Off grid help

[emily2025]

Hi everyone like I mentioned in my last post were new to this, initially we will be stay on sites with a hook up but I intend to eventually go off grid mainly for photography I’ve looked at many posts about inverters and WiFi and my head has so do I need to buy the above or can it be done comfortably without the tech,
Also I live in the northeast if I decide to go with the above can you guys recommend anyone local who can supply and fit inverters and WiFi to my Moho.
Also if I choose to stick with 12v would it be wise to run 2 lithium battery’s.

I apologise in advance I’m sure these questions get asked all the time and I really appreciate your advise.

 

[scotjimland]

Provided you have a good sized leisure battery It can be done quite comfortably for 2 or 3 days without a lot of 'tech' .. no need for wifi router, inverter or lithium

Use your phone for wifi .. and charge camera and phone batteries with 12 v adapters.

You could have a couple of USB sockets fitted quite cheaply which would be useful for charging phone / laptop

Fora few extra pounds, a solar panel would extend that time to many days

It's what I do ..

 

[meanders]

It depends on many things including how long you are away for and not moving, (driving should recharge the battery), the size of your battery and what you use it for. If you have a TV on for 12 hours a day, and have all your lights on instead of one or two, you will run out of power. We are on our third van and while this has twin batteries, the other two only had the one original fit. Solar is your freind though so if you do not have that on-board, thet is very much worth the investment. If you can afford lithium fine, but you do not need it for a few days away IMHO. We were seven days away at Disney over New Year in the second van with a single battery and single solar panel. We used gas for heating and cooking including boiling the kettle. We did not run out of battery and it went down to -9 one night. I strongly suggest you see how you get on with what you have. However if you believe you cannot live without the electric kettle, toaster, airfryer, portable air conditioning unit, hair dryer, hair straighteners etc, then you will need to upgrade but you are talking in the region of a £1000 or more.

 

[PhilandMena]

Hi, If I read your post correctly, your looking to spend more time off sites and your concerned about Wifi access and if you need an Inverter. Well in short you need neither of these to spend more time off site but having both can make a difference. Wifi is best from a smart phone. Not a problem in the UK but can be a nightmare in europe due to the terms and conditions about roaming charges and the amount of data you can download before being hit with punitive charges. Members on here can advise you with best option's (Which in itself will be contradiction upon contradiction but in it all will be some sound advice.). As for not being on hook up and off site ! This can become complicated as you have not given an indication of what power you need and for how long, or what your present set up is. Regardless of all of this, the way forward for you is to get a shed load of solar panels on your roof and possibly add another leisure battery, depending on the type you already have fitted. Again, members will advise on this matter but you need to give them more relevant informatio about what you want to acheive, i.e. how many days will you be off grid, how much power do you use, i.e. fridge, t.v. etc., etc., and what is your present set up ? What type of battery do you have fitted and how many. A little more information from you will help other advise accordingly.

 

[MisterB]

You actually don't need anything other than somewhere to sleep .... the rest is just trimmings ....don't over complicate matters, try what you have first before buying anything extra....

Re the inverter, that's only needed if you want to run 240v stuff when you're not hooked up. If you don't want to run 240v stuff you don't need an inverter, if you do then you probably need a decent amount of battery to help it convert the battery power at 12v to 240v. Which then means you need a way to top up the 12v battery. That can be done by driving, hooking up to 240v power at home or on a site or using a generator and finallly by using solar panels.

No point over complicating it as this stage by me telling you even more stuff, so go and try what you've got and see if it works for you!

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[emily2025]

Hi everyone like I mentioned in my last post were new to this, initially we will be stay on sites with a hook up but I intend to eventually go off grid mainly for photography I’ve looked at many posts about inverters and WiFi and my head has so do I need to buy the above or can it be done comfortably without the tech,
Also I live in the northeast if I decide to go with the above can you guys recommend anyone local who can supply and fit inverters and WiFi to my Moho.
Also if I choose to stick with 12v would it be wise to run 2 lithium battery’s.

I apologise in advance I’m sure these questions get asked all the time and I really appreciate your advise

Provided you have a good sized leisure battery It can be done quite comfortably for 2 or 3 days without a lot of 'tech' .. no need for wifi router, inverter or lithium

Use your phone for wifi .. and charge camera and phone batteries with 12 v adapters.

You could have a couple of USB sockets fitted quite cheaply which would be useful for charging phone / laptop

Fora few extra pounds, a solar panel would extend that time to many days

It's what I do ..

I have a solar panel fitted wasn’t sure if it would make that much difference now I know it will Thank you for your help

 

[emily2025]

You actually don't need anything other than somewhere to sleep .... the rest is just trimmings ....don't over complicate matters, try what you have first before buying anything extra....

