June 18, 2025 • 55 mins
In this electrifying episode I (Patti Hunt) sit down with Denis Phares, CEO and founder of Dragonfly Energy, the company behind the revolutionary Battle Born Batteries. We dive deep into why lithium batteries are transforming the RV lifestyle for full-timers, boondockers, and off-grid adventurers. Denis shares his fascinating journey from physics professor to battery pioneer, the safety and efficiency of lithium iron phosphate technology, and what RVers must consider when upgrading their power systems. Whether you're just starting your RV journey or looking to level up your rig, this episode is packed with expert insights, practical tips, and inspiring stories.
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Denis Phares, CEO and founder of Dragonfly Energy Denis Phares Bio
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Are lithium batteries really a game changer for RVers
?
I'm Patti Hunt and you arelistening to the RV Life Podcast
.
Dennis, what is most importantto consider when purchasing an
RV battery?
Speaker 2 (00:21):
I think the most important thing to consider is
that it's not just a battery,it's a power system and there
are a number of components thatgo in the power system to charge
the battery as well as toconvert the power into the DC or
AC power that you use.
So of course, you need aquality battery, but consider
the entire system as well.
Speaker 1 (00:40):
And we're going to get into all of that today,
because today's expert guest isDennis Ferris, CEO and inventor
of Lithium Batteries by BattleBorn Batteries, and he's here to
answer questions that you, theRV community, have been asking,
and we're going to talk aboutthings like types of batteries
(01:00):
and differences, how to meetyour power needs, maintenance,
safety and so much more.
This episode is going to bejam-packed.
My story, as some people know,I started full-time RVing four
years ago during COVID.
My husband said let's selleverything and buy an RV, and we
(01:21):
did, even though I had no clue.
My husband had a little bitmore of a clue, but I was really
clueless.
And when it came to poweringthe to the podcast, I need my
cappuccino in the morning, so Ihad to make sure that that
(01:48):
machine was going to work.
I could say I've made a lot ofmistakes in the RV, including
destroying a lithium batterybecause when I stored the RV it
was not shut off properly.
So maybe we'll talk about thatmore during the episode.
The reason for the RV Lifepodcast is to help my listeners
(02:11):
learn, so I create content tohelp educate, entertain and
explore the RV lifestyle,helping you to not make some of
the same mistakes I've made andto inspire you to live life to
the fullest.
For this episode and some of myother podcast episodes, you
will now be able to see videoclips on my new channel,
(02:34):
Inspired Travels with Patti.
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(02:57):
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I'm so excited to get intotoday's episode because I've
(03:23):
learned a lot about to today'sepisode because I've learned a
lot about batteries stillnowhere near an expert but even
more important, about DennisFerris, the man behind Dragonfly
Energy.
Dennis Ferris is the CEO ofDragonfly Energy, the company
behind Battleboard Batteries,one of the first lithium battery
solutions built specificallyfor off-grid RVers.
(03:47):
A lifelong inventor, Dennishelped pioneer the shift from
heavy, short-lived lead acidbatteries to the lightweight
lithium ion phosphate batteriesthat now power thousands of RV
adventures across the country.
Under his leadership, DragonflyEnergy transformed from a
(04:08):
startup into a leader in lithiumpower systems for RVers, with a
growing portfolio of smart,sustainable energy technology,
Before founding Dragonfly Energyin 2012,.
Founding Dragonfly Energy in2012, Dennis was a tenured
(04:29):
engineering professor with deepexperience in energy, fluid
mechanics and environmentalscience.
He holds multiple patents inbattery manufacturing and is
passionate about making off-gridliving more accessible and
environmentally responsible.
Welcome, Dennis, to the RV LifePodcast.
Speaker 2 (04:47):
Thank you, patti, it's great to be here.
Speaker 1 (04:49):
I am so excited to have you here and again I am
going to admit this throughout Iam out of my league with power
and energy and all of the thingswe're going to talk about today
, so I am so excited to learnmore about powering an RV.
I can't wait to get into this.
So education, your edificationlet's start with that just
(05:14):
really touches the surface aboutthe amazing journey that you've
been on.
We talked about before.
We jumped on how much we havein common.
So I know as a young kid youmoved to Philadelphia where I
was born and raised, and thenyou went to university at
Villanova and lived right downthe street from me because I
(05:34):
also lived in Villanova.
So that was really cool.
So so many common things, buthelp my listeners get to know
you, the man, just a little bitmore things but help my
listeners get to know you theman just a little bit more.
Speaker 2 (05:47):
Yeah, I grew up in Villanova, Pennsylvania, on the
main line just outside the cityof Philadelphia, and the reason
we live there is my dad was aphysics professor at Villanova
University, so naturally Ibecame a physics major and did
my undergraduate at VillanovaUniversity and that kind of set
(06:08):
the stage for what I would doafterwards, because I went to
graduate school.
I went to Caltech and got a PhDin environmental engineering
science, working for a chemicalengineer who was my advisor, and
became very proficient inaerosol mechanics, the physics
(06:30):
and chemistry of small particles, fluid mechanics, and
eventually got around to makingenergy-related devices from
small particles.
One of those is a lithium-ionbattery.
So you know, I basically justcrammed 25 years of my
background into that sentence,but that's essentially what
happened.
(06:50):
I did go into academia.
I became a professor, first atTexas A&M University in College
Station, Texas, which wasawesome.
Then I switched over toUniversity of Southern
California in Los Angeles and Igot my tenure there and, long
story short, I left my tenuredposition, moved to Reno back in
(07:14):
2012, got an MBA, foundedDragonfly Energy to deploy some
of the technologies that I wasdeveloping related to
lithium-ion batterymanufacturing.
Technologies that I wasdeveloping related to
lithium-ion batterymanufacturing and in the process
went to market with a line ofbattery packs called Battle Born
Batteries, named after theBattle Born state of Nevada.
And there you go.
Speaker 1 (07:35):
Wow, and that is a lot packed into a quick synopsis
of who you are.
I am going to.
I referred to the blog thatgets into what you just talked
about in such depth and just anincredible story, so I am going
to put a link to that blog inthe show notes for people to
find out more about you.
(07:56):
You missed something big inthere, because I know you also
are a guitar player and you werein a band and you were debating
right between the band andCalifornia and science, right.
That was a big part of who youwere.
Speaker 2 (08:15):
That is true.
I guess that must be in theblog.
I'm not.
I don't know exactly whatyou're referring to, so but yes,
that is true.
I uh, my, my plan A?
Uh was to be a musician, andspecifically a?
Uh rock and roll guitar player,and when I graduated from
Villanova kind of made a dealwith my parents that I would
(08:38):
move to LA to do this but Iwould go to graduate school.
So Caltech was a natural fitand I spent many years playing
on the Sunset Strip and goingfrom band to band and playing
many sessions.
And I did that even while I wasa professor and I kept it going
.
And even as recently as after Imoved up to Reno I was not as
(09:03):
serious about it, but at leaststill playing music.
Speaker 1 (09:07):
Wow, and yes, I've done a lot of stalking you, I
guess we'll call it so I know alot about you.
So you decided on lithiumbatteries and you wanted to go
out and meet RVers.
I know you attended rallies andboondocking spots and you were
on the road because you wantedto connect directly with the
(09:27):
community.
What was the thought behindthat?
What happened while you weredoing that?
Speaker 2 (09:35):
Well, it really has to do with the fact that lithium
ion batteries were so new andthere was a pretty steep
(10:05):
education curve to understandingwhat it took to not just change
out your lead power activitiesthat lithium ion batteries
facilitate.
So it was important to get outon the road and really educate
and understand how RVersparticularly ones that were full
timers how they were usingenergy and understanding for
myself how lithium batterysystems could be tuned and
(10:26):
designed to optimize theexperience, and then also just
talking with them and educatingthem and getting the buy-in from
those folks was reallyimportant.
Speaker 1 (10:37):
Okay, so now you started the company in.
Well, you started developmentin 2009.
Is that correct?
Speaker 2 (10:47):
Well, I mean honestly , you can say that the
technology that goes into thepatents that I've written was,
you know, decades earlier.
I started the company in 2012specifically to deploy the cell
manufacturing technology, butwhat happened really was that
the battery pack assembly andthe RV business really took off
(11:11):
and that became sort of acentral focal point to what the
business was about.
It funded a lot of the R&D thatwe ended up doing.
It helped us develop a largeintellectual property portfolio,
so that is part of the value ofDragonfly Energy.
But we are still very much anRV company even today and just
(11:35):
love the interactions we haveand continuing to develop
products and innovating on thetechnologies.
Speaker 1 (11:42):
So why the RV industry?
From what I read, you're not anRVer, correct?
Or did I miss something?
Speaker 2 (11:49):
No, I was not.
I was not when we went tomarket and it really was an
understanding of the power thatyou could get from that size of
a lithium ion battery productand I was kind of brainstorming
what kind of industries ormarkets relied on specifically
(12:12):
that kind of power, that kind ofsize.
I'm not talking about you knowcell phones, we know cell phone
batteries, we know electricvehicle batteries, we know large
grid storage batteries.
But I was really looking at the1, 2, 3, 4, 5 kilowatt hour
range.
And RVs was not my first try.
My first try wasbattery-powered guitar tube
(12:35):
amplifiers.
So that's another one of those.
You know that size, that kind ofpower, and my band in Reno at
the time was 100% off-grid.
The battery powered theamplifiers, even the bass amp,
the PA system.
That was actually my first tryand it worked great.
(12:57):
I remember playing a gig inDoyle, California, where the
power went out and the bandplayed on, which was pretty
awesome, but it was not a goodbusiness model.
There's just not enoughmusicians out there,
particularly ones that areinterested in off-grid power,
and so the RV industry emergedas one that had a pain point,
(13:20):
and that is RVers really didn'tlike their lead acid batteries
just the unreliability, the factthat they're so heavy and
difficult to replace and don'tdeliver a ton of power.
It really seemed ripe for achange.
Speaker 1 (13:36):
Okay, so the other thing we have in common you were
a professor, I was a teacher.
We talked about that in thepre-interview.
Lots of things in common.
I want to break things down alittle bit and again, for me, I
am limited on what I know aboutpower and energy.
Let's break it down.
You brought up lead acid.
(13:56):
We've talked about lithium ion.
I know when my husband waslooking at batteries there was
also an AGM type system battery.
