Going Off Grid And Self sufficient
Caravan accessory for full time on the road
As we researched in to full time travel, it was clear that we could not just buy a caravan and hit the road, we needed more ( bugger, I thought you bought a van, hooked it up and away you go, Nope!) We wanted to be fully self contained and sufficient. We wanted to be off grid as much as possible.
Solar panels
The Starcraft came with one 150w solar panel but we worked out we needed a lot more. So we bought three 200w panels. (More more info coming on our solar set up, batteries and the tech stuff)
Battery
The van came with one battery which was 100amp we decided to upgrade this and instead have three 120amp batteries these are under our club lounge at the front of the van ( battery Info coming soon) We also added an extra 120amp battery to the Ute to work with our extra 2000W inverter.
Battery management system
Although the Starcraft comes with a management system this would not work for our set up as we had added more to our set up.
We bought a Redarc battery management system, this tells us how much charge we are getting and how much we are using etc. Its hard not to check on it multiple times a day to see what percentage its at and when you do see its at 100% you cant help but feel a little exited (you will understand once you get one ;) (more info on management system coming soon) We still use the Jayco one to read out water levels though
Fresh water tanks
We felt the one 82ltr water tank that came with the van was not enough for our needs so we chose to install another bringing the total to 164ltr
Gray water tank
We added a 82ltr Gray water tank. From researching online there seemed to be an increase in places that ask you to be fully self contained (depending on who you ask, there seems to be different opinions to what that means)
sinewave Inverter for caravan and ute
The 300/600w inverter in the caravan is used for our computers, drone battery charging and other low draw appliances. We have a 2000/4000w inverter in the Ute that we can run our coffee machine toaster and other high draw appliances off (more info on both coming soon)
3kg washing machine
We decided on a washing machine after reading many people complain about camp site washing machines and how there cloths came out with pet hair, as people washed dog blankets.
We were told it would consume ½ a tank of water per wash. So far we have only used it once to test it, while connected to mains water. It used both full tanks for one wash. This was a full wash and worst case scenario on our shakedown trip.
Filters drinking water tap and water filterers
So far we have mainly been on bore water and the tap we are connected to seems to have a kind of very fine sand in it. The filter doesn't work 100% on this but we are sure it will be fine on other water. Due to this we bought another filter for the main drinking hose. Since we connected the other filter we have not had the fine sand problem.
3200W Generator
We bought a generator to back up our solar panels if we were in a critical situation. We even tried to use it for our aircon and it worked
12 volt Fan
As we will be off grid more often then not we will not be able to use our air-con ( unless we use the generator). We would rather not use the generator unless its absolutely necessary or if we are the only ones around and not bothering anyone with the noise.
Caframo 12V fans, they are small but priceless. We have one over the bed and can swivel it towards the kitchen and lounge. They have a three speed settings and a timer, from two to eight hours, which is great to go to sleep with. I read online that they were noisy for some people. For someone who slept with ear plugs for years as we lived in a noisy place, I can say it not as bad as I read. Yes there is a little something but when I turned it off one night I could hear traffic noise, so turned it back on. It so little power (0.2amps) its not worth mentioning.
Our other accessory
Out door table and chairs
outdoor mat
privacy screens front and side
Wheel levellers
tow ball lock
awning tie down ropes and springs
fresh and Gray water hoses
15amp electrical leads
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