We have mastered great off-grid set ups for life on the edge of a national forest, and it’s freedom. Here are the essentials that we can’t do without.
The backstory is we have spent the last few months living primarily off-grid on our piece of land on the edge of a spectacular National Forest. We truly have everything we need to survive with minimal modern comfort expectations: solar for lighting, propane for cooking, water system for the nectar of life, and diesel for heat. Because we have the van; van life is the best life.
Living with kids off-grid is always more tricky than without, not only because you have more people, but tiny people consume as much, if not more, resources than adults, as anyone with kids knows. Plus the furry family members. So you have to have the right setups, or you will run out of resources, and sanity, fast. I’m going to list below our choice setups and years of lessons learned.
Great Off-Grid Solar Setup
Lesson learned: start out with a great solar setup with high-quality batteries. We didn’t, and had to upgrade ours at only two years out. We replaced our old AGM (a type of lead-acid) batteries and replaced them with lithium-ion batteries by Battle Born Batteries. Their products are more expensive than Chinese amazon listed competitors, but with the cost: their customer service is excellent, and their warranty is sure to be upheld. (Battle Born Batteries warranties for 10 years but they are expected to last 15+ years). Lithium-ion batteries are much more efficient than lead-acid, you can use 100% of lithium-ion battery capacity instead of a mere 50% with lead-acid. Unquestionably worth the extra investment.
Also, a quick plug for Explorist DIY Campers, which helped us learn the ropes with all things solar. We are very grateful and couldn’t have done solar DIY without them.
Great Off-Grid Kitchen Setup
We highly recommend getting the right kitchen setup with the right size propane tank so you don’t have to worry about refilling it often. This was the only piece of off-grid vanlife that we actually got right from the beginning. We have a 3.5 gallon propane tank, which we only refill a few times a year.
Great Off-Grid Water Setup
Lesson learned: start out with the right water setup. We suffered with the water jug method for almost a full year before urgently upgrading. We got our freshwater tank from Tank-Mart. We got our grey water tank from Sportsmobile. Sprinterdad, a DIY expert, installed it in one day. A quick plug for Sportsmobile, which was super helpful in getting the right gray water setup, which required more expertise than just freshwater. A side note, we installed our system while parked in the Home Depot parking lot and made many trips in and out for supplies.
Tank size matters. We have a 25 gallon freshwater tank and a 13 gallon grey water tank, which is just enough for a family of four. After two years with a 25 gallon freshwater tank underneath the sink, and the 13 gallon grey water tank attached underneath the van, we have just what we need, it accommodates living off grid with kids for up to a week (with extreme rationing). Now, as for where to go to get your freshwater refill and dump your grey water, that’s a question of which campground, state or national park to explore.
Great Off-Grid Diesel Heat Setup
We highly recommend getting the right diesel heat setup, to live off grid at any elevation. We had to upgrade our diesel heat because it was not the right setup for high elevations. We use the van as a ski lodge on wheels, so you need to have functioning heat at 7,000 feet. Learn from our mistake, elevation matters when choosing diesel heat.
We happily replaced our Snugger, which had a lot of problems heating at high elevations, with Eberspacher which has a built-in elevation monitoring system. We got our Eberspacher from Heatso. It has a very easy control panel, even one that I can figure out.
We wanted to provide you with an update on our experience using the Eberspacher heater over the past two years. First, never trust a van company to install your heater for you, Off Highway Vans in Salt Lake City, Utah, negligently put in the wrong pump for our brand new Eberspacher. It took us nearly half a year to figure out what the “expert” installer did wrong, and fix it, thanks to Eberspacher‘s fantastic customer support!
Completely Necessary Off-Grid Potty and Shower
The Porta-Potti Curve chemical toilet is our top choice. It is taller, which makes it more comfortable, even close to sitting on a traditional toliet. Don’t forget the bio-pack tank deodorizer, which you can get here or at Camping World. As we’ve posted previously here, we built a box underneath the bed for easy storage.
This is the one category in which I will disappoint, as we don’t shower off-grid. We go on-grid to shower. We originally purchased, and still have, the Rinse Kit. But you need a constant water source. If we were just one vanlifer, this would be so perfect. But we have dirt-collecting kids and four human bodies to clean off every few days. It’s just easier to get a campsite at a KOA campground, and use the luxurious hot water shower facilities. I’m still glad we didn’t install a shower in the van, the cost and the usable space make it untenable for living in a 22′ van with four humans.
Great Off-Grid Internet
Internet access is very important if you are working off-grid. It’s what I’m using right now. After three years of a painfully unreliable signal with our Verizon hot spot, we upgraded to a WeBoost Drive Reach RV cell signal booster. It is definitely getting us a stronger signal than we had before. It is definitely worth the investment, the fact that I can even publish this blogpost in a National Forest is a testament. You can get it here.
Phenomenal Off-Grid Life
And, to the point of it all. We’ve had our van, it’s original build by Pata Vans, for almost three years. We’ve upgraded a lot. We’ve dreamed a million dreams into existence. Red sunsets over snowy mountains, the brightly jewled Milky Way galaxy at night, these are the best off-grid we can’t live without. But, especially, each other.
As we’ve posted previously, look forward to more posts on all sorts of Van Life with kids and pets.
