Anyone go with no built-in electricity?

[Michael11]

I don't have my van yet but am operating out of a Toyota Highlander and a 10 person tent. Works for now but I'm planning for the future (2 years until I can retire and nomad full-time).

I'm not really technically minded and don't really trust myself to install solar (and can't pay for it to be installed by someone else). So I'm looking into the idea of having minimal electric usage in my permanent van nomad setup. Am already using a Jackery that I charge at home for road trips (plus the vehicle charging cord when driving) and am saving for a portable solar panel to charge it as well. That is more than enough to keep my phone and tablet charged for as long as I'm away. I just am not a heavy user of electricity. I could be persuaded to have a shore power plug installed just in case I stop at a campground or RV park (or visiting someone's home) where shore power is an option.

Currently I operate with 2 super-insulated coolers (one for food and a smaller one for beverages) and a propane two-burner stove for cooking. No refrigerator or electric stove in my future. I could possibly look into LED interior lights for the minimal power draw but right now I'm more than happy with using candle lanterns and going to sleep fairly early (living more by the sun than using electricity).

My question is are there any folks out there doing minimal or no electricity and what recommendations do you have? What should I be aware of as I move forward with this plan? Thanks in advance for any and all advice (even advice that warns me about being too minimal).

 

[VanFan]

We do not have any built-in electricity.  We carry an old-school power pack for an LED strip house light (with dimmer, ah...).  Easy.  Recently, we have really enjoyed shore power at camp sites.  Running an extension cord through a cracked window or closed door works fine.  (While nice, we are fine without 110v, too.)  This is our 13th year of part-time vanning, and we still don't see the need for a battery set-up, since we couldn't run a heater, air conditioner or electric cooking appliance from it anyway.

The only possibility might be powering a low-draw compressor 'fridge, which would be nice when ice is not readily available.  For now, our cooler that discretely drains out the back door works great.

 

[izifaddag]

You are both tough cookies

 

[desert_sailing]

I am doing similar. I will not have a fridge or any  appliances. I bought a 100 watt solar and a 35ah sealed battery. I will only be charging devices and a bit of led in the evening.
I figured I would wait til there is a demand before I increase any of my power. I prefer to adjust my behavior to conform with my current capacity. I don't run financial deficits and won't be doing that for electricity either.
I did not build in any outlets at this time. The charge controller has ports for dc and usb and there are extenders so I can plug up anywhere inside the van..more or less. If your consumption is low..like mine.. I cant imagine going through the time and expense to install shore power.

I realize some electricity usage is needed in today's world but I am not a fan. I think nearly all the ills of society could be solved if we did not have it in our lives.

I am a big fan of candle and oil lamps. I have been researching manual appliances to use instead of appliances using the devils juice. :s

In 1930 only about 70% of homes in the USA had electricity. Today most folks couldn't fathom living without electricity. Any extended outage and you can see folks going through electro-withdrawl. I rail about the evils of electricity to my family and friends non stop and try my best to practice what I preach. My monthly  electricity bill is usually less than 20 bux I am sure most of that is the water heater.

Anyone know when we can expect a massive plasma ejection from the sun that will fry the grid? :thumbsup:

 

[user 423]

You don't need to huddle in a dark van.

Push LED lights with rechargeable AAA batteries.

They are easy to attach with velcro or a single screw.

Can't get much more basic than that.

 

[Stargazer]

My first van was an E150, low top passenger van. I took out all the rear seats and built out my simple camper. Used a battery operated camping lantern that ran off either regular C batteries or had a small solar panel built on that recharged the other batteries. Also used a candle lantern. Recharged phone and tablet from starter battery, never a problem. Propane stove and heater (little green bottles). X-treme ice chest. I did carry an extension cord and small electric heater. If it was going to be a really cold night (like below 25 degrees), I would check into a park with electric hookup, run the extension cord out a small vent window for the heater, more for my little dogs than for me. An O2 Cool battery fan for really warm nights. Jugs for water. Coffee can and small bucket lined with plastic bags for toilet. Collapsible basin for washing and bathing. Texas to Maine, then to Alaska, California, Colorado, and everything in between.

Then, I graduated to a Pleasure Way Class B. Very nice. Very big PITA, all those systems to maintain. One trip to CO and sold it. Am now setting up my mini van similar to the first E150. So easy to use, so simple. For those who like all the bells and whistles, go for it. Me, KISS.

