Do you own a Jayco caravan
and wanna go completely off grid
with your next camping adventure?
In this video, we're gonna run you
through all the possible modifications
that you could make to your Jayco caravan
to harness the sun and ensure for your next camping trip
you don't have to pay those costly caravan park fees.
Hey, I'm Briohny. - And I'm Andrew.
- And we're from Accelerate.
And this is our Jayco Base Station.
Prior to owning this, we also had a Jayco Swan.
So we're completely familiar with Jaycos
and what you need to do to them
to get them totally set up for off-grid camping.
Okay, so welcome inside our Jayco base station.
It's a pretty standard look of a Jayco.
Andrew what do they come with from factory?
- Okay, so most Jaycos from bottom to the top of the range
come with what's called a J35 as standard.
So it's a box about yay big
and, it does all the, generally most
of them do the solar regulating.
It does the Anderson plug isolating.
So isolates your car from your van
for the charging of the batteries.
It does the 240V charging
and it will also do most of the fusing.
So all the fuses for your lights
your 12 volt outputs and so on.
So that all goes through one.
There's a few different versions we're currently up to.
We've got an A, B, C and D available at the moment
the D is lithium compatible A, B and C aren't.
So they don't come with the lithium algorithm
and to be honest, that's most of what we see.
So they will come paired up standard with an AGM battery.
The D generally comes paired up with a lithium battery.
- So you mentioned AGM batteries there.
It's pretty standard for the Jaycos to come out with AGMs?
- Yeah, most of the ones we see
have always come out, historically
have always come out with AGMs.
They're just starting to bring some lithiums out now
but it's still quite new on the market.
- Okay, so most of these seem to come out with AGM.
Do we need to upgrade to lithium?
- If you want to have a better off-grid experience
lithium's definitely the way to go.
It will charge a lot faster, it will be a lot lighter,
it will last a lot longer.
So, your appliances will work for longer
and the batteries will recover a lot quicker
and that'll give you a much better run time
on what you're trying to use.
- So if you've decided to upgrade to lithium
what changes do we need to make
inside the caravan other than lithium battery?
- Okay.
So, it actually depends whether you come
out with a J35 A, B, C or D.
If you've got a D then that's a 240V charging taken care of.
Depending on the model will depend
how much solar will go in.
Quite often, we can get enough solar
on the roof to run through the J35.
If we wanna go more solar we'll have to have
a lithium specific solar regulator.
The other thing, if we're going lithium
we'll need a DCDC charger.
So we'll have a DCDC that'll handle
the input from the car, also that can run
your solar is another way around it.
And yeah, the probably the other thing that most
people do is an inverter and that's what we've got in this
so all our 240V appliances work.
- So let's just run through each of those individually.
The solar regulator, what is it's sole purpose?
- Regulate the solar.
So yeah, it's a lithium, you need
a lithium compatible solar regulator.
It takes the high voltage from the panels
converts it into the correct voltage
to charge the batteries and basically
keeps the solar panels humming away
and pumping into the battery.
- A DC to DC charger, what's its purpose?
- So that will bring the power basically
in simple terms, the power from the alternator on your car
through an Anderson plug, then it hits the DCDC charger
that modifies the voltage to suit
the lithium batteries perfectly
and then charges the lithium batteries
while you're driving from your car.
- So we can, if we're driving you can have
your Anderson plug plugged in and via the DC to DC charger
it can be charging the battery.
And then the solar regulators will be charging
your battery via the solar panels.
So you're sort of getting the dual input
while you drive, is that correct?
- Certainly, that's the advantage
of running a separate solar regulator
and DCDC charger, is you can get maximum current input.
- Cool.
So you mentioned a 240V charger
is that correct? - Yep.
- What does that do and why do we need it?
- The 240V charger, really two purposes
if you're sort of at a caravan park
and you wanna charge your batteries back up then
and so that's, that's one reason.
If you've been off grid for a while
especially if it's cloudy and your solar's not keeping
up you can plug in and that will charge your batteries.
It also is great for when your van's in storage.
So you plug in your 240V charger
and obviously that maintains your batteries
especially if your van's undercover.
If it's outside in the sun, totally unnecessary
cause your solar will do that job
but if your van's covered up or undercover
in a garage or something like that
plug in the 240V, batteries stay maintained fully.
- So the final thing there you mentioned is the inverter.
What is an inverter?
Why do we use it?
And yeah, just tell us about it.
- Okay.
So the inverter's the final piece of the puzzle.
What it does, it's a big box
and it takes the battery power, the 12 volts
and turns it into 240V so that all
your power points will work and you can use
all your appliances you're used to using
at home like toasters and kettles and so on.
- So that's the main one that we, I guess use
and we upgraded ours just recently to a bigger inverter.
And that allows me to, in the morning
plug our normal house kettle into a power point
in the caravan and I can just turn it
on and it boils the water straight away.
So I guess talking about the inverter
common question, what size inverter do I need?
- The hardest question to answer?
It just depends what you wanna run
and what your battery bank, can support.
So basically it's in the middle.
You need to have the batteries behind to support it.
