How often has Grandad talked at length about how they knew what real camping was, experiencing the thrill of the Bush without electricity? Well, who needs a stinking, smoking paraffin lamp when you can have all of Caboolture’s lights with a flick of a switch? Not us. We’ve rigged ourselves out with premium off-grid camping supplies because we also like to go camping beyond the black stump and hate to miss the footy final round.

Let’s explore what you need to get started for off-grid camping. It’s not electrical engineering, and the level of sophistication depends on your ultimate requirements in camping comforts.

Voltage and Current Flow

All the fully serviced campsites in Australia offer 240V (AC) connection points, which you can run directly into your standard, modern caravan. It’s regular mains electricity, so all your household appliances, including refrigerators, hairdryers, and flat-screen TVs, will work.

However, when going off-grid, planning, and purchasing for 12V or 24V DC is better. It’s a versatile voltage, easily stored in batteries, scaled, and transformed for other camp power requirements.

Your Sources for Sustainable 12V/24V DC

A quality lead-acid or lithium-ion sealed battery is a primary source for the camp’s 12V and 24V DC power requirements. They may look like ordinary car batteries but are quite different in chemical characteristics. A car battery is designed for an instantaneous burst of high current flow (to the starter motor), whereas off-grid batteries fare better with slow drain and deep-cycle use, often for hours before recharging.

You can connect multiple batteries in parallel to increase the amperage available for your off-grid camping. (Connecting two 12V batteries in series transforms them into a single 24V battery.)

Besides the batteries, you also need a method of keeping them charged. A mini solar array can easily do this – adding panels to the caravan roof works splendidly – or you can utilise a portable wind turbine. It is possible to charge the batteries using your Ute’s alternator or even a small petrol generator, but this is noisy and inefficient.

Wiring and Appliances for Off-Grid Camping

Wiring your caravan and campsite for 12V or 24V DC is achievable and generally safe. Technological advances enable popular, impressive setups where battery health, current drain and remaining capacity are monitored to the last electron and reported via Bluetooth® to integrated apps. Choose the system you’re comfortable with, although Grandad will always tell you how it’s only necessary to bite the terminals with the crocodile clamps.

There’s an abundance of quality “camping” appliances that run smoothly on 12V and 24V, without any discernible lack compared to the mains counterpart, including refrigerators. It is also possible to use an inverter to change the 12V/24V DC to 240V AC for low-current appliances, for example, a flat-screen TV.

Going Off-Grid Camping with Bluebar Industries

We’ll assist you with all your off-grid camping supplies, including batteries, chargers, inverters and wiring. We also perform dual battery setups for your vehicle, doing all the work so you’ll have continuous electricity anywhere in the Outback on your next camping trip.