You might remember my story from October 8th, 2007 about Ty Adams and his biodiesel-powered RV, the bioTrekker, Adams is a man who likes to travel the country, preaching the gospel of alternative fuels. Now, he’s rolling on the roads in the SolTrekker, which also runs on biodiesel but, in addition, is outfitted with solar panels and made even more self-sustaining.
This story in The Oregonian says the Portland man is using his green RV as a teaching tool to all who will listen:
His unlikely pulpit is the 27-foot-long “SolTrekker,” a paragon of sustainability in an eye-catching custom paint job of orange, brown and white, with yellow sun rays reaching from the wheel hubs.
It’s the blood and guts of the motor home that so audaciously flip the RV stereotype.
The SolTrekker runs on biodiesel. Solar panels heat its water and power its electricity. Special gutters channel rain through filters and into holding barrels to use for cooking and cleaning.
The composting toilet doesn’t need to be pumped out.
Bamboo siding replaced the vinyl interior walls and eliminated out-gassing. Dense, soft insulation made from shredded denim jeans seals out extreme temperatures.
“I really like this idea of taking this symbol of consumerism and excess,” said Adams, a freelance writer and editor who counts among his sponsors Monaco Coach of Coburg, his former employer. “I like to take it and make it sustainable. If the RV industry can go this route, any industry can go this route.”
The article goes on to say that Adams has even bigger plans for the RV… possibly even some wind power one day.
You can read more about the SolTrekker by clicking here.