I did some more research about Macbook Pros and voltage before shutting down my computer earlier this morning and found information that led me to believe that I could still charge under slightly lower than optimal voltage, it just wouldn’t be as efficient.

The motorhome engine battery puts out more than 14 volts when the engine is running. Could that be enough to charge my Macbook Pro while I was driving? Hmm…

All of my inverters are designed to be hard wired to a battery, so they do not have a 12V plug. I had a one of those left over from when I added my 12V outlet in the study, so I spliced it into my 300W inverter. I got into the cab, plugged in the inverter, turned on the engine, turned on the inverter, plugged in the computer and… voila! I got a solid hour of charging while getting to the next rest area, giving me 50% battery capacity.

By managing my computer use, I will be fine for computer power while I’m traveling, but this is obviously not going to work when I stop to boondock for an extended period of time. So I will be ordering the 12V charger to be sent general delivery to a post office in the New Orleans area.

I’m feeling much, much better now that I understand what has been going on and am now confident that my battery bank is working as it should be! It’s wonderful to be sitting here with the solar array monitor telling me the batteries are fully charged and that the battery monitor and the batteries themselves confirm it!

I called ahead to the Walmart just south of Charlotte that I was eyeing and they definitely allow overnight parking! They’re only a couple of hours away from this rest area, so I will spend several hours here and will leave around 2PM or so to avoid rush hour.

Tomorrow is the big day: Atlanta. I’ve done my research on the RVing forums and the consensus is to stick to the interstate’s centre lanes through the city rather than use the bypass and to go through at either midday or midnight.

At the rate I am going, I could be in New Orleans by Thursday or Friday, but I’m just playing it by ear. I’m really enjoying these short driving spurts coupled with long pauses at rest areas, even if the semis are noisy!