Running A/C OFF GRID | Heating, Cooling & Condensation | Staying Comfortable While Camping
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- čas přidán 2. 07. 2024
- In this Off Grid video, we're discussing all things comfort while camping (or glamping) off grid. We cover heating and cooling options for a range of setups and tackle condensation issues.
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Your instructional videos are invaluable........I am loving your learning experiences.
Thanks so much, that's great to hear!
Toastie bum - coals under the camp chair. Winning!!!!!
I leave diesel heater running all night, no blankets just a thin quilt. When it gets warm don’t turn heater too low open the hatch its usually on the first clip anyway. 21ft van at 20deg all night no condensation and it’s warm to get up and have a p. I’m old generation travelling Aus for 50 yrs. The equipment is getting better as I’m getting older life is great love cool weather. 1 and a bit Ltd diesel a night and a free camp.
Hot water bottles for sure in cold weather. Best cheapest and comfortable way of heating your bed before climbing in......also, we have aero mesh under the mattress. Great for condensation. Would be good for your kids bunks and you can easily just cut it to size. Works a treat. Another great video guys. Can't wait to see the caravan reveal!!!!
Thanks, we'll look into it!
We also love camping in winter. Sitting around a campfire is so relaxing 🥰🥰
Patio mister under the awning. Spray bottle and fans in the tent
Staying cool: What a great tip, drive with your a/c on before you get there...
You're right, we can only run our A/C off grid for about 2 hours max and that's only if we have some solar coming in too (we have AGM's and they take take a fair kick in the guts). The down side is charging the batteries back up again, it could take all the next day to get them healthy again. Most caravans with an ensuite have an exhaust fan; something you've probably done is 1. (a must in hot weather), fully open the roof hatch in the van obove the bed or lounge, 2. open the ensuite hatch and turn on the exhaust fan, 3. open a window on the shaded side. The temperature drops at least 10 degrees in a few minutes because all the hot air is at the ceiling and gets sucked out. We were camped at the free camp at Lake Colac VIC at Christmas in 40 degrees and no shade. When it's that hot there's not much you can do; we went for a drive (A/C) to a town and went shopping in the mall....(A/C) and came back at 8pm. But, in the three months we travelled around ( all in Summer) our plans and travel destinations were dictated by the weather and we never needed the A/C much. If it got a little cooler, we went inland, when we saw the weather getting hot the next day or in a couple of days, we would head for the coast. The difference 30km makes is amazing, 35 degrees 30km inland, and 22 degrees on the coast. One day I'll get lithium but at the moment it would just be to run the airconditioner for longer and I can't justify the expence yet..
I got Jian a 12v electric blanket (online) for the cold days and nights, works a treat and she loves it.
We do everything else we want, Microwave, coffee machine, jug, slow cooker, induction, hairdryer..."not camping...Glamping".. we have some good low watt gagets if your doing a video at some stage
Thanks for sharing, Peter. Glad you found it helpful.
Good information. Another option is a 12volt electric blanket. Ours uses negligible power but takes the chill out of the bed, particularly if turned on an hour before bedtime.
Sounds amazing! Great idea.
Winter Camping, no matter how much you line your camp chair, I find my legs still freeze, so now I get one of them cheap silver windscreen protectors and tuck under my chair blanket and extend it down to the bottom front of my chair. Works very well to stop wind coming in from the back onto the back of my legs. If beside the fire, the silver bit reflects the warmth right up to your bum! lol
That's brilliant! Probably stealing that idea!
An interesting video this week . We are a fully electric caravan (2000watts of solar , 5000watt inverter , 14.3kW/h battery , about 1200A/h ) and have the Truma reverse cycle air con under the bed .we are a 19.6 van so have 3 vents facing into the van from the driver side of the bed and have found it very efficient to cool the van down . A little noisy to get going but very quiet once under way . We actually use a small ceramic heater which heats up the van quicker than the air con does and use an electric blanket on the bed . We are a fully off grid van . So no gas or diesel . Look forward to seeing your new van .
That's great to hear, thanks!
I am planning on setting up an efficient off grid van, would love to know how you have set that much power up? If you could send me a message that would be great..
We are in Tazzie and love our cold weather camping. The best part is it much easier to get a camping spot in winter. I also agree its easier to warm up than try to cool down.
I love winter camping but I am a Queenslander. There no mossie no bugs no humidity. Love it. Love you channel and info. 😊
Love it!
Great video and awesome tips. Keeping warm is far easier then staying cool, IMO. Always having a beanie and gloves is the easiest and cheapest way. Safe travels.
