Tips for going off grid in the caravan

[@TheTrudgians]

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[@johnwilson1736]

Thanks for the link. I love the tips you share

[@davidbotterill7549]

A great subject in a world of saving the planet. One idea for the really doubtful people may be to choose an electric site for a short stay (to minimise cost) - but don’t plug the hook up in. If everything works out unplugged happy days - if it doesn’t then you can always plug in. It would give them chance to assess off grid with the peace of mind back up of the hook up. Great video Dan Dave Birmingham

[@leeb3644]

Great content as usual. In our motorhome we have no solar as we find we are either wild camping for maybe a couple of nights then driving for a few hours thus charging the leisure batteries. All lighting is led and a pair of 120amp batteries provide plenty of power. We have in the past managed 7 days ‘off grid’ with no problem, in the summer so minimal use of the tv. When we are truly stuck and enjoying a fantastic wild camping spot we do have a Honda generator to fall back on, we call it the insurance. As long as no one is to be disturbed we use it to recharge. I know there are many people that hate generators but if we can see other campers we don’t use it. If on sites for any long period we use the hook up, so many sites we’ve visited include electric in the price so we take full advantage. We’ve been motorhoming for about 27 years and on several occasions we have come very close to purchasing solar panels but after thinking hard we decided that they just aren’t needed. Keep up the great work 👍

[@susanashurst7206]

I've just come back from 6 nights off grid, with the CC club, they provide a tap for water and an elsan point. I've only a 40w suitcase panel, and we all know the weather hasn't been the best, but we never ran out of power, had the fridge on gas, and hot water turned on just before we needed it, showered and had lights in the evening no problems. Biggest and best advantage apart from the price benefits, is there are no designated pitches, park anywhere between some given points. Loved every minute.

[@jonboothuk]

We go off grid a lot, here in New Zealand. As we keep the van at home, we run the fridge full blast on 230v the night before and make sure it is full, ice blocks or whatever will do. That and 200w of solar on the roof and an upgraded 50a hookup with heavy gauge to the tow vehicle, running a 20a DC-DC charger, ATC and fridge (although if running the fridge we run the charger at 10a) means even if it's rained all week we can quickly get juice back into the battery. Hardly ever need to do that though and I enjoyed adding all that kit as the van came without any. I also added fans to the fridge vent for the summer (as per an earlier video of yours) are if it's hot enough to need them, the solar is doing it's job. We also carry 2 gas bottles. The thing I've found runs down the power fastest is the water pump. Often the kids will not notice the pump is running itself dry, dunno why I'm the only one who can hear it. So keeping an eye on the water tank and making sure it isn't dry is essential.

[@MCSWork-j7o]

Great Video. I'm an NCC mobile caravan engineer and I get asked about this subject on a daily basis. I think your right, everyone has power anxiety but once you explain the way a caravan power system works it seems to put their minds at ease to a degree. As you say solar power and the way that that power is managed has developed greatly over the past few years. As a caravaner myself I rarely use hook up at all now, just relying on a decent Solar Panel, MPPT charge controller and Gel Battery. The other bonus is quieter campsites!!! Keep up the great videos

[@dh3554]

Hi there. I live off grid full time with just solar energy. Do you have any knowledge of wind turbines as now the daylight is short and no sun my batteries new a occasional recharge. Cheers

[@caravaningincarathevan467]

Im off grid alot. 2 gas bottles LED bulbs whistling kettle solar panel. Hot water bottle, blankets, power packs and a good book

[@Coffeevaners]

Spot on Dan. Great video 👍 and fantastic advice. Nobody should fear off grid for a few days and we think it's a great experience so much so, next month, we have no fears with our planned 10 days off grid.

