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Enigmatic Nomadic is Off-Grid with Battle Born Batteries

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Here at Battle Born Batteries, the off-grid way of living is attainable with our lithium-powered products! Jamie Dimon, also known as the Enigmatic Nomadic, can travel on his own terms and power the cool rigs that he works on and lives in. 

Meet Jamie:

As the Enigmatic Nomadic, Jamie Dimon is living off-grid and loving the freedom to explore where he wants, when he wants. His impressive setup is powered by Battle Born Batteries, and he enjoys the peace of mind and reliability that lithium brings. He’s been on the road since January 1, 2012 where his journey started in Key West, Florida.

Jamie grew up in Asheville, North Carolina, and went camping with his family often. Once he discovered that a person could earn an income from a Wi-Fi connection, he decided to give it a shot.

“It’s almost like a magic trick, how you’re able to support yourself while you’re at Zion National Park or Bryce Canyon,” he said. “I can’t imagine doing anything else!”

He first got into this lifestyle by buying an all-wheel drive Astro Van off of Craigslist for $2,000. Jamie built a solar system for his van at a time when no one was installing solar. He spent the following summer putting the solar panels to work, traveling to Shaver Lake in California’s Central Valley and other places. He’s worked on skoolies, van builds, dirt bikes and trailers and knows all about these systems and how efficient they can be.

A man standing in front of a school bus with a solar panel on it.

Right now, he’s renovating his property to host a new location to build vans and host events. Jamie is even planning to have enough space to have an airstrip! His current main project is to build out a shuttle bus for his friend Lizz. Located in Georgia, in an area he describes as “basically a rainforest,” he’s still getting used to the weather when compared to living in a place like Arizona.

With years of experience, Jamie’s got a list of ups and downs to the off-grid lifestyle. Whether it’s being able to visit national parks for extended periods or taking hot water and long showers for granted, the pros outweigh the cons. Overall, Jamie really likes the freedom associated with the traveling off-the-grid lifestyle! He says that going to popular places during weekdays is a great tactic of his.

Other pros include not having power bills or outages that he can’t handle himself, along with offering his dog new places to explore as they travel.

The Setup, powered by Battle Born Batteries:

Here’s the system that Jamie has to succeed at off-grid living:

4 BB10012 Battle Born Batteries

2 Victron MPPT 100/50 Smart Charge Controllers

1 Victron Multiplus Inverter Charger 3000W 12V

A photo of 2 solar charge controllers with an inverter charger.

When it comes to the nomadic lifestyle, he jokingly advises not to “buy a commercial grade skoolie, but something that’s easier to drive for supply runs and setting up camp.” He continues, “instead buy a Sprinter van, a shuttle bus or a bus that’s on a van chassis.”

Jamie also says to seriously consider your power and comfort needs. He personally places a high priority on getting an energy system and appliances such as a refrigerator. Being self-sufficient is something where you really can’t go wrong, especially when you’re moving from location to location.

Jamie believes that Battle Born Batteries are a great way to be able to quickly charge things when compared to lead acid.

“If you’ve got the budget for Battle Born, then go with them for sure,” he said. “Get yourself some good solar panels and a good system, especially Victron [components] as they’re something I recommend all the time.”

What’s Next?

Jamie is looking into buying land and growing out his off-grid layout. He’d love to build a homestead with a vegetable garden and get into raising some chickens! Another one of his possible projects is to get a shuttle bus to help make his desire to travel a lot even easier. Continuing to visit Baja Mexico as he’s done every year for the past four years is also a short-term goal.

Check out Jamie on his YouTube channel, and follow him on Instagram and Facebook as well.

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6 thoughts on “Enigmatic Nomadic is Off-Grid with Battle Born Batteries

  1. Hi. I’m from colombia and I’m building a van conversion so I would like to get some advice before buy any products I would like to run some appliances with out start my van such as air conditioner water heater induction cooktop lights awning how much power do I need to run this getting power from my batteries about 4 6 batteries I mean 400 600 800 watts getting it from solar on a 144 van and also getting it from a second alternator

    1. Hi Juan, thanks for reaching out. You can give our tech team a call at 855-292-2831 or email us at [email protected] and they will be more than happy to help assess your system and get you the proper system setup as well.

    2. Hi Juan,
      Jamie here. I can tell you from experimenting with my own solar/Battleborn set up that the lithium Battleborns are key when it comes to running an air conditioning set up on a rig because they recharge so much faster than lead-acid. That said, I’m running about 1,300 watts of solar to keep my system topped up and STILL struggle with an 8,000 BTU window air conditioning unit set on economy mode.
      If I get great sun all day I can pull it off but still need to suppliment my battery bank with a gas generator at night when the sun is no longer hitting the panels if my air conditioner has been running constantly.
      Also, consider the color of your rig. Note that if your rig is metal and sitting out in the sun, it will heat up your metal rig like a radiator, and the darker the color, the more it will heat up.
      That has been my experience. Everything else you mention running will be no problem at all.
      If you are planning to get supplimental power off of your altenator, make sure you use the isolator/selenoid that Battelborn sells. Anything else may not be rated for lithium and may not govern the recharge properly and could cause damage to the altenator and heat up the wires installed.
      Best of luck!

  2. I AM BUYING A NEW Horizon FIFTH WHEEL AND WANT TO POWER MY ACs, IS IT POSSIBLE WITH SOLAR PANELS AND YOUR BATTERIES WITHOUT BUYING A GENERATOR.

    1. Good morning Frank! You certainly can use a solar setup with our batteries to power your 5th wheel without a generator. If you give our technical sales team a call at 855-292-2831 they will be able to help you spec out your system and get the proper components needed for solar. Thank you!

  3. Hi Jamie. I’m at the planning stage of nomadic living, and am wondering if it’s possible to put a/c in a minivan. If it is, is there a way to still be stealth? From what I’ve been looking at so far, this seems like a tall order. Also, if it’s not possible, if I stay in west Texas or Arizona will a small swamp cooler work to cool a minivan 24 hours a day on solar power? Thanks for any advice.

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