Can you, just for listenersthat are like me and not
familiar, break down thosedifferent types of batteries?
Speaker 2 (14:14):
You mentioned absorbed glass mat.
Basically, AGM is a type oflead acid battery, as is a
flooded battery, a sealedlead-acid battery.
It's based on the samechemistry associated with lead
and sulfuric acid and it's thatelectrochemical reaction that
delivers the electron you needto power.
(14:36):
Lithium-ion is a littledifferent.
It's based on chemicalreactions involving a
lithium-ion and it's acompletely different mechanism.
But what's really nice about it,compared to a lead-acid battery
, is that you can pack in morepower in a smaller space and
with less weight.
And another big difference isthat you can deliver a lot more
(15:05):
power without having thatvoltage sag that you experience
with a lead-acid battery, thatis, it has a lot less impedance,
a lot less resistance todelivering power.
So those differences the factthat it's lighter and the fact
that it can deliver suchefficient power other than the
(15:27):
fundamental chemistry, that issomething that really describes
why those two chemistries aredifferent.
There are other types ofbatteries as well.
There's nickel cadmiumbatteries and nickel metal
hydride.
So those aren't the only two.
But for RVing in particular,historically it was flooded lead
(15:49):
acid to sealed lead acid, toAGM and now evolving into the
next generation lithium ion,specifically lithium iron
phosphate batteries.
Speaker 1 (15:58):
I would imagine that presenting this to the RV
community something different,something new, and it's my
understanding that overalllithium batteries the upfront
cost is more and you could talkto that.
What were the challenges?
How receptive was the RVcommunity to this idea of
lithium batteries?
Speaker 2 (16:19):
The two biggest obstacles were cost and safety.
Biggest obstacles were cost andsafety.
So with the cost issue and evenat the time the upfront cost
was even higher than it is nowbut the argument that we
(16:39):
successfully made to the RVcommunity was that the cost of
ownership was a lot lower.
So a lithium ion battery cancycle so many more times than a
lead acid battery withoutdegrading that.
You have to count that lifetime.
Speaker 1 (16:52):
I'm going to stop you because can you explain what
that means again for the teacherthat had to break things down?
Speaker 2 (16:59):
Another really big difference between a lithium ion
battery and a lead acid batteryis the number of times it can
be cycled.
So when you cycle a battery,what it means is you're draining
it, using up the power and thenyou're charging it back up
again, and that's one cycle.
A lead acid battery willtypically last hundreds of
(17:22):
cycles, whereas a lithium-ionbattery, particularly a
lithium-ion phosphate battery,will last thousands of cycles.
So even though there's a higherupfront cost for lithium, if
you amortize that cost over thelifetime of the battery, it's
actually a fraction of the costof lead acid.
(17:43):
So the cost of ownership ismuch less.
So that's how we address thecost issue, the upfront cost
issue for lithium ion batteries.
And then the other issue was thesafety issue.
And at the time there were somepretty high profile fires
having to do with, you know, thecell phone explosions or
(18:10):
hoverboard type, you know,scooters, whatever.
There was some basically lowquality stuff out there.
That was a particularlyvolatile chemistry that is
different than lithium ironphosphate volatile chemistry
that is different than lithiumiron phosphate.
So we had to educate two points.
The first is that we're notusing that kind of chemistry
(18:31):
which is lithium cobalt oxide.
We're using lithium ironphosphate, which is inherently
safer.
And then the second point is youcan design a battery pack where
the chance of a fire is very,very, very low.
And that's how we designed ourpacks.
We basically made it so thatyou can't have propagation of
(18:55):
thermal events.
And once you convince thecustomer that it's cheaper and
it's safer than you think, nowall of a sudden all the other
benefits become that muchclearer, that much better.
It's like okay, so now I couldactually power an air
conditioner off-grid.
I've never heard of that before, so that was sort of an aha
(19:20):
moment for a lot of them.
Speaker 1 (19:21):
Right, and being able to do those things has
certainly made a difference toRVers and how they RV.
The lithium battery, you know,is a game changer.
I've seen it over the fouryears that I've been involved in
RVing.
What was the moment?
Was there a moment when yourealized this was it for the RV
(19:41):
community, that this was a gamechanger?
Speaker 2 (19:44):
It was probably one of the events that I went to
with a bunch of full-time RVinfluencers out in Wellington
Texas in 2018.
And we met up with some that wehad already been working with,
and we met a lot of new ones,and and every single one of
(20:11):
those you know individuals orcouples or groups that we talked
to were blown away.
And, of course, we had ourexisting influencers that had
batteries there that were ableto show off what it could do,
and we even brought some to dosome more installations.
I was pretty floored at thechange in attitude from when we
(20:34):
got there to when we left.
When we left Wellington Texasback in 2018, we basically had
another 10 influencers signed upjust ready to tell this story
because they were so excitedabout it, and I think that was
sort of the moment, and thenafter that it was really
exponential growth for us sortof the moment and then after
(20:56):
that it was really exponentialgrowth for us and you're all
over and we're going to talkabout that like events that you
attend.
Speaker 1 (21:01):
I've seen you at all the events I've been to.
We'll talk a little bit aboutthat.
When it comes to power andagain I want to take it down
Some of my listeners arefull-time, part-time, sometime
thinking about RVing.
Some have backgrounds andthey're following every word
you're saying.
Some are more like me where,when I pulled into a campsite,
(21:26):
depending on where we wereplugged in or the kind of power,
whether we were off grid Iwould ask do I need to turn off
the air conditioner to start thecappuccino machine?
Like?
That's how I understood what Ineeded to do and I'll admit it
wasn't the best way.
I should have had a betterunderstanding which is the
purpose of this.
Let's talk a little bit aboutthe energy itself, the power.
(21:49):
So for somebody who has a largefifth wheel, they want to be
off grid.
Let's talk a little bit aboutwhat they need to consider when
thinking about powering their RV.
You know, off grid, if they'reboondocking or they're going to
be in cold weather or thosekinds of things, what do they
(22:10):
need to think about?
Speaker 2 (22:15):
what do they need?
Speaker 1 (22:16):
to think about.
All right, well, you brought upa bunch of different things
there.
Speaker 2 (22:18):
So if you're starting from scratch and you want to
build a power system, first ofall you want to consider the
size of your system that youneed and you really need to if
you're doing it yourself, youneed to learn to count your
electrons.
You need to learn to count howmany kilowatt hours you use
typically in a day If you wantto be boondocking in off-grid.
(22:41):
You have to match that with theamount of solar that you're
producing.
And then, finally, you have tothink about how much power do
you want to be able to use atone time.
So you mentioned that you haveto turn off the air conditioner
if you want to run the coffeemaker.
Well, that happens to be thecase for your particular system
because you had yourself cappedat a certain power limit.
(23:02):
So if you're designing thesystem beforehand and you say,
well, I want to be able to putout a kilowatt and a half here
and a kilowatt and a half thereat the same time, then you need
three kilowatts.
So you say, okay, I'm going todesign my system for three
kilowatts.
So that means you have to buildyour necessary the bank,
(23:24):
battery bank that can deliverthat power but, more importantly
, all the other systemcomponents have to be able to
handle that power and thatcurrent your inverter has to be
able to do it.
Power and that current yourinverter has to be able to do it
.
All your connectors, yourcables, you know.
That's why the system is soimportant.
When you're talking about thedesign and how you want to
optimize your lifestyle, youhave to consider the entire
(23:44):
system, not just the batteries.
So that's the first thing.
You've got the size and designof your system.
And then you mentioned coldweather.
Now you have to consider thevarious elements that you're
going to be in.
Is it going to be very hot?
Is it going to be very cold?
What are your expectedenvironmental conditions?
(24:08):
Lithium ion batteries should notbe charged rapidly when it's
very cold.
There are reasons that youshouldn't do that.
The most blatant one it's goingto be a loss of capacity.
You're going to age it faster.
So what we've done with oursystem?
(24:30):
I think we were one of thepioneers in actually protecting
against that by having a lowtemperature cutoff that prevents
charging at low temperatures.
Now, that's ubiquitous in theindustry, but then, if you do
want to be able to use yourbatteries or charge your
batteries in cold temperaturesyou can put in a heating
(24:50):
provision.
So we have an internal heatingprovision that you can activate
or deactivate.
If you're typically going to bein very hot temperatures, all
lithium ion batteries shouldhave a hot temperature cut off
as well, because if you'reactually in hot weather and
generating more heat, then youcould run the temperature of the
(25:10):
batteries higher to the pointwhere you're not just degrading
them but you could damage thempermanently.
So you have to think about howyou might cool the system or
allow the bank to convectivelycool.
You know the power and energydesigned to allow you to
boondock the way that you wantto boondock.
Speaker 1 (25:43):
OK, so that a lot of great information for people.
I know you guys have supportsystem.
I want to talk about a sponsor.
I want to talk about a sponsorand when, after I've talked
(26:18):
about the sponsor, I want totalk about those people who are
either looking for their new RV,their next RV, or service.
Blue Compass RV is the placethat we at RV Life recommend,
because they have over 100locations coast to coast, more
than 15,000 new and used RVs andover 1,000 service bays and, as
we all know, those service baysare only good if there are
(26:41):
technicians, and they do havemore certified RV technicians
than any other dealer.
Blue Compass RV is the place togo, and you can visit a local
Blue Compass RV dealer or go tobluecompassrvcom today.
Let's talk a little bit aboutand if there's something else
(27:05):
that you feel like we need totalk about before we jump in to
the installation part, I knowthat you installation part, I
know that you Battleboardbatteries are both put in to RVs
when they're manufactured, aswell as DIY upgrades.
So let's talk a little bitabout you know, if somebody
(27:27):
wants to do an installation,what's the process?
How do I get help on?
What is the right type ofbattery, the right system for me
.
Speaker 2 (27:39):
We do offer a lot of technical support.
So that is something that we'vereally stressed over the years
is everybody's system isdifferent.
Everybody's needs are differentin their RV and how they use
power.
So it is important to, I think,call in and get the facts and
(28:00):
use the experience that our teamhas, because they've done so
many of these At the OEM level.
I love the OEMs because, mygoodness, those things.
We've spent a lot of timedesigning those up front and
once it's done, they just makeit over and over and over again.
We never have issues with those.
(28:21):
The OEM systems are optimizedand they're repeatable, and so
we love working with our OEMcustomers, the DIYers.
A lot of times they get theirown batteries, they'll build
their own batteries.
