Hi. We are going to a festival for 4 nights, and are new to caravanning this year. So far we've only been on super pitches, so this is very different for us. I know lots of people will say this is how to caravan properly amd it's not a problem, so,please forgive me, but I do like my electrical luxury lol.
We usually cook in the awning on all of the electrical gadgets!!!
Can people please give me tips. Do I need a solar panel? Will my battery last for that long? Also need to inflate an air bed for awning annex.
Sorry if I'm being a bit thick lol!! But I'm a bit nervous about it all
How big is your battery (in Ah), and what will it be driving? Any reasonable sized leisure battery should have no problem running limited LED lighting and a water pump for that time.
If you want to run the fridge, that'll have to be on gas (assuming you have a three-way caravan fridge); as will all your cooking including the kettle.
If the bed pump is 12V, pump it up from the car; if it's mains, use a foot pump.
Thanks that's helpful. We actually don't really watch the to when we're away anyway, so that's not an issue. Think there's quite a bit going on around the site anyway, with entertainment tent etc as its for the festival. Haven't changed the bulbs, so that's a great tip :). It was more the cooking I was thinking of, and heating the water. But I'd rather not buy a solar panel if I don't need to, or if they're not really worth it.
Hi its like anything if you haven't done it before it seems daunting.
in simple terms for 4 nights, providing you have a fully charged decent battery on the caravan you should be fine.
Use Gas for water heating, fridge and cooking that part is easy. If you have a gas bbq use that or maybe buy some food on site at the festival to keep it simple. We have done a mix of that for food doing festivals before
If you have LED lighting stick to using those where you can, restrict TV useage, and hairdryers, 12v straightening tongs and other such items try and use very sparingly or wait till you get home!
As for the essential mobiles/tablets etc get a large capacity charger bank to take with you - very cheapo online
Hello jacquelinehl. I'm an EHU type of tent camper with far too many mod cons, but slum it at a festival once a year. Here are some of the things I've found useful:
Compact 300w inverter, so you can have occasional mains voltage from the car; run up the engine, plug it in and inflate airbeds, etc
High capacity power packs for gadgets, e-cigs etc. Double up and recharge the power banks overnight if required
2 x gas rings for a brew and a bacon sarnie first thing; festival food for everything else
Gas fridge for milk and butter plus some emergency alcohol
Simple! 12 days no problem off grid with a 150w solar panel, 3-4hrs TV a night, small 150w inverter to charge razor, camera batteries and phone. Cooking, fridge, hot water, BBQ all off gas and at £8 a night great savings, which means more outings and longer stays!
I save a lot of gas by heating up water in plastic bottles (for washing up only). If you put a couple of bottles of water on the dashboard of your car in the morning, they are usually hot enough by the early evening.
It also helps if you try not to use your 12v pump for water too much. Fill everything in one hit. I don't have a 12v pump system, but a lever type gravity fed pump and so I only need the 12v for lights and the motormover. Fridge and cooking on gas.
I charge my mobile and kindle in the car, from the cigar sockets. I use Rolson LED camping lights when I can inside the caravan. They are very handy on festival sites as well to find your way home in the dark! A couple of garden solar charging lights are useful as you can take them inside the awning or caravan at night as well.
Our van easily did 4 days on battery.The fridge and water heater ran on gas,it was in June so not dark till late.
A bit of washing up and a couple of quick showers used the pump.
------------- DS-There's more to life than football!!!
Recently did 6 days at Glastonbury and 4 at another local festival last weekend.
Gas for fridge, water heater and cooking. Still not sure of our batteries capabilities- so I use LED battery powered torches and hardly use lights. We do not come home until the sun comes up so no problems usually.
I have put in some LED strips but not managed to change the bulbs correctly yet, apparently the strips use less energy than the spot lights.
Consider pre made meals to heat up in oven? We just take breakfast ingredients.
Boil kettle for washing up.
I have a battery pack for mobile charging, this has at least 8 full charges
https://www.amazon.co.uk/EC-Technology-22400mAh-Capacity-Flashlight/dp/B00F5Q4F0U
Plastic containers to transport gear, empty and fill with water to keep alcohol cold!
Next time I'm in a hook up site I am going to test the battery by using the lights etc and see how long it lasts before using the hook up.
We got the COC especially for festivals and love it!
Our caravan and trailer tent at the last festival. Which festival are you going to
Just been at Deershed Festival - 2 nights/3 days. All cooking, fridge and heating water for showers on gas. Caravan has LED lights so this is minimal charge taken, but I also have little AA battery operated tent lanterns too. battery never moved down. we have a battery pack/electric inflator for air awning, which we didn't use, but had it to charge phones from as has little usb socket on it to charge phones. you will be fine, just don't use motor mover too much as that would be your biggest drain.
as for cooking anyways, when at a festival, you should really be only eating breakfast at the van site, rest of eating is on the hoof in the arenas. Enjoy it is fine.
jacquelinehl might be worth checking if they have a policy on glass. I tried checking online (the facilities look good by the way) but many festival caravan sites that are not proper sites, farming fields for example, will not allow glass bottles/perfume bottles/glass jars/compact mirrors because they are not good for live stock if smashed.
May not be a problem where you are going but I would check
To keep the cost down, simply change only those lights likely to be on for a while; conversely, it makes little difference if you leave a loo light as halogen as hopefully, its use is brief. Ensure only needed lights are on.
You don't need a solar panel for a 4 night trip in summer.
Start with a full and a healthy battery, ageing/tired batteries don't hold much energy.
Put data/wifi and bluetooth off on phones when not needed; they sap power so force recharging.
Cook on gas or buy hot food out. Forget hair dryers etc that are mains powered[ micro fibre towels work well and importantly here dry quickly].
Stay out late enjoying the festival so not in van consuming power.
Position van with the car, or local help on arrival so as not to use the mover if at all possible.
If the radio is a car type then don't use it if you can avoid doing so, these type typically eat power. Use a portable if you can.
Amazing family weekend with old steam engines, classic car displays, market stalls, and full catering and bar. And camping on site - Save £25 by booking in advance.
Topic: Off Grid for 4 Days. Tips please