[@NZCaravanLife]

Great video Dan 👍 we are living in our Swift Celebration touring the South Island of New Zealand. We have been it for 8 months now, have 500w Solar on the roof, 2x lithium batteries, 2000w inverter, 30amp dc dc charger (victron energy) which I had to install a new cable for that runs along the 13pin cable, and a 160w portable solar panel that goes through a victron controller to the 2 batteries. We are pretty power hungry, hairdryer, recharge bike batteries pretty much every other day, microwave sometimes, air fryer, crockpot, laptop, drone, telephones, GoPro, etc etc and have only hooked up to power for one night in all that time, and that was pre dc dc charger. With it being winter now the portable solar panel is just brilliant, we get about as much solar through that as we do the roof. During the summer we also use the inverter to run the fridge and heat the water to minimise gas usage. We do have a 9kg gas bottle in the caravan and carry 2x9kg in the Ute. Bit of cash spent that we wouldn’t do for short 2 week holidays but definately been worthwhile doing it for what we are currently doing 👍

[@rhinogooner]

I carry two 7kg butane bottles connected to a auto changeover regulator. This stops the worry of the fridge running out overnight. We also use a single burner to boil a kettle anyway. This was so we didn’t open up the main stove just to boil a kettle and waiting for to cool to shut glass lid. We have one of those ikea chopping boards on it also makes extra prep area without fear of damaging glass.

[@m1cxf]

With the auto changeover system how do you know you're not going to end up with two empty gas cylinders?

[@rhinogooner]

@@m1cxf A full one is more than enough for our trips so I always have one full one so when the part used one runs out I know I have enough gas to see the trip out. Then when I get home get a refill so always got at least one full one when going away.

[@charlieshooter]

Great vid! I get massive power/voltage anxiety. To keep any USB devices (phones/tablets) charged, I use a Makita USB charger attached to my Makita batteries. Great if you have a few batteries. Dewalt also do them. 👍🏼 We also use little battery powered lanterns around the caravan to save using lights. I never worry about gas, having worked 8 days at Glastonbury Festival, where we only used 3/4 of a bottle.....fridge running constantly, regular showers, and hot water for washing up (no heating required mind!)

[@smc5155]

Great video Dan, thanks. A few years ago I watched your video on caravan inverters which got me thinking….we now have x3 lithium 100aH batts, 2000w inverter, 300w of solar. We now only camp off grid, never take the EHU lead and spend weeks in far away fields. Got a Safe Fill gas bottle too, paying about 90p a litre to refill. Expensive outlay - yes, but now reaping the rewards. Thanks again 👍🏽

[@TheTrudgians]

That’s fantastic news, and quite a set up. 👍

[@evil17]

Good job mate. If using 12v LED’s for lighting (or any lighting), use a dimmer control so you can cut the power consumption right back when not needed to be so bright, this can make a huge difference & lighting uses bugger all power this way. 12v movement sensors or sensor type lights/controls are handy for outside the door if you need to get up & go in the night.

[@kevinlawrence2127]

Another great Video Dan. As I Off-Grid a lot, also when the caravan at the storage site, I have had issues with not enough charge from the solar panel with the Sargent solar controller (basically just an on/off PWM switch piece of junk) as fitted to the caravan from new by Swift, I have since change it to a Victron MPPT charge controller which I can monitor via Bluetooth. now the leisure AGM caravan battery is properly charging. Just this one change has made the solar setup on the caravan a vast improvement. Well worth the investment if you don't have a MPPT charge controller fitted But Do Not fit a cheap Controller as they are/could be no better than the one already fitted. The better MPPT controllers can be remote monitored. I have noticed that Swift has since on the 2022/23 models, are now being fitted with an MPPT charge controller.

[@colinmew7139]

Great Video Dan I use Safefill gas find it better but also remember to switch off caravan Ariel I find drain from that is quite high overnight.

[@marcrufus5814]

Great to see you Dan. Hope you and the family are doing well.

[@ChrisHauxwell]

I recently went off-grid at Silverstone for the British GP. I was amazed how much power you can get from a solar panel. I have a 100W Renogy Suitcase Solar Panel and it fully charged both my leisure battery and a Bluetti EB3A 268Wh power station in one day. I then used my leisure battery to run the lights, water pump, etc and the Bluetti to run the TV. The great thing about using the Bluetti is you can see how much power you're using and you can keep the leisure battery for the important stuff. Definitely worth getting a separate power station if you're planning some off-grid stays. The EB3A even has a 600W/1200W (boost) AC output. A great investment in my opinion.