I think that the industry hasevolved to the point where four
(28:47):
years ago we were part of a DIYsystem.
Battle Born Batteries systemwas part of a DIY system.
A Battle Born batteries systemwas part of a DIY system, and
now folks buy their own cellsand make their own BMSs.
So that part has evolved quitea bit.
But that doesn't reallyrepresent the majority of RVers.
The majority of RVers actuallywill look to see what's in an
(29:09):
Airstream, what's in a Tiffinand they'll be like okay, that's
Battle Born batteries.
I want to get that.
I want to kind of recreate thatsystem.
But even in that situation, Ithink it's important to design
the system over your ownpersonal needs.
If you're going to bother to doit, you might as well optimize
it for yourself.
Speaker 1 (29:28):
Yeah, yeah, absolutely, and I think I don't
know many people who arecreating their own batteries but
, like you said that they'redoing it, I would worry about
the safety around it for sure.
But somebody who's looking,let's take somebody through your
process.
They're looking to upgradetheir rig.
How do you make sure the switchgoes smoothly, whether they're
(29:52):
switching from lead acid batteryor they want to upgrade the
lithium batteries they have ormaybe even change from the
lithium batteries they have tobattle-borne batteries.
So any of those situations.
What can you suggest to helpthat process?
Speaker 2 (30:11):
Well, in addition to calling in and getting some help
, I would say consider all ofthe components.
(30:32):
So let's say you have 300kilowatt load.
That ratio, the two kilowattload to three kilowatt hours,
means that you're draining yourbatteries in an hour and a half.
So the first thing to consider,as I mentioned before, is what
power do you want and how muchdo you want that power delivered
(30:54):
?
How long do you want that powerdelivered?
Once you have that settled,look at all the other components
.
Let's say you're not going toexceed two and a half kilowatts
of power, then a three kilowattinverter could be great.
Maybe you need to go to a fivekilowatt inverter.
Maybe, if you go higher thanthat, you want to go to higher
(31:15):
voltages, maybe a 24 volt or a48 volt, because as you go to
higher and higher power, it'smore efficient to raise your
voltages, because otherwise yourcurrents get too big.
So power is basically voltagetimes current, and so if you
want a more efficient system,you want to keep your current
(31:36):
slower, so you raise yourvoltages.
But if you're raising yourvoltages now, you're going to
put your batteries in series andyou have to worry about things
like balancing balancing thecells internally and balancing
the packs that are mounted inseries.
Once you have all that sortedout and you know what your
currents are going to be, yougot to make sure all your
connectors, all your cables,your cable runs can handle that
(31:59):
current, because you're going toget heat losses and voltage
drops in every component.
It's additive.
So if you know we've had a tonof customers that call in and
you know if they don't get theefficiencies that they expect,
it's usually because they've gotinefficiencies in the systems
that have nothing to do with thebatteries.
The vast majority of issuesthat people have has nothing to
(32:24):
do with the batteries.
It has to do with somethingelse in the system that isn't
designed properly.
So I guess your question ispretty open-ended there.
There's so many things thatneed to be considered and that's
why I would highly recommendthat you get help.
Speaker 1 (32:38):
And you have support.
What kinds of support or toolscan somebody expect from your
team?
Speaker 2 (32:47):
We have a technical support team that obviously will
spend a lot of time with youdiagnosing these issues if you
buy the batteries from us.
So you know we obviously feelvery strongly about the fact
that you need a quality battery.
In our opinion it should be alisted battery.
We list our batteries through acouple of different accredited
(33:10):
listing labs.
When your battery is listed toa UL certification, that means
you can't change components inyour batteries.
You have to get randominspections twice a year of your
entire production facility.
So it's a big deal to be listed.
So I think if you don't wantany headache, it's important to
(33:30):
start off with a quality productand then you can kind of hone
in on what might actually bewrong if you're having troubles
with your system.
But we do have a lot ofin-house expertise and
capabilities to help folks withtheir systems, both before the
design process and after thefact.
Speaker 1 (33:48):
And that's great to know, because a lot of people
obviously a lot of RVers like toDIY, and so making sure they're
doing it right so they don'thave to call in with the
problems after, obviously is abig deal.
From my research, you guys havean amazing customer service
support team, so that is alwayssomething that I like to see in
(34:11):
a company.
Now your Battleboard boundariesare designed and assembled here
in the US.
Obviously, that's somethingpeople look for these days, but
talk a little bit more andyou've touched on it about the
advantages of doing that quality, reliability, From the customer
confidence standpoint you didtouch on it.
(34:31):
I think it's worth reiteratingor adding anything you want to
add, given the fact that theyare made here in the US In
Nevada, actually.
Speaker 2 (34:41):
Yeah, that's right, and the motivation initially to
do that was because so Dragonflyalways wanted to be a cell
manufacturer.
The company I started thiscompany to manufacture cells.
It's still something that we'recapital constrained on.
(35:01):
We can do it, but we need themoney to do it.
But I think it's so important,especially these days, to be
able to onshore themanufacturing of something as
critical as lithium-ionbatteries.
So we're still 100% focused onmaking that happen.
But if you're making your owncells, you have to be making
(35:22):
your own packs, and that's whyit actually started that.
You know, I started makingpacks because I expected to have
our own cells, so we had to getto a final product, so we had
to know how to make packs earlyon own cells.
So we have to get to a finalproduct, so we have to know how
to make packs early on.
So I alluded to the fact that Irecommend a listed battery.
(35:43):
If you're an OEM, that'sactually regulation.
The RVIA requires you to installa listed battery.
So that's another reason why wehave to manufacture here, just
to be compliant, so that we canget our batteries into an
Airstream or a Keystone orMidwest Automotive, whatever it
is.
It has to be a listed batteryand I can honestly say from a
(36:05):
personal standpoint we've gothundreds of thousands of systems
out there.
I want to be able to sleep atnight knowing that I'm putting
out a safe product.
So by getting it third-partycertified, going through the
design processes, havingeverything documented, I think,
is just critical, not just forthe customer but for my own
(36:28):
peace of mind.
Speaker 1 (36:30):
And that's huge because that's been a big
conversation and concern withRVers about safety.
Electrical systems within an RVis the biggest safety concern.
Fire start in an RV.
It doesn't take long at all, sothat's a huge safety concern.
People talking about lithiumbatteries you've addressed that
(36:54):
they are safe when done right.
Is there anything else from asafety point that would help our
RVers to understand and makethis decision that the right
lithium batteries and I want tostress that because there are
companies out there.
I think my husband was Googlingon Amazon and there's these
(37:14):
companies and places you can getlithium type batteries going to
a reliable source because ofthe safety issue.
Is there anything more youcould add to that?
I just know this is a big topicfor RVers for RVers.
Speaker 2 (37:39):
You know I think I'm not going to quote any stats on
this, but electrical fires tendnot to come from the batteries.
They come somewhere else.
You have sparks that can arisefrom anywhere in the system.
Where you've got a hot near aground right, you could have
loose connections.
You could get solar chargecontrollers, solar panels any of
(38:00):
these components.
A spark can start a fire.
So the way that I look at it isthere's electrical systems need
to be well-maintained, just ingeneral, because all of them
have the risk of a fire, and thesame goes for your house.
It's just important to maintainall of your connections, all of
your electrical systems.
(38:20):
The way the battery fits into itis that the battery stores all
the energy and can contribute toa fire pretty rapidly.
In the end, a lithium cell isflammable, has a flammable
electrolyte in it.
So one thing that we found inour designs is if it's in a fire
(38:41):
or in the proximity of the fire, it will not as readily
contribute to the fire, so itwon't burn as fast, whereas
other lithium batteries canliterally explode if they go
into a thermal runaway situation.
The way that we do it at BattleBorn Batteries is we have
cylindrical cells.
They're called 26650 cells,which means they're 26
(39:03):
millimeters in diameter andthey're all separated by an air
gap, so that it's very, verydifficult to even get to a
thermal runaway situation,because each cell can dissipate
heat so rapidly it could takeitself out of the system before
it even propagates to aneighboring cell.
That design is really, reallyimportant.
(39:24):
It's at the expense of the size.
The batteries are a little bitbigger than if you had what's
called pouch cells that arepacked in as tightly as you can
make them, but that is a farmore dangerous situation.
Not necessarily that thebattery would start a fire, but
if it's in a fire, then it couldcreate a more catastrophic
(39:47):
scenario.
Speaker 1 (39:48):
Good to know because, again, the whole thing with
batteries that was the concernoh no, lithium batteries and
they cause fires kind of thing.
So I'm glad we're dispellingthat myth that's out there.
One of the big things when I'mlooking at a company or a
campground, whatever it is, I'mlooking for reviews from RVers
(40:13):
and I'm sure you've got somestories from customers.
Can you tell me about one ofthose stories that really stuck
with you from a customer?
Speaker 2 (40:23):
Yeah, I have to go back years to where I was
actually interacting directlywith customers, you know,
because I've been a little bitremoved from that.
But we obviously get so muchgood feedback, um, from from
customers.
Um, if I had to pinpoint one inparticular, it was a project
(40:46):
that that we worked on with, uh,the John Lennon bus, the John
Lennon educational tour bus,john Lennon Educational Tour Bus
, which was basically a mobilerecording studio, a project that
was initiated by Yoko Ono, andthey would go to underserved
areas throughout the country andjust teach them music and teach
(41:08):
them how to record kids andhave songwriting contests.
And it was just such a coolproject and I'm a Beatles freak,
as a lot of people are, youknow, grew up a very avid
Beatles fan and I love JohnLennon and being associated with
(41:30):
anything having to do with JohnLennon was just particularly
exciting for me.
But we put a pretty big systemon that tour bus to power the
entire recording studio.
While, you know, while they'reparked and while they're driving
, the whole system charges fromthe alternator and also from
rooftop solar and also fromRooftop Solar.
(41:59):
And we actually did a videowith Jeremy Renner doing a
songwriting project with a groupof kids here in Reno I think
you can find that somewhere onYouTube and that project was so
incredible and so awesome to bea part of, so that one stands
out, I would say.
Speaker 1 (42:19):
What an incredible story and I love hearing the
stories.
That story in particular gaveme goosebumps as a teacher I
worked with at Risk Youth andyou know, to have that ability
to explore their musical talent.
That's an incredible story andand you know something so
impactful that is that.
It's great.
