We've recently upgraded from tent camping to our Pennine Quartz 4, and loving it. Having an onboard kitchen, no messing about with ice blocks, fixed beds, loads of storage for just about all our gear, it really is the best of both tent and caravan.
So far, we've camped in places with EHU, but I'm questioning how much we really need it, especially on sites where non- electric pitches are considerably cheaper or in a better position.
We only really use the mains to run the fridge, hot water and occasionally the fan heater, as well as the battery charger. Last trip, we brought a small electric kettle, but found the whistling kettle easier to use. That will also do for hot water, and the fridge seems to work fine on gas. We don't have a TV in the camper.
So with this kind of usage, how long can we expect to last on the battery? We'd be running the water pump, lights in the evening, charging phones and not much else. With LED bulbs and a portable solar panel, I imagine we could last almost indefinitely!
Hi, I had a Jackery 500 Portable Battery Pack (500w) purely for my cPAP device, which I used to run a led light ligh and charge Phones, and I could get away with 5 days with careful useage, (it would do longer if it was just using the cPAP),
However, I had a change of cPAP device which was more Power hungry, so I upgraded my Battery to the Anker Solix f2000, which is 2Kw battery back, ie 4 times as powerful, and in turn I use it more extensively, and Power my Fridge as well. (this has its own battery back, and I have a spare, Each battery runs for 36 hours in its own right)
I also have a 200w Solar Panel, which will allow me to operate indefinately. (I also have an EV which I can charge my batterypack as a backup)
The Key Consideration, is the Power wattage that your appliance draws, for example, a Phone Charge is 5w and hour, like wise a 7w bulb, uses 7 watts an hour, where as a Kettle would use a lot more power, albeit for a short period of time.
Image of our Tent with Solar panel (in Wrong position)
My suggestion would be a suitcase style solar panel of around 100 watts.
Connect it up to your battery and with the type of usage you described you should be OK for several weeks at a time in the spring and summer.
When car camping I have an Ecoflow Delta 3 1kwh which can give 1800w of 240v. I never use anything more than 12v so it lasts most trips. I have an expander unit which increases it's capacity by 2kwh for longer trips. Not bothered with solar panel yet as they last for requirements so far. They can be recharged on mains in an hour & topped up in car when driving. If you get an optional alternator charger they can charge in car as fast as mains.
Also handy at home for power cuts.
Originally bought to back up the 95ah lead acid leisure battery in our campervan in winter when solar is near useless. As the powerbanks are lifepo4 the total capacity is equivalent to approx 500ah of lead acid.
We're about to have 460ah lifepo4 fitted to our camper. That will he fast charged when driving & backed by a modest 230w of solar. Even in van our electrical use is modest. 12v with occasional use of microwave so setup should last almost indefinitely on our offgrid trips. I'll still carry the main ecoflow bank for redundancy & as I dont want an inverter I can plug it into vans ehu to power microwave (& 12v system if needed).
You say “We only really use the mains to run the fridge, hot water and occasionally the fan heater, as well as the battery charger.”
You can’t run the fridge off the battery when you’re on a pitch. So you’ll need an alternative fridge if you need to keep things cool: plenty of threads about that, but you probably have something from your camping days.
And you’ll probably want to stay on EHU when you need the heater. Again, that won’t run off your battery.
Can’t answer questions about how long the battery would last, too techy for me & battery sizes vary. But on the rare occasions that we were on off-grid sites in our previous MH, the 12v lights dipped alarmingly when we ran the pump. So we used a fresh water canister instead.
Quote: Originally posted by Dave and Cyn on 21/4/2026
My suggestion would be a suitcase style solar panel of around 100 watts.
Connect it up to your battery and with the type of usage you described you should be OK for several weeks at a time in the spring and summer.
This was my thinking too. We have two 4.5kg butane cylinders on board, so plenty of gas for running the fridge, cooking and boiling the kettle for hot water. I would probably install a plug and socket for the solar panel in the battery box so the cable can run into there and we can set it up quickly and easily on site.
For either end of the season with colder temperatures and shorter days, we'd go for EHU so we can run the heater and keep the lights on, but then the pitch fees are usually lower so it balances out.
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Topic: Battery life off EHU
via mobile 20/4/2026 at 10:03pm
