Touring - pacific coast route outlet availability to charge phone and batteries

hello,

my friend and i will be riding from vancover to SF in september and we will be mostly camping along the route. i have not found much advice/experience/beta on the interwebs about access to outlets along the way. i use rechargeable batteries at home to reduce toxic landfill issues as well as save money. I plan on bringing a small 4 AAA/AA battery charger for my camping headlamp and bike lights. also, as one of the last humans to not own a smartphone, i will be upgrading to an iphone this summer for the ease of posting pics/blogging/internet access and trip route info/maps etc. i will be needing to charge that thing too and truly have no idea how often they need charging.

so, will i find outlets at the campgrounds? or need to mooch power while shopping in a store or eating at a cafe?

are there outlets anywhere at the hiker/biker sites?
what do you do?

my buddy had a power generating hub built for him, and i am also open to building a front dynamo hub wheel and using that power to keep my phone topped off as well as recharge batteries when needed. almost seems too easy actually! i know this will also require a waterproof phone case and some additional special electronics to charge both the phone and a set of batteries.

i like shimano but haven't been able to exactly figure out the difference between the DH-S501 and the DH-3N80. i would like 36 hole and the best one. the price difference is very small and not an issue. any advice would be very appreciated.

thank you

I generally couchsurf or stay in motels when I tour, so most of my charging is done in people's homes. I often eat in restaurants and, when necessary, charge my electronics there. You will not find electricity in the hiker/biker sites. There will likely be an electric outlet in the bathrooms (at least those with toilets and running water) of those campgrounds. In a pinch, you could probably ask someone in an RV to do a charge for you but then you can't take a superior attitude when condemning their use of gas generators!

I don't believe I've ever been turned down when asking for a quick charge at a business establishment that I was patronizing. Though, it sometimes requires me to leave my phone or charger out of sight for a while.

A dyno-hub is good for when you are moving but, obviously, won't charge your phone overnight.

I ride with a small homemade bar bag that hangs on the inside of my bars and opens away from me and is waterproof. I made it from a camera bag. It’s the bag that all the things that come with me when I leave the bike are in. I plan on attaching the phone in the Mophie case inside the bag maybe to the lid, but somehow so it will be on the top so all I have to do is open the bag and view the phone right next to my reading glasses. I have been experimenting and the phone is much more easy to view when its shaded a bit with the lid. I now use a Tekkeon backup charger that works differently than most of the backup deals.
http://www.tekkeon.com/productcart/p...&idproduct=194 (http://www.tekkeon.com/productcart/pc/viewPrd.asp?idcategory=9&idproduct=194)
It will take ether rechargeable AA or alkaline AA and can also be used as an AC charger for the NMH I carry when AC power is available. It also came with atiny USB charger for direct charging the phone. I would set out with My iPhone charged in the charged Mophie case 4 AA NMH in the Tekkeon unit and 4 AA alkaline batteries as ultimate backup. The Tekkeon outputs thru USB and I also carry a single led laptop light, the kind that’s about a foot long on a flexwire. I can set the Tekkeon as a base and have a nice little light source(hands free) in the tent or for cooking late that draws almost no power and has little weight.




I try and keep all my needs phone charging and light based around AA cells and with doing that I have batteries in the phone and inthe tekkeon that I can charge and recharge, (Green). I hold in reserve 4 AA alkaline that have a 5 year shelf life and can be replaced anyplace along the way.



Doing it this way I have backup for the backup and peace of mind and not having to hang around someplace for 4 hours watching my iPhone charge when I could be doing something better.



Check out the cases like the Mophie and also charge units that take normal batteries like the Tekkeon. The water proof cases are nice and handlebar mounts are nice and that’s what I did the last couple years. But this year I’m keeping it in the bag, out of the sun and pulling over when I get a call or want to study the route. Much safer IMO. The iPhone can really do so many things but that’s another post.

On my first Pacific Coast tour I charged in campground bathrooms and the occasional hotel. The campground bathrooms were a major pain, since I was always worried about the phone getting stolen. A woman I met along the route had that happen to her. The next day, someone got her LHT. She gave up and went home. Felt real bad for her.

