Lithium- probably the best decision I have made!

At £1500 the lithium route is worth considering but for that completed conversion of my van I can't get anywhere near that figure. My  costings come out at more than twice this amount, and that's without the loss of money on my existing kit, what am I doing wrong?

Hi Merve. I have just emailed you as you asked 

Thanks

JE

Sorry JE- don’t seem to have it. Have checked junk mail and not there either. Can you resend. Thanks.

Hi guys. Sorry but what I didn’t remember was that, due to the fact that we were breaking new territory here, Roadpro very kindly gave me a discount and help if I made a video with them which you have no doubt seen on YouTube.  The discount wasn’t huge but it was a help. I have checked the invoice and it is indeed below £1500- just! Don’t forget I had the SP already the cabling and other components.  However, they made a mistake on the initial invoice and didn’t charge me for the Votronic regulator which has now been amended. That was a further £135.30. -  That was for the larger one to take care of the extra wattage now available to me.  It was a further £494.17 to transfer the kit from the Valencia to the new Coachman, but that included a Priority Switch which I didn’t have in the Bailey. It automatically detects whether you are on mains or battery and switches to that source. Looks like prices have risen from what I see now! If that’s the price, then I apologise for appearing to mislead but I have the invoices and what I say is the truth. I hope this puts a few minds at rest. Now off to Jacksons of Old Arley to get some 12v kit. 

Interesting discussion. Its obvious that Lithium is a great way to go, especially if costs come down. Size/weight for the same power is also better. When they become common they will be factory fitted with appropriate charges. 
I think its sensible to ensure you have a 'Smart-Charger even for LA batteries. Not all vans have these fitted. A suitable unit is sold at least once a year by stores like Lidl & Aldi & will ensurew a LA battery is correctly charged & kept at peak performance & life.
What i do find strange is that some are pprepared to consider forking out £4k for Solar & lithium kit want to park up on sub £10 a night sites...
For me the amount of time i have for being away in the Van is modest so a club-site & hookup, wifi etc is great.
Each to his own.I love the diversity.

I take your point Bob, but you also miss a point if I may be so bold. This investment which hasn’t been anything like 4K , but that’s  an argument for another time, was done over about 5-6 yrs. Slowly improving on what I had before- slowly learning and refining what I needed to refine. LA batteries were the obvious fly in the ointment as they were, without doubt, the weak link in the chain. I didn’t go out and bang a load of money on Roadpros desk and say put the very best you can into my caravan! I, like others, wouldn’t lash out all that money in one without a plan or a slow build up. So it was in 2011 that I started to think about my future caravanning. I knew that when I retired I would want to get out there with the van but the cost of sites(EHU) might be an issue. I knew I would want to spend weeks away at a time- how could I do it? I know, - I’ll make my own electricity and go offgrid. The more I did the more I wanted to do and the more I wanted to find out what modern technologies could do for me. To cut a long story short ( for those with concentration difficulties) I started with a 135w SP and 2  x 110ah LA batteries which started to fail after 2 years.  I now have 300w of solar, 1 x 100ah Lithium Battery with associated electronics , and the same inverter I bought in 2013. I now carry a quarter of the weight I had with the LA batteries and with the same power but with so many more advantages. The 300w of Solar was negotiated up from 100w and fitted at no cost as part of a show offer- so they were ‘free’ as it were. Thanks to Coachman for that- in fact, Coachman were just as fascinated by the project as I was.  Now, the crux of the matter. 

Firstly, Club sites are not my barrow. Dozens of others on the same site- no, not for me.

Secondly, I could see the cost benefit if I was going to  ‘Caravan for Britain’. If I was going to do this, I wanted to save money on site fees- and being on sites that I loved- many times with us, ourselves and our shadows!  I can assure you that the kit I bought in the first years has been paid back multiple times not only in saved site fees but in money not given to Calor by having Safefill cylinders. Now, the recent upgrade- Since March we have been away 9 weeks and another 2 to come shortly- 11 weeks- 77 days. I always reckon it saves me £10 a night and helps keep those all important non EHU sites open but let’s say £8 a night. 77 x 8 = £616 ! And that’s in one year! I hope to keep the van for 10 yrs. The Lithium doesn’t seem so expensive now does it? The new kit will be paid for by next year.   My research into Lithium shows that these batteries, looked after, will be good for anything up to 25yrs- but let’s say 20yrs or even 15yrs. Even at 15yrs, the Battery will allow me to have all the comforts of home on the site of my choice time after time. Yes, there was an investment but boy, when I make an investment I expect a return and that is what I am getting. 

The other way of caravanning is of course buy a van, put 2 exchange Calor cylinders in the front, have a hard standing and an EHU and pay anything between £25 and £35 PER NIGHT for the privilege. As said previously, I prefer the small, quiet, out of the way sites and the support of my site fees help to keep these little gems open.  

I always reckon it saves me £10 a night 

But what are you comparing with Or, more the point, what average site fees do you pay?

 The other way of caravanning is of course buy a van, put 2 exchange Calor cylinders in the front, have a hard standing and an EHU and pay anything between £25 and £35 PER NIGHT for the privilege.

There are other options you know. 

Your enthusiasm for Lithium batteries is clear Merve, but in your enthusiasm you seem to be over egging your case somewhat. Our last stay without EHU lasted a full month using just one 110AH LA battery, supported by 130W of solar panel. Our LA batteries have averaged at 8 years before failing and currently cost about £100. That adds up to around £300 over your Lithium battery’s life expectancy.

I understand that your setup allows you to use a toaster, while we have to make toast under the grill, and I also understand that you enjoy watching DVDs, which we don’t do because we stream or watch pre loaded films on our pads, for which recharging falls well within our batterie’s capability.

I’m a fan of Lithium batteries, but if I piled the £2,000+ that I understand you to have spent, on the table, I’m not convinced that I’d spend it all on a LI setup. I don’t think that I’m alone in that, because the financial arguments aren’t yet widely applicable.

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Interesting dilemma. At what age do we decline to upgrade/ renew kit or indeed even the van? Do we base it solely on the economic/ return on investment argument. How do we calculate the benefit/cost crossover point? Show your workings with illustrative graphs.