[@jacketrussell]

110ah battery, 100w panel, full LED lighting and 2 full 6kg of propane and I'm good to go for 2 weeks. Always pretfer off grid sites. Never had a problem 👍

[@g1egz]

How you managing to use up 12 kg of propane in two weeks?in winter possibly, but during summer, l use 12 kg in nearly two months in my motorhome,

[@jacketrussell]

@@g1egz That is my winter ( worst case) figure. If I use that figure as a guideline, I know that I'll be safe all year round.

[@andrewlightfoot1830]

@@g1egzif off grid, you will use more gas. Harsh winter off grid, you would use 6 kg in 2 to 3 days.

[@andrewlightfoot1830]

Other items I would recommend is purchasing a Safefill gas bottle 10kg , to fill this will cost £13, verses £60 calor. Expensive to purchase, but, definitely pays back after 3 to 4 refills. Also, battery wise, would recommend AGM and not a standard leisure.

[@jacketrussell]

@@andrewlightfoot1830 Safefill is only good if you can find somewhere to fill it. I've never had a problem sourcing Calor.

[@brennigjones]

Thanks Dan. I've been waiting for this one. Most helpful, some good suggestions here

[@benreeder5490]

Refillable gas bottles like SafeFill can save you money over time. Also you can top them up before going

[@TheTrudgians]

Great tip !! - Expensive outlay, but if you use them often - it quickly does pay back. I just wish somewhere locally would allow me to fill them. 😳

[@Elwyn525]

I have a Bluetti AC50S and whilst normally it powered my compressor fridge in my last camper, when I'm not on the road it stops at home and charged up. A work colleague has a motorbike in an offsite parking location and the onboard tracker flattens the battery so usually in winter he runs the motorbike for a day a week just to keep it charged up. Last winter I loaned him the Bluetti. Along with a motorbike charger he left it charging his motorbike for about 2 days a week, then back inside to acclimatise before recharging it at home. The Bluetti helped maintain his bike battery as well as give him better peace of mind. So now I've a caravan I'll take the Bluetti with me with the knowledge that if I flatten the caravan battery off grid I can probably do the same. The only caveat is that the newer versions have an 'eco' mode which shuts down if it doesnt detect a power draw below 20w :( However, good luck with your O/G experimentation!!! :)

[@stephen8266]

Hi Dan, I have a swift in Australia and we off grid a lot.. We have a compressor fridge that uses quite a bit of our electrical resource, and the rest of the van is quite standard, we don't use much gas and our electrical system is a Dedicated 1 x 100 a/h lithium for the fridge with 200w fixed panel and mppt regulator. The rest of the van runs of the house battery 100 a/h gel with 100w panel, I also have a 300w flexable that I can add to either battery as required. And as a safe guard A DC/DC charger in the car that charges quickly.. Water ( lack of ) and emptying the toilet cassette are an issue sometimes, other wise it's endless !! We do get lots of sunshine.. cheers

[@itroy3039]

Handy tip I recommend upgrading to lithium battery 👌

[@richardsracingmad]

They are good, but expensive and don’t like cold weather, not ideal in the UK.

[@kenuur1]

@@richardsracingmad They are expensive but can be mounted inside the van, the minimum temp to charge them is 0C so unlikely to be an issue. A 100Ah LiPO4 gives nearly twice the usable power of the equivalent lead acid and will last practically for ever so a solid investment in my opinion

[@victorkent768]

Off grid camping is the best camping been doing it for 6 years now, think how many more hols I could have had if I'd done it 20 years ago. Thanks Dan. ps I still check the voltage😂😂😂

[@totaltouring829]

Off Grid for me was a holiday on rations. Spot on with power anxiety.

[@briancarter4408]

G’day from Australia Trudgians! We use a mixture of off grid and caravan park camping. However, we much prefer off grid camping in our Bailey Unicorn S4 Pamplona. We have two 120L water tanks under the floor. Our four year old 100AH AGM house battery died on our last trip so I replaced it with two 120AH AGM batteries. We often take a quiet Honda 2KVa generator with us but I suspect we won’t need that so much now with the new batteries. Love your videos, keep up the good work!

[@terryfielding8836]

Some great tips there Dan, thank you. Not tried off grid yet but thanks to your vlog, I think I may give it a go.

