An Off-Grid Family Adventure
Preparing for a 7 week road trip through 11 states and 8 National Parks as a family of 4 is no small feat. Add onto the to-do list building out a new Ram Promaster van to support your ultimate family adventure, that is a lot to juggle all at once! Our client, Paul, reached out asking to pass off one of the projects he was juggling in the midst of preparing for his ultimate summer adventure. Joule Adventures was excited to jump in and support their Promaster Van build by getting their off-grid electrical dialed.
Can you spot the off-grid electrical box?
When building out a van for a family of four you have a lot of requirements that need to fit into one small metal box. Paul’s main goal was to be able to have two queen size beds in the van, which made the space available for their electrical system to be limited.
While they wanted to have fresh coffee in the morning, they also wanted to have a comfortable place for everyone to sleep. The Joule Adventures team was able to collaborate with Paul on which options were available to them in regards to their electrical system with the space they had available.
After working through a power audit Joule gave a few different options for their electrical system. Paul and family ultimately decided on a minimalist system that would keep their lights on, their fridge cold, charge their devices, and keep the coffee brewing in the morning. The system would charge via solar power and alternator charging.
Joule Adventures designed a compact and minimalistic system that would tuck in under two queen beds alongside the wheel well in a way that would protect the equipment from the fun summer gear piled in the ‘garage’ of the van.
Van Side Chat
We had the chance to catch up with Paul before their family headed out on the ultimate summer adventure. In this van side chat with Paul we talk about his goals with his off-grid electrical system, why we opted out of shore power charging, and why he hired professional builders over doing it himself. If you are looking for inspiration for your next family adventure, jump on over to our YouTube channel to hear more about their van build and how their off-grid electrical system is fueling their summer adventure.
Off-Grid System Specs
& Components
Paul’s off-grid system includes 220 watts of solar power, 1200 watts of inverting power, with 207 amp hours of battery power, and DC-DC alternator charging. The components we used in this system include:
220 Watt Solar Panel
The system is supported with correct wire sizing, fuses, and has both a solar disconnect and a main system power switch.
Check out our video overview of the system!
Interested in installing an off-grid electrical system to power your next adventure? Reach out to us at Joule@jouleadventures.com or fill out our install application to get started!
Joule Adventures specializes in off-grid power in vans, campers, RV’s and cabins. We offer support from consulting, product sourcing, to the full installation.
Cheers!
The Joule Team