 

[VanFan]

I did think of one other use you may want to consider:  a roof mounted van.  Having had no direct experience with one, I don't know whether it would be worth it to us to have a battery set up to power it.  So far, battery operated and/or 110v have worked (mostly) okay.

 

[VanFan]

My first van was an E150, low top passenger van...
Then, I graduated to a Pleasure Way Class B.  Very nice.  Very big PITA, all those systems to maintain.

Thank you, Stargazer!  We've been discussing "to B or not to B," as we look ahead toward our next rig.  We've come to the same conclusion, but a little external validation never hurt!

 

[Qxxx]

Having said that, candles and oil lamps are a more concerning issue. Make sure whatever you light up is on a large metal tray or baking pan, so in case of a tip-over you don't catch fire.

Oh wow, agreed. There is no way I would ever use a candle or oil lamps inside a tiny space like a van, just because of gagging on the fumes, not to mention the serious safety factor of open flames. No way. Similar in my tent.

Michael, when you said "folks out there doing minimal or no electricity", you caught my eye. My entire van build is minimalist. If you're used to camping, then you know it really doesn't take all the accoutrements to be reasonably comfortable (sorry Sofi, lol).

I have a very simple electrical system that doesn't require any mounting or drilling metal holes in my van. A basic 100W solar planel, plus AGM battery,  plus 300W pure-sinewave inverter provides 120VAC for a 60W dimmable Led bulb (draws only 11W, but I keep it dimmed a lot) plus power to plug in and run my laptop (draws about 20-30W). AGM batteries of course can only be drawn down to 50% to keep from damaging them.

However, if I were starting over I'd go the Jackery route as you mentioned. A Jackery 500 will provide about the same energy as 100AH AGM, and can be connected directly to the solar panel and has the inverter already built-in of course. Wow, easy peasy. However, I would buy the Jackery 1000 instead and then you have more reserve power to add some additional loads, such as a small frig, if you want to down the road.

Then the really big advantage of using a portable solar panel is you don't need to cut holes in the rig, and you can park in the shade but stick the panel out in the sun. This last alone is worth 10 times the price of admission on a hot summer day.

 

[izifaddag]

Then the really big advantage of using a portable solar panel is you don't need to cut holes in the rig, and you can park in the shade but stick the panel out in the sun. This last alone is worth 10 times the price of admission on a hot summer day.

I am thinking I might forego placing my 2 solar panels on the roof. I am going to start with leaning them against the side of the camper and then if that works out a lightweight frame that tilts.

 

[desert_sailing]

I am a big fan of candle and oil lamps. 

I definitely should have qualified that with "when safe and practical."
I would not want to imply that fire  should be used in a van for lighting. 

I do remember however, those Coleman lanterns with a wick/bag in my youth. I believe those are kerosene? We always had them going in big army tents and even in our travel trailer.

I think the Luci lights are  good choice and wont gas or burn us down.

 

[jonyjoe303]

I couldn't do it with minimal power. I like running my fans/swampcooler almost all day and most of the night. Even though it uses less then 2 amps it adds up. 

I have a small 31 ah lithium pack and I can run my small laptop about 5 days with it, 3 to 4 hours of use per day. But wouldn't last too long if it also had to power my fans. The lithium pack you need to have a good way to charge it back up, if you drive alot it will be practical to charge with the cigarette lighter, but they charge slow.

LED lights are insignificant at 1 to 2 amps and rarely use them too long.

I use too use a small 18ah lead acid jumpstarter for power, but it didnt last long. I also had a small fan powered by "D" cells, but I got tired of buying batteries. I went about 2 years with just the start battery and jump pack but it was roughing it. Electricity is the difference between comfortable and uncomfortable.

I recently bought a 12 volt fridge again, its smaller then the giant one I had before. In 24 hours set to 12 degrees F, it is using about 24 amp hours. Its a luxury but I like having a place to store cold food. Also I cook with electricity (12 volt roadpro). Everything powered by my 240 watt panel and 220 ah lifepo4. its good having more electricity then I need. I have all the comforts of home, so to speak.

But the important thing is powering my fans to stay cool. 2 amps x 24 hours is almost 44ah per day, I use on the weekends on fans. Sometimes I even turn on the roof vent fan thats another 1 amp plus.

 

[Qxxx]

A movable solar panel is really only convenient if 100W or 200W or so, but is no big problem for a minimalist. I have mine setup in 2 minutes upon parking to camp. In my case, I do a very lot of computer programming on my own personal projects. So I can run the laptop all day long when the sun is out, and the batteries stay fully-charged, and I can still run the laptop for 3-4 hours more in the evening after the sun goes down. Works for me.