These days I carry a New Trent battery pack (http://www.amazon.com/New-Trent-IMP1000-Thunderbolt-Blackberry/dp/B003ZBZ64Q/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1334634630&sr=8-1), which keeps all my devices charged up for about a week before it needs to be recharged itself. I stay in motels at least once a week anyway so it works out great. I really like this thing because I can charge my devices (phone, gps, mp3 player) while sleeping, while riding, or while in camp.

We've done the Pacific Coast route three times, and hopefully again. There is no electricity in the hiker-biker sites that we were in (Usually an open area with some tables). The bathrooms have outlets, but I don't think I'd be leaving my phone there unattended. We take a motel every once in awhile to treat ourselves, do our laundry and charge our batteries. Enjoy the ride. It definitely rates a 10 in our book.

+1 to what was said so far about availability of outlets.

I will add that a lot will depend on how and when you use your electronic devices. It can be a bigger or smaller issue depending on your usage.

For me battery charging can be pretty infrequent. I am likely to go coast to coast on a single set of batteries in my lights. Most days I only turn my phone on for a short call home and a quick journal entry. My camera goes a long way on a charge and I carry an extra battery.

thank you for the great replies and experience. the hub is sounding better and better, rather than worrying about outlets!

i do not want to deal with a dead phone or no camping headlamp. that's pretty much my core power needs. my bike lights should get such little use i am not concerned, though keeping my rear superflash on at all times might not be a bad extra safety feature.

i like the Goal Zero products, but don't want to rely on solar and messing with it on a bicycle. i do like how their battery pack is made of 4 removable rechargeable batteries and is also a charger! i sent them a quick email about charging their battery pack from a dynamo hub. i hadn't found the e-werk unit yet and that prolly shoulda been mentioned to them.

seems like i could connect an E-werk to the hub. and the goal zero 4 AA battery pack to the e-werk? right? the phone would be charged and i could rotate out the rechargable batteries in the battery pack into my headlamp. keep most of this all in my waterproof handlebar bag and boom! problem solved! a pricey solution though.

bud, i'm going for a very similiar set up. does the Tekkeon charge AAA too?
all the goal zero reviews love their cust support and build quality.

Not that I’m saying to do this but for comparison sake the Shimano hub is equal in weight to about 30 AA batteries. For me if I was going to be doing an extended tour of months and months remaining self-sufficient something like the hub / E-werk would be what I would want also. If I was traveling with a partner or small group maybe one hub to maintain everyone’s needs would be more cost efficient.

I like the backup packs for local use like the New Trent and others and if you know you will have some access to power along the way they would be perfect. The units that take AA cells I find better because they do what the rechargeable USB packs do with the added feature of being able to break the cells out and put in lights etc. and then the additional feature of being able to use alkaline cells in a pinch. I use all NMH at home as much as I can, not so much to save the planet as to save money and convenience. What is convenient at home is a pain in a primitive camp site. At home I have a 15 minute rapid charger and most of my batteries are rapid charge type. That would be great on tour except the charger weighs a “ton”. The Tekkeon charger I mentioned above doubles as an AC charger but works like all the light weight ones and takes about 4 hours to charge the set of 4. I would however feel better leaving that plugged in unattended if I had to than leaving my iPhone setting out. Both are as likely to be taken but the replacement cost is a lot different.

As a side note as of 1993 alkaline batteries have no mercury in them and they are the safest of batteries to dispose of and require no special treatments except throwing in the regular waste bin. The other Green batteries don’t require throwing out as often but when you do they should be processed thru a recycling center as the do contain stuff not safe in a landfill.

I carry the HyperJuice Mini (http://www.hypershop.com/HyperJuice-Mini-7200mAh-iPad-iPhone-USB-Battery-p/hj72-black.htm) Li-On battery that charges my iPhone 5 times, before needing a charge itself. At 8.5 ounces it works for me. It could be enough for your entire trip.

so, will i find outlets at the campgrounds? or need to mooch power while shopping in a store or eating at a cafe?

It all depends on how resourceful you are. I usually stop for lunch at a restaurant or store, where power is frequently available. Campgrounds can be a bit hit-or-miss. If you arrive early and the campground has an attendant/ranger/host, it's often possible to get them to charge a device until they're ready to leave. If there are car or RV campers, it's often possible to find someone who will help with charging. Having an adapter so you can charge from a cigarette lighter is useful in this case.