I live in New Zealand and have a high roof Toyota High Ace Camper. To keep condensation at bay it's important to keep the air moving in your caravan Camper etc. In Winter I use my diesel heater with a roof vent open. When static, I keep two louvered vents on the upper sides fully open. I've never had any condensation. So rules 1,2 and 3 keep the air moving 24/7.
Thanks for the info!
Great info! Thanks for sharing. Always keen for your vids.
Great content, look forward to seeing the water video
Loved the video, very helpful, keep up the good work.
Love the way you guys keep your episode real and have great information.
We definitely enjoy watching your take on travelling life in a van. We agree with you on all your tips & have been doing these ourselves. Can't wait to see the new van. Looking forward to a chance of winning the $100 voucher, definitely would come in handy for replacing a few older bits on our well used van. Safe travels & hopefully see you on the road someday. Cheers from WA!🍻🍷
Great video guys- lots of things to think about, especially being able to travel outside of the seasons! 👌🏼
Hi guys loving your content, great work, safe travels cheers
We are with you on the cold climate camping. Can’t wait to get our new van and get into some cold weather camping. Thanks for all your tips and tricks.
Love cool climate camping. Nothing beats keeping warm and cooking by camp fire. Looking forward to reading all the tips on managing condensation. Thanks for another informative and entertaining vid.
Love the vid as always. U guys have a great way of presenting in such a down to earth manner. I often find myself thinking I new that I just had not actually put the time in to consider it on its own like that.keep up the great work.
That's great to hear, thanks!
Looking forward to cool weather camping! ❤
Thanks guys great video!
We have our van currently stored in our shed till we head off in August. We have a couple of windows open to stop it getting stuffy in there. Good tip about the condensation 👍
Thanks for sharing some more great travel tips, especially about 'moisture' inside the van.
Love it! Thanks, Linda.
Great tips thanks guys.
Winter camping is fantastic. Victoria has so many places to stay where you can have a fire. Nothing better than a campfire on a cold day/night. The diesel heater is the absolute best thing since sliced bread and gets used a lot when we are out and about. I love summer camping too with the sirocco fans too. Agree air cons spoil you making you hibernate!
Hopefully catch up at the Brissie Show !
Thanks for the tips. I was fearing being cold over staying cool in the warmer climates. I'll be researching how to prevent mold in the caravan 😬
Touring when it’s cooler certainly has it’s advantages We are currently on the Artesian Basin circuit Soaking hot bathes so relaxing wonderful country and interesting pubs and people with stories to tell
Absolutely!
Love it guys. Yep big fan of cold weather camping. Nothing better than keeping the fire going allday.
The best!
Very useful episode.
Hey guys, just discovered your channel and love you. Very like minded thinking and agree about camping in the cooler months, we love our camp fire and camped at Scone NSW on the weekend which got down to 0 degrees where we stayed warm in bed at night with our good old hot water bottles. Looking forward to following you. :) Cheers Marg & Steve
Awesome! Thank you!
Loved it!
Being from Tassie obviously a lot of our caravanning is in what you guys would consider cooler months 😂 but yeah it’s great. Another great episode guys. 🎉
Haha, thanks Marianne
Great video very helpful
Awesome info thanx guys.
It will be nice to see your AC install and hear how it works. Man the van builders in OZ are far behind and there is amazing 12V AC systems under mount so no inverter needs to be switched on and 24V battery systems too.
But it is what it is at this stage.
Cant wait to see your van walk through
Cheers
Johnny&Rene
I'm hearing you! The industry hear is lagging in so many areas!
Hi, Just found you guys through EC&C. Great info. Would like to see video on storing vans when not in use, pro & cons of van covers especially to charging ability, what to do with batteries during this time etc.... We are brand new to vanning so we are trying to be "sponges" and take on board the best advise from the start to suit us and the old "spend wise spend once" theory 🙂
Welcome! So glad you found us. We haven't ever stored our van for more than a few weeks as we've been travelling full time since we bought our first caravan. We don't have much advice on that side of things, sorry.
Good video, guys. Again :) We are caravanners now, but come from a background of small tent camping for over 30 years. And I mean SMALL tent. None of those big multi-room things. Just a 2-3 person tent. And we've done lots of cold weather camping - including one memorable night up at Tantangara Creek up high in the Snowy Mountains, where our 20-litre cube of water froze solid overnight. As you say, layering is the answer. Plus having really warm sleeping kit - we have sub-zero sleeping bags that also layer up - they consist of a tropical lightweight bag inside a super warm pure down bag, and then an overall cover of Goretex like a swag. Mix and Match as needed. In the caravan, it's similar - sheet, blanket, winter doona, and top quilt - layer as needed. That way, we always have the cafe lounge-side window and the kitchen window open - no condensation! But the windows beside the bed stay closed, so no icy blasts of wind across the bed.
