Off-gridding tips
To off-grid successfully, you have to prepare, and you might also need to make a few considered purchases. Here are our expert tips for enjoyable off-gridding:
■ Choose a high-amperage leisure battery to ensure that you have light and ancillary power for the duration of your break.
A quality 110Ah battery is recommended. Serious off-gridders will often link two leisure batteries to double their longevity. If your budget will stretch to it, a modern 105Ah lithium battery is equivalent to a 150Ah lead-acid battery.
Buying a near-£1000 leisure battery might give your bank manager palpitations, though!
Aim to keep your battery topped up at all times. Ideally, it shouldn’t drop below 75% charge. Repeatedly discharging the battery to 50% or lower could cause it permanent damage. A 12V leisure battery is at full charge when the control panel voltmeter displays 12.7V. At 12.4V it’s around 75% charged, and when the display says 12.2V, it’s at 50% charge. To avoid damage, recharge it at that point or sooner.
■ In summer, you can keep your leisure battery topped up with a ‘trickle’ charge from a solar panel system. Remember, you don’t need hot weather, as photovoltaic solar panels generate electricity from light, not heat. Mind you, as the days get shorter in the winter months, your panel will be charging less effectively.
A 150-200W solar panel, with a charge controller (all panels over 18W need one), should be sufficient to keep your leisure battery topped up in summer. These can be fitted to the roof of your ’van, or freestanding. The first is a fit-and-forget option, while the latter will have to be set up on your pitch and, ideally, moved to face the sun throughout the day.
In the summer, remember to angle your panels to catch the early morning sun, before you settle down for the night.
Select a panel with IEC 61215 quality certification, from a dealer offering a good warranty. We recommend purchasing a maximum power point tracking controller, which can extract up to 20% more power from your solar panel.
■ Even with a solar panel, you’ll need to be careful with the power consumption from your leisure battery. You will soon learn which devices can be used, and how often.
Remember, you won’t be able to use a microwave off-grid, and you’ll be restricted with other items of kit, too.
■ Always make sure to take sufficient gas for your break. When you are off-grid, you’ll be using gas to heat your water and the ’van, cook meals and even cool the fridge, so during hot and cold weather your usage can soar. Seasoned off-gridders often take two gas bottles with them.
■ Autogas is propane, which is the sensible option for off-gridders who camp during colder weather. Propane evaporates down to minus 42°C – low enough to work in the coldest winter – while butane stops evaporating at around minus 2°C – a high enough temperature for ‘gassing’ to stop in typical UK winter weather.
■ Bear in mind that adding the solar panel, a second battery and an extra gas bottle to your ’van could easily eat up 40kg of your payload allowance.
■ Consider making greater use of hand sanitiser, rather than constantly washing your hands and triggering the
water pump and heater every time that you turn on a tap.
Motorhomes quickly get toasty in winter, so take care not to overheat the interior. Try dressing more warmly and keeping an eye on the central heating setting.
On cooler spring and summer evenings, a firepit can keep you warm outside and lessen your need to run the heating.
Taking a morning shower will give the power system all day to recharge.
There are plenty of 12V appliances available, which can be used when you are off-grid. You can buy toasters, kettles and so on from accessory shops or online. Bear in mind that they don’t work quite as quickly as their 230V equivalents; some people prefer to use the gas grill and hob.
■ In good weather, you can save plenty of gas by barbecuing. “We have a little Bodum Fyrkat barbecue,” says Rod. “It’s a charcoal barbecue in a bucket! It’s been superb. In fact,
I’ve just bought another.”
■ In hot weather, there are ways to keep cool in your ’van while still conserving power supplies. “We bought two rechargeable six-inch desk fans, which can be recharged via
USB cables, for touring in warmer weather,” says Rod.
“They’ll run for around 15 hours on the low setting and about half that on high.” You can buy a rechargeable fan for around £20.
■ It’s a good idea to take a large canister of drinking water on your off-grid trips, especially when you are visiting a new site or a tiny rural campsite, where you might be using a farm tap.
■ Off-gridding means no full-facility sites with pools and games rooms, so take books, board games and so on to keep the family entertained. Make sure the children take electronic games that don’t rely on Wi-Fi.
■ Similarly, before you travel, download music onto your phone or device, as you might not be able to stream it on-site.
■ Remember, you probably won’t have access to Wi-Fi – or possibly even a phone signal – on rural off-grid sites. In fact, the better and more beautiful the site, the less likely it is that you will. Mi-Fi devices give you the best chance of getting a signal, and can be bought or hired relatively cheaply.■