Battery monitoring allows you to see what's going on inside your leisure battery. At the basic level, this allows you to keep them healthy and avoid completely draining them. At a more advanced level, most vanlifers will probably want to know how effective their charging systems are and what appliances use the most power. The upper end of battery monitoring is a fully integrated system dashboard.

Induction hobs have surged in popularity for domestic kitchens due to their instantaneous heat output and fast cooking times. Consequently, we've also seen a rise in campervan induction hob installations. The deciding factor in whether an induction hob is right for your van build is its electricity usage. In this article, we'll take a look at the benefits of installing an induction hob

An ideal campervan air fryer is any device that's low-wattage enough to be powered by leisure batteries and small enough to fit in a van kitchen. In this buying guide, we'll look at the benefits of air fryers over LPG campervan ovens, break down electricity usage, and recommend models based on key features.

This guide will teach you how to think about wire and fuse sizing, then give you a repeatable process for sizing wires and fuses that you can apply to any circuit in your van.

For years in my van “Beans” I ran a simple voltage sensitive relay (VSR) to handle split charging . It worked — in the most basic sense of the word. When the engine was running, it connected the starter and leisure batteries. When it wasn’t, it disconnected them. Simple. Cheap. Done. But when I upgraded to a lithium battery this winter , that simplicity suddenly wasn’t enough. Lithium charging is less forgiving than AGM, modern batteries expect controlled multi-stage charging

In this guide, we'll go over all your options for motorhome Wi-Fi, discussing how they work, who they're for, and making concrete product recommendations for each one.

In this article, we'll go over the theory behind a tilting solar panel mount, who they're for, and how to build one yourself.

I don't know how many times I've woken up on freezing Alpine mornings in my van "Beans" to find my old AGM leisure batteries seriously struggling or completely dead. If you’ve ever tried running a campervan through winter on lead-acid, you’ll know the routine: weak solar, short drives, voltage sag, and constant “can I make it through tonight?” battery anxiety. This winter I tested the Renogy 12V 200Ah Smart LiFePO₄ Battery with Self-Heating  (Bluetooth BMS) in my van, paired

Your van’s floor has a lot to put up with, so it's worth getting it right. It’s the coldest surface in the build, it bears the brunt of mud, meltwater, spills, and scuffs, and it's a deciding factor in your van feeling cosy rather than clammy. Get your van floor insulation wrong and you trap moisture against bare steel, create cold spots underfoot, and spend winter wondering why your beautifully built home still feels chilly. Get it right and you barely think about it again.

Buying a used van to convert into a camper is one of the most exciting — and risky — steps in the process.  I know this firsthand. Years ago, I picked up a 2012 Ford Transit L3H3 for €7,000. It had 150,000 km on the clock and looked solid at first glance. But over the next few years, I've spent somewhere in the region of €15,000 on repairs, rust treatment, and unexpected servicing. It taught me the hard way that a cheap van isn’t always a bargain — especially when rust sets i

One big question I had was: can a high-capacity portable power station  really keep my off-grid campervan powered through the harsh winter months? Late this Autumn in Chamonix, France, with temperatures plummeting well below freezing and my solar panels barely trickling in any charge, I decided to find out by testing the BLUETTI Elite 200 V2  in my campervan. I've lived in my van for many winters, typically struggling for electricity as the sun wanes, I was eager to try thi

In this article, we’ll dig into what are vapour barriers, why vans are such a special case, and how far good ventilation can go on its own. Then, we’ll help you decide whether you need a vapour barrier at all, and if you do, how to implement a smart vapour control layer, with practical guidance on materials, layout, and installation.

In this guide, we’ll demystify what flexible solar panels are, how today’s panels are built, and where the market sits on efficiency, weight-per-watt, and warranties. We’ll explain why heat matters, how to manage it, and how to size and wire a system that suits weekenders through to long summer tours. Finally, we'll go over the step-by-step process that Shane used to mount flexible panels to his first van.

A 12V projector is the upgrade that makes autumn and winter in your van feel special, whether you live on the road full time or just head out at weekends. In this guide, we'll look at the current crop of compact 12V projectors and what really matters for use in a van.

Let's see how this rugged, portable 100W solar panel from BougeRV fares in a hands-on test.

In this article, I'll share the van conversion tools which we've found most useful during our build. We'll discuss power tools, hand tools, and attachments, plus the specific little bits of hardware we're using for the first time that I wish I'd known about during my previous conversions.

In this guide, I’m going to share everything I’ve learned about campervan electrics kits  – those all-in-one packages that promise to simplify your van’s electrical system. As someone who’s built several campervan electrical setups over the years (and made plenty of mistakes along the way), I can tell you these kits have come a long  way. In fact, on my latest van build, I ditched the old piecemeal approach in favor of a complete kit – and it was a game-changer. In my early c

Lithium leisure batteries cost less than AGM batteries upfront for a given usable capacity, and pay for themselves many times over in the long term. For high-capacity electrical systems, a lithium battery's high power output and capacity for fast charging makes it the only choice. Advanced integrated features are the icing on the cake, simplifying your installation whilst giving you advanced monitoring and control capabilities.

My newest van conversion (nicknamed Elvis , a Citroën Jumper L3H3) has been my most hi-tech build yet. Crucially, it’s an all-electric build – no LPG for cooking or heating – which means the electrical system is the heart of the van. In my previous conversions, I sourced electrical parts piecemeal from various suppliers. The result was sometimes chaotic: mismatched components, multiple orders for forgotten fuses or wires, and a lot of guesswork. This time, I wanted a one-s

Overall, we've loved our experience of the Dometic PerfectWall awning, and we're happy to conclude that it's one of the best campervan awnings around. The ease with which it opens and closes is a marvel.

Overall, the Dometic Mini Heki looks great and works exactly how you'd want it to. Everything is solidly built and thought-out, giving a comforting sense that Dometic really considered the user experience.

When building a campervan or RV electrical system, it’s easy to focus on batteries and appliances – but what about the campervan outlets  you’ll actually use every day? In this guide, I’ll break down all the different campervan electrical outlets  (both interior and exterior ) I’ve installed or researched, from high-speed USB-C chargers to shore power hook-ups. I’ll also share personal tips from my own van build, like why I put a USB next to my bed and how a wireless charging

Discover how to store skis in a van with campervan ski storage solutions. Compare ski racks, roof boxes, rear door ski boxes, and a DIY ski storage box for vanlife.

We just installed a Dometic S4 sliding window in Shane's new van. We chose the Dometic S4 for its double-glazed, insulating construction, its versatile sliding shades, and for Dometic's reputation for build quality and features.