Mains hookup, on a budget!

So, as you know, I am not a fan of a full conversion in a van as small as the Bongo. I value the versatility, space and simplicity of my wee van over “all mod cons” type living. Each to their own, of course, but not being one for cooking, or washing up, it suits me to have the space, and the camping stove can come out when required.

Mains power though is so useful, and if staying at a campsite ( I do like a shower, and a toilet!), normally the option for “shore power” only costs a few £’s a night, and can make van life so much more comfortable. I was lucky that Ali Bongo had the basics already installed, and with a few modifications I have what I consider a good compromise setup, for a low cost. Perfect!!

One of the previous owners of my van had already had installed quite a clever setup, and if it hadn’t been there, I might have done something which would no doubt have been bulkier, and unnecessary. After all, what do we actually want to achieve? We want the means to plug in, and have safe mains electricity available in the van, right? So, this single outlet breaker-box setup was ideal, and is fitted in the passenger footwell, with the cable through the firewall and under the bonnet. When hooking up on site, just pop the bonnet, and plug in to the flying lead stored neatly behind the coolant expansion tank.

This setup means no holes cut in the bodywork for the power connection, so I salute the previous owner for having the foresight to do this, one less rust-trap! All I do to make full use of the mains power is plug in a 4-way extension to this socket in the footwell, and I have made a holder for this on the back of the driver’s seat headrest posts. It just clips on with some pipe clips, and has two screws which slot in the keyholes on the back of the extension body, making a secure place to plug in. When on the road, this lives in the glovebox, and gets plugged in before the seat gets swivelled.

So, we’re nearly sorted, but not quite….. I wanted to charge up my leisure battery while on mains power too. But, I didn’t want to fit, or buy, a convensional caravan-type charger board. They are bulky, expensive, and require fitting in a bulkhead, which is cutting and costly. I started looking for alternative, cheaper, simpler solutions, and came up with the idea of an intelligent charger, widely available from Ebay, Amazon and your local auto shop these days. These clever little black boxes alter the output according to need, therefore once the battery is charged, they shut down, unlike in the old days, when if you left a battery on charge too long it could boil dry. It turned out that the one I ordered fitted nicely in the footwell beside the hookup box….

You get an idea of how compact everything is, as under the grey flap pictured is the single socket. The whole setup is about 20cms square, and sticks out about 12cms from the firewall.

Everything you actually need, hopefully without anything you don’t, taking up little room, and minimal adapting of the vehicle required. All that remained was to run wires from the charger through the firewall to the leisure battery and connect this up. That and have some means of monitoring the condition of the leisure battery when on, or off, hookup. As part of my upgrades, I had already fitted a twin usb charging point, along with switches for my extra interior lights, and a 12v outlet. This meant that I had done away with the outlet fitted to the centre console, but left it in to fill the hole. I now fitted a digital voltmeter here instead, but as it glows bright blue ( which would keep me awake!!) I also fitted a small pushbutton switch, the kind you hold in to make the circuit ( like a bell-push, or a horn button). I can now check up on my battery voltage when sat in the back, feeling all smug at a working setup that probably cost about £80 including the hookup cable!

Now, everyone has different thoughts on what is, and isn’t needed in their van. As you have gathered, less is more for me, keep it simple, keep the space, but make use of the power available when paying for a campsite. This all makes sense to me, and I am more than happy with our wee setup. I can plug in on arrival in a few minutes ( I do get some funny looks opening the bonnet, mind you!), set the charger away and plug in my 4-way as I am turning the swivel seat, clip the socket board onto the driver’s seat, and get the kettle on, without too much faff, and without having great holes cut for sockets and charger boards, or really any trailing cables. I am sure you have different ideas of what is needed or not, and there will be folk who never visit campsites, who don’t need or want any mains power. I enjoy a night in the wild too. But, I do like to visit campsites from time to time, and if parked up anyway, it makes sense to use every facility there, including the mains power.

Hopefully this gives someone food for thought, and perhaps they can improve and simplify my setup, adapting for their own needs. I am happy with my setup, and it helps make my Bongo more versatile for year-round use. It allows for our small fridge if we want to chill the beers, or wine, or maybe keep food in. I even have a small single electric hob which I sometimes take, just to save gas. When vanning, we eat simply, usually tucking in to a dehydrated expedition meal which only requires hot water, perhaps some muffins for breakfast with the coffee, and usually eat out for lunch, or grab a sandwich at a supermarket, so there really is no need for any more involved a setup for our use. If you prefer cooking from scratch, and enjoy washing up, then a conversion will be your thing. The best thing about Bongo life is that you can adapt your van to suit your needs. Brilliant!

Happy trails!