Newbie needs advice and explanation

Its an often asked and answered question Pat , searching through posts will help.

If you are buying a camper and no little about those things one thing
to do is to ask the seller if and how the prospective camper caters for those things.

Under the blogs section , the most popular blog is called electricity for camping and worth reading.

Pat

I don't know what sort of camper trailer you a buying but mine came with the option of a power system which I took. It charges from the vehicle. Has an inverter (12 & 240v)

I do not have the long list you have. Just use it for lighting, water pump and laptop.

The fridge is in the vehicle and I charge the phone in the vehicle.

The manufacturer of your camper trailer should be able to give you options re power.



Tjilpi

Hi Pat, the best idea is to set everything up so that it runs off 12 volt. This simplifies the installation and is the best solution for those times when you are away from grid power. The only thing we need grid power for in our caravan is to power the microwave and airconditioner, both of which we use rarely.

To do this you will need 2 X 100 amp amp hour AGM batteries and a good multi stage smart charger to charge the batteries from grid power when in a caravan park or at home.

This setup then lends itself to the addition of a solar panel or two.

You can get 12 volt power supply devices for nearly anything in the way of modern technology such as laptops, mobile phone chargers, USB cig plugs etc. and the like.

Sink 12 volt pumps are easily purchased from ebay or your local caravan parts supplier.
Use of all LED lighting throughout will dramatically reduce 12 volt power consumption and make those batteries last a lot longer.

You do not state what type of fridge you have but I assume that it is a 12 volt compressor style such as a Waeco or similar. These work hapilly off 12 volts and also 240 so they are an each way bet, a good thing.

If you have a couple of kids then perhaps you could lift the battery capacity to 3 at 100 AH or slightly larger if needed.

For that occasional need for grid power you could have a couple of power points fitted, by a qualified electrician of course, and a dedicated power point for the smart battery charger which would be left plugged in and turned on all the time so that when and if you did get to a caravan park the batteries would be getting a good charge straight away when grid power was applied, just in case the batteries needed it it. If they do not need a charge then no harm done the charger will just drop into float mode and the batteries will be protected from overcharging therefore.

If you need any more info don't hesitate to ask.
Cheers Bruce.

Pat.
Firstly leave the play station, game console, hd tv and radio at home, and only turn your phone on when you need to. I figure thats half your power draining problems solved. Mate your going camping to enjoy the great outdoors, find something more positive to do when you go away and save yourself dollars in setting up a portable power station.
Cheers.
Tony F8

Hi Pat,
I tend to agree that instead of all the bells and whistles, start off minimal and see what you really need as you go along.

For me that would be your fridge and led lights

Everyone has there own idea, from my experience I make sure each fridge is connected to a 110a/h battery which in turn is connected via a solar regulator to a 120/140w solarpanel. I have monitored mine over the last 2 years and it works well in WA where there's a fair bit of sun.

Some think its wasteful 2 have 2 seperate power sources, me I always think that in an emergency situation I'll be able to keep the beer cold

My monitoring system on the beer fridge is open lid grab beer, Cold beer = all good.
Warm beer = Don't know, its never happened.

The food fridge has a remote wireless thermometer

Hope this helps, relax and enjoy the lifestyle

There is a brilliant article on this site "Electricity For Camping". A very comprehensive guide and will answer your questions.