Most people however want a lot of power to run microwaves and TVs and everything else, so they mount upwards to 1000W of solar on the roof. Of course, now they have to park in the sun, and now they need lots of fans or even an air conditioner to stay cool. Vicious cycle, the law of diminishing returns.

 

[bullfrog]

^ Using the vehicle if you drive 4 hours a day to charge a house battery with an isolator relay works well. If staying 14 days and not moving a 100 watt portable solar panel works as long as you have sunny days. Ryobi makes a small generator that runs on the small propane bottles but I would rather stay in a campground and pay for electric than mess with a generator. What I started with before the big battery packs was Ryobi One 18 volt batteries because I already had their tools and batteries all I had to buy was a vehicle charging station and hard wired it to my house battery with an on/off switch. I am able to run regular lighting, a spot light, an impact wrench, a drill, a good fan, a mister fan, a 6 gallon wet dry vacuum, a small air compressor for flats, and the list goes on and on. Really the biggest expense for a 305 watt solar system was the AGM batteries and so I think around $800 is what I have into the whole system for my home base. So I still use my Ryobi stuff because I don’t have to run wiring and I still use my Ryobi tools when traveling. For me simple is better although ice can be a pain and expensive if you try to store 14 days worth of cold items.

 

[travelaround]

My van is a minimalist no-build, so far, except for the floor and insulation I installed. I have a Ford Transit. I charge a Rockpals 300 battery every day from the 12v while traveling. Also plug in a small refrigerator to a 12v... I have three of them in the van.

Unfortunately the 12v power stays on only 30 minutes after parking, so if I wake up in the middle of the night I unlock and relock the doors with my key-fob (I can do it while staying in bed) and that will make the 12v go on another 30 minutes - for the refrigeration.

I have a portable solar panel for the Rockpals battery, but barely used it. I was always traveling it seemed. I need the battery to run a CPAP machine all night. Never had a problem with this setup.

Now I'm stationary on land but still sleep in the van all night and every day, I bring that battery into the mobile home to recharge it.

 

[ckelly78z]

I just picked up this jump starter for keeping in my truck. I also will take it out on my boat for running the fish finder, charging, and emergency power. I think it would supply a sufficient amount of power for someone who is miserly. It is much smaller than a battery bank, and solar panel, and could be charged from the driving van.

https://tacklifetools.com/products/t8-max-jump-starter

 

[highdesertranger]

I found that for me using ice chest was waaaaaay to expensive. Y'all that use them must stick pretty close to civilization and stay off ruff roads. highdesertranger

 

[DLTooley]

In my opinion, 500wh is a good size for a portable power station. You do want to be able to power products and charge at the same time, which I understand the Jackery does. You should be able to run a mid sized compressor fridge with such a set up, with a bit of caution. LiFePo4 batteries are even better and the first of these are now available in the power station market.

Getting a solar panel is a major plus. Mounting one if you have space is a cost, and convenience, plus. There are folding suitcase types that you can set up. 100 watts would do, but 200 is better - especially if you are doing a compressor fridge. I do ad hoc power management by driving more on rainy days to supplement solar power - going into town, etc. Solar is however definitely cheaper than burning gas.

Above 500wh you'll be better off with a two golf cart lead acid battery and controller system. A 200-500wh power station is a good supplement and backup to such a system, including low volt plugs. LiFePo4 prices are dropping, and more importantly, becoming available at our segment of the market.

 

[Qxxx]

I just picked up this jump starter for keeping in my truck. I also will take it out on my boat for running the fish finder, charging, and emergency power. I think it would supply a sufficient amount of power for someone who is miserly. It is much smaller than a battery bank, and solar panel, and could be charged from the driving van.

https://tacklifetools.com/products/t8-max-jump-starter

That would be a nice convenient "backup" source to have when all else fails, but you notice it is only 20AH, so easy to scale what you can do with it as opposed to having 100AH. I think I'll get one especially for emergency situations, and short term use if the main battery gets too low, .

 

[izifaddag]

I found that for me using ice chest was waaaaaay to expensive.  Y'all that use them must stick pretty close to civilization and stay off ruff roads.  highdesertranger

You are right but it isn't just the cost it is the water everywhere. Fishing eggs and cheese out of ice water is always fun.