its easy. go to you local camping store, you need:-
1. lights - we use rechargable lanterns, but you will find quite a few option including solar ones quite cheap. 2. a toilet- might be as easy as a small spade and a bush walk, or a porta pottie and a toilet tent...........camping shop has options 3. water- we use 15-20 litre containers, but if you can use the water tanks in the van no need. 4. some place for a quick body wash- some people use a plastic bowl and warm water, or a camp shower- ask the camping shop. 5 someway to keep food fresh- if you have a 3 way fridge in the van , maybe add a large esky and some ice.
That set up will let you stay for a few days without power quite easily. My advice is to start simple and not spend big money on batteries, inverters and solar panels until you are more experienced.
-- Edited by Rip and Rosie on Tuesday 21st of May 2013 08:01:06 AM
We have as an emergency a led light which is a headband I think you can buy them in the cheap shops now it is ideal as if you are cooking at night and you lose your light power you have your hands free to use. Also there is always a battery operated lantern there may even be some form of solar lighting you can get now. I am sure that others will have many suggestions on the forum good luck and happy free camping hope your wife is feeling better. Helena.
If it is only lighting you require at this stage you may find that the light fittings in you van could have 240vlt and 12vlt bulbs installed, you can purchase 48 Led patch fitting that could replace the 12vlt bulbs.
So with the fridge on gas and the cooking covered on the gas stove with your present set-up and the Led replacement in the existing lights you would have power from the existing car battery connection for a couple of nights.
Any more camping than a couple of nights and I would look at alternate methods as mentioned previously or the installation of a battery and a portable solar panel set up.
One of the things you should look at is a second battery hooked up with a solenoid. There are solenoids designed to isolate one battery automatically so the other is still charged enough to start the vehicle.
This will give you extra power to run a few LED lights in your van for a long time without discharging the battery too much. LED's can be run for days on a decent 12 Volt battery.
Another cheap option for a shower is one of those round white drums and a portable shower head and pump, all in one that you can buy in caravan stores around $30.
Two thirds full of cold water and a jug full of hot can be quite comfortable to shower with. One of those outside pop up Toilet /shower tents will do the privacy thing when free camping.
Others will give you other cheap free options to help keep costs down.There is a wealth of experience on this forum and people will ing to share.
many thanks will be looking into led lighting this arfo have the pop up tent ,got off ebay ,just have to get toilet, seen cheap ones that feel cheap and dearer ones thy look a lot sturdier but will also take advice on that front as well
Can also get many of what you need from Bunnings. I have one of those headlamps LED, runs on very small batteries, either AA or AAA. Also have a shed light which has a little solar panel attached with a long lead. Being in a campervan I have the solar panel sitting on the dash at all times with the light hanging over the back of the seats. The light itself is the shape of the rear vision mirror, if you go looking for it. Works well for me. You can also get lanterns from the camping shops that run on batteries, usually D size. I did have one, must keep an eye out for another myself. I also have those little torches from Bunnings which have hooks to hang around the van when I need to use them. Although I do have ordinary lighting in the van, I prefer to use all these portable ones.
I also have a small portable solar panel which sits on my front dash. Got it off ebay for about 12.00. Use it to charge my mobile phone and camera.
I thought I might give you a rundown on what I have done with a van to enable us to free camp.