[@CaravanningwiththeMrs]

Thanks for that, Dan. I don't think you mentioned to charge all devices during the day, rather than at night, as it seems that mobile devices can consume a reasonable of power while charging in the night. Which is also another advantage of the mifi-i unplug ours at night and it's own battery sees it through until the morning. 👍

[@davidsqvbcn]

Thanks a lot, Dan! That was really interesting 👍🏻👏🏻👍🏻🙂

[@thebigtow]

Fantastic video Dan. As your aware we recently got back from 6 days at glastonbury festival in the caravan which was obviously off grid. I was surprised how little gas we actually consumed. and that fridge must have had some batter with over 50 cans of beer/cider and ambient temps of 28 degrees that weekend. Ill be making a video of that experience as it was our first off grid experience and we learnt a lot!

[@brucelangley5886]

I have two 110 AH battery's fitted, we can go away as you have described with out any problems.

[@thekeith2589]

Great info thank you. Looking to have a few off grid trips soon and have invested in an eco flow delta 2 for some extra “juice” 😂

[@PaulJohnson-o9l]

Take a spare battery or an old car battery as back up.

[@deanswan6109]

@TheTrudgians Hi...great video's which I enjoy watching as new to caravanning...Have you any videos or looked at upgrading the caravan to Lithium leisure battery's? Very few videos tutorials I trust on youtube.

[@ianbentley3817]

Morning, you showed your Avtex tv and sound bar joined together, have you made a video on how to do this. And can you make them stand up if you move it to the bedroom? As the stand has been taken off. We have a Bailey Pamplona 2018 with no wall mount in the bedroom. Thank you

[@barrychase4921]

Excellent again! Thank you.

[@yerags]

I have an inverter and can use it to boil a small kettle and power a toaster in the mornings assuming I get a reasonable charge from the solar panel on the roof. This saves on gas consumption.

[@kenuur1]

We much prefer off grid CLs, they are cheaper, generally quieter and the lack of EHU is really not an issue if you have solar in the summer (even this year). Winter off grid is a bit harder, you chew through the gas with the heating and the sun isn't out enough to keep the battery up so we resort to EHU for anything longer than a weekend. With a 100Ah LiPO4 battery and no solar a weekend will be quite manageable. My tip would be to pre-cool the fridge on mains before departing and ensure it is good and cold. Make sure you turn it to battery when towing to keep it cool. Bonus is you have ise for your drink as soon as you are setup

[@AidenDevine-s3k]

Hi Dan, love the channel. I was thinking of buying an Anker Powerstation. I see you have one and a jackery. Where do you place them when charging with the solar panels, when off grid, do you place it under the caravan or are they waterproof. Do you ever plug the electric hookup directly into it to power the caravan or just plug devices directly into it.. Thanks Aiden

[@dh3554]

Hi have you any knowledge of wind turbine’s as I live off grid full time with just solar panels. It’s windy in winter here. Are they worth it do you know ?

[@richardsaunders5547]

I have a 100Ah battery and want to install another is there any special place I need to put it on a Swift Aventura?

[@philstation335]

Does the electrics sockets still work without the hook up?

[@DooobiedogGrooming]

Hi can i ask for recommendation for s 12 v tv and soundbar thank you

[@karltemple1971]

Hi Dan, We always go off grid, 80w solar roof panel, with upgraded solar contoller and Safefill bottle. I also purchased two small (lightweight) AGM batteries from RS Dimensions151 x 98 x 95mm/Weight3.5kg. I use these for the TV ONLY (get around 4hrs each) then no worries about main battery going flat. I top then up the following day suitcase portable solar panel it takes about 3rs (mixed sunny/cloudy days) simply charge them before going with car batt charger. The main battery runs water pump, boiler, lights, phones for at least two weeks off grid. Would you mind telling me what soundbar make/model you use?? Many thanks Dan. Great video 👍

[@athole1954]

hi dan, how do you remove the light that is above your head @5min

[@TheTrudgians]

Hi, This should help : kzbin.info/www/bejne/bKHLiKefd6qjd6M

[@gazzrobb2366]

What have you got your pop up solar connected to? I have roof solar could I also connect a pop up solar panel to the battery? Would this conflict with the solar controller? Great videos Thanks

[@TheTrudgians]

Morning, if you want to add additional panels, it’s always best to route these through a single controller. When we had no panels, I used the pop up panel and controller and hooked it up to the leisure battery directly.