I generally try to limit my charging requests to one device. If I'm going to leave a device with someone, I make a firm commitment on when I'll retrieve the device and I let the person know how to find me should their plans change. The last thing you want is to have your GPS locked in the ranger hut or find that the RV owners who are charging your phone left early and forgot to return it...

They have electricity in California now? Things sure have changed.

Maybe, if the OP is lucky, he can find a few free Capital Letters on his trip. I hear the cool people no longer use them, and gladly give them away for free. Us old-timers still use them, cause it helps us see where the sentences start and end, especially in big blocks of text. I don't read the no-capital-letters posts, it's too much like work.

read e.e.cummings, famous for lower case poetry.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E._E._Cummings

I read e.e.cummings many years ago, fietsbob, thanks.

I also read Lewis Carroll, an author you must be familiar with since you seem to have styled your own posts in the manner of Jabberwocky - although Jabberwocky usually reads easier than your posts and seems to eventually make a point.

Why don't you take the time to write more clearly? I'm sure that I'm not the only one who can't understand some of your messages. I honestly believe you'd be more helpful making a few good comments a day, rather than the average 21 posts a day, of which about 7 are incomprehensible to many readers.

You appear to have a great deal of bicycle-related knowledge. Why not show some respect to the people you seem to want to share it with and write a little better so that it can actually be understood.

thank you for the replies and reading recommendations :) i really like the recharging battery units that use 4 AA batteries so that i may rotate them through for use in my headlamp. i already heard back from goalzero and they said yes to the idea, but i re-asked some specific questions and will post the answers here for everyone.

i am ok with the extra weight of the hub and the more i think about always looking for available outlets, i think i would much rather just run a dynamo and be green and stressfree! i do think about how just buying conventional batteries enroute would be easy, lighter and really not use too many batteries; but the iphone woud still a lingering issue. i am super happy my old-timer filter worked so well and we can all now type freely and in total security! wooo-haaa!

i really like the recharging battery units that use 4 AA batteries so that i may rotate them through for use in my headlamp.

I would consider whether you actually need that capability. I know that I usually find no need to replace or charge my headlamp batteries on a trip that length. If you do need to, then plan for it, but if you don't it eliminates some gear and some fuss.

If you misjudge you can always pick up a cheap light or some alkaline batteries.

Maybe I am weird in that regard, but I actually use lights in camp so little that I considered not carrying one at all. I typically never bothered to dig out the headlamp and just stumbled around in the dark. I stumbled on what for me seems to be a near perfect solution. I wear a little eGear PICO Zipper Light on a chain around my neck along with my RoadID. It is always there and I find that I use it a lot, but typically for 5 seconds at a clip. So the 10 minute battery life will probably last me for 6 months of touring. So far it has been bright enough for everything I have used it for. The bonus is that it weighs only 0.2 ounces and can be found for under $10. The downside is that it uses weird batteries.
http://www.rescue-essentials.com/v/vspfiles/photos/90-0626-2T.gif

i really like the recharging battery units that use 4 AA batteries

Those batteries are NiMH. They are relatively heavy and have fussy "recharge memory". Personally I'm trying to move battery needs to Li-Ion and common USB type charging. I like the dynamo and/or solar concepts to charge these devises. I think your NiMH batteries will be more problematic with these charging systems.

Here is my whole deal minus the phone (needed to take photo) staehpj1 inspired me to take a photo. The heaviest part of it is the number of AA batteries you want to have along and your desire to not use alkaline batteries. If I was super concerned about weight I would just carry 4 alkaline batteries in the case and resupply them at convenience stores as required just like you would buy “Heat” to cook with as needed. Very little fuss or worry and overall cost compared to solar and hubs quite low. In my case I carry 4 NMH and 4 alkaline.

The whole deal shown I haven’t weighed but just doing a hand test it weighs about what my iPhone weighs and with the AA’s in it weighs about what my iPhone and Mophie case weigh together. I have a fancy digital cooking scale at home I never use maybe I will get some weights tonight.

