Glad I'm not alone thinking this, we've paid £54 for one site near Snowdon later this month!
Hi all and thanks for the replies. This is my first time paying to stay in a camper on a site and it will be my first night in the van since I purchased it so it will be a good opportunity to give it a proper shake down so to speak. What do I need and where do I need it, as well as what do I really not need and could do without.
I wont be using the hook up for a few reasons. Firstly, im only here for the one night, im sure I will survive! Secondly, I want to see how the leisure battery stacks up with the fridge on and some interior lighting being used. Also, I dont expect to to be cold enough to run the night heater but if it does then that will be more of a test. The hook up heats the hot water system too but I can do without running hot water for one evening, there are showers and washing facilities etc on site.
I stayed here a few times in their static holiday homes when my son was little. Now he's not so little (6ft 4!), he wants to revisit the place in the camper too so it will give me a chance to suss things out from a camping / camper van perspective.
If I was here for more than one night then I would definitely pay for the hook up, no problem. I was just wondering if paying extra to use the electric was normal practice having not done this before.
Cheers all once again for the input.
Rick.
I wont be using the hook up for a few reasons. Firstly, im only here for the one night, im sure I will survive! Secondly, I want to see how the leisure battery stacks up with the fridge on and some interior lighting being used. Also, I dont expect to to be cold enough to run the night heater but if it does then that will be more of a test. The hook up heats the hot water system too but I can do without running hot water for one evening, there are showers and washing facilities etc on site.
I stayed here a few times in their static holiday homes when my son was little. Now he's not so little (6ft 4!), he wants to revisit the place in the camper too so it will give me a chance to suss things out from a camping / camper van perspective.
If I was here for more than one night then I would definitely pay for the hook up, no problem. I was just wondering if paying extra to use the electric was normal practice having not done this before.
Cheers all once again for the input.
Rick.
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Enjoy!
When I've finished building the inside of my van, I'll be doing the first night's test the cheap way, IE on my driveway!!
I might push the boat out and find a parkup locally!
Hi Ayjay, no worries mate, all threads ebb and flow one way or another, all part of the discourse and fun!
Im not sure what type of LB it is. The van is a Hillside Leisure conversion, 2019 T6 T30 and it is still the original, nearly 5 year old battery. From what I can gather they use a proper rated and quality product but yes, I will keep an eye on it via the charge meter.
A 4-5 hour run down with a bit of driving around when I get down to the area should give it a good charge. After that I will see how it performs.
Cheers Ayjay.
Rick.
I'd be surprised if that's anything but an AGM battery. Do you have any way to check the state of charge/power draw?
Hi Paul, yes I think you’re correct in saying it is an AGM battery. The only way I have to check the charge is via the onboard control panel pictured.
You can blame the idiots on the caravan pages asking questions like ‘how do I keep my awning warm’ 
Dennis Farm is a nice site, but its expensive and busy, but as others have said if you want to walk to padstow and buy some expensive fish and chips that make the campiste look cheap then its a good choice. We stayed there and it was fine
Have just paid £58.50 a night at a site in July, breaking my record for most expensive site ever. Its supply and demand. Its in an area where they have the only site, so if we want to go its what we pay, it will be sold out this year as it is most years
I find its getting more difficult to get pitches without electric in anything but a tent, campervans often equal motorhome to most sites and they dont care if your 5m or 9m.
I've booked two weeks of sites in Scotland recently and it averages about £31 a night, to make myself feel better I went on air bnb and looked at prices. Was over £100 a night for a shepards hut in most places and nearer £200 for anything bricks and mortar. So £31 started to look more reasonable
Have just paid £58.50 a night at a site in July, breaking my record for most expensive site ever. Its supply and demand. Its in an area where they have the only site, so if we want to go its what we pay, it will be sold out this year as it is most years
I find its getting more difficult to get pitches without electric in anything but a tent, campervans often equal motorhome to most sites and they dont care if your 5m or 9m.
I've booked two weeks of sites in Scotland recently and it averages about £31 a night, to make myself feel better I went on air bnb and looked at prices. Was over £100 a night for a shepards hut in most places and nearer £200 for anything bricks and mortar. So £31 started to look more reasonable
Ideally get yourself something like a BM2 battery monitor. Failing that get yourself a plug in monitor that will give a voltage reading from the 12v socket.
If you are on the original AGM battery I would not be surprised if it's near the end of it's working life if previous owners haven't looked after it.
Basic rules with AGM is aim to recharge as it drops below 50% charge, that's around 12.0v for traditional lead acid or AGM - the built in meters can be famously inaccurate as to what the colours actually mean so try and check it against something that shows actual voltage - and measure that voltage at rest as it will drop slightly under load.
I put a lot of battery background over on this thread that might be a good place to start if you want to delve in a bit:
Newbie battery charger questions
Hi all, I'm new to forum and to campervan ownership. We have bought a new T28 conversion and would like to understand the battery and charging setup. The items which depend on the battery in our van from the top of my head are: Fridge; Heater (its run off diesel but has a fan); Lights; Water...
And as to mains charges while I think many campsites are still traditional fixed fee as they don't have metering equipment in my other life coastal and inland marinas have generally been on metered EHU for a very long time. I'd fully expect as equipment is replaced it will be replaced with metered equipment and it will become more common.