Our little Franklin Hunter has had quite a makeover lately. It was inherited by my son-in-law and was deposited beside the hay shed on my farm for a few years until I decided to make use of it while waiting to sell the farm and purchase our new Aussie Wide. My son-in-law and daughter are not really caravan types so it was wasting away in the paddock. I discovered it had a leak in the front so I removed the cladding and discovered the timber frame was too damaged to repair so I built a new frame and replaced the cladding. The water had also damaged the lining in the front so a new plywood lining had to be installed. Have you tried to get ply with the same design that was used in the 1970s? Well I couldnt so I settled for something close. Front end all fixed my son-in-law wanted electric brakes so off to get them fitted. Now my wife Sue wasnt satisfied with the grill and gas hot plates and wanted a microwave for when we had 240v so a small microwave is now fitted in the kitchen area this required running some conduit and a power cord to the other side of the van but it was all done. But now Sue wanted a light over the sink as the small window didnt allow enough light in, so off I went shopping for a LED light fitting and while I was at it I replaced the 12 Volt globes in the ceiling with LED globes as well. Now all of this needed 12 V to run it and as we do free camp a battery was required which is now installed under the seat but hang on a battery requires charging when we dont have power so we needed a 120 watt solar panel to feed the 120AH deep cycle battery didnt we? I fitted an Anderson plug on the A frame to connect the solar panel to the battery and also connected a 7 pin socket on the A frame with the 12 volt feed and earth pins connected from the caravan battery so I could connect the lead that normally goes to the car, that way I could use the caravan battery to power to run the 12 volt circuit in the van without having to do any rewiring. Well that is it I think I have it all done and I am told the old step is too high and a new step is needed that is two steps in place of the old single step. So off to Bunnings to purchase some aluminium tube and assorted joiners and after an afternoon of cutting and fitting pieces together I was able to produce the desired steps complete with 20mm plastic treads that I cut from some offcuts from the playground equipment factory down the road in Wandin. Now it was all done at least that is what I thought, not so, the sink only has a hand pump that gets its water from the tank under the van, good for free camping but I am told it would be good to have a mains pressure tap in the sink for when we stop in caravan parks, so in goes the tap and while I was at it I put a tap on the A frame as well. Now it was all done at least that is what I thought. The son-in-law produces a radio the theory being that now we have the 12 Volt system we can install a new radio with iPod and USB so in it goes. The last request from Sue was a toilet and shower but there just isnt any room for that so she has to settle for the portable unit for emergencies. The little 17 foot van is comfortable. The little Franklin tows very well and is very stable behind the Rodeo. At 900KG it is also well within the 1,700 KG that the Rodeo is allowed to tow. We have been on many trips with it and each time it goes out it is sporting some new feature. It has been fun restoring and updating it and I have a feeling the daughter and son-in-law are starting to change their mind about it now so it is likely that it will have a life after Sue and I have finished with it and hit the road permanently in our new van.
I hope this is of some help. with the solar panel, 12v battery, LED lighting, and gas and campfire cooking we are very comfortable in the bush and have a few extra comforts when we stop in a park.
Can also get many of what you need from Bunnings. I have one of those headlamps LED, runs on very small batteries, either AA or AAA. Also have a shed light which has a little solar panel attached with a long lead. Being in a campervan I have the solar panel sitting on the dash at all times with the light hanging over the back of the seats. The light itself is the shape of the rear vision mirror, if you go looking for it. Works well for me. You can also get lanterns from the camping shops that run on batteries, usually D size. I did have one, must keep an eye out for another myself. I also have those little torches from Bunnings which have hooks to hang around the van when I need to use them. Although I do have ordinary lighting in the van, I prefer to use all these portable ones.
I also have a small portable solar panel which sits on my front dash. Got it off ebay for about 12.00. Use it to charge my mobile phone and camera.
We also have one of the "shed Lights" that HW has - a great unit - puts out heaps of light - and is very, very handy - if you have to get into a dark spot, say under the sink or something, it sits on the floor, don't have to hold onto a torch. We have solor installed on the motorhome, but sometimes need an extra light outside, and this shed light is what we use. Very cheap - under $20 - could have a few of them for use inside and out.
We have black "solar bags" that you put water in and sit out in the sun, then use them for a shower, we find we can both have a shower from a bucket of water (we have one of those small pump showers for when we are near a lake, free camping) as for a portable toilet - depends on your age, but make sure it is not too low, or you will have problems sitting down and getting up.
Think back to when we were younger - didn't have solar, or extra batteries then, managed to still camp well, used gas as well - gas lanterns - mongrels of things with the little things you had to burn off - always breaking!!!!
Enjoy your time on the mainland - we loved Tassie - spent four months there - November to March 2012/13 - 6500k's - going back for a week end February probably, to catch up with some people we met over there at a festival.
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jules "Love is good for the human being!!" (Ben, aged 10)
Totally agree with Jules re the portaloo. I bought a 10 litre one and have found it too low. Have now swapped it for a 20 litre which is a better height so my knees don't give out on me.
Lights - I recently bought a 10 LED unit (a rectangle of 2 rows of five lights each) from SuperCheap and it is very bright, has double sided tape so can be fitted anywhere and draws negligible power. It is functional rather than elegant but works for me. I also have a strip of 30 LEDs above the sink and they work well also. There are quite a range of LED lights available and they draw very little power so are great for free camping.
Enjoy your travels, it's a great life and there are great people out there!
