No, I am not talking about driving across the country in an RV without spending a penny on gas by stealing it whenever possible. And, no, I have not lost my mind. Well, at least not yet.

What I am talking about the SolTrekker, an RV currently being built that will not use a single drop of fuel to run, nor will it need propane to run the stove or furnace, or electricity to run the lights. The engine will run on either 100 percent biodiesel or straight vegetable oil. The interior electrical system will be run using solar power from the panels mounted on the RV’s roof.

To make the SolTrekker as efficient as possible, energy efficient appliances will be used, along with LED’s which use 97 percent less electricity than fluorescent and incandescent lights but put out the same amount of light.

Even the wall insulation is earth friendly. They have been insulated with Bonded Logic Ultra Touch recycled cotton/demin insulation.

Hot water will be provided by a super insulated heat exchanger run off the solar panel. The hot water will be put to good use in the sinks and shower as one might expect, but also in the radiant heat floor system as well.

The RV won’t waste water either. The toilet is a waterless one that separates liquid waste from solid waste. The liquid waste will be sent to a separate tank where it can be mixed with 8 parts water and used to fertilize plants. The solid waste will be super heated and turned into odorless, bacteria free compost (it all sounds kind of gross but cow manure has been used as fertilizer in gardens for a long time - okay I guess that’s gross too, maybe we just shouldn’t think about it too much).

Where will the water used inside the RV come from? Gutters mounted on the RV will capture rain run off and send it to water storage tanks where it will be cleaned and filtered for use in the RV.

The stove, like the engine, will run on vegetable oil. And consideration is being given to putting a solar oven in an exterior compartment for outdoor cooking.

The efficiencies and energy friendliness of the SolTrekker doesn’t end there. Its creators want it to be as “earth friendly” as possible which is kind of cool considering RV’s are typically huge gas guzzlers making them energy and earth resource hogs (they’re really roomy and comfy though).

The SolTrekker will have cork flooring, bamboo wallboard and bed frames (bamboo is easily renewable), recycled glass tile, recycled composite countertops, zero VOC paint (no harmful fumes), and upholstery that is made from natural hemp and organic cotton.

Okay, so why is the team working on this project, which got its start in 2006 as a biodiesel advocacy campaign called bioTrekker (the brainchild of Ty Adams)?

The goals of this project are:
• Increase awareness and attractiveness of sustainability
• Assist the public in defining and differentiating sustainable organizations
• Support organizations that embrace sustainability over and beyond a marketing stance
• Help connect sustainable-focused organizations with each other by using our unique mobile nature
• Bring the concept of sustainability to places where it may not have been introduced
• Participate in the creation of recreational vehicles and homes that are net energy producers and fully powered by sustainable sources
• Play a creative role in a rapid, whole-hearted transition from a world mostly powered by fossil fuels to a world fully powered by clean renewables.
• See the day when all human communities are completely self sufficient, sustainable and in harmony and balance with the natural world

The Soltrekker is still a work in progress but plans are for it to be finished soon. Currently work is being done on the interior and is expected to be finished in 3-4 weeks. Ty Adams (coordinator and mastermind of the project) has graciously agreed to provide us with pictures of the finished interior when they are available.

When the SolTrekker is completed, it will go on tour to provide educational services. Currently, everyone on staff at SolTrekker is an unpaid volunteer but they hope to one day be able to expand and include paid staff that can help improve the quality of their educational materials and help them get their “eco-friendly” message out to as many people as possible.

In the meantime, we can all help by spreading the word about the SolTrekker, the “most eco-friendly motorhome in the universe (that also has a pretty cool paint job).”

When Ty and the SolTrekker do get out on their educational tour, and if he gets to your area, see if you can persuade him to play his guitar and sing his “non award winning” biodiesel song, “The World Needs a Lubricant Now.”