This question keeps popping up in this and many other forums. Heres a few thought from us.
I guess the greatest needs are food and water (for baseline survival). If you get into a situation where that becomes and issue its my opinion you are way too adventurous. But, alas, to each their own.
We have a 20 foot van, one 150W solar panel, 2 110AH batteries, a 12 volt 100AH powerpak in the car which runs the freezer and is charged from a 80W portable solar panel, and a 2500W inverter. We also have a honda 2KVA generator JUST IN CASE.
Case in point...
We were at a free camp in WA on the Eyre Highway (Moodini Bluff), plenty of water in the tanks and a cloudy day. Now we both had skipped a shower the day before as we were free camping on the great Australian bight (Twiggys Camp), so the nose was twitching a tad.
As it was cloudy I cranked up the genny to provide enough juice for the water pump and hot water during our shower... Perfect
At other times the sun does the job and we can get to a free camp fully charged, watch DVDs till midnight and have the lights on while we cook and eat, on the gas.
I may be preaching to the choir here but we decided to pack and freeze all our travel food (meatloaf, spag bol, etc) only required a few moments in the pot or oven and bingo, we eat.
We also have a 2500W inverter which will keep our electric blankets working on cold nights. The fridge works on gas when we are off the grid, and the HWS as well.
I guess we all have different needs and perceptions of what this lifestyle is about. I class myself as moderate in so much we stick mostly to the blacktop, stay in caravan parks about 50 50 with free camping. I have set up the van so we have a level of comfort that keeps us warm or cool as needed (Caframo 12V fans). My attitude is if its going to be humid and hot its a caravan park or the generator to run the air con.
We also buy water in the 10 Liter casks and store enough in the ute to last 3 weeks (not that we need to) just in case we get stopped for a flood or fire.
Anyway, this is how we do it and it works a treat for us. We are very happy campers. BTW both the genny and inverter can make my morning coffee brew.
Edit: My avitar shows us at Twiggys, very much a free camp.
Cheers
-- Edited by Phil C on Friday 21st of October 2016 01:45:22 PM
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Ex RAAF, now retired. EX Electrician/Teacher.
Homebase is Murray Bridge Tourist Park (in a cabin). New Horse.. 2020 Ford Everest Titanium, Jayco swan for touring.
Hi Phil C You are set up very similar to us. I have two 150w panels on the roof and two 100amp batteries and all seems to cope ok, even on a cloudy day.
Are you happy with the 80w panel to charge the power pack in the car. Is the 80w big enough? I have a fridge in back of the wagon that I can use as a freezer or fridge as needed. I have been relying on driving the car to charge the battery for it but when free camping I had to run the generator on the third day to charge it up. Obviously it is not always convenient to go for a big drive to charge a battery/power pack.
Any info appreciated...
I should apologise for the off topic question above.
We have two 85 litre water tanks and we carry ten litres of drinking water. My fridge and water heater are switched to gas when free camping.
We recently did a 3 night 4 day free camp and still had enough water for a day or two more.
We had plenty of food and drink and the batteries in the van recovered each day on the solar.
We have all led lights a 12v tv with a built in decoder, 12v water pump and as I said above a 12v fridge in the wagon.
I enjoy free camping.
-- Edited by Dickodownunder on Friday 21st of October 2016 02:33:09 PM
__________________
"Seek the truth or bury you head in the sand, both require some digging"
Hi Phil C You are set up very similar to us. I have two 150w panels on the roof and two 100amp batteries and all seems to cope ok, even on a cloudy day.
Are you happy with the 80w panel to charge the power pack in the car. Is the 80w big enough? I have a fridge in back of the wagon that I can use as a freezer or fridge as needed. I have been relying on driving the car to charge the battery for it but when free camping I had to run the generator on the third day to charge it up. Obviously it is not always convenient to go for a big drive to charge a battery/power pack.
Any info appreciated...
I should apologise for the off topic question above.
We have two 85 litre water tanks and we carry ten litres of drinking water. My fridge and water heater are switched to gas when free camping.
We recently did a 3 night 4 day free camp and still had enough water for a day or two more.
We had plenty of food and drink and the batteries in the van recovered each day on the solar.
We have all led lights a 12v tv with a built in decoder, 12v water pump and as I said above a 12v fridge in the wagon.
I enjoy free camping.
-- Edited by Dickodownunder on Friday 21st of October 2016 02:33:09 PM
Yep it sounds like you have it all together as well. The inverter comes in very handy for us as well.
The 80W panel should punch out up to 5 amps on a good day, this is generally enough to charge up the battery. Like yourself we have the fridge in the ute tray and the battery is enough to keep it going for quite some time. The charge every day (irrespective of clouds) is enough to keep it topped up if not fully charged.
When we are in a caravan park there is a 240V extension lead on the battery, so its in good nick all the time.
We like to take a bit more water to drink and most trips (especially in remote dry areas) we will take 30 liters (10 in use and 20 spare).
I also love free camping, must be a legacy from my boy scout days.
-- Edited by Phil C on Friday 21st of October 2016 02:44:02 PM
__________________
Ex RAAF, now retired. EX Electrician/Teacher.
Homebase is Murray Bridge Tourist Park (in a cabin). New Horse.. 2020 Ford Everest Titanium, Jayco swan for touring.
Phil, do the batteries recover ok after using the inverter to make coffee?
I have been starting the generator (2kva Honda) to use the coffee maker but will consider an inverter if nothing more than to make breakfast chores as simple as possible.
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"Seek the truth or bury you head in the sand, both require some digging"
Yeah it takes a while to recover the batts only on the solar, so most times I use the genny for the coffee, a bit noisy in the morning but we dont crank it till after 0900 so I guess its OK. We go pretty casual and leave camps around 1000 so its a bit more civilized time.
Inverter will drag the guts out of a battery setup on the coffee machine but it does work. If you have a dull day use the genny.
Cheers
__________________
Ex RAAF, now retired. EX Electrician/Teacher.
Homebase is Murray Bridge Tourist Park (in a cabin). New Horse.. 2020 Ford Everest Titanium, Jayco swan for touring.
