In this article, Malcolm deals with a flat battery while cruising the Oxford Canal in England — and it gets him thinking about power loads in the average Aussie caravan.
One morning, just recently, I stumbled out of bed to make a morning cuppa, but the water pump wasn’t delivering. Initially, I thought the water tank was empty. However, further investigation revealed that the Victron 200Ah lithium battery had reached its cutoff voltage of 11.2V and switched off. Why this situation had arisen was highly puzzling, given that we’d been running the engine all the previous afternoon and would only be using the LED lights, a 90L compressor fridge and the inverter to charge a few devices overnight.
Dealing with power problems on the water
Although this might be a familiar problem to some, did I mention that I wasn’t travelling in an RV? This particular power issue happened on our rental canal narrowboat, which we had hired to explore the Oxford Canal in England. Running the engine didn’t recharge anything. When the service tech arrived, he discovered that the cable connecting the house battery to the alternator had come adrift. A few connections later, and 30 minutes of running the engine re-energised the battery enough to prove things were functional again. Following some good advice, I installed the Victron app (VictronConnect) on my iPhone, allowing me to easily monitor the battery’s status without a multi-meter and enjoy a worry-free time on the canal.
This little mishap had me thinking about electrical loads on the average caravan or motorhome in Australia, particularly as the narrowboat did not have any solar panels. There’s an enthusiasm for upgraded battery and solar systems, particularly as an adequately rated lithium LiFePO4 battery setup is well capable of running an induction hob, air-conditioner, microwave oven and 3000W inverter. However, if your 12V load is not much more than a 12V compressor fridge, LED lights, 12V fans and the water pump, then a pair of 100Ah AGM batteries in good condition are going to be more than adequate. Given that many of us have a mobile phone, a tablet and a laptop computer that require charging, an inverter is often a consideration. However, travelling with several cameras and a laptop — I speak from experience in this — there are usually chargers available that run off 12V or simply off USB hubs.
Malcolm swaps an Aussie RV for a UK canal narrowboat
Canal comforts and comparisons
Apart from the battery, there are some similarities between the narrowboat we rented and a caravan or motorhome. The stove was LPG and most of the electrics were 12V, apart from a couple of power points connected to the inverter. All the beds could be configured as bunks, singles or doubles. There were only four of us, but the beds could be rearranged to sleep 10 people. Although differently constructed, the cabinetry design looked familiar too. In keeping with some of the caravan designs I’m familiar with, the power points and charger hubs were in locations more suited to the builder than the user! I’ve seen a few minimalist shower cubicles in Australian RVs, but the two in our canal boat took the prize for the most compact I have ever seen. Turning around required drawing the elbows in, and dropping the soap was a real problem! There wasn’t a separate water heater. A heat exchanger on the engine did a good job instead. Our canal boat didn’t have a grey water tank; the shower and washing-up water drained into the canal. Can you imagine that happening near a river or lake in Australia? The toilets drained into a large black tank — I’m not sure of the capacity, but it had to be more than 120L, at least.
Given the narrowboat only moves at a fast-walking pace and the canals are fairly enclosed, there was no need to pack up everything before we moved off. Indeed, it was pretty easy to boil a kettle or prepare a simple meal as we motored along. Although the narrowboat was 69ft (21m) long, it wasn’t difficult to manoeuvre. One thing that was different to car and motorhome hire was that, although there was a bond on the boat, there wasn’t too much concern about minor damage. Even with careful handling, it was difficult to avoid the odd bump or scrape, particularly when negotiating the numerous locks along the canal. The rental narrowboats, just like rental motorhomes, were built with a fitness for purpose in mind!
Canal narrowboat interior
Narrowboat adventure down the Oxford Canal in England
Aussie vans vs Euro builds
As I floated down the canal, I noticed a few caravans and motorhomes on the adjacent roads. Many were British builds, of course, but there were quite a few European brands as well, most with the habitation door on the offside, as might be expected. Apart from the general look and finish, the most obvious difference compared to an Australian-built van is the lighter weight of the caravans, which results in smaller tow vehicles with a lower maximum tow rating.
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