HIDDEN TRAILS - UPGRADES 2023

Welcome back followers !! We sure did have fun in PART 1 !!

But we also learned a lot and that learning curve allowed us to make a few "upgrades" for the next trips which are;

1. INTERNET

Many locations I stayed at in the past said they had internet, only they did not describe the speed accurately. Some places had a speed of .01 Mbps. Let me do the math for you - it is 1KB per second. Just for some reference....the slowest Dial up internet used to be 19.2KB PER second.

Meet STARLINK 007. The latest addition to Steele's body. It is a flat high speeds internet satellite dish from Elon Musk's Starlink network. This allows 100Mbps download and 50Mbps upload - even while in motion at 70 miles per hour.

Nice thing is it works worldwide and I plan to take the dish to Australia and to Iceland and other places.

The dish is powered by using the Jackery 1500 battery pack.

Set up is extremely easy and hooking it was a snap.

2. ROOF RACK & CARGO CARRIER

Getting the Starlink dish working was easy but finding how to install on the car roof top - not so easy. Magnets was out of the question, as STEELE has no actual steel - but all carbon fiber body. So the only way was to install a roof rack with a luggage cage. Well - turns out this vehicle does not support a roof rack according to Mercedez Benz - not yes at least. HOWEVER, Michael, our CFO researched and found a generic roof rack that may work. We ordered and then drove to Michael's home ( during 105 degree weather) and after 2-3 hours, STEELE now had a roof rack and luggage carrier.

Attaching the STARLINK Dish to the luggage carrier required some innovation and creative thinking - but at the end it all worked out and the dish installed tightly and securely.

The roof rack addition also allows for carrying more equipment, like CAMPING gear, since you all know how critical it is to have good camping items during these long range trips.

(no - that was a joke. no camping gear allowed in/on STEELE)

3. FOOD STORAGE

During the last trip the cooler was always getting full of water, as the ice melted. Not to mention, that the ice occupied half the cooler. It was messy and time consuming to keep renewing the ice, pouring out all the water and then drying all the items that got wet.

Meet FRIDGIE - the 12v cooler that can. It can keep food ICE cold, even make ice. It is super quiet and looks "cool" although looks have no bearing here.

The cooler looked rather small at start, but the fact you need zero ice in it - frees up alot of cooling space. It fits more than the previous trips cooler.

4. POWER STATION CHARGING

The JACKERY 1500 power station worked great for making a cup of coffee here and there. I charged the brick before I left and 34 days later, after about 50 short usages, it still retained 60% of its initial charge.

That all changed when we started to plug in more and more energy guzzlers into the JACKERY. The STARLINK DISH pulls about 130W continuously and the mini fridge/cooler pulls about 30W occasionally. The 12V cigarette lighter cable that I hooked up to charge the JACKERY while driving only charges at 80W. So we had an ongoing deficit of power drain of 80W. That's while we are driving. When we stop the car for a short hike or sight seeing, and the charging stops, then the drainage is the full 160W (Starlink + fridge) .

HOUSTON - WE HAVE A SOLUTION:

I had an IDEA - to purchase ANOTHER cable that will charge the JACKERY, since it can support 2 inputs, and plug it into the other 12V cigarette plug that is in the trunk. At first the cables we ordered were not long enough, and if they were long, the quality of the cable was so low that we did not get hardly any more charge coming in to the JACKERY.

It was only after we paid the "big bucks" and purchased a professional 12V extension, that we managed to double the JACKERY charge from 80W to 160W. This translates to retaining a full 100% charge after a full day of driving AND while all the time both the the STARLINK and FRIDGE.

5. EZ SPARE TIRE

It is only by miracle that we drove 12,000 miles over dirt roads, rocks, holes and never got a flat tire. Well, miracle and meticulous driving skills maybe :)

While STEELE does have a flat tire fix-it kit, to patch small puncture wounds, THERE IS NO SPARE TIRE! This means that if we blow a large enough hole or small one on the sidewall, then STEELE is completely paralyzed until he is either airlifted out or another wheel is dropped to our location. The problem is that there is no where to put a full sized spare tire.

After consulting with other drivers in the MBWORLD Forums, the solution was to order a small sized spare that fits the vehicle and only occupies a small area of the trunk. So now STEELE has a second pair of "SHOE" just in case.

6. DRONE PHOTOGRAPHY

There were many cases during the last trip where I ended up hiking quite a bit, only to be blocked by a FENCE and/or natural barrier like trees, water, cliff and others. There were also time the trail ended however the actual "sight" to investigate was still quite a distance. The 10X optical zoom on the Samsung S23 Ultra helped a lot in getting yo those places photographed but the DJI MINI3 PRO drone - well now we are talking about military grade flying and photographing.

The DJI MINI 3 is so small, yet can fly out 8 miles and as high as most birds. Being so small - birds actually attack it, so if you see hawks, crows, eagles or vultures - - I would skip trying to fly the drone that day.

But you can imagine the spectacular images we could have captured in Northern Canada if we had the drone during that leg of the trip....

7. CB/GRMS RADIO WITH HIGH GAIN ANTENNA

You all remember the SAGA with the handheld CB radio that we purchased in Canada at CANADAIN TIRE store, and was apparently an "EMPTY" shell, as it could not communicate even to radios 5 feet away.

We purchased a 15WATT GMRS radio from MIDLAND. GMRS radios have unlimited range using repeaters and thus require a license to operate. So we were required to attain one. Our call sign is WRKC718 - so if you ever here "this is wrkc718 calling" know it is us.

Now STEELE also has 2 HIGH GAIN antennas attached to the new ROOF RACK that work with this radio.

Here is the problem.

When I drive behind anyone now - they slow down to just below the speed limit since STEELE really looks like a police interceptor vehicle when drivers see us in their rear view mirror...

Oh well - there are worst problems to have in life....

Well - there you have all the new upgrades and prep work that went into STEELE towards his next adventures. Stay tuned - more short and long trips coming soon...