Re the inverter, that's only needed if you want to run 240v stuff when you're not hooked up. If you don't want to run 240v stuff you don't need an inverter, if you do then you probably need a decent amount of battery to help it convert the battery power at 12v to 240v. Which then means you need a way to top up the 12v battery. That can be done by driving, hooking up to 240v power at home or on a site or using a generator and finallly by using solar panels.

No point over complicating it as this stage by me telling you even more stuff, so go and try what you've got and see if it works for you!

Much appreciated thank you

 

[Landy Andy]

Just start to use it, and you will soon workout what works, what doesn’t, what you need and what you don’t. We all have different requirements

 

[emily2025]

It depends on many things including how long you are away for and not moving, (driving should recharge the battery), the size of your battery and what you use it for. If you have a TV on for 12 hours a day, and have all your lights on instead of one or two, you will run out of power. We are on our third van and while this has twin batteries, the other two only had the one original fit. Solar is your freind though so if you do not have that on-board, thet is very much worth the investment. If you can afford lithium fine, but you do not need it for a few days away IMHO. We were seven days away at Disney over New Year in the second van with a single battery and single solar panel. We used gas for heating and cooking including boiling the kettle. We did not run out of battery and it went down to -9 one night. I strongly suggest you see how you get on with what you have. However if you believe you cannot live without the electric kettle, toaster, airfryer, portable air conditioning unit, hair dryer, hair straighteners etc, then you will need to upgrade but you are talking in the region of a £1000 or more.

That’s really good to know thank you

 

[emily2025]

Just start to use it, and you will soon workout what works, what doesn’t, what you need and what you don’t. We all have different requirements

Indeed we do thank you great advice

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[emily2025]

Hi everyone like I mentioned in my last post were new to this, initially we will be stay on sites with a hook up but I intend to eventually go off grid mainly for photography I’ve looked at many posts about inverters and WiFi and my head has so do I need to buy the above or can it be done comfortably without the tech,
Also I live in the northeast if I decide to go with the above can you guys recommend anyone local who can supply and fit inverters and WiFi to my Moho.
Also if I choose to stick with 12v would it be wise to run 2 lithium battery’s.

I apologise in advance I’m sure these questions get asked all the time and I really appreciate your advise.

Thank you for all your help it’s greatly appreciated

 

[Langtoftlad]

Seven years, 2x 100ah batteries, 1x 120w solar panel.
WiFi either phone or a MiFi*

*EG
https://www.amazon.co.uk/E5330-3G-U...guration-Required/dp/B07Z5LWMNZ/?tag=mhf04-21
[Spend more to get better/faster, down a rabbithole]

 

[hja]

Fridge type makes a big difference to leisure battery use and therefore whether lithium is worth looking at. Remember off grid means different things gs to different people. It can mean using sites, Aires, pub stops with no hook up or it can mean not using any of those, also called wild camping and stealth camping.
We have a compressor fridge and could not do two nights without solar and without moving without the leisure battery dropping to 12 v which is a bit low. We have a 120 w solar panel and had a 230ah lithium battery installed which has made a huge difference. If you have a three way fridge, I.e. one that runs on gas or mains when stationary and 12v on the move, then you will go for much longer with an ordinary lead acid battery.

 

[h8ten]

Have a look at Power Stations. I have one that I intend to use at any sites without an EHU. I've not decided whether to plug the whole van into the Power Bank or just the appliance as and when required, but it might be worth considering. I've tried my Power Bank in the house and I can easily run my washing machine on a 40c wash or my tumble dryer for an hour and a half (both are high efficiency units).

 

[Stepheno]

Hi everyone like I mentioned in my last post were new to this, initially we will be stay on sites with a hook up but I intend to eventually go off grid mainly for photography I’ve looked at many posts about inverters and WiFi and my head has so do I need to buy the above or can it be done comfortably without the tech,
Also I live in the northeast if I decide to go with the above can you guys recommend anyone local who can supply and fit inverters and WiFi to my Moho.
Also if I choose to stick with 12v would it be wise to run 2 lithium battery’s.

I apologise in advance I’m sure these questions get asked all the time and I really appreciate your advise.

Have nine years old bog standard Swift Escape with one solar panel. Cooking, heating,fridge on gas. Hab lights all LED. Two weeks in Brittany in February off grid no problem. TV on I pad piggy back WiFi. on phone ( with good European roaming contract). Don't try Euroean site WiFi for BBC Iplayer or similar. In past leisure battery has started to deteriorate and not held charge. Lost all electrics one night. By breakfast time next day solar panel had everything up and running. No inverter nor lithium battery involved.

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[Woodburner]

Have a look at Power Stations. I have one that I intend to use at any sites without an EHU. I've not decided whether to plug the whole van into the Power Bank or just the appliance as and when required, but it might be worth considering. I've tried my Power Bank in the house and I can easily run my washing machine on a 40c wash or my tumble dryer for an hour and a half (both are high efficiency units).

