Before we look at how a Portable Power Station would benefit your campervan, RV or van-life experience, let’s examine the different types of van and how they are set up for power. Broadly speaking there are two types of campervan, professional builds and self-built ones.
Power Set-up in Campervans/RVs etc.
Usually campers have a leisure battery which powers the various functions of the van such as lights, water pump and fridge. The battery also provides power for the various sockets. Most vans have 12v outlets and then use a 240v inverter to allow you to use normal everyday household appliances.
These leisure batteries are charged in one or more of the following ways.
- Split charger. Basically, these enable the leisure battery to be charged directly from the car battery when the vehicle is running.
- Solar. The leisure battery is charged by a solar panel, usually affixed to the roof of the van.
- Hook-up. The van is powered (and the leisure battery is charged) directly by an external cable connected to the mains electricity. This is often used in campsites. Usually only professionally built campers/RVs have this set-up.
Using a Portable Power Station to power your campervan.
If you are building your own campervan then the abovementioned power set-up can be quite complicated to achieve. So, can you use a Portable Power Station to power the various functions of your van instead? Well, technically speaking you can use one to power everything. You just need to ensure four things.
You need to ensure the Power Station stores enough power to run everything concurrently.
If you are powering your lights, water pump or fridge etc from your Portable Power Station you will have to ensure these things have the appropriate plugs to connect to the Power Station. For example, in my van, the electrician wired the water pump to the leisure battery. With a Power Pack you would have to plug it in (so the water pump would need a plug fixture).
You would need to check that the Power Station has the appropriate/enough plug sockets to power the various things in the van.
You would need to ensure that the cables are long enough to enable you to recharge the Power Station. For example, if you are charging it from the car-port or mains then you wouldn’t want to be unplugging all of the lights etc every time you wanted to charge it up.
So, the answer is yes you can use a Portable Power Station to power your self-built campervan. It would just require some forward planning and organisation. It would probably work best with a small camper/car conversion where you didn’t want anything too permanent. They are also excellent as back-up or additional power, so you may want to consider one even with a more traditional power set-up.
Considerations when choosing a Power Station for your van life.
Weight/Size
You will need to check the weight and size of the Power Station (compare here). But unless you have a really small vehicle it should be fine and shouldn’t be any different than a traditional power set-up. In fact, it may be more compact. They are heavy though, so you should ensure that it is secure while driving.
Charging
As mentioned earlier, you will want to have long enough charging cables to avoid moving the Power Station around too much. Also, if you wanted continuous Solar charging, you would have to affix the panels (sold separately) on the top of your van.
For a comprehensive comparison of the various Portable Power Stations on the market please check here.