While we think a battery isolator and a 200 watt solar kit provide more than enough power for most vanlifers some people may want additional ways to generate electricity and charge up their batteries. Your electrical system is one of the main ingredients to ensuring a quality living experience.
Van Life How To Your Complete Guide To Life On The Road
Van life power options. Shore power and generators. Swamp or evaporative 12 volt air conditioner for van life. Understanding solar panels batteries and inverters camper van power options. This is due to the limited ability of these units to cool living space. Eccotemp portable tankless water heater. 50 amp is typically for big class a rvs running two air conditioners at a time.
Solar panels have been big in the van community for a long time and i am not the first to this party. Solar power for vans other vehicles. And you can save power by frying everything in one pan or cooking over a campfire instead of on a stove. Solar panels are at the forefront of of power collection options for vandwellers. When my van life dream trip was becoming more and more a reality i quickly realized that i would need a way to power my fridge batteries and inverter without paying to plug in every few days. Portable camping stoves induction burners and even camping ovens are common options that people choose to include in their van life kitchen.
Solar has a high up front cost and is a bit more technical to install. Unfortunately there are not a lot of swamp coolers available on the market. When we built our van in 2016 researching and designing during 2015 agm was the obvious choice because it was a tried and true option good performances safe reliable. We encourage you to get creative when it comes to saving electricity. In order to get the most out of an evaporative cooler the unit needs to directed at the person or pet theyre intended to cool. Other van life electrical options.
You will need a lpg gas propane system set up for the following options but dont worry we have a free guide on how to safely build a propane system for campervans. You can power most things in your van with 12v dc including your lights fridge vent fan and 12v outlets. The electrical current produced by your vans batteries is known as direct current or dc. For example there are ways to make camping coffee without resorting to electricity. Having a tankless instant water heater is a game changer for van life. 50 amp 30 amp and 15 amp.
Especially if youre planning on running power hungry electronics like tvs and air conditioners adding a generator andor shore power hookups will help you deal with the extra load. Lithium lifepo4 batteries were a relatively new thing in the vanrv world and we were concerned about reliability safety and cost. Solar panels can be a great solution for someone living in a van because the power is clean minimal makes no noise and the cost of solar has gone down significantly in the past few years. On a campground power pedestal youll typically see 3 options of plugs. Dc flows at a constant voltage 12v in the case of most campervans and rvs and the waveform basically looks like a flat line. Since solar power offers the most flexibility to live and travel.
Gallery of Van Life Power Options
