Some good very good basic tips The problem with a lot of batteries is alternator power. I have heard of people burning out their alternator from trying to charge too large a battery bank. May not be an issue with later model cars but something to be aware of
Great vid we are looking at a new van & the JB Gator X is one of my faves. Jury is still out on what we get but you shared some great info. Thank you 🙏
My wife and I really enjoyed your 10 points. We are on our 5th van and most of our camping is free camping. We have 200AH battery and compressor fridge and have problems with heavy cloud cover BUT we always carry a generator. Our battery charger in the van is 30amp and it doesn't take long to top up the battery. Keep up the good work.
Thanks mate I did enjoy that video as I am sure many other people did now you already know about that I am a first timer so I have shown you the car and I'm looking at caravans in 5 minutes so there's little extra tips and advice are gonna really come in handy thank you
Great advice wife and I are starting to looking at vans it’s good to hear from people who are doing it When you get down to Jurien Bay where we live give us a yell would be good to catch up for a beer
Also think its a good idea to have a couple of portable panels, if you have shade interfering with your roof panels, a portable panel or 2 can be placed in the sunlight to keep charge topped up. We have just ordered a van with 400A lithium and 400w on the roof. We will have 2 x 250w portable panels on the ground.
@@nowornever_aus We’ve been told March 2023, but happy to wait for a quality van. Love watching the vids, there inspiring us to take our van away on a long trip in a couple of years. Thanks
Hi, Good advise particularly like the comments on weight, we are doing our research for a new van and finding lots of sellers who well say, your car has a tow weight off 3.5t it can tow this. Wrong! there 4 or 5 different weight limits you need to consider! Uninsured and illegal if in a crash or weighed
we found out the hard way in regards to the tow vehicle weights we have a pajero that has a max tow ball weight of 180kg over 2500kg and our new caravan now loaded up has a tow ball weight of 220kg
Same thing happened to us with our Pajero so had to sell it. Had to purchase a new car when we had only just put a 2inch lift the Pajero, not happy after spending that money.. we thought we were ok because we listened to the salesperson we went through buying our new van (all shown on our channel) . Changed car, changed caravan and even though we miss our Pajero we love the lifestyle.
@@onlyleavingfootprints we love our pajero but she's got to go. And the worse thing is when you see a pajero towing a big caravan and you know there's no way his legal
Same here. BMW X3 is only 100kg however can tow 2000kg the camper we ordered empty is 150kg even though the camper fully loaded is 1900kg. Ball weight was not ok. Wife has new car now wasn’t changing the camper
@@jwoods6585 exactly what Jon says everytime we drive near one too. It was a sad day when we traded in the Pajero, you would think we would have been excited getting a brand new car but nope.
Thanks for the comments everyone! Unfortunately we found caravan salespeople don’t tend to have the most accurate information on weights 😬 so we are glad we did our research, we already had our car and could thankfully make something work but it doesn’t always work out that way 🙁
Thanks for another great video with good advice, appreciated. Would you get another compressor fridge or go with the 3-way absorption fridge? I have ordered with a compressor fridge as well for the performance while travelling but like you there is that downside of heavier draw on the battery when parked up. I found during a recent trip to Cooktown, yes in winter but I was very surprised how well the little 3-way fridge performed on 12VDC power, it would control the temperature while towing.
Good vid. Our van is just under 18 months old and we are nearing the completion of our 2nd half lap. We optioned up with extra solar and lithium batteries (320w/200ah) along with other extras to meet our requirements. We are not big power users and rarely get below 80% SOC. Your setup is great but why did you choose a compressor fridge over 3 way when it seems to cause issues with power usage? We have always had 3 way and found them more than satisfactory.
Thanks! Wasn’t so much of a choice for us as that the fridge that this model come with standard and didn’t know how much power it would use before we actually started using it!
Hey Alex You must have other issues with your battery management because your Laptop would not be drawing that much power regardless what software you are running unless you are running a desktop computer in the van and most compressor fridges are very low drawing and it shouldn’t be to hard to add another 200amp battery. Keep up the good work I am enjoying all your clips.
Thanks for the tips guys, we’ll look into it :) we have def noticed though that even when not connected to power and just using the laptop battery it doesn’t last very long when editing compared to doing other things.
Thanks for the tips guys, we’ll look into it :) we have def noticed though that even when not connected to power and just using the laptop battery it doesn’t last very long when editing compared to doing other things (just using a word processor for example) but it’s def something we will look into!
Hi. Ive just experienced a roll over with a DO35. Unfortunately the safety chained stop the trailer half way through the roll and pulled the tow vehicle over.