Another vote for the Power Station solution. We don't do much off grid camping but when we do (mostly for air shows and motor sports) we use a 1500WH power station and simply power the van off that using a normal hook up cable with a UK plug adapter. It charges using a folding 400w solar panel. On a sunny day the panel inputs up to 350 watts of power to the power station which is more than the van uses at idle (about 125-150 watts). Keeps the leisure battery topped up and allows us to run 240 volt appliances like fans. We can also run our three way fridge off it too and then use gas when the sun goes down. Photo is of our setup in use. Advantage of this for me is that the power station is not tied to the vehicle (as extra leisure batteries, fixed solar panels and inverters would be) and when you don't need it you don't take it with you so you save weight. It's like having your own personal 6 amp hook up. This is the model we have: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0CFF6QNMN?tag=mhf04-21. We paid far less as they were on offer last year. It's also been useful at home when we've had a power cut.

 

[Fidge]

Another vote for the Power Station solution. We don't do much off grid camping but when we do (mostly for air shows and motor sports) we use a 1500WH power station and simply power the van off that using a normal hook up cable with a UK plug adapter. It charges using a folding 400w solar panel. On a sunny day the panel inputs up to 350 watts of power to the power station which is more than the van uses at idle (about 125-150 watts). Keeps the leisure battery topped up and allows us to run 240 volt appliances like fans. We can also run our three way fridge off it too and then use gas when the sun goes down. Photo is of our setup in use. Advantage of this for me is that the power station is not tied to the vehicle (as extra leisure batteries, fixed solar panels and inverters would be) and when you don't need it you don't take it with you so you save weight. It's like having your own personal 6 amp hook up. This is the model we have: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0CFF6QNMN?tag=mhf04-21. We paid far less as they were on offer last year. It's also been useful at home when we've had a power cut.



View attachment 1077101

We had a back to back charger fitted by Vanbitz ( now under another name I can't remember but someone on here will!) and have just spent quite a lot of time offgridding in Spain and France with no problems. Also used a Tesco sim card with 100g od data per month and had no problems getting online. We also carry a spare toilet cassette.

 

[The Old Man]

Good luck and I think it's all down to the individual and demand.

I'm a solo traveller.
No solar, inverter or anything technical.
No B to B.

I do have a generator, it is heavy and makes some noise, more later.

One Gel Hab Battery, possibly 160Amp?

I use a little WiFi device from Three, it sits on the dashboard powered from the Cab Cigar lighter.

I have a 12v TV, Powered by the Hab Battery it also has an aerial booster, powered by the Hab Battery.

Fridge runs off gas, as does the water heating and cooking.

I rarely use sites. I do not feel the cold but suffer badly from the heat, so much of the time I'm parked in the shade and under trees, so rooftop Solar would be a waste.

Driving around. Usually from Cardiff to the Brecon Beacons gives both batteries a boost. Once parked up every two or three days a short drive for coffee shop or supermarket, must add a few Amps.

Parked up;

WiFi, under power 24/7.
TV, a couple of hours a day, minimum use of DVD, that seems to eat Amps.
Normal usage of lighting, water pump and heating. Remember that even on Gas the fridge needs a 12v supply.

With this regime my Battery lasts two or three days, I think I get a bit OCD about power use.

Generators are not well liked and I am aware of where I run it. Fortunately where I Freedom Camp is remote, so it is little problem to run it, paying attention to sound travels with the wind and sounds are shielded by the body of the van. If there are others around, walk over and explain what you want to do! Then when it's running, re-visit and check.

Mine uses a litre of unleaded an hour, runs for four hours unattended and that gives me another two or three days.

Any more questions and I'll try to answer them.

 

[h8ten]

Another vote for the Power Station solution. We don't do much off grid camping but when we do (mostly for air shows and motor sports) we use a 1500WH power station and simply power the van off that using a normal hook up cable with a UK plug adapter. It charges using a folding 400w solar panel. On a sunny day the panel inputs up to 350 watts of power to the power station which is more than the van uses at idle (about 125-150 watts). Keeps the leisure battery topped up and allows us to run 240 volt appliances like fans. We can also run our three way fridge off it too and then use gas when the sun goes down. Photo is of our setup in use. Advantage of this for me is that the power station is not tied to the vehicle (as extra leisure batteries, fixed solar panels and inverters would be) and when you don't need it you don't take it with you so you save weight. It's like having your own personal 6 amp hook up. This is the model we have: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0CFF6QNMN?tag=mhf04-21. We paid far less as they were on offer last year. It's also been useful at home when we've had a power cut.



View attachment 1077101

I only went for the 200watt folding panels, tried them in the garden and they worked fine charging up the power station. I can't recall what rate they were putting in. I was wondering if they might be too heavy to hang from the awning channel in the awning when it is not wextended?