Living in a van means you are responsible for your own electricity. There is no grid to plug into when you are parked on a forest service road or beside a river in the mountains. Everything you use, your fridge, your lights, your laptop, your phone, runs off a self contained power system that you…
One of the most common questions from people building their first van is how many solar panels they actually need. It sounds simple, but the honest answer is that it depends. It depends on what devices you use, how long you use them, where you park, and what time of year you are traveling. The…
Your battery is the most important part of your van’s power system. It does not matter how many solar panels you have on the roof. If your battery cannot store and deliver power reliably, your whole system falls apart. In Canada, where temperatures swing from -30°C in the Prairies to +35°C in the Interior of…
If you are planning to live or travel in a van across Canada, one of the first things you need to figure out is power. How do you charge your phone, run your fridge, power your lights, and keep your laptop going without plugging into a campsite every night? The answer is solar power. A…