Just getting started in the Campervan world?
If you are travelling in a car, SUV, ute, or a multi-use van, rather than a fully decked out Campervan or Motorhome with a built-in power supply, a Portable Power Station and a solar panel may be all you need for a portable (and sustainable) power supply for off-grid adventures.
Some suppliers are now putting together Power Station and Solar Panel bundles, marketed as ‘Solar Generator Kits’. These kits are an attractive all-in-one off-grid solution for powering fridges, CPAP machines and lights, while also charging mobile phones, iPads, e-bike batteries, drone batteries, and laptops. Larger models can also run domestic cooking appliances, including induction cooktops, sandwich presses, coffee machines, and microwave ovens.
These Solar Generator kits really are the easy, no fuss way to get an instant, sustainable and portable 12V (and 230V) power supply.
Like most Campervan travellers, we have always kept an eye on our batteries’ State of Charge (SoC), and as the price of Lithium batteries has slowly tumbled we wondered if it might be worth going for something a bit bigger in the energy storage department.
We recently converted our road bikes to e-Bikes, installing a Swytch conversion kit – a hub motor and lightweight battery. We can still ride the bikes as ‘regular’ pedal bikes, but have the option to flick a switch to fire up the battery for that long climb.
Don’t have a Campervan, but still want to glamp-up your campsite with a fridge, and a 12V power supply?
A cold fridge is at the heart of every modern campsite, and a reliable (and sustainable) 12V power supply is critical in keeping that fridge cold, along with supplying electrical energy for lighting, cooking, device recharging and water pumping.
It is a relatively straightforward project to remove and repair a Winegard TV antenna.
Not so long ago people were happy running their basic camping kit from a 12V battery or an LPG bottle. Inverters were clunky old boxes that were used by those working away from a mains power source, firing up the angle grinder to repair the hinge on the gate in the bottom paddock.
With a couple of extended trips on the horizon, we have taken the plunge and invested in two Lithium batteries to replace our two AGM batteries.