In the photo I plugged the little USB light in that I bought at dollar tree for a buck. The office light here is pretty bright but at night this little light does a great job of lighting the tent or a spot light for what you might be working on cooking or fixing the bike. The wire to the LED is made to stay where you bend it. Great for reading or bend it to hang it etc.


http://inlinethumb58.webshots.com/48377/2076421280037547136S600x600Q85.jpg (http://travel.webshots.com/photo/2076421280037547136WXAaWm)

Just to show I’m moving in the right direction, I think. Here is my old setup with my 3G iPhone. It was more of a brick in the bar bag and only could use alkaline batteries (8). It would keep me running a very long time though.

http://inlinethumb05.webshots.com/18820/2204781090037547136S600x600Q85.jpg (http://travel.webshots.com/photo/2204781090037547136TbFnZp)

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... I stumbled on what for me seems to be a near perfect solution. I wear a little eGear PICO Zipper Light on a chain ...

The Photon Freedom Micro is pretty nice. The latest model is a major improvement over the ones I bought several years ago. It's a little brighter than the Pico, weighs about the same, includes useful accessory mounts, comes in many beam colors, has an infinitely-adjustable beam, as well as strobe and SOS modes, and the batteries (2xCr2016 for most) last a lot longer. It also will accept a single CR2032 in a pinch, same as most Cateye computers, but won't last long due to lower voltage. Beware of counterfeits.

The only bad thing about this neat little light is the user instructions are not well written, and this light has a number of operating options that are not described well, if at all. I had to google for a bit to learn all its secrets.

http://www.laughingrabbitinc.com/p_freedom.htm <- Laughing Rabbit is the REAL PHOTON light

http://www.amazon.com/LRI-FMW-Freedom-Keychain-Micro-Light/dp/B0007D5TKQ/ <- best deal

Those batteries are NiMH. They are relatively heavy and have fussy "recharge memory". Personally I'm trying to move battery needs to Li-Ion and common USB type charging. I like the dynamo and/or solar concepts to charge these devises. I think your NiMH batteries will be more problematic with these charging systems.

Don't forget that NiMH batteries also loose charge quickly even when they're not being used. I've slowly been switching all of my cordless power tools over to Li-Ion because I got tired of finding out that my NiMH batteries were dead after sitting on the shelf for a couple of weeks. Li-Ion tools always seem to be ready to go, no matter how long they've been sitting around... For whatever that's worth.

@sstorkel

While it is true that regular NiMH cells self-discharge rather quickly, and Li doesn't, you can buy Sanyo Eneloops in AA and AAA form, and they have a very low self-discharge rate, almost as good as Li. I have used Eneloops for 5 years, they are great!

And like LRI Photon micro lights, beware of old and counterfeit Eneloops:

http://budgetlightforum.com/node/7336

The latest model is a major improvement over the ones I bought several years ago.
I might have to check it out again. I wasn't thrilled with the one I tried several years ago. It too often came open dumping it's parts on the ground or in my pocket and I didn't like the squeeze only switch.

I have to say that I am not really interested in more features. The beam colors, strobe, and SOS don't really interest me, nor do the accessory mounts. I value a solid design that just works, no frills required. A positive switch mechanism that does't get turned on accidentally is a must.

As I said before I find the Pico almost perfect. The one thing I don't like about it is the fact that it uses a weird battery that is harder to find on the road. The battery life is enough that I can live with that. Battery availability is the one reason I might consider a different light of this size rather than the Pico. The Photon is an improvement in that area, but it looks like it still has the same problem that made me stop using it (the snap open body).

It looks like Photo also has a no frills model with a squeeze switch and a slider switch, but I fear it will have the same problem of coming open. I also wonder how positive the switch is.

@sstorkel

While it is true that regular NiMH cells self-discharge rather quickly, and Li doesn't, you can buy Sanyo Eneloops in AA and AAA form, and they have a very low self-discharge rate, almost as good as Li. I have used Eneloops for 5 years, they are great!

I largely agree with this. At this point, I've switched most of my AA and AAA devices over to Eneloop or similar batteries. In my experience, they're quite a bit better than NiMH though still several steps behind Li-Ion in terms of self-discharge. Definitely worth the upgrade...

seems all that electronics is something needing it's own Pannier to carry it all ..

the battery pack from goal zero can be plugged into a dynamo. one small device to charge AA, AAA and a phone. sweet! rep says "you don't need a regulator. Our battery packs have built in overcharge proctection."