Thanks! That all depends on budget and tow vehicle, if it was the same car then yes we would but if we had a larger towing capacity we would go longer and tandem
@@nowornever_aus I meant in an 18 ft van a tandem axle gives you greater payload and less ball weight. I understand your vehicle limit but do you think a tandem axle has benefits offroad and is more stable in general?
Oh right gotcha, yea I would like a tandem axle 18ft but the only problem is how much the extra suspension weighs, that’s why the tare is a lot higher in tandems, so in that scenario I would probably go a little bit bigger to around 20ft
What solar controller do you have ? Is it a mppt ….. if not.. I suggest you upgrade to a victron 100/50 it will probably fix your problem it fixed ours
We will have to get back to you on that! In pretty dodgy reception at the moment, will have to do some searching to find out! Will get back to you in a few days 👍🏻
Some good very good basic tips
The problem with a lot of batteries is alternator power. I have heard of people burning out their alternator from trying to charge too large a battery bank. May not be an issue with later model cars but something to be aware of
Great vid we are looking at a new van & the JB Gator X is one of my faves. Jury is still out on what we get but you shared some great info. Thank you 🙏
My wife and I really enjoyed your 10 points. We are on our 5th van and most of our camping is free camping. We have 200AH battery and compressor fridge and have problems with heavy cloud cover BUT we always carry a generator. Our battery charger in the van is 30amp and it doesn't take long to top up the battery. Keep up the good work.
Having a generator has def been a load off the shoulders! We haven’t needed it often but it’s so good to have!
Great advice, considering buying a small van and was concerned about rolling so will definitely check out that articulated towing hitch 😊
Thanks mate it’s always good to have advice from someone who has done it
Cheers!
Yep you really need to get out there and live with these set ups to really know what you need personally!
Good solar rule of thumb is double the panel watts for the battery amps ie 400amps -800w of solar or more
Great tip! Thanks!
great tips Alex well presented mate you have a knack for presenting ..safe travels
Thanks mate, appreciate that!
Thanks mate, appreciate that!
Thanks mate, appreciate that!!
Thanks mate I did enjoy that video as I am sure many other people did now you already know about that I am a first timer so I have shown you the car and I'm looking at caravans in 5 minutes so there's little extra tips and advice are gonna really come in handy thank you
Good advise. Thank you. 👍
great advice mate ,we will use these tips for the near future when we purchase our first caravan 😁
No probs at all!
Great advice wife and I are starting to looking at vans it’s good to hear from people who are doing it
When you get down to Jurien Bay where we live give us a yell would be good to catch up for a beer
Thanks mate! Glad it helped you!!
Thanks for another very usefull video, all good advice.
Cheer mate!
You guys are awesome. Love watching your video's.
We just brought a van and just working out what we are going to do with solar.
Thanks so much!!!
Honestly any free space on your roof out solar on if it’s doable $$ wise!
Thanks Mate
Some good tips there. Thank you. 🙂
Thanks!
Good vid mate. Some great tips on there
Thank you!! 🙌🏼
Also think its a good idea to have a couple of portable panels, if you have shade interfering with your roof panels, a portable panel or 2 can be placed in the sunlight to keep charge topped up.
We have just ordered a van with 400A lithium and 400w on the roof. We will have 2 x 250w portable panels on the ground.
Thanks! Something we are definitely looking in to!
Waiting for our Gator X Bunk model to be made, I know we’ve made the right choice
Enjoy guys! How long do you have to wait?
@@nowornever_aus We’ve been told March 2023, but happy to wait for a quality van. Love watching the vids, there inspiring us to take our van away on a long trip in a couple of years. Thanks
Thanks so much and enjoy your van when you get it!!
Hi, Good advise particularly like the comments on weight, we are doing our research for a new van and finding lots of sellers who well say, your car has a tow weight off 3.5t it can tow this. Wrong! there 4 or 5 different weight limits you need to consider! Uninsured and illegal if in a crash or weighed
Thanks! Yes the weights are a tough one for a lot of people as there isn’t a lot of into out there
Gr8 info and gr8 Ep … think we got most tips covered when we ordered our van… wudda loved the air bags…. Maybe a mod down the track 🤙
Thanks mate! Enjoy your new van!
@@nowornever_aus hopefully soon
Great advice
Thanks!
Good tips mate!! 🤙🏼
Thanks mate!
Good talk totally agree with your 10 points . keep on going, by the way which generator did you end up purchasing .