Thank you for sharing that sopeople could go to
BattleboardBatteriescom to findout more.
(42:41):
I know you guys attend a lot ofthe RV shows and rallies.
Where can people see you guys?
You know, come up, look at thebatteries, talk to people If
they're out and about.
Where are you guys next?
Do you even know?
It's probably that department.
Speaker 2 (42:59):
It's not my department.
Speaker 1 (43:00):
So let me help you.
I'm sure that there issomething on the Battle Born
Battery site, there's alwayssomething on the schedule, yeah.
Yes, and I know that you guysalways attend and we'll cut this
out if it's not accurate, butyou're always at America's
largest RV show, which mostpeople call the Hershey RV show.
(43:21):
And that's September 10th to the14th, so I want to point that
out.
If you guys are not going to bethere, you'll let me know.
We'll cut that out, but you arealways there.
I've been there for four yearsand have seen your displays
there, as well as the Tampa RVshow and again.
I'm sure you're at rallies andevents across the country
(43:44):
throughout the year, so peoplecan certainly find you, or
people could just go to yourwebsite at
battleboardbatteriescom thefuture what's in the future for
Battleboard Batteries?
Do you have some things youcould share, maybe some top
secret stuff?
Speaker 2 (44:03):
Well, I can't share top secret stuff but we do have
we've let the cat out of the bagon a number of things, you know
.
First of all, I alluded toonshoring the production of the
cells, so that is something thatwe, like I said, we've been
capital constrained.
It costs a lot of money tostand up a factory, but we have
(44:23):
a way to do it cheaper and moreefficient, using what's called a
dry electrode process to makethe anode and cathode, the
different components of thebatteries of the cells, and we
have the patents on thoseprocesses globally, and so it's
something that we have been soexcited to deploy because it
(44:44):
allows us to manufacture here inNevada with resources lithium
from the state of Nevada and becost competitive with Asian
manufactured cells, and that'shuge.
That's what we want to do, andthis is without tariffs, without
IRA credits, just apples toapples.
(45:04):
If you use this process, we canmanufacture cheaper in Nevada
than using conventionalprocesses manufactured in China,
and that study was completed bya third party, so that is
objectively true.
The other thing from atechnology standpoint, we
(45:25):
figured out how to apply thissame dry electrode process to
what's called a solid statebattery electrode process, to
what's called a solid statebattery, and by that I mean the
flammable component that Ialluded to before in a lithium
ion battery is the electrolyte.
That electrolyte would be 100%solid and not flammable when we
(45:46):
have that cell.
Then we can go back to thatpouch cell stacked together as
tight as you can get it, and youdon't have to worry about fires
or thermal runaway.
So that's what we seeultimately.
That's where we want to begoing In the nearer term.
We're going to continue toinnovate on the products that we
(46:07):
do sell.
We've introduced ourintelligence line so that our
battery each individual batterycan communicate wireless on a
mesh network with other devices,with your cell phone, with you
know, through CAN bus, and we'regoing to continue to develop
all of the ancillary devicesthat are on that network.
(46:28):
So that is something that iscoming down the pike as well.
Speaker 1 (46:32):
Wow, that sounds incredible and I also want to
let people know again.
I tried to break it down forpeople to understand.
I'm sure there are some peoplethat are science background and
got a lot out of this as well.
You guys are on Facebook.
You're on Instagram, tiktok,youtube.
You have a YouTube channel.
I highly recommend my listenersreach out.
(46:56):
What are your thoughts, whatare your questions, on any of
your platforms.
As always, people can reach outto me on Instagram or Facebook.
At RV Life Podcast, we want tohear questions because I think
having that conversation, it'slike in the beginning when you
went out to those influencersand people who are RVing to get
(47:17):
the information.
I always want people to keepsharing.
What did they get out of this?
Do they have additionalquestions?
Because that's how you createand develop what you're doing A
lot of incredible information.
I know for me, I learned a loton this call.
I know for me, I'm going tohave a lot of incredible
information.
I know for me, I learned a loton this call.
I know for me, I'm going tohave a lot of additional
questions.
(47:38):
Yeah, we'll continue.
As people have other questionsand needs that they have, we'll
continue to get those out there.
I do have more questions.
I don't want you to go anywhere.
I don't want my listeners to goanywhere At this time of year.
There's a lot going on, so Iwant to just give a couple
updates.
As we talked about, america'slargest RV show is in Hershey,
(48:01):
pennsylvania, from September10th to the 14th.
We have some great sponsors,including RV TV, and they have
RVers Top Talent.
You could apply to RVers toptalent.
You have a talent.
Could you short you?
Speaker 2 (48:19):
absolutely, I've played in a couple rallies.
Speaker 1 (48:22):
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
So you have to record yourself.
I'm going to get your people todo this.
This is the first evernationwide talent competition.
So singing, comedianstorytelling, juggling, whatever
guitar playing, do you alsosing?
Speaker 2 (48:40):
Not well.
Speaker 1 (48:41):
Oh, really, okay, Guitar playing.
There is a $5,000 grand prize,so I'm going to put the link in
the show notes.
You're going to sign up?
I didn't mention that in thebeginning either, but that would
be very cool.
Speaker 2 (48:56):
No, you didn't.
That's new.
No, no.
Speaker 1 (48:58):
It's required for the podcast episode and that $5,000
could go to research.
I know it doesn't even touchthe kinds of things you're doing
, but it all helps.
So for those people who areinterested in showing off their
talent, the link's going to bein the show notes.
I'm really excited about thisand RV TV can be found on
(49:23):
DirecTV, Roku and various otherplaces.
But if you're going to be inHershey and you let me know if
you're going to be in Hershey atthe show, because RV Life is
doing their fourth annual RVLife Hershey After Party and
that'll be on September 11th.
It's an amazing event.
(49:43):
It's going to be sold out.
You'll get to meet a lot ofRVers, so I'm inviting you.
If you're going to be on theEast Coast, yeah, back here,
right in your neighborhood,right?
So you should come back, that'sright.
Okay.
So that's my personal invite.
Okay, before we go anywhere,I've got to ask you a question.
The question of the week isbrought to you by Cool RV.
(50:04):
I'm going to ask you thisquestion and I am going to give
you a few minutes to think aboutit, because I'm putting you on
the spot.
A few minutes to think about it, because I'm putting you on the
spot.
What is on your bucket list?
So somebody you want to meet, aplace you want to go, an
experience you want to haveanywhere in the world.
Think about that, and I'm goingto talk a little bit about Cool
(50:28):
RV.
Because it is getting hot, I wasforced to turn the air
conditioner on.
I am in Philadelphia, outsideof Philadelphia, and it is hot
and humid.
Cool RV is a game changer in RVair conditioner upgrades.
This unit creates more cool air, more airflow and whisper quiet
operation, so you'll continueto be comfortable and not have
(50:52):
to deal with the noise in yoursmall RV.
Don't let the hot weather ruinyour trip.
Visit CoolRVcom, and that'sK-O-O-L-R-Vcom, okay.
So do you have a place, aperson, an experience that you
want to have?
Speaker 2 (51:10):
Well, it'll probably be music-oriented.
It'll probably be jamming withsomebody playing guitar with
somebody, and there's a longlist of folks on my list that it
would be jamming with anotherguitar player.
Speaker 1 (51:27):
So who would be on the top of your list?
Who would be some of the peopleyou would want to jam with?
Let's get it out there.
Speaker 2 (51:35):
Okay, All right Well.
Speaker 1 (51:36):
I'm really putting you on the spot.
Speaker 2 (51:38):
The ones that are still alive.
They're getting older, so I'dhave to throw Eric Clapton, Joe
Walsh.
I'd probably throw in some ofthe Allman brothers, like Warren
Haynes, Derek Trucks.
(51:59):
You know, there's that sort ofblues, rock and roll style.
Those guys have their ownstyles that you know.
I would love to see firsthand.
I mean, I've seen them, but I'dlove to be able to jam.
I don't know, Is that too muchto ask?
Speaker 1 (52:15):
No, listen, that's what the bucket list is about.
It's asking for whatever youwant and putting it out there
and making it happen.
I have a bucket list a milelong and I just keep checking
things off, so that's why I'dlove to ask that question.
You are the first person thattalked about a person you wanted
to do something with, so thankyou, and certainly, if you get
(52:37):
back out to the East Coast, letme know.
You are on the West Coast,right?
You're in Nevada.
Speaker 2 (52:42):
Reno Nevada Yep.
Speaker 1 (52:43):
Okay, that's what I thought.
Okay, so, but if you ever getout to the East Coast would love
to meet up with you and sit andchat with you further.
You're such an interestingperson.
I want to thank you for beingon I am not done because I want
to talk about the featurecampground before I let you go
and that's Carolina Shores RVResort in Myrtle Beach, south
(53:05):
Carolina.
It is a Thousand Trails Park,but you do not need to be a
member.
You need to check this placeout because it looks incredible.
I have never been there.
It's got oceanfront RV park andit's got so much nearby.
There's so much in the MyrtleBeach area.
(53:26):
People really need to checkthat area out if they've never
been.
Of course, the campground hasfull hookups, so don't
necessarily need the bigoff-grid lithium battery, but in
the travels in between they dohave cabin rentals, so for
someone like me that doesn'thave the RV right now, that's a
great place to go.
They have 813 sites, a 7.7rating on the RV Life Campground
(53:51):
Review site with 14 reviews.
You can visit this campgroundand check out everything there
is to know about it by going torvlifecom.
They have all these beautifulpictures of the place, all the
amenities, everything you needto know about this place.
The nice thing is, when you goto campgroundsrvlifecom, you can
(54:14):
book your site right from thatpage.
You don't have to go off of it.
Campground Reviews is part ofthe RV Life Pro suite of
products.
If you aren't already an RVLife member, there is a 25%
discount in the show notes.
Check them out atcampgroundsrvlifecom.
Again, I want people to go tobattleboardbatteriescom.
(54:40):
Check you guys out on Facebook,instagram, tiktok and YouTube
and this may be out of yourwheelhouse, but I checked that
out on your website.
All of that information's onyour website.
The website will be linked inthe show notes and I want to
thank you so much for so muchincredible information.
Speaker 2 (55:00):
It was my pleasure to be here.
Thanks for having me on thepodcast, Patty.
Speaker 1 (55:04):
You're welcome and I want to thank my listeners and
remind you life's a journey Liveeach day to the fullest,
without regrets.