Will keep an eye open for your Brisbane Caravan Show dates... :) Keep the good stuff coming.
Thanks for sharing. Some of our best camping memories are in the winter!
Hi guys great vid we will be heading that way soon. One consideration for having an instant hot water service (when off grid) is the amount of precious water that needs to run through the system before it's hot enough. Some of our friends fill up pots kettles bottles etc then pour it back into the tank. Not such a good solution if you are dying for a hot shower.🤣
That's very true!
Awesome video, when it’s hot I walk around with a wet flannel around my neck. Also my campervan is a old one and has lots of drafts so that controls the condensation 😂 Works well for me. When I’m in cold I use the hottie and electric 12v electric blanket for nights before bed. Like you said have the thermal everything. Good wind breaker etc. yep I’d like to go into the draw, be great. Enjoy the Warrumbungles. Cheers Judy
Sounds great! Thanks Judy
Yep @OZLAPN has just subscribed, safe travels .....
Welcome!
Not expecting another win 😅 but great video again guys. (Thanks) Looking forward to learning more about the under bed air con.
Thanks so much.
👍 Good stuff !
Go the body by two to keep warm 🤫🤔🫣😉😉😉🍺🍺🍺🍺
Great vid again..New fang dangled eh 😂
We are the same, like to go the opposite direction than the crowds. Unfortunatly we need to go back to our rental in qld so heading up there now (currently at menindee lakes) instead of south and bottom of wa. Love out diesel heater.
Just watched your warrumbungle ep. Will definitely be doing that or our way back down as we're chasing the darling atm. Plus there are bugger all low cost camps along the eastern coast
Outback NSW has some amazing areas to explore!
Enjoyed your video as always with you informative tips, thanks guys. PS my husband wants to know where you got your hat!
Thanks! Which one?
@@TheLifestylePioneers Thanks for your reply! Simons hat, the only one we have ever seen him wear.
😆 It's an Akubra "Riverina"
We are getting our new van in a couple of weeks and very excited to have installed a maxxair fan, another option for getting good air flow (as well as the sirroccos). Ours will have a remote so we can turn it down/off from bed if it gets too cool in the wee hours of the morning. Would love to win the $100 voucher as we're setting up EVERYTHING from scratch 🙂
Sounds great, Carla!
For travelling in the hotter climates and you can’t travel with blinds up we use shed insulation off cuts in all windows and hatches to keep the sun out. It takes up very little room an has made a huge difference in internal temps. Filmed at camp Wambelong?
Yes, this was Wambelong! We travel with the blinds closed in the warmer areas.
Livin in Vic , you need to be happy with cold camping, lol ! Want to enter !
Absolutely!
Wet towels remind me of spinifex cooling sheds
Great vid .. need one for RTT :-)
Cheers
Great video thanks guys. I’m midway through building an 18’ full composite off road van. We’ve gone with the same air con and diesel heater/hot water system setup as you guys to utilise solar. We decided on a an EcoFlow system with a 450 lithium battery, 3500 inverter and 1600 of solar on the roof with one panel sliding out using an electronic actuator. We also have the option of doing this with another panel which would give us 2000 on the roof. We have never been camping or caravanning in our life so not sure if this setup is overkill or under done? Hopefully see you at the Brissy van show. Thanks.
Sounds awsome! That's a lot of solar with that size battery bank. You might find you want a little more storage down the track but wait and see how you go.
@@TheLifestylePioneers Thanks. I’m finding there’s a lot of suck it and see building this thing.
Great info regarding the air con information…. Here’s me thinking I need a 900ah system to have AC the whole time whereas you guys have only used it off grid a handful of times 😂
It depends on how you like to travel but we don't use it often.
Hi Simon & Liz… have you tried using an electric blanket? We have been following you for a couple of years and love your content and helpful info
Thanks Gary! I think if we camped in cooler climates more they cold be a great option. We find inside the van a decent doona is enough. Thanks for the support!
Apart from ensuring your battery, solar and inverter is capable of running the caravan’s aircon, you need to install a changeover switch which will allow you to switch between mains power input and battery input. From my experience, many caravans (especially those with lesser electrical capability), will only allow use of aircon when connected to mains power.
