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I am a first time camper van owner, so apologies if this question is rather basic!
I am planning to free camp much of Europe and wonder how I will maintain/conserve battery power in the camper without an electric hook up much of the time?
Are there any Do’s or Dont’s???
(BTW – The van has 2 x leisure batteries fitted, it is a 2.5 TD mazda bongo)Any help would be appreciated thanks!!
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Alarm System
We have just got a Ducato Campervan on a Fiat body. Parked up for the winter, just brought home and battery re-charged. Alarm is constantly sounding and red light on panel on. Any idea what the problem could be?. We are real newbies to this game and any ideas would be welcome. We checked thingslike doors being closed, waste tank is empty so not aclue.
Many thanks
Conserving power
I’ve been doing a huge amount of reading on this subject in preparation for our trip next year. I’ve also been doing quite a lot of testing of our electric usage and researching effectiveness of solar given local weather conditions to enable me to design a system suitable for our requirements.
Some very basic principles apply, but it really helped me to think like this;
1) Think about your batteries in terms of fuel tank for elecricity.
2) Work out how much electricity you use per day/week (test the battery with multimeter before and after use) A few test trips over the winter should give you a reasonable idea.
3) Save as much as possible – Find out what uses electricity in your camper and see if you really need it (test this with a multimeter)
4) Refill (charge) – Once you know how much you use, you know how much to put back in. Choose a solar panel or wind turbine or whatever else takes your fancy which will provide sufficient electricity (plus 10% for inefficiencies). You will also need a charge regulator to prevent overcharging.
5) Make sure you have big enough ‘fuel tanks’ – a 2nd leisure battery is a good idea but make sure you have enough amp hours in it for your usage.
Theoretically you should be able to stay free camping indefinately this way, but obviously you’ll need water, waste facilities etc.
Basic do’s and dont’s.
Do’s
> Use a digital multimeter for testing, the red/amber/green indicators in your van do not give you the accurate information you require
> Research what products you are buying carefully, you need to make sure that whatever you buy is going to work properly… all the time.
> Use a ‘surge protector’ when hooked up to mains.
Don’t
> Run your batteries too low. Phred’s ‘Poop Sheets’ above tell you exactly why putting your batteries through ‘deep cycle’ is a bad thing. 50% of their usable charge range is as low as you really want to run them.
I’m going to see if we can get away with a 45W 12v solar panel. My thinking is that it won’t provide all that we need but instead of our leisure batteries lasting 3-4 days before running too low, they should last 5-6 days or maybe more. This is long enough to match the need to top up with clean water. If I’ve got it wrong then it won’t cost too much to get another 20W panel which will definately suffice or possibly a wind generator?
Solar, upgrading alternator, portable generator
I have been reading various sites for “dry camping”. The best, most informative has been http://www.phrannie.org/, then go to Phred’s “Poop Sheets”.
Options discussed are solar panels (either on the roof or on separate stands), portable (or built-in) generator “genset”, and/or upgrading one’s alternator the using the engine to recharge the “house” power.
Two books I have seen referenced in many places are:
“Managing 12 Volts — How to Upgrade, Operate, and Troubleshoot 12 Volt Electrical Systems” by Harold Barre
“RV Electrical Systems – A Basic Guide to Troubleshooting, Repair, and Improvement” by Bill and Jan Moeller.
I picked my up from Amazon. Both are great. While they overlap, both have their own opinions, approaches, and methods. You may find some of interest in each to implement to match your own needs and preferences.