Off Grid Caravan Set Up

Wildcat Fifth Wheeler RV Get An Outech Off Grid 24 Volt Power Upgrade 2000W Solar - 10.56kW Lithium Battery - 3500 Combi Inverter

Grad a cuppa or a beer because this one is a long read. 

Our clients; full-time travelling couple bought a Forest River Wildcat Fifth Wheeler and Isuzu Truck Tow Vehicle and enlisted us at Outech Off Grid to complete a total power upgrade of the entire 12 volt and 240 volt power system.   

This Fifth Wheeler RV now boasts a 100% off grid 10.56kW lithium battery storage bank, impressively the two batteries each have a built in a 200AMP BMS by Custom Lithium.

To put that battery bank into perspective, take a listen to the video. 

The system has been designed to charge from the roof mounted solar panels fixed to the RV roof, and from the tow vehicle via an Enerdrive 24V DC2DC Battery Charger giving the battery system multiple charge sources simultaneously.  This design gives specific dedication to maximum charge capabilities to charge the battery bank even in winter, low solar conditions, and high load usage.  

To compliment this monster off grid lithium caravan power setup is 2000W of Enerdrive solar panels; roof mounted and installed as a solar array - feeding into 3 separate Enerdrive MPPT Solar Regulators.   Simply put, a solar array is a collection of multiple solar panels that generate electricity as a system.  Again, this is an off grid power setup designed to maximise battery charge and power output throughout seasonal solar variations and consumer output load.    

Like all off grid caravans, this RV relies on 12 volt power for on board 12 volt appliances such as the usuals; lights, pumps, exhaust fans, ceiling fans etc; to take care of this we installed an Enerdrive DC 24 volt to 12 volt converter and integrated it throughout the van for seamless control.   We also added in a bunch of dual USB outlets, cig. outlets and Anderson plugs for easy charging of electronic devices, external solar panels, portable fridges, and other portable appliances.

Taking care of the 240 volt caravan power supply we installed the Enerdrive ePro Combi 3500/24 Inverter Charger, hardwired throughout all the 240 volt power outlets giving our clients a home on wheels that will power all their 240 volt appliances used in the home, such as induction cookers, medical equipment, coffee machine, toaster, air flyer, hair dryer, microwave, air conditioner, charging electronic devices such as laptops and drones. 

Since this 24 volt off grid system has significantly more electrical load capacity than typical large off grid caravan power setups it will allow the owners to use multiple 240 volt appliances simultaneously.  Often, with a 12 volt off grid caravan power systems, it is not uncommon the capacity of the inverter will only run a single 240 volt appliance (such as the air conditioner).  Greater load, such as using multiple appliances at the same time will likely cause an overload and the inverter trip and shut down.   Yet, with this system there really is no compromise.  This RV power system gives the owners the capacity to run multiple 240 volt electrical appliances without the risk of overloading the system and causing the inverter to trip.  Transitioning from brick-and-tile-home to their home-on-wheels is seamless for this travelling couple.  The only difference they will notice is the ever changing vista!

The Wildcat Fifth Wheeler RV is our clients principle place of residence, it is literally their home on wheels, so having a reliable and robust off grid power system is paramount to their enjoyment of ‘camping’ life.  This 24 Volt off grid power set-up is designed to give our clients peace of mind to camp anywhere they can legally camp.  We have designed the power setup to operate with minimal intervention, because let’s face it, the last thing our clients’ want is having to micromanage the van power system when lapping Oz! 

Our design and selective installation of electrical components; inverter, battery chargers, solar regulators, and converters is intentionally and strategically planned.   As such this system works in the background, seamlessly providing power to all 12 volt and 240 volt loads.  It embraces automatic transfer functionality with consideration of the power source, i.e., between mains power in, let’s say a caravan park to tow vehicle and solar. 