[@jarrodashton5923]

Any thought on systems like Jackery

[@TheTrudgians]

Hi, yes I mention portable power stations a couple of times in this video.

[@olliebodman9771]

Great video, I might try the caravan club no electric site as we are just not sure, it maybe now without the 4 kids going away with us anymore it will probably be easier to do Are you going to do anymore videos where you stay somewhere and explore the surroundings they were great

[@TheTrudgians]

Yes indeed. A few trips we will share on the plans.

[@Iestntfc]

Freeze a bottle of milk or water to put into the fridge instead of a freezer block

[@tonysutton6559]

If you boil too much water, don't waste the energy used by letting it go cold, make a flask full of coffee to save heating more water later on or just save the hot water for washing up. If you keep your caravan or camper at home, plug it into the mains the day before you go to get the fridge down to working temperature before you go. Freeze a couple of meals in old take away cartons and bung them in the icebox, they won't thaw if you don't keep opening the fridge door and they will help keep the fridge cold. If you are using your car during the day, charge your tech while you are travelling. Teach your dog to lie across your feet onkeep them warm.

[@tofty21]

Great tips and very timely. I’ve just booked a week away on an off grid CL for later in the month. One question though: could I run the fridge off of the battery? I’ve got a 150w SP and a 110a standard battery. Thanks Dan!

[@TheTrudgians]

Hi, when the fridge runs from the battery it is in fact from the tow car. Even then, it won’t chill just maintain the temp inside the fridge. So, short answer - no.

[@mattjames9868]

Is there any caravan adventure videos coming out anytime soon?

[@TheTrudgians]

Yup. 😂 check our latest upload.

[@johnwoodcock6999]

One tip to minimise gas consumption is to pitch up with the fridge on the least sunny side.

[@gordonbarclay6106]

It maybe worth changing any 12volt lighting for LED lights as this will use less power than ordinary 12 volt bulbs, just a thought..

[@rjnbarrass]

Great tips as always Dan... did you miss adding the 'useful shopping list' links? Interesting about the amount of gas consumed...knowing how much gas you have is certainly a black art... and would be much easier if you didn't have to physically remove the canister... any tips and gadgets you would recommend? (this would apply to the regular 'on grid' trips too ) 😃

[@TheTrudgians]

ooops.. I did forget, thanks for reminding me. Ive put a link to the Truma Level control. Thats what we currently use to measure the gas. It fits on the bottom of the gas bottle - so far (Since 2018) its been really good.

[@andyhopkinson2708]

Small generator

[@richdt6312]

As long as it’s not running most of the time.

[@brettbobbrettbob1232]

Don’t use your motor movers before you go away or onsite if you have any, one of the major power drains on a battery. You don’t want to start your Holidays with a flat battery.

[@shonagollan8445]

I was going to ask about using motor mover off grid but guess that’s a definite no. Need to practice reversing then!

[@scott8579]

No problem using mover, I have to to get of drive, then the car chargers battery back up on way to site

[@dh3554]

Wind turbines are shit waste of time and money. Tried them. Just have three or more batteries and two solar panels 12 volt tv and led lights. you can survive the whole winter I’ve done it easy. I live in my caravan full time with no electricity. Full time holiday living the dream

[@rickym5474]

Yeah this is great and all. It's the bare minimum with those portable power banks being completely unnecessary. I've modified my old box to be completely off grid for long stints. 900w fixed solar, lithium, separate 24v circuit for the inverter, compressor fridge, and a diesel heater. It blows my mind that people can deplete a 12v battery in a couple of days without charging. I can run the 12v circuits for several WEEKS without charging. What gives?

[@smrangers22]

Oh no !!! No TV 😅😅😅 what can we do ? Put the radio on 😅😅😮 charge up your devices before you go off grid and buy a power bank and charge it !!!! I have stayed of grid for 3/4 days then booked on campsite for 2days and then I recharge every thing . 😂simples