Thank you! We ended up with Maxi Trac from repco
Ripper vid mate 🙌
Thank you! 🤙🏻
we found out the hard way in regards to the tow vehicle weights
we have a pajero that has a max tow ball weight of 180kg over 2500kg
and our new caravan now loaded up has a tow ball weight of 220kg
Same thing happened to us with our Pajero so had to sell it. Had to purchase a new car when we had only just put a 2inch lift the Pajero, not happy after spending that money.. we thought we were ok because we listened to the salesperson we went through buying our new van (all shown on our channel) . Changed car, changed caravan and even though we miss our Pajero we love the lifestyle.
@@onlyleavingfootprints we love our pajero but she's got to go. And the worse thing is when you see a pajero towing a big caravan and you know there's no way his legal
Same here. BMW X3 is only 100kg however can tow 2000kg the camper we ordered empty is 150kg even though the camper fully loaded is 1900kg. Ball weight was not ok. Wife has new car now wasn’t changing the camper
@@jwoods6585 exactly what Jon says everytime we drive near one too. It was a sad day when we traded in the Pajero, you would think we would have been excited getting a brand new car but nope.
Thanks for the comments everyone! Unfortunately we found caravan salespeople don’t tend to have the most accurate information on weights 😬 so we are glad we did our research, we already had our car and could thankfully make something work but it doesn’t always work out that way 🙁
All good tips ✔️
Thank you!
We have 300amp in our sting and have also found it’s not enough for the fridge. If we had our time again we would also get 400amp
Yeah I think 400ah is the go!
Thanks for another great video with good advice, appreciated. Would you get another compressor fridge or go with the 3-way absorption fridge? I have ordered with a compressor fridge as well for the performance while travelling but like you there is that downside of heavier draw on the battery when parked up. I found during a recent trip to Cooktown, yes in winter but I was very surprised how well the little 3-way fridge performed on 12VDC power, it would control the temperature while towing.
Thanks mate,
We would more than likely go another compressor for the performance but just be a little smarter with the battery/solar set up 👍🏼
Good vid. Our van is just under 18 months old and we are nearing the completion of our 2nd half lap. We optioned up with extra solar and lithium batteries (320w/200ah) along with other extras to meet our requirements. We are not big power users and rarely get below 80% SOC. Your setup is great but why did you choose a compressor fridge over 3 way when it seems to cause issues with power usage? We have always had 3 way and found them more than satisfactory.
Thanks! Wasn’t so much of a choice for us as that the fridge that this model come with standard and didn’t know how much power it would use before we actually started using it!
Hey Alex
You must have other issues with your battery management because your Laptop would not be drawing that much power regardless what software you are running unless you are running a desktop computer in the van and most compressor fridges are very low drawing and it shouldn’t be to hard to add another 200amp battery. Keep up the good work I am enjoying all your clips.
Agreed with laptop, Sofware is not power consuming device only your laptop, check power management at your laptop
Thanks for the tips guys, we’ll look into it :) we have def noticed though that even when not connected to power and just using the laptop battery it doesn’t last very long when editing compared to doing other things.
Thanks for the tips guys, we’ll look into it :) we have def noticed though that even when not connected to power and just using the laptop battery it doesn’t last very long when editing compared to doing other things (just using a word processor for example) but it’s def something we will look into!
Hi. Ive just experienced a roll over with a DO35. Unfortunately the safety chained stop the trailer half way through the roll and pulled the tow vehicle over.
Oh no! So sorry to hear! Very ironic when it’s called the safety chain! Hope everyone is ok!
Great advice thanks. Would you go for tandem axle in 18 ft next time?
Thanks! That all depends on budget and tow vehicle, if it was the same car then yes we would but if we had a larger towing capacity we would go longer and tandem
@@nowornever_aus I meant in an 18 ft van a tandem axle gives you greater payload and less ball weight. I understand your vehicle limit but do you think a tandem axle has benefits offroad and is more stable in general?
Oh right gotcha, yea I would like a tandem axle 18ft but the only problem is how much the extra suspension weighs, that’s why the tare is a lot higher in tandems, so in that scenario I would probably go a little bit bigger to around 20ft
What solar controller do you have ? Is it a mppt ….. if not.. I suggest you upgrade to a victron 100/50 it will probably fix your problem it fixed ours
Thanks! No we don’t have an mppt, when we change our setup it is def something we will be looking into 👍🏻
@@nowornever_aus if you have a pwm controller it’s probably your problem
Hi Mate
What sort of insurance do you have on your van and what’s it cost you for a year?
We will have to get back to you on that! In pretty dodgy reception at the moment, will have to do some searching to find out! Will get back to you in a few days 👍🏻
Dont buy a wood framed caravan !!!!