Effortlessness motivated this power system design, and we made this achievable with the on-board Simarine PICO advanced battery monitoring system that delivers real time battery health for precise monitoring and measuring.  Additionally, installed are Simarine shunts and modules to monitor the caravans’ fresh water and grey water.  Our expandable design takes into consideration future proofing and options for add-ons at a late time, enabling additional consumers to be added, such as black water monitoring, additional battery banks, solar, and other independent consumers. 

Thanks to the Simarine PICO advance battery monitoring, shunt, and modules we have installed for our clients they now have a complete solution when it comes to controlling appliances and monitoring DC power sources such as batteries, inclinometers, tanks, and solar panels of your caravan.   

Continuing with the theme off effortlessness, caravanning for this couple honestly could not get any better.  As most of you will know, a poorly located battery monitoring system that is hard to get to, hard to read and hard to use is nothing short of a pain the proverbial and put simply is only done by a lazy installer!  Any battery monitoring system needs its display where it can be easily accessed – viewed and operated, in this case Outech Off Grid installed the Simarine PICO monitoring system at eye level in the kitchen area.  This Wildcat Fifth Wheeler RV is truly one of the best camping and caravan set ups that we have seen.

The Wildcat Fifth Wheeler is one luxury caravan offering space not common in other caravans.  This RV has not one but two room slide outs; the main living room and bedroom areas both slide out making the van interior extremely spacious. The original hydraulic pump that powers the two slide outs was no longer functioning, so Outech Off Grid replaced it with a new robust hydraulic pump.  All of the hoses were replaced, so now the slide outs will function with easy making camping set-up and pack-down for efficient.

 Outside of the off-grid power setup we replaced the old and tired fridge with a flash new Bushman DC230- X compressor fridge and made electrical wiring provisions for the replacement of the existing gas stove with a new electric powered induction cooktop.  

To complete this RV upgrade, we also installed a complete upgrade on the Isuzu truck tow vehicle.  Outech Off Grid added:

Custom Lithium - 100Ah 24V lithium battery with crank support,

Enerdrive 2000W Pure Sine Wave Inverter With RCD

Enerdrive DC2DC +24V Battery Charger,    

Enerdrive DCDC30+ 24V

Enerdrive ePower AC30 24V

ePro Plus Battery Monitor

Simarine Tant Module

Enerdrive Pressure Senders

320W Solar Panels

As qualified and licensed electricians, the Outech Off Grid upgraded includes the 240 volt power installations.  Outech Off Grid installed a new 240 volt switchboard, RCBO, socket outlets and 15A appliance inlets, USB outlets, and anderson plugs – all hardwired throughout.  Previously it was not hardwired resulting in a dangerous mess of tangled extension leads…  On the back of the truck sits a canopy housing a water tank and laundry – complete with a washing machine and water tank.  Now, this upgraded off grid canopy power setup will power our clients washing machine and other 240 volt and 12 volt appliances and has the added benefit of a cranking battery that will ‘back-up’ or crank the tow vehicle battery should the house battery flatten.   

This 5th Wheeler RV is quite literally a house on wheels.  In terms of its actual off grid power setup it is comparable to a small house. There are endless benefits of a 24 volt power system, for one, in simple terms, there are fewer power losses with 24 volt.  And secondly 24 volt converts power far more efficiently than 12 volt, which makes this 24 volt off grid caravan power system an absolutely no compromises off grid set up.  This RV is the ultimate house on wheels to camp around Australia!! 

Located in the the South West of Western Australia, Outech Off Grid is a registered supplier and installer of the complete suite of Enerdrive products and Custom Lithium batteries. Outech are licensed not only for all 12 volt power systems, but also, as a qualified electrician, holds a license to work on 240 volt power systems. In short this means the complete off grid power system is built in-house at Outech OffGrid by Dan who is a highly experienced electrician.

If you are not sure where to start or have questions about your caravan power system, click on one of the buttons below to ask your questions or leave a comment and our technical team will respond to you.