Aires/hookup/solar?

[DPH]

This question is really about solar panels I think but I'm new to all this so am trying to get my head round it all

We are thinking of heading to France for our first trip in our new purchase.
Are we right in thinking that Aires don't tend to have hookup facilities?
In that case, if not driving for too long each day will battery power quickly become an issue unless we a have solar panel to help out?
How easy is it to only stay at aires or france passion hosts without having panels?

Advice gratefully received.

Damien

 

[brillopad]

i have 2 85 ah batts on my van and went to france last year stayed on aires a lot drove around every day and did'nt run out of batt power , we know we can go for three days with out running out, just fitted a 100 watt solar panel to the van and just come back from devon no hook up for any of the time,( 2 weeks) it would be a good idea for you to know how long you can be without running out of batt power. Dennis

 

[NWPT]

Damien,

Cheapest option is to double up your leisure batteries. We did 3 weeks in France without hook up or panels on 2x 110a/h leisure batteries. Some aires to have hook up, usually a few euro for a few hours if you are stuck, we found the aires very busy in May and all power points were taken before our arrival, we weren't heading for aires with power thankfully

 

[The Grand Wanderer]

Hi Damien,
Many French Aires have electricty available, some are free, some charge cash, some require a token (Jetton) which can be got from a local outlet and some actually allow you to use a credit/debit card.
The real question is what kind of life style do you require when in your beastie? If you need lots of "toys" that use power then you will need to recharge more quickly than if you just use one light for an hour once a day.
There is no doubt that once bought, a solar array enables you to Wild Camp for weeks on end without having to move. Equally they are not cheap and you could plug in for a long time before spending the same amount of money needed to buy one.
Me, I love wilding and also like to watch the News when abroad, so my van has two leisure batteries each of 100 amp hours and a solar panel array which can produce a total of 195 watts, which, through a special regulator charges both the leisure and van batteries. This set up means that I have no need to plug in at all even in the winter when battery use is higher because of heating requirements.
Wanderer

 

[GregM]

We have two 110amp batteries and this lasts us 5 days without us moving with kids ds's charging and small bit of tv etc.

When looking for more power we decided to go for a 2nd battery to start with as it is the cheaper and easier option, we now plan to get a solar panel just to help out a bit. It does depend on how long you plan on staying in one place for and how much power you use while there.

 

[Nosha]

We have one 100amp battery, I have fitted one LED replacement bulb in each area, plus have 12v LCD TV, the longest we have stayed put is 3 days and the battery was fine. Then we moved off, so have never had the need for solar etc. It all depends on how long you want to park up and how much you have switched on, but we tend to run out of water after 3-4 days; and by then the loo is about full as well!

 

[mostin]

Hi all.

I fall into the same bag as Nosha.

I have 100 amp hour battery.

I have all LED lighting, Shower runs twice a day, Plus play music at night, charge mobile & other small things

I run out of water & loo space before i run out of battrey so i need to pull in to refill & empty out after about 3-4 days. So that means driving & charging at the same time & may be hook up when i get on a site but not everytime.

Looking at it from the cost side how much will you spend on a solar panel? Would it be cheaper to get an extra battery & change to all LED's?

You could leave everything on as you would use them with your van on your drive at home. Then you would have an idea how long it will all last.

Its all down to how much power you need.

Mostin.