If you are careful with what you use, the battery should last a good week. But make sure the battery is in good condition and fully charged before you start.
You can get it checked out for free at a battery supplier. There are normally two sizes of battery, 110Ah is the larger, smaller ones are 80 (or85?) .
There is an on-board charger in your caravan which will charge it up whenever the van is plugged into the mains, either at home or on a site with ECU. Whilst towing , you will get a bit of charge from the car, but don't rely on this, better to charge it up before you go.
You could always get a generator to use on site, but these are frowned on unless you are on your own in a field.
They are normally used ON site.I haven't got one, but there are plenty of references on here, so try the search.
I'm thinking of getting one, but I was concerned that you don't get much charge unless you get an expensive one. We'll see what anyone else says on here.
If you intend to do a lot of non hookup camping for more than a weekend a solar panel is worth getting. We easily manage a three day weekend on our battery with out "economising".
------------- Good friends are hard to find, difficult to leave and impossible to forget.
If it was just hubby & myself, economising wouldn't be a problem, but with 5 lads it would be almost impossible!! Mind you, one solution to the problem - foster them out for a week - oh what peace...I can only imagine!!!
I've had a look at solar panels on the Towsure site.
They have got a whole range and tell you what duty they are suitable for. I reckon I'd want a 30w one, but at around £250 I think I'll buy a second battery instead (or4 )
Don't forget if you rely on a solar panel to keep it topped up all year, then the battery life is severely reduced due to deposits on the plates. Every trip or two you should give it a full recharge at a high rate (6 or8 amps). This cleans off the plates.
One other approach is if you need extra power in short bursts , such as a shower, then I'll use jump leads and connect the car battery to the caravan one. At least you could keep your lads clean
You don't say what caravan you have - if it is an older one it may not have an onboard charger, in which case you need to get a charger so you can charge it either at home or when you are on EHU.
------------- Caz
If you can't see the light at the end of the tunnel, just keep going till you go round the bend.
Quote: Originally posted by tykey on 27/2/2008
One other approach is if you need extra power in short bursts , such as a shower, then I'll use jump leads and connect the car battery to the caravan one. At least you could keep your lads clean
Lads clean??? They're teenagers! They don't know what soap and water are!!!!
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: No Electric Hook-up
)