After upgrading to (only) 330Ah LiFePO4 batteries, a 3000W inverter, inclusion of a changeover switch and a circuit breaker, I am able to run my aircon from a full charge for a few hours in the middle of Summer before getting down to about 30% battery charge
Off grid- Then there is always the problem of charging the batteries (without running a generator). Solar has its limitations !
Spot on, Rich. We use an Enerdrive 2600w inverter which has a built in changeover switch which makes life a little simpler.
You need more solar! 😂
I always keep moisture zorbs everywhere
I dislike winter but I do love camping in winter … weird I know. Any places you recommend in the Vic High Country to visit/stay ? Hope to head that way at the end of July.
We haven't done much in the VHC. We loved it all though!
Would love the chance to win the voucher, thanks again for the opportunity. Another great vid, you guys present so well and very natural that it makes us want to keep watching. Always very helpful content. We are like you and absolutely love cold weather camping. I have a shami that I usually wipe things down to aid quicker drying of the interior. No easy fix unfortunately although the diesel heater really does help.
Thanks for sharing, Pat.
Congratulations Pat! You're the winner of our $100 voucher giveaway. Send us an email to simon@thelifestylepioneers.com to claim!
Thanks very much Simon and Liz and Everything Caravan and Camping. Email sent. Cheers.
Love this video and would love to win the voucher
Thanks!
I will be very interested to hear your opinion of the underbunk air conditioner. I have one but am not impressed. Ours is not very efficient and certainly does not cool to the same extent that a rooftop air conditioner does. I would also check on the places your ducting goes. We have one going to each bed and one to the rest of the van (down low). As we know cold air doesnt rise. I would divert one of the bed ducts to the main body of the van therefore increasing main body vents to 2 and preferably up higher, and maybe put a y piece on the last vent making two vents to go on each side over the bed.
Thanks for the info. That's very interesting. We'll see how it goes!
Hi just wanted to let you know there is a marine underlay which lets under mattresses air and stay dry. Just google it. Stay safe. From Aussie Nomad friends.
That's great to know, thanks!
Did your aircon running for 40mins before stopping pull more dust in or keep more out . Could be the new carafan lol 😝
LoL new website Only-Vans hahaha ya might be onto a new revenue stream hahaha 🤪 🤪🤪
OH a shovel full of hot coals left on the shovel will warm ya creation hole 🕳 just nicely if placed under ya chair and when they cool put back in fire and replace with new H.O.T coals warm ass happy Lass and Lads lol
Love it mate! We haven't done the AC trick on the dirt, only on sealed roads thus far
Evaporative cooling methods and evaporative airconditioners don't work in humid climates, such as Coffs Harbour and North in summer. I've seen many campers didn't appreciate this. Also electric blankets use 60 watts for single, 100 wats for double and are particularly good for your trick of turning heating on 40 minutes before you stop if you are not going to a powered site and are running low on battery storage.
That's a good point about evaps we hadn't considered. Electric blankets would be nice!
Electric blankets are 60w perside on max. Low setting is usually 15w per side, and one side usually doesnt even want it on. Also, run the eb during the day to burn to moisure out of the bed - we loose 0.6L of water a night due to perspiration and transpiration. Once you burn the moisture out of the bed the bed feels much warmer. And, only need to run the eb for 30mins before going to bed, then turn it of.
Why would you get a new van after only a year of having a zone? They aren’t cheap haha. Is the new titanium gifted? Zone just posted a review of their pop top prototype that has an under bed air con - that they will be changing back to rooftop aircon. Will be interesting to see how you go with that.
We had the Zone for a little over 2 years. It was great but we wanted to make some changes and build something more customised. Let me know when they start giving away caravans so we can get in the queue 😂
just wait till those menopausal hot flushes hit ya, you will want 2 air conds running LOL
Sorry but on a 40 degree day we’re happy to run our generator for some ice cold AC
An ac to cool the small space of a van should only use 900w max, then cycle on and off when it reaches target temp, then ave power, eg 450w.
1.6x 1m solar panels can be 460w now, you should be able to fit 2kw to most vans, or >4kw with a frame. If you fit suitable solar, and enough battery, there is no need for a noisy generator any more.
Common bring on the walk through😂
It's coming 😜
Moist! Especially not in the front tool box mate!!!
You know it 😉
Thanks Liz and Simon for some tips and tricks. Just online now to buy a couple of 2023 sirocco fans for our Ulti! ❤🇦🇺🦘
Love it!