Where do I start with electrics?

[sipep]

The van is going in for a poptop in two weeks..

I was going to get a diesel heater done at the same time.

But I need some electrics..

We will only be going away for max of 1-2 nights.. Mrs says mainly camp sites. I could get a 240 extension lead.. but that does help with the diesel heater.

Where to start? Everyone seems to use different items

 

[Heath1984]

The van is going in for a poptop in two weeks..

I was going to get a diesel heater done at the same time.

But I need some electrics..

We will only be going away for max of 1-2 nights.. Mrs says mainly camp sites. I could get a 240 extension lead.. but that does help with the diesel heater.

Where to start? Everyone seems to use different items

If you're doing it yourself, try Rayne Automotive as they will supply a full kit, everything cut to the exact length, labelled and terminated. You can't go wrong. regarding the diesel heater I'm not sure as we just use a small electric heater in the winter as we are always on hook up

 

[DXX]

Everyone seems to use different items

Decide if the vans a long term keeper or short term, if short term you might want to consider what installation would sell the van for a better price.
Cooking or not, gas or Diesel hob / heater?
EHU or stand alone with solar and larger leisure battery?

Then to add some confusion whatever you expect to be doing with the van in near future may change and to add the extra equipment later can be a PITA if the correct cables are not already run in.

I opted for solar, B2B, EHU (very rarely used) and Diesel hob / heater combined (wallas). This allows me to stay away from campsites and that was key in my choice.
Others have opted for induction hobs which require massive lithium batteries and/or EHU.

 

[Bigsidavies]

If you want something permanent you need a 12v source, ie battery, and a means to charge it, in your case probably just mains charger from EHU. That’s probably the cheapest, easiest method of powering the heater with the ability to expand it in the future with a 12v fuse box and additional items such as lights, usb sockets, water pump/tap etc and a switch panel.
It’ll also be possible to add a dc-dc charger at a later date if you wish.
Also prior to it going for a pop top get some solar cables and get the pop top installer to run them from the rear of the van (excess inside the pop top frame or similar accessible area at the rear) inside the roof frame and down the b-pillar so you can connect solar to the battery at a later stage.
If you chose never to have solar then you’ve wasted £15 on cable. But potentially saved a massive arse-ache trying to retrofit the cables (assuming you’re putting a LB under the driver’s seat of course).

 

[roadtripper]

Personally I'm coming around to the idea of just using 12v, there are very few loads you really need beyond that.

If you are camping for short periods how much do you need permanent in the van? If you have an awning you can take a portable cooker and a basic tent EHU with you like tent campers do, you can take a maintenance charger to keep your starter topped up for some reassurance. That's simple and economical.

If you intend to do that camping in the "off season" then having fitted EHU for a small heater may make more sense.

If you like the idea that you can just rock up somewhere with a nice view and have a brew while watching the sun go down then you might want to think more of a second battery, and these days a mid range LiFePo is probably the thing to do.

I've mentioned it a few threads now but beyond the heater use case it seems most EHU use is to charge the batteries, and I think there is an option there to just do that simply by hooking up a decent high capacity charger to a quick connect on your battery. If it's not for you (after trying it) then think about full EHU, the investment is minimal and the charger and quick connect useful anyway.

 

[Bigsidavies]

Personally I'm coming around to the idea of just using 12v, there are very few loads you really need beyond that.

If you are camping for short periods how much do you need permanent in the van? If you have an awning you can take a portable cooker and a basic tent EHU with you like tent campers do, you can take a maintenance charger to keep your starter topped up for some reassurance. That's simple and economical.

If you intend to do that camping in the "off season" then having fitted EHU for a small heater may make more sense.

If you like the idea that you can just rock up somewhere with a nice view and have a brew while watching the sun go down then you might want to think more of a second battery, and these days a mid range LiFePo is probably the thing to do.

I've mentioned it a few threads now but beyond the heater use case it seems most EHU use is to charge the batteries, and I think there is an option there to just do that simply by hooking up a decent high capacity charger to a quick connect on your battery. If it's not for you then think about full EHU, the investment is minimal and the charger and quick connect useful anyway.

In three years we’ve probably used EHU 3 or 4 times. Even when it’s included in the price I can very rarely be bothered to dig the cable out.
We’ve never plugged anything into our 240v sockets in those 3 years.

 

[roadtripper]

Thing is for most of the things I look around our van (admittedly we are more day van than camper) and it has what we need; lights, USB sockets, 12v sockets, radio... The reason we don't use these is because of the risk of not being able to start the van.

One way to solve that is to fit an entirely separate set of services (12v, 240v or both) but maybe in a chunk of cases you could just... charge the battery instead.

What doesn't really fit is the high energy uses - cooking and heating.

So figuring out what you want to do there (and how off grid you want to be) is probably key.

 

[Stay Frosty]

Everybody does use different items but you need to flesh out what you're trying to achieve and then you can skip some of the offered advice and accessories as they might not apply.
An electrical hookup is always a good idea though as it gets you into the game, this could be as simple as the blue plug setups you see being used by tent campers, however if you've already seen a few ideas in other installs that you like then start fleshing out your plan.
Again everyone has their favourite way of doing things but there'll be a consensus of what works and what is a bit of a white elephant.
I'm a recent convert to the enormous lithium iron phosphate battery and solar panel brigade and get a properly puckered botty when I think of what's lurking under the driving seat.

 

[Rioja John]

@sipep I've used a 3 socket with mcb breakers camping electrics with a hook up behind the rear quarter panel. 2 110 leisure batteries, a Sterling B to B under the drivers seat, a Victron 75/15 solar charger and a Victron 30 amp charger run from one of the sockets and a I then run an extension cable into my awning to run our electrical gadgets.
by the way the missing seat was not omitted for the electrics as its now been fitted back.
I also run my CPAP machine off the sockets, and I run my van electrics, alpicool fridge off the leisure batteries. I’ve also fitted a Chinese diesel heater under our van with a warm air outlets in the front and rear of our van, and this works great for Pat and myself.
John.

 

[Rioja John]

@sipep you don’t live far from me and if you wanted I could call around and let you look at my set up.

John.

 

[sipep]

Thank you all, @Rioja John I will pm you.

I think I am going to go for a 12v system first with a consumer unit and panel with all the controls on