When the Powering up of my 1983 Jayco Swan cost more than the van did.

When the Powering up of my 1983 Jayco Swan cost more than the van did.

During the restoration of my 1983 JaySwan, I didn't like the idea of a 30 year old gas setup so I decided to convert the camper to run purely off the batteries or 230v power when available.

To do this, I removed all of the old gas lines and all of the old electrical components including wiring, lights and 3 way fridge.

For the power system I decided to go with all Enerdrive gear as it was the most flexible when it came to battery type and programability for the price (also helps when you get staff discount). This also meant that I could keep all the gear the same brand with the same charging profiles and if I had any issues with a product the company could not blame another brands product.

When it came down to working out what I needed, I started from the top and worked my way down.

The equipment I went for is as follows;

Solar: Well that’s easy, these days it’s relatively cheap so I put as much as I could up there so I would still have some charging on those bad weather days or in case part of the camper was in the shade.

I opted for 4 x 150w Enerdrive panels, that’s 600w as this seemed to be the best fit up there. I paralleled the 2 panels on each side and ran both sets to under the kitchen bench via twin 10mm² solar cable, then twin 16mm² from there to the solar controller.

Now the best way to do a power setup is to allow yourself some room in a cupboard or under a seat. I chose to lay the gear down under the lounge at the front as this gave me plenty of room and I could also open the front sliding doors for extra ventilation if needed. My young apprentice was able to give me a hand with the install, Thanks Ash.

Once I worked out how much room I had, it was time to work out how to fit it all in. I found it easier to put all the equipment on a board cut to size and pre-wire most of it on the bench. 1. To save my back & 2. It’s just easier and a lot neater.

The rest of the power setup.

AC Charger – ePOWER 40A – Rule of thumb for smart chargers these days is the charger should be at least 10% of the battery bank size. A 40A charger is great if you have loads running while charging as it has plenty of amps to go around, it will also run off a 1kVA generator.

DC2DC/Solar – ePOWER DC2DC 30A unit – A DC2DC charger is almost a necessity these day with a lot of vehicles running with the computer controlled variable voltage alternators - AKA – Smart Alternator (still to be determined as I have seen mine run as low as 12.3v). The ePOWER DC2DC also has an MPPT solar input for when the engine is not running. These units are rated at around 500w of solar input and up to 45VOC, but since being a true MPPT you can overdrive them with solar wattage and because you don’t get full output from panels lying flat on your roof most of the day, over driving to 600W is pretty well matched for my system and also saved me having to buy another controller.

Inverter 12VDC to 230VAC – ePOWER 2000w with RCD & Transfer Switch – Again since the Camper was over 30 years old and I decide to remove all of the old gas lines, stove/cooktop and the old inefficient 3 way fridge. Instead of paying big money for a new 12v RV fridge, new oven and someone to re-plumb everything, I decide to convert it all to 230VAC. I bought a 120L 240v fridge from the Good Guys with a 3 year warranty (which I read the manual before buying and saw it even said suited for caravans) and a 900w Microwave. This will also give me the ability to run any other appliances I want like a toasted sandwich maker, coffee machine or the wifes hair dryer. The other benefits of this inverter is the transfer switch which allows the automatic switching from mains power to inverter power allowing you to use the same power points for both. The inverter also has a built in RCD aka: safety switch, so the output is always protected.

Fusing – Bluesea Safety Hub 150 – I chose the Safety hub 150 as it’s a quality, all in one solution that can handle heavy loads like the inverter and battery chargers. It uses MIDI fuses for the heavy loads and still has 6 x ATO (AKA- blade) fuses for the lighter loads. Also it has a built in Neg Bar.

Battery Monitoring – For the monitor I already had an Enerdrive ePRO battery monitor (the eLITE would have been just as good) but for the extra couple of bucks, I get the history and a time remaining feature. The battery monitor is a fuel gauge for the battery and records all the amps going into and out of the battery so it can display an accurate State of Charge %. 

Battery – Due to the fact I wanted to run the inverter for things like the microwave, toaster and coffee machine in the morning when the batteries are normally at their lowest and I didn’t want to add a big bank of AGMs for this, I decided to fit the Enerdrive Lithium B-TEC 200Ah 12v battery. The B-TEC can supply the full current needed to run the inverter at 2000w and only weighs 25kg. It also has a built in BMS and battery monitor that can be viewed via an App on your smart phone. I didn’t really need to fit the ePRO Battery Monitor (but as I already had it, I may as well use it)

All the equipment (excluding wiring & the board I mounted it on) weighed in at 85kg and had a RRP of $7,911.00 or $7,511.00 if you didn’t worry about the ePRO battery monitor. as the B-TEC has it's built in (but its a necessity with AGM batteries). Don’t forget that's RRP, but you can always work out a package deal with someone.

This might seem like a lot of money, but when you think about it, all up the camper cost me around $14K (including the power system with the 200Ah B-TEC Lithium) it’s not a bad setup considering I have enough power to run just about anything I would want to and not have to worry about connecting to mains power for extended periods of time, giving me the freedom to find and stay at some of the best spots this country has to offer and - do it in comfort.    

Photo: Laying out equipment to work out the best fit.

Photo: working out where to put cable ducting.

Photo: Started to run all the wires and connect the equipment up together (Notice cable sizing to get the best out of the system). I used 70mm²  from the battery to the Safety Hub and also to the inverter as under sizing of cables can put undue stress on the inverter and also cause it to shutdown under heavy loads from low voltage.

For both chargers I ran 16mm² from the chargers to the Safety Hub as undersized cables here can cause the chargers to see a higher resistance to the battery making them think the batteries are fuller than they really are which will reduce the amps so it takes longer to charge the battery or not charge them fully.

Photo: installing the equipment board under the lounge. 

Photo: Lounge all back together, note how much better it looks with the cables hidden in the cable duct (I know, I know, looks the same as when the lids shut and the cushions are on top)

Photo: I designed and 3D printed a custom panel to put my inverter and battery monitor in near the door for easy access. You don't need a panel as the gauges can mount directly into a cupboard panel, I just wanted to make something with my 3D Printer.

Photo: The setup in action

On our 3^rd trip away and now with a 3yo & new born on board, we haven’t gone off the beaten track yet but still haven’t needed to plug into power.

Having the freedom with the Enerdrive system has allowed me to run my 240v fridge, Cook my toast in a real toaster, boil the kettle in no time instead of using a gas burner and warm up some BBQ left overs from the night before in the microwave, wait...can't forget the steriliser for the baby gear.  Even with running all this, my battery was still recharged by around lunch time, giving me peace of mind that I will have enough power to go away for extended periods without mains power and some bad weather.

 Hope you like my Setup.