Decisions, decisions, decisions !!

[Reiverlad]

Within the next couple of months I am about to be the owner of a 2008 Adria twin – 6m.
I have seen it, it was used over xmas & new year so I know what I am getting into.
Since it had stood for over a year, has done 90k miles it will be getting a full service together with new belts & water pump.
I want to know that I should be safe without too many surprises on the driving front !

Now I come to my dilemma part.
I want to do all my updates when I get it, so that I can enjoy it on my travels thereafter.
I will be able to afford whatever choice I make – but I only want to spend once !!

First off
It has no solar yet so will be putting as much solar on the roof as I can get installed.
The leisure battery is a pitiful 70ah battery which needs replacing as a must.

Now comes the alternative choices I have
Do I stick with the current mix of lpg for heating, cooking, hot water and fridge.
On this choice I would install an underslung lpg tank
or
Do I go full tonto on a switch to full electric which means
Large lithium battery & inverter, change both the fridge & switch to an induction hob

Heating is another issue – do I change to a diesel heater, with or without hot water.

I can see advantages and disadvantages to both choices – and my head is hurting thinking about it all !!

Help me with your comments please

 

[Pudsey Bear]

Ours is a 2007 Ducato 2.2.

A few of those decisions will depend how you intend to use the van and also what you need to run in it, any longer than say two days means you need to spend on getting and storing power.

Having said that we 100% off grid, but the solar is only 85w and the battery is only 100ah, we need to charge 2 x laptops, 3 or 4 x tablets, two phone and a Kindle, most of the charging is done through the day as we like to do a few miles, one phone is in use as a sat nav every day or I'd get lost , we don't use the lights much, maybe 2 to 3 LEDs for a couple of hours once it gets dark, water and space is LPG, as is the fridge and cooking, 1 x 6kg refillable and back up 6kg Calor.

 

[rugbyken]

you really need to have a word with derek aka trotter he has the same van and has spent a lot of effort trying to go all electric he has two large panels on his roof which he can raise to increase yield and a folding set of 4? panels outside & even down here in portugal he has had to have an occasional gas day this is with about 560A lithium i think

 

[Wully]

Good to hear from you Pat. The gas thing for me would depend on whether I could get gas locally and is it going to be there in the future. You have managed by for years on minimum tech. A lithium battery upgrade is definitely a must out of all the upgrades I’ve done over the years the lithium batteries have been the most beneficial. I really think that a mixture of both gas and decent batteries are defo if your gonna use the van in winter in this country.

 

[Trotter]

you really need to have a word with derek aka trotter he has the same van and has spent a lot of effort trying to go all electric he has two large panels on his roof which he can raise to increase yield and a folding set of 4? panels outside & even down here in portugal he has had to have an occasional gas day this is with about 560A lithium i think

I’ve answered this on Wildcamping.
But to confirm. I’m not able, with my current setup to go gas free. It may be possible, but I reckon I neither have the money nor the expertise to achieve it. If you already have a gas system in your van, you might as well make use of it.
Gas free is for self builders or those with unlimited cash.
A large battery pack is like having a healthy bank balance. It won’t last long without an income (solar or EHU).
That said, I’m well chuffed with my van

 

[Reiverlad]

Deliberation update

A huge thanks to everyone for all their comments, suggestions and warnings.
They have been immensely helpful and clarified a few things for me.

The obvious immediate ones are
Full service including belts and water pump
New tyres
As much solar as possible

After those it came down to decision time !

My initial thoughts are as follows

First decision that I swithered a lot, was over going full electric, but eventually it is not the right choice for me.

LPG will remain and an underslung tank makes sense & I will have one installed.
An underslung tank means I have the gas locker available for the lithium battery I intend to have installed.
Probably around the 500Ah capacity.

Living where I am means very limited access to lpg sources so I can fill up when I can.
Using lpg for fridge, hob, boiler & heating I think will mean higher useage and more refills than I am comfortable with.

A switch to diesel heating therefore makes sense.

I have been investigating this switch to find the best solution.
I was intrigued to find that Truma do a combination air/water heater which can also switch to electric on hookup.

I currently have a Truma C3402 lpg air/water heater installed.
I asked the question of Truma if their Combi D4E could be a match for my current system and it would seem it could well be.
If I can switch to diesel for heating & water then my requirements for lpg reduces to only cooking & fridge, which should mean much longer intervals between fill-ups.

I don’t think the changes I am proposing will add any significant weight to the van.

Again I thank everyone for their help and if any of my proposed actions seem wildly out of step then please shout out !

 

[Pudsey Bear]

Bear in mind how much LPG you would actually use, heating of course only if it's cold and once a van is warm it can be turned down, and only in winter usually, do you cook a lot? check out opinions on the diesel versions too.