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This article was last updated on May 10, 2024.
One of the best things about an RV is that you don’t have to sleep on the ground in a tent anymore. Maybe I’m a wimp, or maybe I’m just getting old, but hunching over to crawl into a tent and sleep on the cold ground just isn’t my cup of tea.
That said, I love getting off grid and away from all the weekend warriors in their RVs. There’s nothing like finding a quiet, secluded spot where I can enjoy the comforts of my RV in addition to the beauty of nature around me.
And I know what you’re thinking – how can you go off grid camping in an RV?
Honestly, it’s more straightforward than you might think…
Improvements to the suspension and tires aside, there are just a few critical upgrades to your RV that make off-grid RV camping much more comfortable. The key word here is critical.
There’s a laundry list of changes you can make, but for the sake of this post, I want to focus on three comfort items you should add to your rig for an improved off grid RV camping experience.
Table of Contents
- Comfortable Off Grid RV Camping: Upgrade Your RV’s Electrical System
- Comfortable Off Grid RV Camping: Add 12-Volt Air Conditioning
- Comfortable Off Grid RV Camping: Bring Extra Water
- Final Thoughts
- Recommended Overlanding Gear
Comfortable Off Grid RV Camping: Upgrade Your RV’s Electrical System
First on your list of priorities should be upgrading your RV’s electrical system. If you truly want to go off grid RV camping, you’ll need an efficient power system, so you’re sure to have juice for the duration of your trip.
So, how do you do that? You call a professional!
Know When to Let the Pros Do It
I’m all for DIY projects, but upgrading the electrical system in your RV should be left to pros like the folks at Lux Liner. They’ve been in this business for years and years and understand what components need to be upgraded and what products to use to do it.
For example, if you take your RV to Lux Liner, you can have them:
- Add solar panels to the roof (or add an actuating solar panel slide-out) that offer reliable, quiet power generation that you can control with your phone.
- Upgrade the RV’s charger/inverter with a high-efficiency all-in-one unit to make the most of the power generated by the solar panels.
- Add a power management system that gives you insights into the workings of the solar power system, again, so you can squeeze every bit of performance out of it that you can.
- Add upgraded lithium batteries that provide more reliable storage, higher density, and a better depth of discharge.
Now, I know this seems like a lot of upgrades, but if you want to go off grid RV camping – and be comfortable while you do it – an improved RV electrical system with components like those mentioned above is the solid foundation you need for extended stays away from shore power.
Making Your Off-Grid Trips Better
So, how does an upgraded electrical system like this make your off grid trips more comfortable?
For starters, it eliminates the need to rely on a generator for off grid power…
What could be more comfortable than enjoying your off grid RV camping trip without the racket of a loud generator chugging along? Likewise, you don’t have to worry about the pollution created by a generator, nor do you have to worry about fuel spills that further damage the environment.
Secondly, a clean, reliable electrical system gives you the flexibility to run systems with less concern about running out of power. Plop down on your RV sofa and watch a movie, run the water pump to take a shower, and keep the interior lights on so you can do a little reading for bed, all the while knowing that your bespoke electrical system has the capacity to handle those kinds of draws, and that your solar panels will work to replenish the batteries the next day.
Moreover, with high-capacity batteries and a high-powered inverter, you can use electrical appliances that might not work in a traditional RV setup. Brew some coffee in the morning, run a boot dryer after a rainy day hike, and pop some popcorn in the microwave for an evening of movie-watching. Talk about comfort!
Comfortable Off Grid RV Camping: Add 12-Volt Air Conditioning
A second upgrade you can make to your RV that makes off grid camping much more comfortable is a 12-volt air conditioner.
I don’t know about you, but I like to be nice and cool when I’m summer camping. I spent many, many years suffering through summer camping trips in a tent with high temperatures and equally high humidity. There’s nothing like trying to sleep when you’re covered in sweat!
Again, this is a project for the pros…
If you work with an outfit like Lux Liner, you can have a quieter, more efficient A/C system installed that runs directly off the batteries.
Think about it – you arrive at your favorite off grid RV camping spot, level your rig, get everything set up, and then turn on the air conditioning and enjoy the view out of the windows as you bask in the cool air. Not bad, right?!
Of course, an upgrade like this isn’t just handy for off grid camping. A whisper-quiet system like this is also handy when you’re in an RV park or a campground with quiet hours. Traditional A/C units are big and loud and might not jive with the quiet-time requirements of the campground. That’s not a concern with the 12-volt A/C units from Lux Liner!
Comfortable Off Grid RV Camping: Bring Extra Water
Photo by Sebastian Sonnen via iStock
Now that we’ve taken care of the RV electrical system and air conditioning unit, let’s discuss a final critical upgrade: extra water capacity.
The whole point of having an RV is to have comfort items like a flushing toilet and a hot shower. You can’t take advantage of these things if you run out of water!
Depending on the size of your RV, you can add extra water in a number of ways. For example, an RV shop could retrofit a larger fresh water tank to accommodate extended trips. Another option might be to add a second fresh water tank to the underside of your rig. You can also add a small water tank to one of the underbelly storage compartments as well.
Photo by welcomia via iStock
If none of those options are preferable and you have a truck and trailer, you might add a small fresh water tank to the bed of your truck. You can use it to top off the fresh water tank in your trailer when its water levels get low.
You can always bring a few Rotopax, too. Though you’d need a ton of them to give you the same capacity as a larger water tank, every little bit counts! Speaking of which, conserving water while you’re off grid RV camping is a great way to extend your water supply for a few more days of camping off the grid.
Final Thoughts
Photo by Mystockimages via iStock
As I noted in the introduction, there are many other ways you can upgrade your RV to make off grid RV camping more comfortable. But in my mind, three of the most important ones are upgrading the RV’s electrical system, air conditioning, and water capacity. Doing so allows you to enjoy things like entertainment, restroom facilities, and cool air, even when you’re miles and miles from the nearest shore power.
What’s not to like about that?
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