I'm Patty Hunt and you havebeen listening to the RV Life
Podcast.
Thank you.
Are lithium batteries really a game changer for RVers
?
I'm Patti Hunt and you arelistening to the RV Life Podcast
.
Dennis, what is most importantto consider when purchasing an
RV battery?
Speaker 2 (00:21):
I think the most important thing to consider is
that it's not just a battery,it's a power system and there
are a number of components thatgo in the power system to charge
the battery as well as toconvert the power into the DC or
AC power that you use.
So of course, you need aquality battery, but consider
the entire system as well.
Speaker 1 (00:40):
And we're going to get into all of that today,
because today's expert guest isDennis Ferris, CEO and inventor
of Lithium Batteries by BattleBorn Batteries, and he's here to
answer questions that you, theRV community, have been asking,
and we're going to talk aboutthings like types of batteries
(01:00):
and differences, how to meetyour power needs, maintenance,
safety and so much more.
This episode is going to bejam-packed.
My story, as some people know,I started full-time RVing four
years ago during COVID.
My husband said let's selleverything and buy an RV, and we
(01:21):
did, even though I had no clue.
My husband had a little bitmore of a clue, but I was really
clueless.
And when it came to poweringthe to the podcast, I need my
cappuccino in the morning, so Ihad to make sure that that
(01:48):
machine was going to work.
I could say I've made a lot ofmistakes in the RV, including
destroying a lithium batterybecause when I stored the RV it
was not shut off properly.
So maybe we'll talk about thatmore during the episode.
The reason for the RV Lifepodcast is to help my listeners
(02:11):
learn, so I create content tohelp educate, entertain and
explore the RV lifestyle,helping you to not make some of
the same mistakes I've made andto inspire you to live life to
the fullest.
For this episode and some of myother podcast episodes, you
will now be able to see videoclips on my new channel,
(02:34):
Inspired Travels with Patti.
If you're looking for some greatcampgrounds, Open Road Resorts
has six incredible parks inIdaho, Nebraska, New Mexico, two
in Texas and their newest is ABCamping and RV Park in Cheyenne
, Wyoming.
All six of these parks arehighly favored and that is by
(02:57):
you, the RVer, and you can findwhat the RVers other RVers are
saying by going to RV LifeCampground Reviews, and that is
at campgroundsrvlifecom, or youcould check out these highly
favorite parks atopenroadresortscom.
I'm so excited to get intotoday's episode because I've
(03:23):
learned a lot about to today'sepisode because I've learned a
lot about batteries stillnowhere near an expert but even
more important, about DennisFerris, the man behind Dragonfly
Energy.
Dennis Ferris is the CEO ofDragonfly Energy, the company
behind Battleboard Batteries,one of the first lithium battery
solutions built specificallyfor off-grid RVers.
(03:47):
A lifelong inventor, Dennishelped pioneer the shift from
heavy, short-lived lead acidbatteries to the lightweight
lithium ion phosphate batteriesthat now power thousands of RV
adventures across the country.
Under his leadership, DragonflyEnergy transformed from a
(04:08):
startup into a leader in lithiumpower systems for RVers, with a
growing portfolio of smart,sustainable energy technology,
Before founding Dragonfly Energyin 2012,.
Founding Dragonfly Energy in2012, Dennis was a tenured
(04:29):
engineering professor with deepexperience in energy, fluid
mechanics and environmentalscience.
He holds multiple patents inbattery manufacturing and is
passionate about making off-gridliving more accessible and
environmentally responsible.
Welcome, Dennis, to the RV LifePodcast.
Speaker 2 (04:47):
Thank you, patti, it's great to be here.
Speaker 1 (04:49):
I am so excited to have you here and again I am
going to admit this throughout Iam out of my league with power
and energy and all of the thingswe're going to talk about today
, so I am so excited to learnmore about powering an RV.
I can't wait to get into this.
So education, your edificationlet's start with that just
(05:14):
really touches the surface aboutthe amazing journey that you've
been on.
We talked about before.
We jumped on how much we havein common.
So I know as a young kid youmoved to Philadelphia where I
was born and raised, and thenyou went to university at
Villanova and lived right downthe street from me because I
(05:34):
also lived in Villanova.
So that was really cool.
So so many common things, buthelp my listeners get to know
you, the man, just a little bitmore things but help my
listeners get to know you theman just a little bit more.
Speaker 2 (05:47):
Yeah, I grew up in Villanova, Pennsylvania, on the
main line just outside the cityof Philadelphia, and the reason
we live there is my dad was aphysics professor at Villanova
University, so naturally Ibecame a physics major and did
my undergraduate at VillanovaUniversity and that kind of set
(06:08):
the stage for what I would doafterwards, because I went to
graduate school.
I went to Caltech and got a PhDin environmental engineering
science, working for a chemicalengineer who was my advisor, and
became very proficient inaerosol mechanics, the physics
(06:30):
and chemistry of small particles, fluid mechanics, and
eventually got around to makingenergy-related devices from
small particles.
One of those is a lithium-ionbattery.
So you know, I basically justcrammed 25 years of my
background into that sentence,but that's essentially what
happened.
(06:50):
I did go into academia.
I became a professor, first atTexas A&M University in College
Station, Texas, which wasawesome.
Then I switched over toUniversity of Southern
California in Los Angeles and Igot my tenure there and, long
story short, I left my tenuredposition, moved to Reno back in
(07:14):
2012, got an MBA, foundedDragonfly Energy to deploy some
of the technologies that I wasdeveloping related to
lithium-ion batterymanufacturing.
Technologies that I wasdeveloping related to
lithium-ion batterymanufacturing and in the process
went to market with a line ofbattery packs called Battle Born
Batteries, named after theBattle Born state of Nevada.
And there you go.
Speaker 1 (07:35):
Wow, and that is a lot packed into a quick synopsis
of who you are.
I am going to.
I referred to the blog thatgets into what you just talked
about in such depth and just anincredible story, so I am going
to put a link to that blog inthe show notes for people to
find out more about you.
(07:56):
You missed something big inthere, because I know you also
are a guitar player and you werein a band and you were debating
right between the band andCalifornia and science, right.
That was a big part of who youwere.
Speaker 2 (08:15):
That is true.
I guess that must be in theblog.
I'm not.
I don't know exactly whatyou're referring to, so but yes,
that is true.
I uh, my, my plan A?
Uh was to be a musician, andspecifically a?
Uh rock and roll guitar player,and when I graduated from
Villanova kind of made a dealwith my parents that I would
(08:38):
move to LA to do this but Iwould go to graduate school.
So Caltech was a natural fitand I spent many years playing
on the Sunset Strip and goingfrom band to band and playing
many sessions.
And I did that even while I wasa professor and I kept it going
.
And even as recently as after Imoved up to Reno I was not as
(09:03):
serious about it, but at leaststill playing music.
Speaker 1 (09:07):
Wow, and yes, I've done a lot of stalking you, I
guess we'll call it so I know alot about you.
So you decided on lithiumbatteries and you wanted to go
out and meet RVers.
I know you attended rallies andboondocking spots and you were
on the road because you wantedto connect directly with the
(09:27):
community.
What was the thought behindthat?
What happened while you weredoing that?
Speaker 2 (09:35):
Well, it really has to do with the fact that lithium
ion batteries were so new andthere was a pretty steep
(10:05):
education curve to understandingwhat it took to not just change
out your lead power activitiesthat lithium ion batteries
facilitate.
So it was important to get outon the road and really educate
and understand how RVersparticularly ones that were full
timers how they were usingenergy and understanding for
myself how lithium batterysystems could be tuned and
(10:26):
designed to optimize theexperience, and then also just
talking with them and educatingthem and getting the buy-in from
those folks was reallyimportant.
Speaker 1 (10:37):
Okay, so now you started the company in.
Well, you started developmentin 2009.
Is that correct?
Speaker 2 (10:47):
Well, I mean honestly , you can say that the
technology that goes into thepatents that I've written was,
you know, decades earlier.
I started the company in 2012specifically to deploy the cell
manufacturing technology, butwhat happened really was that
the battery pack assembly andthe RV business really took off
(11:11):
and that became sort of acentral focal point to what the
business was about.
It funded a lot of the R&D thatwe ended up doing.
It helped us develop a largeintellectual property portfolio,
so that is part of the value ofDragonfly Energy.
But we are still very much anRV company even today and just
(11:35):
love the interactions we haveand continuing to develop
products and innovating on thetechnologies.
Speaker 1 (11:42):
So why the RV industry?
From what I read, you're not anRVer, correct?
Or did I miss something?
Speaker 2 (11:49):
No, I was not.
I was not when we went tomarket and it really was an
understanding of the power thatyou could get from that size of
a lithium ion battery productand I was kind of brainstorming
what kind of industries ormarkets relied on specifically
(12:12):
that kind of power, that kind ofsize.
I'm not talking about you knowcell phones, we know cell phone
batteries, we know electricvehicle batteries, we know large
grid storage batteries.
But I was really looking at the1, 2, 3, 4, 5 kilowatt hour
range.
And RVs was not my first try.
My first try wasbattery-powered guitar tube
(12:35):
amplifiers.
So that's another one of those.
You know that size, that kind ofpower, and my band in Reno at
the time was 100% off-grid.
The battery powered theamplifiers, even the bass amp,
the PA system.
That was actually my first tryand it worked great.
(12:57):
I remember playing a gig inDoyle, California, where the
power went out and the bandplayed on, which was pretty
awesome, but it was not a goodbusiness model.
There's just not enoughmusicians out there,
particularly ones that areinterested in off-grid power,
and so the RV industry emergedas one that had a pain point,
(13:20):
and that is RVers really didn'tlike their lead acid batteries
just the unreliability, the factthat they're so heavy and
difficult to replace and don'tdeliver a ton of power.
It really seemed ripe for achange.
Speaker 1 (13:36):
Okay, so the other thing we have in common you were
a professor, I was a teacher.
We talked about that in thepre-interview.
Lots of things in common.
I want to break things down alittle bit and again, for me, I
am limited on what I know aboutpower and energy.
Let's break it down.
You brought up lead acid.
(13:56):
We've talked about lithium ion.
I know when my husband waslooking at batteries there was
also an AGM type system battery.
Can you, just for listenersthat are like me and not
familiar, break down thosedifferent types of batteries?
Speaker 2 (14:14):
You mentioned absorbed glass mat.