@Ric1962 . As @roadtripper says, get yourself a meter that plugs into a 12V socket or a BM2 Monitor (we've got both on the leisure and starter), There's loads of the plug in ones for under £8 on eBay and Amazon and ours also displays the temperature and have a USB socket as well. This might also help.
Yeah that voltage meter is probably the worst I've seen! I thought mine was 'vague' with just a couple of LED's to indicate the charge level!
A BM2 is the cheapest 'smart' solution but anything that displays a voltage figure will be fine - just remember that 12v is basically empty on an AGM (50% SOC which is the lowest you should go).
A BM2 is the cheapest 'smart' solution but anything that displays a voltage figure will be fine - just remember that 12v is basically empty on an AGM (50% SOC which is the lowest you should go).
Roadtripper, thanks for that. Yes i agree about the 5 year time period. To be honest I think for peace of mind I will probably buy a new LB.Ideally get yourself something like a BM2 battery monitor. Failing that get yourself a plug in monitor that will give a voltage reading from the 12v socket.
If you are on the original AGM battery I would not be surprised if it's near the end of it's working life if previous owners haven't looked after it.
Basic rules with AGM is aim to recharge as it drops below 50% charge, that's around 12.0v for traditional lead acid or AGM - the built in meters can be famously inaccurate as to what the colours actually mean so try and check it against something that shows actual voltage - and measure that voltage at rest as it will drop slightly under load.
I put a lot of battery background over on this thread that might be a good place to start if you want to delve in a bit:
Newbie battery charger questions
Hi all, I'm new to forum and to campervan ownership. We have bought a new T28 conversion and would like to understand the battery and charging setup. The items which depend on the battery in our van from the top of my head are: Fridge; Heater (its run off diesel but has a fan); Lights; Water...www.t6forum.com
And as to mains charges while I think many campsites are still traditional fixed fee as they don't have metering equipment in my other life coastal and inland marinas have generally been on metered EHU for a very long time. I'd fully expect as equipment is replaced it will be replaced with metered equipment and it will become more common.
Cheers,
Rick.
You'll probably want to look at getting a bigger LB when you do replace it, depending on the current size and your usage - but ultimately without solar, or running the engine every couple of days, with a fridge/lights/USB and occasional diesel heater use, then you'll be lucky to see a day or two from an average AGM battery. Hopefully you have something bigger than the std factory 75Ah battery fitted!!
Also, if your charger has a lithium profile, 100% go LiFePO4.
Doing the calcs:
1a fridge, for 24hrs is 24Ah.
A 75Ah AGM has 37.5Ah usable, from 100% to 50%.
So running a just a fridge for a while 24hrs will use up 64% of your capacity! In hot weather at 1.5a that's 25hrs of usage.
Also, if your charger has a lithium profile, 100% go LiFePO4.
Doing the calcs:
1a fridge, for 24hrs is 24Ah.
A 75Ah AGM has 37.5Ah usable, from 100% to 50%.
So running a just a fridge for a while 24hrs will use up 64% of your capacity! In hot weather at 1.5a that's 25hrs of usage.
Echoing @roadtripper When I bought a Hillside conversion which was a year old the first thing I had to do was replace the AGM leisure battery (under passenger seat) because the original owner had treated it very badly and it would neither charge fully or hold that charge. If you have been told "the battery will keep your fridge going for three days" (which is the 'usual' advice regarding these vans) then do not believe it.
Yes, you might get three days with the fridge if you draw absolutely no power from anything else - lights, water pump, and don't even think about the amount that the fan of your diesel heater will consume!
If/when you do come to change it don't assume you can put in a bigger AGM battery because there is unlikely to be room - not much space under the seat.
But saying all that, don't let any of this stop you enjoying your new toy
If it's under the seat, then yeah there's a limit in size. Without going the (expensive) 230Ah seat base way, the best and cheaper option would be a 100Ah LiFePO4 like this one
www.fogstar-drift.co.uk
Compared to a 75Ah AGM with 37.5Ah usable, a 105Ah LiFePO4 would have 84Ah going down to 20% charge, but you can go down to zero. So well over double the usable capacity.
Fogstar Drift 12v 105Ah Lithium Leisure Battery
The Fogstar Drift 105Ah 12v lithium leisure battery comes with Grade A EVE cells, JBD BMS, Bluetooth, Heater and 10 year warranty as standard - £369.00 including UK delivery.
www.fogstar-drift.co.uk
Compared to a 75Ah AGM with 37.5Ah usable, a 105Ah LiFePO4 would have 84Ah going down to 20% charge, but you can go down to zero. So well over double the usable capacity.
We're currently a mile or so away from the Busfest 3 Counties showground at Malvern and didn't have a choice over hard standing or hook up which is probably for the best.
Did anyone notice it's rained quite a lot this year so far, grass is boggy here with the water table roughly 2" below the grass, anyway on EHU so rather cunningly we've bought the electric kettle, 2 KW heater and electric blanket
and yes it's spotting with rain, cold rain.
Did anyone notice it's rained quite a lot this year so far, grass is boggy here with the water table roughly 2" below the grass, anyway on EHU so rather cunningly we've bought the electric kettle, 2 KW heater and electric blanket
and yes it's spotting with rain, cold rain.Similar threads
