Got a strong connection to an electric hook-up? That’s always been Simon McGrath’s approach to campervanning until he unplugged both himself and the campervan from the national grid...
I’ve been campervanning for some years now. All weathers, all year round, all kinds of locations – always quite different for one reason or another.
Different that is except one thing. I’ve pretty much always used a hook-up. Getting the cable plugged in when on site and watching the van kick into life has been part and parcel of my campervanning journey despite having a leisure battery on board, not to mention a gas cylinder too.
So it was with a high degree of interest and expectation that I took out a CamperKing VW T7 Freedom to two campsites without the added cost of a hook-up. Off-grid campervanning without sight of an electric bollard – that’s where the Freedom comes into its own.
It was engineered to self-generate pretty much all the power you need while out touring whether that’s through driving the vehicle or energy captured through its 120W solar panel as standard (an upgrade to 240W is also available). The power is stored in a 300Ah lithium battery though that can be ramped up to 1,000Ah.
On top of that is a Renogy smart monitoring system that gives easy control over your energy usage.
For me, that meant avoiding the temptation to hook-up and trusting in the onboard tech.
Would it work?
Put simply, yes. On those rare occasions in the past when I have relied on a leisure battery, the frustration comes when you realise the microwave oven won’t cook your porridge for breakfast. Or that your phone will remain lifeless because its own battery has died and the standard three-pin socket doesn’t work to recharge it. Actually, that last point isn’t exactly a bad thing!
My wife Paula and I were pitched up in the same T7 Freedom on two consecutive weekends without using a hook-up cable and both times we were impressed. We switched on the inverter at the push of a touchscreen button and the habitation systems sprang into life.
Battery getting low on the phone? No problem.
Need another bowl of porridge? Er, one’s enough thanks but you get the idea.
True, it’s been the summer of sunshine but I suspect the Freedom would have performed admirably despite the two solar panels on the roof. But don’t take my word for it.
Touring and testing on the North Coast 500
Our team of road testers put seven T7 Freedoms through their paces earlier this year by tackling the North Coast 500 in Scotland as part of CamperKing’s own challenge – called the Freedom 500.
CamperKing and Renogy took on the iconic tour to test the effectiveness of the advanced power system while touring long distances, in this case, 500 miles in five days. In effect, being totally self-sufficient by operating throughout the expedition off-grid. The vans feature advanced battery storage, inverter technology and solar charging.
Yes, the option of a hook-up is still there but being self-sufficient in this way means having more choices about being able to camp off-grid, which in turn can help reduce costs because you’re not paying for an electric hook-up.
The NC500 trip was undertaken by signing up to the official route pledge, and the team ensured throughout that technical data was closely monitored with a focus on battery performance, energy consumption, and overall system efficiency in changing weather conditions.
The results demonstrated a highest recorded overnight battery retention level of 93%, and an average daily battery usage of 39%. The lowest recorded battery charge was 21% while the total number of days completed without an external hook-up stood at ten.
You can read the Freedom 500 blog here.
A liberating experience
Back at my own off-grid weekends away and, after many years of having the routine of hooking-up a campervan, it felt a little odd.
But more importantly, it also felt quite liberating – I now completely get why this T7 model is called the Freedom.