Basically, AGM is a type oflead acid battery, as is a
flooded battery, a sealedlead-acid battery.
It's based on the samechemistry associated with lead
and sulfuric acid and it's thatelectrochemical reaction that
delivers the electron you needto power.
(14:36):
Lithium-ion is a littledifferent.
It's based on chemicalreactions involving a
lithium-ion and it's acompletely different mechanism.
But what's really nice about it,compared to a lead-acid battery
, is that you can pack in morepower in a smaller space and
with less weight.
And another big difference isthat you can deliver a lot more
(15:05):
power without having thatvoltage sag that you experience
with a lead-acid battery, thatis, it has a lot less impedance,
a lot less resistance todelivering power.
So those differences the factthat it's lighter and the fact
that it can deliver suchefficient power other than the
(15:27):
fundamental chemistry, that issomething that really describes
why those two chemistries aredifferent.
There are other types ofbatteries as well.
There's nickel cadmiumbatteries and nickel metal
hydride.
So those aren't the only two.
But for RVing in particular,historically it was flooded lead
(15:49):
acid to sealed lead acid, toAGM and now evolving into the
next generation lithium ion,specifically lithium iron
phosphate batteries.
Speaker 1 (15:58):
I would imagine that presenting this to the RV
community something different,something new, and it's my
understanding that overalllithium batteries the upfront
cost is more and you could talkto that.
What were the challenges?
How receptive was the RVcommunity to this idea of
lithium batteries?
Speaker 2 (16:19):
The two biggest obstacles were cost and safety.
Biggest obstacles were cost andsafety.
So with the cost issue and evenat the time the upfront cost
was even higher than it is nowbut the argument that we
(16:39):
successfully made to the RVcommunity was that the cost of
ownership was a lot lower.
So a lithium ion battery cancycle so many more times than a
lead acid battery withoutdegrading that.
You have to count that lifetime.
Speaker 1 (16:52):
I'm going to stop you because can you explain what
that means again for the teacherthat had to break things down?
Speaker 2 (16:59):
Another really big difference between a lithium ion
battery and a lead acid batteryis the number of times it can
be cycled.
So when you cycle a battery,what it means is you're draining
it, using up the power and thenyou're charging it back up
again, and that's one cycle.
A lead acid battery willtypically last hundreds of
(17:22):
cycles, whereas a lithium-ionbattery, particularly a
lithium-ion phosphate battery,will last thousands of cycles.
So even though there's a higherupfront cost for lithium, if
you amortize that cost over thelifetime of the battery, it's
actually a fraction of the costof lead acid.
(17:43):
So the cost of ownership ismuch less.
So that's how we address thecost issue, the upfront cost
issue for lithium ion batteries.
And then the other issue was thesafety issue.
And at the time there were somepretty high profile fires
having to do with, you know, thecell phone explosions or
(18:10):
hoverboard type, you know,scooters, whatever.
There was some basically lowquality stuff out there.
That was a particularlyvolatile chemistry that is
different than lithium ironphosphate volatile chemistry
that is different than lithiumiron phosphate.
So we had to educate two points.
The first is that we're notusing that kind of chemistry
(18:31):
which is lithium cobalt oxide.
We're using lithium ironphosphate, which is inherently
safer.
And then the second point is youcan design a battery pack where
the chance of a fire is very,very, very low.
And that's how we designed ourpacks.
We basically made it so thatyou can't have propagation of
(18:55):
thermal events.
And once you convince thecustomer that it's cheaper and
it's safer than you think, nowall of a sudden all the other
benefits become that muchclearer, that much better.
It's like okay, so now I couldactually power an air
conditioner off-grid.
I've never heard of that before, so that was sort of an aha
(19:20):
moment for a lot of them.
Speaker 1 (19:21):
Right, and being able to do those things has
certainly made a difference toRVers and how they RV.
The lithium battery, you know,is a game changer.
I've seen it over the fouryears that I've been involved in
RVing.
What was the moment?
Was there a moment when yourealized this was it for the RV
(19:41):
community, that this was a gamechanger?
Speaker 2 (19:44):
It was probably one of the events that I went to
with a bunch of full-time RVinfluencers out in Wellington
Texas in 2018.
And we met up with some that wehad already been working with,
and we met a lot of new ones,and and every single one of
(20:11):
those you know individuals orcouples or groups that we talked
to were blown away.
And, of course, we had ourexisting influencers that had
batteries there that were ableto show off what it could do,
and we even brought some to dosome more installations.
I was pretty floored at thechange in attitude from when we
(20:34):
got there to when we left.
When we left Wellington Texasback in 2018, we basically had
another 10 influencers signed upjust ready to tell this story
because they were so excitedabout it, and I think that was
sort of the moment, and thenafter that it was really
exponential growth for us sortof the moment and then after
(20:56):
that it was really exponentialgrowth for us and you're all
over and we're going to talkabout that like events that you
attend.
Speaker 1 (21:01):
I've seen you at all the events I've been to.
We'll talk a little bit aboutthat.
When it comes to power andagain I want to take it down
Some of my listeners arefull-time, part-time, sometime
thinking about RVing.
Some have backgrounds andthey're following every word
you're saying.
Some are more like me where,when I pulled into a campsite,
(21:26):
depending on where we wereplugged in or the kind of power,
whether we were off grid Iwould ask do I need to turn off
the air conditioner to start thecappuccino machine?
Like?
That's how I understood what Ineeded to do and I'll admit it
wasn't the best way.
I should have had a betterunderstanding which is the
purpose of this.
Let's talk a little bit aboutthe energy itself, the power.
(21:49):
So for somebody who has a largefifth wheel, they want to be
off grid.
Let's talk a little bit aboutwhat they need to consider when
thinking about powering their RV.
You know, off grid, if they'reboondocking or they're going to
be in cold weather or thosekinds of things, what do they
(22:10):
need to think about?
Speaker 2 (22:15):
what do they need?
Speaker 1 (22:16):
to think about.
All right, well, you brought upa bunch of different things
there.
Speaker 2 (22:18):
So if you're starting from scratch and you want to
build a power system, first ofall you want to consider the
size of your system that youneed and you really need to if
you're doing it yourself, youneed to learn to count your
electrons.
You need to learn to count howmany kilowatt hours you use
typically in a day If you wantto be boondocking in off-grid.
(22:41):
You have to match that with theamount of solar that you're
producing.
And then, finally, you have tothink about how much power do
you want to be able to use atone time.
So you mentioned that you haveto turn off the air conditioner
if you want to run the coffeemaker.
Well, that happens to be thecase for your particular system
because you had yourself cappedat a certain power limit.
(23:02):
So if you're designing thesystem beforehand and you say,
well, I want to be able to putout a kilowatt and a half here
and a kilowatt and a half thereat the same time, then you need
three kilowatts.
So you say, okay, I'm going todesign my system for three
kilowatts.
So that means you have to buildyour necessary the bank,
(23:24):
battery bank that can deliverthat power but, more importantly
, all the other systemcomponents have to be able to
handle that power and thatcurrent your inverter has to be
able to do it.
Power and that current yourinverter has to be able to do it
.
All your connectors, yourcables, you know.
That's why the system is soimportant.
When you're talking about thedesign and how you want to
optimize your lifestyle, youhave to consider the entire
(23:44):
system, not just the batteries.
So that's the first thing.
You've got the size and designof your system.
And then you mentioned coldweather.
Now you have to consider thevarious elements that you're
going to be in.
Is it going to be very hot?
Is it going to be very cold?
What are your expectedenvironmental conditions?
(24:08):
Lithium ion batteries should notbe charged rapidly when it's
very cold.
There are reasons that youshouldn't do that.
The most blatant one it's goingto be a loss of capacity.
You're going to age it faster.
So what we've done with oursystem?
(24:30):
I think we were one of thepioneers in actually protecting
against that by having a lowtemperature cutoff that prevents
charging at low temperatures.
Now, that's ubiquitous in theindustry, but then, if you do
want to be able to use yourbatteries or charge your
batteries in cold temperaturesyou can put in a heating
(24:50):
provision.
So we have an internal heatingprovision that you can activate
or deactivate.
If you're typically going to bein very hot temperatures, all
lithium ion batteries shouldhave a hot temperature cut off
as well, because if you'reactually in hot weather and
generating more heat, then youcould run the temperature of the
(25:10):
batteries higher to the pointwhere you're not just degrading
them but you could damage thempermanently.
So you have to think about howyou might cool the system or
allow the bank to convectivelycool.
You know the power and energydesigned to allow you to
boondock the way that you wantto boondock.
Speaker 1 (25:43):
OK, so that a lot of great information for people.
I know you guys have supportsystem.
I want to talk about a sponsor.
I want to talk about a sponsorand when, after I've talked
(26:18):
about the sponsor, I want totalk about those people who are
either looking for their new RV,their next RV, or service.
Blue Compass RV is the placethat we at RV Life recommend,
because they have over 100locations coast to coast, more
than 15,000 new and used RVs andover 1,000 service bays and, as
we all know, those service baysare only good if there are
(26:41):
technicians, and they do havemore certified RV technicians
than any other dealer.
Blue Compass RV is the place togo, and you can visit a local
Blue Compass RV dealer or go tobluecompassrvcom today.
Let's talk a little bit aboutand if there's something else
(27:05):
that you feel like we need totalk about before we jump in to
the installation part, I knowthat you installation part, I
know that you Battleboardbatteries are both put in to RVs
when they're manufactured, aswell as DIY upgrades.
So let's talk a little bitabout you know, if somebody
(27:27):
wants to do an installation,what's the process?
How do I get help on?
What is the right type ofbattery, the right system for me
.
Speaker 2 (27:39):
We do offer a lot of technical support.
So that is something that we'vereally stressed over the years
is everybody's system isdifferent.
Everybody's needs are differentin their RV and how they use
power.
So it is important to, I think,call in and get the facts and
(28:00):
use the experience that our teamhas, because they've done so
many of these At the OEM level.
I love the OEMs because, mygoodness, those things.
We've spent a lot of timedesigning those up front and
once it's done, they just makeit over and over and over again.
We never have issues with those.
(28:21):
The OEM systems are optimizedand they're repeatable, and so
we love working with our OEMcustomers, the DIYers.
A lot of times they get theirown batteries, they'll build
their own batteries.
I think that the industry hasevolved to the point where four
(28:47):
years ago we were part of a DIYsystem.
