash. I've watched so many Will Prowse YouTube videos in various low-cost and other systems that my head rotates around like the Linda Blaire dummy in The Exorcist. Schneider is Euro, maybe all Euro? I do know that I need to get off my butt and buy the hardware now, before further international unrest makes supply go way down and prices go way up. I figure buy quality stuff from whomever, with backup units on hand in case one goes down, and I'll leave earth before I run out of parts.
 
Last edited:
I thought about smaller panels and deep cycle batteries. This could be placed out like caches. Maybe just carry an inverter on the bike.
 
If you have the space, it'd be hard to go wrong with such a system in your area. I'd try to allow additional space in the event you want to boost output over your initial calculations. Once you're happy with the initial site, replicating it at your other remote locations should be easier.

The pain of the initial cost would quickly pass for me, knowing I always had silent power at hand. Btw, I see an electric trials bike in your future!
I have massive space to scale a system on the desert property, and maybe space to double a system on the mountain property. I do like the silent and just-there idea on my property, but it's sobering to realize just how incredible grid power is. One 200A service at 240V means up to 48kW of constantly available cheap power. A solar system to match that considering off peak, low production days, and of course night would have to be HUGE.

Electric trials bike? Not yet. We've a few in the club, but in general they just aren't taking off. The local dealer says he's done with them over some issue with the one brand we have available trying to force him into buying more bikes than the local market will support (if I have that right).
 
Just looked at the Mechatechno today as videos of the 2023 production version are coming available.

To move my machine shop to NM, I don't have room for them at the house. They'd have to go on one of my off-grid properties. For heavy demand when off grid, I'd go for a 3-phase diesel generator of about 12kW and try to find a good used one pre all the added BS.
 
The issue with generators is you have to go back a few years to get the simpler diesel engine designs lacking all the emissions BS. Saw a neighbor with one of those, a 12 kW 3-phase setup with a very straight forward 4-cylinder diesel.

There are the trailered models too, typically enclosed. Some rental places sell their depreciated units.

I often wonder why no inverter units on diesel. More typically they keep to 60 Hz by running at 1,800 rpm.
 
And here we are approaching October. The fuel burner distractions, like the 701 and many other projects, prevailed mid year. The UBCOs are still in the stable and we did ride them occasionally in town to go to a restaurant or just enjoy the neighborhood pre sundown.

We've discussed s dog sitter and booking an Airbnb somewhere for a couple of days to explore some unknown town on the UBCOs, as sub 30 mph urban riding is really fun and where the UBCOs really shine. Their general build invites, fun, zippy, street-by-street exploration. And anywhere with grid power allows the giddy self deception of 'zero emissions.'

We could take the small camper with remaining dog in the it, charge the UBCOs off the generator, and explore areas, but we already do just that on our properties so it's less a vacation than more of the same.

So far no major tech problems like I had early on with the first UBCO's defective motor controllers. When guests try an UBCO I always put them on my wife's and first (white frame) UBCO. The corrected bend of the stock bars has turned out ergonomically spot on. My Special Ed has the wider TRS trials bars that are far better than uncorrected stock bars, but somewhat too wide and still to flat a bend. I had some Sherco trials bars with less flat bend, but they got nabbed to improve the ergos on a property work horse/guest 2006 GasGas trials bike.

As for minor issues, the older first UBCO's rear shock seals are sticky to the point of little squeaky noises when moving in response to terrain. I chased the squeak a long time, missing it because I've never had any shock do this before! The fix turned out to be an occasional drop of oil on the shock shaft to lubricate the seal from the outside in. One drop of oil and the squeak goes immediately away and the shock moves freer. The shock seal is not multi-lip but rather (over) compressed rubber such that cannot adequately lubricate the shaft from the inside. The newer UBCO has the exact same looking shock, but without the dry-shaft problem.
 
Back
Top Bottom