I have recently bought a 2008 VW T5 that is currently in the bodyshop having some work done.
I am having it kitted out with a plyguys kit. There will be no fridge but I am intending to have a diesel heater fitted and leisure battery.
I don't intend to have EHU fitted but looking at options for lithium batteries to power the diesel heater.
Will I need solar to keep the leisure battery topped up. Any charging of stuff phones etc will be done via an ecoflow. I have been searching the web but get lots of technical advice that I don't really understand. I am interested in what people have done reference internal lighting. 12v via the battery or are there other options out there
Does anyone have experience of kitting out a van in this way in simple terms.
There will be very little in the way of need for ehu.
No fridge, no electric appliances to speak of that will require ehu. I am looking at going down the lithium battery and solar panel route to give me flexibility and less reliance on ehu
Quote: Originally posted by Ratman on 03/3/2024
The diesel heater will run off the leisure battery.
How long would the leisure battery last without being recharged by solar energy alone?
DK
------------- Apple The Campervan - A Van For Work, Rest & Play!
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- 2026: FR+DE
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'24: 10/49; '23: 9/47;'22: 8/46; '21: 9/34
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I remember a CCTV video (on the BBC app) of a fire started by an electric bicycle lithium battery exploding when it was being recharged in a hall cupboard; plus the debate about EV fires. I personally wouldn’t choose one, but it’s not my decision.
There has also been some discussion about diesel heaters here. The ones I’ve been pitched near to have all been noisy & smelly, like being by a vehicle idling at the lights. I knew someone who lived in his diesel heated van during the week (in the office car park), the cooker was also the heater somehow. The diesel ran out when it was minus 10 one night, so he brought his sleeping bag into the office. And because the diesel had run out, he couldn’t drive the van away to fill it up. No EHU in the car park.
The diesel feeder pipe fitted to your main tank should not be fitted right down to the bottom of the tank, then you will always have fuel left to drive your van. If you fit a 150 watt solar panel to your van and 2 110 amp leisure batteries as i have you should have no shortage of power my system also has a dometic 650 compressor fridge and i have run it for two weeks solid in the orkneys in max 8 degrees weather and overcaste all of the time.
I have a Webasto diesel heater and hot water system in my PVC, and I honestly do not believe it is any noisier than other vans.
Yes I can smell the fume, however, it is only at start up.
I had the heater ticking over at about 10degC while the van was packed outside my house during the first winter, thinking it would be cheaper than hooking it up to the mains, and nearly ran the tank dry in less time that I had expected, even though it was at least half full to start with.
Slight off-topic...
This year, I plan to use the air con unit on the roof for heating during the colder months and the immersion heater for hot water when required, so that I don't have to use the diesel in the tank if I am already paying for un-metered EHU as part of the pitch fee.
DK
------------- Apple The Campervan - A Van For Work, Rest & Play!
- 2027: ? NL+DE+FR
- 2026: FR+DE
- 2025: 17/77
'24: 10/49; '23: 9/47;'22: 8/46; '21: 9/34
* Ex-tenter
* Treat life events like a dog: if you can't eat it, play with it or hump it, p1$$ on it and walk away!
The last one was an Eberspacher and was very very noisy on start up and noisy to run, to the point we stopped using it on sites.
The current one has a Webasto fitted with a silencer and it is very quite outside the van at all times. It's a bit noisy inside when first fired up but after a few minute runs almost silent, certainly quiet enough to run all night when sleeping which we did last weekend in -1 degree temperatures. Diesel usage over 24 hours was not really noticeable.
I have no experience of other makes but I hear some can be noisier than others.
One thing to note is that they do take quite a heavy electric load on the start up depending on heater size and make then a continuous draw to keep the fan going so do check what the electrical usage of the heater is before fitting. There is little worse than running out of battery power on a cold dark night in the winter. Been there and got the tshirt on that one.
Also bear in mind that your batteries may not get fully recharged form solar in the winter due to low light and short hours of daylight.
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Topic: Campervan kit out advice
via mobile 02/3/2024 at 10:42pm