Battle Born Batteries systemwas part of a DIY system.
A Battle Born batteries systemwas part of a DIY system, and
now folks buy their own cellsand make their own BMSs.
So that part has evolved quitea bit.
But that doesn't reallyrepresent the majority of RVers.
The majority of RVers actuallywill look to see what's in an
(29:09):
Airstream, what's in a Tiffinand they'll be like okay, that's
Battle Born batteries.
I want to get that.
I want to kind of recreate thatsystem.
But even in that situation, Ithink it's important to design
the system over your ownpersonal needs.
If you're going to bother to doit, you might as well optimize
it for yourself.
Speaker 1 (29:28):
Yeah, yeah, absolutely, and I think I don't
know many people who arecreating their own batteries but
, like you said that they'redoing it, I would worry about
the safety around it for sure.
But somebody who's looking,let's take somebody through your
process.
They're looking to upgradetheir rig.
How do you make sure the switchgoes smoothly, whether they're
(29:52):
switching from lead acid batteryor they want to upgrade the
lithium batteries they have ormaybe even change from the
lithium batteries they have tobattle-borne batteries.
So any of those situations.
What can you suggest to helpthat process?
Speaker 2 (30:11):
Well, in addition to calling in and getting some help
, I would say consider all ofthe components.
(30:32):
So let's say you have 300kilowatt load.
That ratio, the two kilowattload to three kilowatt hours,
means that you're draining yourbatteries in an hour and a half.
So the first thing to consider,as I mentioned before, is what
power do you want and how muchdo you want that power delivered
(30:54):
?
How long do you want that powerdelivered?
Once you have that settled,look at all the other components
.
Let's say you're not going toexceed two and a half kilowatts
of power, then a three kilowattinverter could be great.
Maybe you need to go to a fivekilowatt inverter.
Maybe, if you go higher thanthat, you want to go to higher
(31:15):
voltages, maybe a 24 volt or a48 volt, because as you go to
higher and higher power, it'smore efficient to raise your
voltages, because otherwise yourcurrents get too big.
So power is basically voltagetimes current, and so if you
want a more efficient system,you want to keep your current
(31:36):
slower, so you raise yourvoltages.
But if you're raising yourvoltages now, you're going to
put your batteries in series andyou have to worry about things
like balancing balancing thecells internally and balancing
the packs that are mounted inseries.
Once you have all that sortedout and you know what your
currents are going to be, yougot to make sure all your
connectors, all your cables,your cable runs can handle that
(31:59):
current, because you're going toget heat losses and voltage
drops in every component.
It's additive.
So if you know we've had a tonof customers that call in and
you know if they don't get theefficiencies that they expect,
it's usually because they've gotinefficiencies in the systems
that have nothing to do with thebatteries.
The vast majority of issuesthat people have has nothing to
(32:24):
do with the batteries.
It has to do with somethingelse in the system that isn't
designed properly.
So I guess your question ispretty open-ended there.
There's so many things thatneed to be considered and that's
why I would highly recommendthat you get help.
Speaker 1 (32:38):
And you have support.
What kinds of support or toolscan somebody expect from your
team?
Speaker 2 (32:47):
We have a technical support team that obviously will
spend a lot of time with youdiagnosing these issues if you
buy the batteries from us.
So you know we obviously feelvery strongly about the fact
that you need a quality battery.
In our opinion it should be alisted battery.
We list our batteries through acouple of different accredited
(33:10):
listing labs.
When your battery is listed toa UL certification, that means
you can't change components inyour batteries.
You have to get randominspections twice a year of your
entire production facility.
So it's a big deal to be listed.
So I think if you don't wantany headache, it's important to
(33:30):
start off with a quality productand then you can kind of hone
in on what might actually bewrong if you're having troubles
with your system.
But we do have a lot ofin-house expertise and
capabilities to help folks withtheir systems, both before the
design process and after thefact.
Speaker 1 (33:48):
And that's great to know, because a lot of people
obviously a lot of RVers like toDIY, and so making sure they're
doing it right so they don'thave to call in with the
problems after, obviously is abig deal.
From my research, you guys havean amazing customer service
support team, so that is alwayssomething that I like to see in
(34:11):
a company.
Now your Battleboard boundariesare designed and assembled here
in the US.
Obviously, that's somethingpeople look for these days, but
talk a little bit more andyou've touched on it about the
advantages of doing that quality, reliability, From the customer
confidence standpoint you didtouch on it.
(34:31):
I think it's worth reiteratingor adding anything you want to
add, given the fact that theyare made here in the US In
Nevada, actually.
Speaker 2 (34:41):
Yeah, that's right, and the motivation initially to
do that was because so Dragonflyalways wanted to be a cell
manufacturer.
The company I started thiscompany to manufacture cells.
It's still something that we'recapital constrained on.
(35:01):
We can do it, but we need themoney to do it.
But I think it's so important,especially these days, to be
able to onshore themanufacturing of something as
critical as lithium-ionbatteries.
So we're still 100% focused onmaking that happen.
But if you're making your owncells, you have to be making
(35:22):
your own packs, and that's whyit actually started that.
You know, I started makingpacks because I expected to have
our own cells, so we had to getto a final product, so we had
to know how to make packs earlyon own cells.
So we have to get to a finalproduct, so we have to know how
to make packs early on.
So I alluded to the fact that Irecommend a listed battery.
(35:43):
If you're an OEM, that'sactually regulation.
The RVIA requires you to installa listed battery.
So that's another reason why wehave to manufacture here, just
to be compliant, so that we canget our batteries into an
Airstream or a Keystone orMidwest Automotive, whatever it
is.
It has to be a listed batteryand I can honestly say from a
(36:05):
personal standpoint we've gothundreds of thousands of systems
out there.
I want to be able to sleep atnight knowing that I'm putting
out a safe product.
So by getting it third-partycertified, going through the
design processes, havingeverything documented, I think,
is just critical, not just forthe customer but for my own
(36:28):
peace of mind.
Speaker 1 (36:30):
And that's huge because that's been a big
conversation and concern withRVers about safety.
Electrical systems within an RVis the biggest safety concern.
Fire start in an RV.
It doesn't take long at all, sothat's a huge safety concern.
People talking about lithiumbatteries you've addressed that
(36:54):
they are safe when done right.
Is there anything else from asafety point that would help our
RVers to understand and makethis decision that the right
lithium batteries and I want tostress that because there are
companies out there.
I think my husband was Googlingon Amazon and there's these
(37:14):
companies and places you can getlithium type batteries going to
a reliable source because ofthe safety issue.
Is there anything more youcould add to that?
I just know this is a big topicfor RVers for RVers.
Speaker 2 (37:39):
You know I think I'm not going to quote any stats on
this, but electrical fires tendnot to come from the batteries.
They come somewhere else.
You have sparks that can arisefrom anywhere in the system.
Where you've got a hot near aground right, you could have
loose connections.
You could get solar chargecontrollers, solar panels any of
(38:00):
these components.
A spark can start a fire.
So the way that I look at it isthere's electrical systems need
to be well-maintained, just ingeneral, because all of them
have the risk of a fire, and thesame goes for your house.
It's just important to maintainall of your connections, all of
your electrical systems.
(38:20):
The way the battery fits into itis that the battery stores all
the energy and can contribute toa fire pretty rapidly.
In the end, a lithium cell isflammable, has a flammable
electrolyte in it.
So one thing that we found inour designs is if it's in a fire
(38:41):
or in the proximity of the fire, it will not as readily
contribute to the fire, so itwon't burn as fast, whereas
other lithium batteries canliterally explode if they go
into a thermal runaway situation.
The way that we do it at BattleBorn Batteries is we have
cylindrical cells.
They're called 26650 cells,which means they're 26
(39:03):
millimeters in diameter andthey're all separated by an air
gap, so that it's very, verydifficult to even get to a
thermal runaway situation,because each cell can dissipate
heat so rapidly it could takeitself out of the system before
it even propagates to aneighboring cell.
That design is really, reallyimportant.
(39:24):
It's at the expense of the size.
The batteries are a little bitbigger than if you had what's
called pouch cells that arepacked in as tightly as you can
make them, but that is a farmore dangerous situation.
Not necessarily that thebattery would start a fire, but
if it's in a fire, then it couldcreate a more catastrophic
(39:47):
scenario.
Speaker 1 (39:48):
Good to know because, again, the whole thing with
batteries that was the concernoh no, lithium batteries and
they cause fires kind of thing.
So I'm glad we're dispellingthat myth that's out there.
One of the big things when I'mlooking at a company or a
campground, whatever it is, I'mlooking for reviews from RVers
(40:13):
and I'm sure you've got somestories from customers.
Can you tell me about one ofthose stories that really stuck
with you from a customer?
Speaker 2 (40:23):
Yeah, I have to go back years to where I was
actually interacting directlywith customers, you know,
because I've been a little bitremoved from that.
But we obviously get so muchgood feedback, um, from from
customers.
Um, if I had to pinpoint one inparticular, it was a project
(40:46):
that that we worked on with, uh,the John Lennon bus, the John
Lennon educational tour bus,john Lennon Educational Tour Bus
, which was basically a mobilerecording studio, a project that
was initiated by Yoko Ono, andthey would go to underserved
areas throughout the country andjust teach them music and teach
(41:08):
them how to record kids andhave songwriting contests.
And it was just such a coolproject and I'm a Beatles freak,
as a lot of people are, youknow, grew up a very avid
Beatles fan and I love JohnLennon and being associated with
(41:30):
anything having to do with JohnLennon was just particularly
exciting for me.
But we put a pretty big systemon that tour bus to power the
entire recording studio.
While, you know, while they'reparked and while they're driving
, the whole system charges fromthe alternator and also from
rooftop solar and also fromRooftop Solar.
(41:59):
And we actually did a videowith Jeremy Renner doing a
songwriting project with a groupof kids here in Reno I think
you can find that somewhere onYouTube and that project was so
incredible and so awesome to bea part of, so that one stands
out, I would say.
Speaker 1 (42:19):
What an incredible story and I love hearing the
stories.
That story in particular gaveme goosebumps as a teacher I
worked with at Risk Youth andyou know, to have that ability
to explore their musical talent.
That's an incredible story andand you know something so
impactful that is that.
It's great.
Thank you for sharing that sopeople could go to
BattleboardBatteriescom to findout more.
(42:41):
I know you guys attend a lot ofthe RV shows and rallies.
