As a family we are keen campers and have been working on our camping setup over many years. We started in a second-hand canvas tent, progressed to a new canvas dome tent with extension and gazebo, and about four years ago purchased a used Imagine Comfortvan off-road caravan. The Comfortvan not only brought a new level of ‘luxury’, it also offered independence as we had onboard batteries, water tanks, and a bathroom.
One of our dreams was to be able to stay multiple nights ‘off the grid’ at a campsite of our choice. However, this was going to require the addition of some form of power generation source. Since we already ran our home off solar power I decided to go the solar route and purchased a second battery, a solar charger, and two 85W glass solar panels. This basic system was enough to meet our power needs at many local destinations – our favourite being Tsendze campsite in the Kruger National Park.
Having solar panels means you can leave them connected to charge the batteries when the caravan is parked for up to six months without use. The push I needed to upgrade our fairly basic system came earlier this year when I was preparing for a two-week trip to Botswana. I discovered that one of the glass solar panels had been damaged, forcing me to find a hardier, higheroutput alternative.
Limits & possibilities
When selecting new solar panels I was keen to improve in a two main areas: weight and efficiency. The glass polycrystalline panels we used previously were heavy at around 9kg each, and their lower efficiency meant that on overcast days the power generated was often well below our power draws. It also meant we needed to keep re-aligning the panels throughout the day to make the most of the moving sun.
Denne historien er fra January 2020-utgaven av SA4x4.
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Denne historien er fra January 2020-utgaven av SA4x4.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
Uganda The Pearl Of Africa
This trip, the very last in the series of stories from Dan Grec’s two-year Africa round trip, details a scary mishap and some extraordinary wildlife encounters
Chewy, But Edible
Take another look at those garden pests
Auto Perfection?
Adding a six-speed auto to Mahindra’s workhorse ups the game for this value proposition
Defenders On Tour
The second 2019 Defender Trophy event kicked off in Limpopo and was unique in that participants camped in three different countries…
Rad Rig The Dream Catcher
Motorhome world’s one-of-a-kind luxury globetrotter
The Difference Between An Overlander And An Offroader
A very important distinction needs to be made between the offroader and the overland traveller; often the two are thought to be the same.
Steelmate TP-S9
Solar powered TPMS (External sensor)
Light on the dark side
VW AMAROK DARK LABEL
Monkey business!
Vervet Monkeys (Chlorocebus pygerythrus) are the most widespread of the African monkeys; occurring from the Ethiopian Rift Valley, highlands east of the Rift, and southern Somalia, through the eastern lowlands of Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia (east of the Luangwa Valley), Malawi, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana, and all nine provinces in South Africa.
GREAT ZOOKS
There are a few mishaps as a bunch of Jimnys tackle one of Lesotho’s premier off-road challenges, Baboon’s Pass
