{"id":24472,"date":"2022-04-29T08:35:23","date_gmt":"2022-04-29T06:35:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.victronenergy.com\/blog\/?p=24472"},"modified":"2022-04-29T08:35:23","modified_gmt":"2022-04-29T06:35:23","slug":"van-life-e-bike-adventurers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.victronenergy.com\/blog\/2022\/04\/29\/van-life-e-bike-adventurers\/","title":{"rendered":"Van life E-Bike adventurers"},"content":{"rendered":"

Commercial photographer Radu Tudoroiu\u00a0<\/em>and his girlfriend Ana<\/em>\u00a0Stoica –\u00a0<\/em>who is a textile specialist – tell us about their van life.<\/p>\n

“We’ve had our fair share of campfire stories. It’s part of life when you decide tarmac and hotels aren\u2019t really your thing for the most part. Whether you\u2019re detained in a war zone, burn your clutch under the scorching Saharan sun or just run out of battery on an deserted beach on New Year\u2019s Day, they\u2019re all adventures to be shared.<\/p>\n

“Our four-year journey on board a 4×4 Mercedes Sprinter has taken us along some of Europe and Africa\u2019s most stunning and desolate roads. Out of season beaches, no-signal winding mountain roads, the type of places you read about online or click on in your instagram feed: these are the destinations that we find enticing. And all of them, with little to no exceptions \u2026 are off grid.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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“We average 3 months a year on the road since buying the van and plan to spend six months on board our van called Gloria The Sprinter<\/em> this year. After an initial DIY build, the 4×4 off grid van has recently been professionally re-fitted by the dynamic team over at Sfinx Camper & Conversion<\/a>\u00a0– working in partnership with Bucharest-based Victron Energy system designers and installers Darcom Energy<\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

“This means the van now has everything you need: hot shower, filtered drinking water with 160L tanks, Queen sized bed, tons of storage space and a slideout for e-bikes and gear. And many more, but let\u2019s stick to the highlights.<\/p>\n

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“Time spent roaming is not limited to only the summer months. Therefore, the van has quite a complex electrical heating system with floor heating for cold mornings, de-icing system for the grey water tank and pipes and heating pads for the lithium batteries – all with their own thermostats to keep everything from freezing up. None of this would be possible if \u00a0it weren’t for the 2 x 160Ah batteries.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

“In winter time, the onboard heating has no problem keeping the van toasty, even at -25 Celsius, so that parking up by the slopes for a weekend of offgrid snowboarding is \u2026 well, a breeze.<\/p>\n

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“My knowledge of the ins and outs of the electrical setup stems from my work: overlanding and working remotely since 2004, it is essential that power packs allow my cameras to work all day \u2026 so I’m aware of how much energy I’ll need for each job. Especially since I’ve always had to keep a watchful eye on the regular two-battery-one-inverter setup in my off-road cars, where one has to be mindful of every drawn amp. Having the Victron power plant has been a game changer for both work and fun.<\/p>\n

“My on board electrical boiler, for example, has a capacity of 14 liters. In order to raise the water temperature to 55\u00b0C, I use 30% of the battery capacity – or roughly 100 amps<\/p>\n

Sprinter Installed energy:<\/p>\n