Where can people see you guys?
You know, come up, look at thebatteries, talk to people If
they're out and about.
Where are you guys next?
Do you even know?
It's probably that department.
Speaker 2 (42:59):
It's not my department.
Speaker 1 (43:00):
So let me help you.
I'm sure that there issomething on the Battle Born
Battery site, there's alwayssomething on the schedule, yeah.
Yes, and I know that you guysalways attend and we'll cut this
out if it's not accurate, butyou're always at America's
largest RV show, which mostpeople call the Hershey RV show.
(43:21):
And that's September 10th to the14th, so I want to point that
out.
If you guys are not going to bethere, you'll let me know.
We'll cut that out, but you arealways there.
I've been there for four yearsand have seen your displays
there, as well as the Tampa RVshow and again.
I'm sure you're at rallies andevents across the country
(43:44):
throughout the year, so peoplecan certainly find you, or
people could just go to yourwebsite at
battleboardbatteriescom thefuture what's in the future for
Battleboard Batteries?
Do you have some things youcould share, maybe some top
secret stuff?
Speaker 2 (44:03):
Well, I can't share top secret stuff but we do have
we've let the cat out of the bagon a number of things, you know
.
First of all, I alluded toonshoring the production of the
cells, so that is something thatwe, like I said, we've been
capital constrained.
It costs a lot of money tostand up a factory, but we have
(44:23):
a way to do it cheaper and moreefficient, using what's called a
dry electrode process to makethe anode and cathode, the
different components of thebatteries of the cells, and we
have the patents on thoseprocesses globally, and so it's
something that we have been soexcited to deploy because it
(44:44):
allows us to manufacture here inNevada with resources lithium
from the state of Nevada and becost competitive with Asian
manufactured cells, and that'shuge.
That's what we want to do, andthis is without tariffs, without
IRA credits, just apples toapples.
(45:04):
If you use this process, we canmanufacture cheaper in Nevada
than using conventionalprocesses manufactured in China,
and that study was completed bya third party, so that is
objectively true.
The other thing from atechnology standpoint, we
(45:25):
figured out how to apply thissame dry electrode process to
what's called a solid statebattery electrode process, to
what's called a solid statebattery, and by that I mean the
flammable component that Ialluded to before in a lithium
ion battery is the electrolyte.
That electrolyte would be 100%solid and not flammable when we
(45:46):
have that cell.
Then we can go back to thatpouch cell stacked together as
tight as you can get it, and youdon't have to worry about fires
or thermal runaway.
So that's what we seeultimately.
That's where we want to begoing In the nearer term.
We're going to continue toinnovate on the products that we
(46:07):
do sell.
We've introduced ourintelligence line so that our
battery each individual batterycan communicate wireless on a
mesh network with other devices,with your cell phone, with you
know, through CAN bus, and we'regoing to continue to develop
all of the ancillary devicesthat are on that network.
(46:28):
So that is something that iscoming down the pike as well.
Speaker 1 (46:32):
Wow, that sounds incredible and I also want to
let people know again.
I tried to break it down forpeople to understand.
I'm sure there are some peoplethat are science background and
got a lot out of this as well.
You guys are on Facebook.
You're on Instagram, tiktok,youtube.
You have a YouTube channel.
I highly recommend my listenersreach out.
(46:56):
What are your thoughts, whatare your questions, on any of
your platforms.
As always, people can reach outto me on Instagram or Facebook.
At RV Life Podcast, we want tohear questions because I think
having that conversation, it'slike in the beginning when you
went out to those influencersand people who are RVing to get
(47:17):
the information.
I always want people to keepsharing.
What did they get out of this?
Do they have additionalquestions?
Because that's how you createand develop what you're doing A
lot of incredible information.
I know for me, I learned a loton this call.
I know for me, I'm going tohave a lot of incredible
information.
I know for me, I learned a loton this call.
I know for me, I'm going tohave a lot of additional
questions.
(47:38):
Yeah, we'll continue.
As people have other questionsand needs that they have, we'll
continue to get those out there.
I do have more questions.
I don't want you to go anywhere.
I don't want my listeners to goanywhere At this time of year.
There's a lot going on, so Iwant to just give a couple
updates.
As we talked about, america'slargest RV show is in Hershey,
(48:01):
pennsylvania, from September10th to the 14th.
We have some great sponsors,including RV TV, and they have
RVers Top Talent.
You could apply to RVers toptalent.
You have a talent.
Could you short you?
Speaker 2 (48:19):
absolutely, I've played in a couple rallies.
Speaker 1 (48:22):
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
So you have to record yourself.
I'm going to get your people todo this.
This is the first evernationwide talent competition.
So singing, comedianstorytelling, juggling, whatever
guitar playing, do you alsosing?
Speaker 2 (48:40):
Not well.
Speaker 1 (48:41):
Oh, really, okay, Guitar playing.
There is a $5,000 grand prize,so I'm going to put the link in
the show notes.
You're going to sign up?
I didn't mention that in thebeginning either, but that would
be very cool.
Speaker 2 (48:56):
No, you didn't.
That's new.
No, no.
Speaker 1 (48:58):
It's required for the podcast episode and that $5,000
could go to research.
I know it doesn't even touchthe kinds of things you're doing
, but it all helps.
So for those people who areinterested in showing off their
talent, the link's going to bein the show notes.
I'm really excited about thisand RV TV can be found on
(49:23):
DirecTV, Roku and various otherplaces.
But if you're going to be inHershey and you let me know if
you're going to be in Hershey atthe show, because RV Life is
doing their fourth annual RVLife Hershey After Party and
that'll be on September 11th.
It's an amazing event.
(49:43):
It's going to be sold out.
You'll get to meet a lot ofRVers, so I'm inviting you.
If you're going to be on theEast Coast, yeah, back here,
right in your neighborhood,right?
So you should come back, that'sright.
Okay.
So that's my personal invite.
Okay, before we go anywhere,I've got to ask you a question.
The question of the week isbrought to you by Cool RV.
(50:04):
I'm going to ask you thisquestion and I am going to give
you a few minutes to think aboutit, because I'm putting you on
the spot.
A few minutes to think about it, because I'm putting you on the
spot.
What is on your bucket list?
So somebody you want to meet, aplace you want to go, an
experience you want to haveanywhere in the world.
Think about that, and I'm goingto talk a little bit about Cool
(50:28):
RV.
Because it is getting hot, I wasforced to turn the air
conditioner on.
I am in Philadelphia, outsideof Philadelphia, and it is hot
and humid.
Cool RV is a game changer in RVair conditioner upgrades.
This unit creates more cool air, more airflow and whisper quiet
operation, so you'll continueto be comfortable and not have
(50:52):
to deal with the noise in yoursmall RV.
Don't let the hot weather ruinyour trip.
Visit CoolRVcom, and that'sK-O-O-L-R-Vcom, okay.
So do you have a place, aperson, an experience that you
want to have?
Speaker 2 (51:10):
Well, it'll probably be music-oriented.
It'll probably be jamming withsomebody playing guitar with
somebody, and there's a longlist of folks on my list that it
would be jamming with anotherguitar player.
Speaker 1 (51:27):
So who would be on the top of your list?
Who would be some of the peopleyou would want to jam with?
Let's get it out there.
Speaker 2 (51:35):
Okay, All right Well.
Speaker 1 (51:36):
I'm really putting you on the spot.
Speaker 2 (51:38):
The ones that are still alive.
They're getting older, so I'dhave to throw Eric Clapton, Joe
Walsh.
I'd probably throw in some ofthe Allman brothers, like Warren
Haynes, Derek Trucks.
(51:59):
You know, there's that sort ofblues, rock and roll style.
Those guys have their ownstyles that you know.
I would love to see firsthand.
I mean, I've seen them, but I'dlove to be able to jam.
I don't know, Is that too muchto ask?
Speaker 1 (52:15):
No, listen, that's what the bucket list is about.
It's asking for whatever youwant and putting it out there
and making it happen.
I have a bucket list a milelong and I just keep checking
things off, so that's why I'dlove to ask that question.
You are the first person thattalked about a person you wanted
to do something with, so thankyou, and certainly, if you get
(52:37):
back out to the East Coast, letme know.
You are on the West Coast,right?
You're in Nevada.
Speaker 2 (52:42):
Reno Nevada Yep.
Speaker 1 (52:43):
Okay, that's what I thought.
Okay, so, but if you ever getout to the East Coast would love
to meet up with you and sit andchat with you further.
You're such an interestingperson.
I want to thank you for beingon I am not done because I want
to talk about the featurecampground before I let you go
and that's Carolina Shores RVResort in Myrtle Beach, south
(53:05):
Carolina.
It is a Thousand Trails Park,but you do not need to be a
member.
You need to check this placeout because it looks incredible.
I have never been there.
It's got oceanfront RV park andit's got so much nearby.
There's so much in the MyrtleBeach area.
(53:26):
People really need to checkthat area out if they've never
been.
Of course, the campground hasfull hookups, so don't
necessarily need the bigoff-grid lithium battery, but in
the travels in between they dohave cabin rentals, so for
someone like me that doesn'thave the RV right now, that's a
great place to go.
They have 813 sites, a 7.7rating on the RV Life Campground
(53:51):
Review site with 14 reviews.
You can visit this campgroundand check out everything there
is to know about it by going torvlifecom.
They have all these beautifulpictures of the place, all the
amenities, everything you needto know about this place.
The nice thing is, when you goto campgroundsrvlifecom, you can
(54:14):
book your site right from thatpage.
You don't have to go off of it.
Campground Reviews is part ofthe RV Life Pro suite of
products.
If you aren't already an RVLife member, there is a 25%
discount in the show notes.
Check them out atcampgroundsrvlifecom.
Again, I want people to go tobattleboardbatteriescom.
(54:40):
Check you guys out on Facebook,instagram, tiktok and YouTube
and this may be out of yourwheelhouse, but I checked that
out on your website.
All of that information's onyour website.
The website will be linked inthe show notes and I want to
thank you so much for so muchincredible information.
Speaker 2 (55:00):
It was my pleasure to be here.
Thanks for having me on thepodcast, Patty.
Speaker 1 (55:04):
You're welcome and I want to thank my listeners and
remind you life's a journey Liveeach day to the fullest,
without regrets.
I'm Patty Hunt and you havebeen listening to the RV Life
Podcast.
Thank you.
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