Obviously going from 12 volts to 240V is quite inefficient.
So you need a good battery bank
and then you need a inverter sufficiently
big enough to run the appliance you're trying to turn on.
Obviously, if you try to make heat or cool or motion
so like an air conditioner or something
you need a very large inverter supported
by a large battery bank.
If you're just trying to charge laptops
or something like that, you can go a small little inverter
'cause all you're really trying to do
is charge another battery.
- So something like power tools or charging batteries
as you said, like power tool batteries
or camera batteries or laptop batteries
we sorta saying a 300, 500 watt inverter, thereabouts?
Depending or 1,000, what's the minimum?
- Laptops and everything only
are 300 - 500 definitely and phones and so on.
Power tools some times can need up to 1,000.
Some of those big Makita chargers will need 1,000
but yeah in that 700 or probably covered for most things.
- So, if we wanna run probably the next common thing
people wanna run is the microwave
that comes standard in your Jayco
what inverter do we need for that?
- We really try and step up to the 2,000.
So 2,000 will pretty much cover you from 90% of things
in a caravan, excluding the air conditioner.
But a 2,000, is quite sufficient for most vans.
- Toaster, kettle?
- Good toaster will go under 2,000
some of the cheaper ones tend to go over.
- And then, air conditioning
if you wanna run your air conditioning
what size? - Yeah.
So we usually use 2,600 to 3,000 is kinda where we go
and that really will cover you for anything
you plug into the van.
- Now, we've got the 12 volt guru here.
So our Jayco has had a lot of modifications in it.
We currently run a dishwasher.
We also sometimes take a thermo mix with this
and I have been known to take my hair straightener.
What size inverter are we gonna need for those?
And also a coffee machine, we don't take one
but a lot of people always ask about a coffee machine.
What do you need to run that?
- Yeah, so we run a 2,600 watt transfer inverter.
So, the transfer inverter is sort of the next step up.
What it will do is, if you plug the van into 240V
it'll automatically bypass the inverter
and light up all the GPOs and everything will work.
The minute power gets lost it seamlessly transfers
over to the battery power
and everything just continues to run.
So we can go from, in simple terms
an extension lead out the back with the air conditioning
running pull the extension lead out and you
don't even notice, everything just keeps working
and we run off battery power.
Obviously to support that we've got a lot of solar
going on a lot of batteries, but yeah
we run 2,600 and that's been good for us.
- Cool.
Another common question we get asked
is a compressor fridge.
So they don't typically come standard in a Jayco but a lot
of other caravan manufacturers will put a compressor fridge
in there.
Inverter size, batteries bank sizes
what do you recommend for that?
- A compressor fridge runs off 12 volts
so it's not essential inverter, but in our experience
a compressive fridge really needs a 200Ah lithium battery
behind it, or two or three AGMs in the 120Ah size.
They're not super hungry but they continuously draw
and, yeah compressor fridge 200Ah lithium
and you won't have an issue. - Cool.
So on that, so lithium batteries typically come
in a 100 or 200Ah, is that correct?
- 100Ah, 125Ah, 200Ah would be, and a 300Ah.
- So what, how much lithium do I need of Amp Hours?
- A normal van, if you take air con out of the equation
200Ah is very sufficient.
Most people without air conditioning
just wanting to run kettles and toasters
and things like that, 200Ah with over 600W of solar
they are good to go.
Air conditioner, we really try and go sort of 400Ah
in a minimum and sort of try and get the solar
up as much as we can for whatever roof space we've got
but definitely, over 600W is definitely the goal.
- Cool.
So solar you've touched on that a few times
you've said minimum 600W.
I guess it's depending on the caravan
as well on the roof and where everything fits
but we ideally try and get
how many panels up there and what size and-
- Yes, four 180W's or four 160W's
depending on how we fit up there, it's definitely ideal.
It really depends on your hatch spacing and so on.
Sometimes it's a bit of a game of Tetris
but the solar's the key.
I'm always getting asked, what size batteries should I need?
It's all cool to have heaps of big batteries
but once you discharge them, you can't recharge them.
So a big solar bank is kind of the first place
to decide what system you can get
is having a look at your roof space.
It all starts with the solar.
- So you mentioned all those parts you need.
The first thing I'm thinking is storage.
Where do you fit them all?
How big, what size space and yeah
am I losing a lot of storage basically?
- Not too much.
That's generally the negotiation
with the customer is this storage space.
Lithium batteries are quite flexible
we can really stick them anywhere.
Quite often, sort of the usual ones
in most sort of new age-y style, Jayco style caravans
where you've got the twin lounge system
sort of this style, under the lounges
is normally the most unused space.
So we can definitely squeeze them under there.
Sometimes we use the under bed storage
but we'll push it right up the head of the bed.
So we don't, and that can sort of be mounted
on the walls around the bed.
We tend not to lose too much storage space.
We can still, some vans sort of got the external boxes
we can still utilise the boxes on the external
and do something there.
But normally it's like this one here
obviously we got 400Ah lithium, 2,600W inverter,
DCDC, everything and it's literally
contained under me right now.
And, it's a sliding space.
We don't use it very often anyway
so we really don't lose that much.
So down in here is where we've managed
to squeeze everything in.
So when we talk about losing storage
even in a monster system like this
this is the footprint of storage we've lost.
Everything's tucked away down in here.
This is a bit of a continual working progress
but forever testing new things.
So yeah, it is held together by straps (tapping)
but we do that on purpose
so we can swap things out as we go.
So what we've here is our 2x 200ah Invicta Lithiums.
Tucked away over the back here is our J35 D
so that's all our fusing and our 240V charging.
This is the shunt that connects up to our JHub.
So this is the shunt that monitors our amperage in and out.
This is a control node, it's part of the setup
so the shunt, the BMPRO and the control node.
This distributes all the signals basically.
So that gives us all our, fridge temperatures and so on.
Under here is our big 2,600 watt inverter
so that controls all the 240V power.
Over there is our DCDC charger
so that's all the power from the alternator
to charge up the batteries.
Obviously monster leads, big inverter.
That's basically everything we've got crammed down in here.
That's the slider mechanism
but that's the bulk of the stuff.
We've got the solar regulator elsewhere.
But when we're talking about losing storage
that's the size of the footprint
that we've managed to fit everything in.
- So with the BMPRO system that's already in here
is there any way we can monitor our batteries?
- Yeah, so all the Jaycos will all come
out with some kind of monitoring
even if it's just a few lights.
Like this one actually came standard
it just had a few led lights
for the water tanks and the battery voltage.
Obviously, being here we are we've upgraded.
So this is the latest one that's out at the moment.
This is the JHub pad.
I don't know how well you can see it
and we'll do another video on it.
But basically this gives you full controls.
You can turn lights on and off.
You can slide the slider in and out, water pump
on and off hot, water on and off.
It shows you the water in the water tanks.
It will show you everything that's going
on with the battery, so how much power's going in and out.
And a new feature they've released is tyre pressures,
gas bottles and also fridge and freezer temperatures.
So this is kinda the flagship at the moment
of what's available in the Jaycos, but it really needs
you'd need a control node that goes with it.
But yeah, anything from a couple of blinky lights
all the way up to something like this is achievable.
- Okay, so you've mentioned all these
different moving parts here.
What brand preference do you have with them?
Obviously it's got the BMPRO already in here
and do we keep that system and just add on?
- Yep. - Tell us about it.
- Okay, so, we retain the BMPRO system.
It's obviously all your fusing and all your monitoring.
So with the Jaycos, you leave it in there
you just sorta go around it when you wanna go big.
So with the solar, we've gone around it
and we've got a separate solar regulator.
At the moment we've got a Morningstar TriStar in here.
And we find them quite good
because they'll go up to 60 amp
so we can feed whatever we wanted to them
and they'll take high voltage.
I've sorta cheated with this one
and I've actually got house panels on the roof
but there's only certain regulators
you can use that for and there's some
high voltage issues there that we've obviously overcome
being that this has a bit of a Frankenstein creation
I've been trying to try different things.
The inverter we've used a 2,600 watt Enerdrive inverter.
The reason why I used that one is that seamless
transfer I was talking about and built-in RCD
so it's quite a good inverter to use in the caravans.
For the batteries, we've gone with 2x 200Amp Invictas.
Invictas are aligned with BMPRO.
They also offer a Zeal range, it's a bit cheaper.
The reason why we went Invictas
is the seven year warranty and also they aligned
very well with the BMPRO brand.
DCDC charger in this one is the Enerdrive.
To be honest, the reason why I use the Enerdrive one
is cause I had one and it was there.
The REDARC BCDC1250 would also do the job just as good.
So, REDARC, Enerdrive and Invicta
are really the brands I prefer.
The choices in this van was also a bit
of what I had lying around the workshop kinda thing
obviously it's mine, so yeah.
Yes, I think the big thing there is you
can pretty much use anything you want really
and brand preferences if you've got
a brand preference already, we can work with that.
We like the Enerdrive inverter just simply
because of the features Andrew mentioned
but yeah, all the other bits and pieces
it's really creating a package that suits you
and comes in at your price point.
There's varying price points in batteries
and that sort of thing as well.
So if we've upgraded to lithium
we were already our charging batteries on the car
when we drive, do we need to make any changes
to our car to be able to charge the lithium system?
- Yeah, certainly.
So normally we will upgrade
to a lot heavier lead running down.
So I 6 B&S is generally a minimum.
Most Anderson plugs historically have been running eight
it's the opposite way around six is bigger than eight.
And with AGM battery so it was sufficient
but normally if we go into a decent lithium system
we'll run six or bigger.
- That's a lot of information for you
to take in to get
your Jayco off-grid.
We, as I said have had a couple of Jaycos
so we're more than happy to answer any questions
that you might possibly have about them.
Give us a call.
So if you would like to see any other caravan
lithium setups that we have done
watch this video here.
YouTube reckons you should watch this video down here.
And as always, if you have any questions or comments
or just wanna tell us how amazing we are, comment below.