Going off-grid sounds romantic until you run out of water on day three, your fridge dies at midnight because the battery hit flat, and you’ve got no phone signal to call for help. We’ve been there. Not all of it — but enough to learn the lessons the easy way rather than the expensive way.
This is everything we’ve worked out about living off-grid for extended periods. It’s based on a family of four, a Mars 15 Elite full off-road caravan, a 200Ah lithium battery setup, and fourteen weeks on some of Australia’s most remote tracks.
Water: How Much You Actually Need
The standard planning figure is 10 litres per person per day for drinking, cooking and basic hygiene. For a family of four, that’s 40L/day.
In reality, on a remote trip in hot conditions, we averaged closer to 50–60L/day as a family of four. Here’s where it goes:
- Drinking: ~3–4L per person in the heat (more than you think)
- Cooking and washing dishes: ~10L
- Personal hygiene (quick showers, face washing): ~15–20L
- Incidentals: the kettle, the dog’s bowl, rinsing fruit
Our recommendation: carry 150L minimum for a family of four heading into remote areas. That gives you three days of comfortable use, or up to six days of careful rationing if you need it.
Water Storage Options
- Caravan tank: Most caravans have 80–120L onboard. Know your van’s capacity.
- Jerry cans: We carry two 20L jerry cans strapped to the rear of the van as emergency reserve. Non-negotiable.
- Collapsible water bladder: A 60L bladder in the back of the ute is a cheap, easy top-up option when you find a bore or tap.
Where to Find Water on the Road
- Roadhouses (almost always, some charge a small fee)
- National Park facilities
- Free camping areas with bore water (check it’s potable)
- Water tanks at pastoral stations (ask permission)
- Town taps
Never assume the next spot has water. Check before you leave the last known source.
Water Conservation Tips
- Swap showers for a basin wash on back-to-back dry camp days — uses about 2L vs 15–20L
- Wash dishes in a tub rather than running water — then use the grey water on a plant
- Rehydrate dried meals instead of boiling from scratch
- Fix drips immediately — a slow drip from a loose tap fitting wasted us about 5L overnight before we noticed
Solar: How Much You Need (And Why More Is Better)
Solar is your income. Battery is your savings account. You need both in the right ratio.
The Basic Calculation
Work out what you’re running:
| Item | Approximate daily draw |
|---|---|
| 12V compressor fridge (80L) | 35–50Ah |
| LED lighting (4 hours/night) | 4–6Ah |
| Phone/device charging (4 devices) | 6–8Ah |
| Water pump | 1–2Ah |
| 12V fan (8 hours) | 8–12Ah |
| Total (approximate) | 54–78Ah/day |
Add 20% for inefficiencies, cloudy days, and things you forgot to count. You’re looking at 65–95Ah/day for a moderately loaded caravan.
How Much Solar to Install
A general rule: your solar capacity in watts should be roughly 3–4x your daily amp-hour draw.
For 80Ah/day, you want 240–320W of solar. We run 350W (two 175W panels) on the van roof and have never run short — even in the overcast, humid build-up conditions heading into the wet season.
The practical minimum for extended remote travel: 200W. The comfortable setup: 300–400W.
Folding or portable panels are good for adding capacity without permanent roof installation. We carry a 120W folding panel as a supplement when we’re parked for multiple days.
Solar Positioning
This sounds obvious but people get it wrong:
- Park north-facing wherever possible in Australia — panels face north, that’s where the sun is
- Shade kills solar output — a single branch casting shadow on 20% of a panel can cut output by 50% due to cell bypass behaviour
- Tilt matters — flat panels work, but tilted at your latitude angle adds 10–15% efficiency
- Dust kills output — wipe panels every few days in outback conditions. You’ll be surprised how much dust accumulates.
Battery: The Most Important Investment You’ll Make
Your battery bank is what keeps you alive at 2am when the fridge is still running and the sun’s been down for six hours. Get this wrong and everything else falls apart.
AGM vs. Lithium
| AGM | Lithium (LiFePO4) | |
|---|---|---|
| Usable capacity | 50% of rated capacity | 80–90% of rated capacity |
| Weight | Heavy | Much lighter |
| Charge speed | Slower | Fast |
| Lifespan (cycles) | 300–500 | 2,000–5,000 |
| Cost | Cheaper upfront | Expensive upfront, cheaper long-term |
Our verdict: go lithium. It’s more expensive upfront but the usable capacity difference is significant. A 200Ah lithium gives you ~170Ah usable. A 200Ah AGM gives you ~100Ah usable. For the same real-world capacity you’re paying similar money — and lithium lasts much longer.
How Much Battery Do You Need?
A good rule of thumb: battery capacity should be 2x your daily draw. If you use 80Ah/day, carry 160Ah of usable capacity.
For extended remote travel with no shore power:
- Minimum: 100Ah lithium (usable) — tight, works in good solar conditions
- Comfortable: 200Ah lithium (usable)
- Extended or cloudy conditions: 300Ah+
We run 200Ah lithium and it’s enough for comfortable two-to-three day off-grid stays. For longer stays in marginal solar conditions, we run conservatively.
Don’t Let the Battery Flatten
Lithium handles low charge better than AGM, but repeatedly draining below 10–20% shortens lifespan. Set your low-voltage cutoff alarm at 20% remaining — it’ll wake you up before anything important dies.
Essential Tools and Equipment
Recovery Gear (Non-Negotiable in Remote Areas)
- Max Trax or similar recovery boards — for sand, mud, or soft ground. Used ours at least four times.
- High-lift jack — with a base plate so it doesn’t sink into soft ground
- Snatch strap — at least 8,000kg rated
- Shackles — rated to match your strap
- Shovel — short-handled, fits under the seat
- Tyre deflator and inflator — know how to air down and back up. A portable compressor (we use an ARB CKMTA12) is essential.
Tyres
Carry two full-size spares on serious remote tracks. We carry one on the van and one on the ute spare carrier. You can get two flats. It happens.
Check tyre pressures every morning on corrugated roads. Vibration loosens valves. Under-inflated tyres overheat and blow.
Tools for the Van and Tow Vehicle
At minimum, carry:
- Complete socket set (metric and imperial)
- Spanners and shifters
- Electrical multimeter — you will use it
- Fuses (full range for your van and vehicle)
- Spare globes and LED strips
- Wire, terminals and a good crimping tool
- Silicone sealant and waterproof tape
- Cable ties — more than you think
- WD-40 and lubricating grease
- Spare water pump (they fail in remote areas at the worst time)
- Spare 12V fridge fan (same reason)
- Gaffer tape — infinite uses
First Aid
Don’t go remote with a basic first aid kit. Carry:
- Pressure bandages and wound packs
- SAM splints
- Tourniquet (know how to use it)
- Snake bite bandages (multiple — you need more than one for correct pressure immobilisation)
- Quality tweezers and needle-nose pliers
- Antiseptic and wound irrigation syringe
- Prescription medications for at least two weeks beyond your planned return
Consider doing a remote first aid course before you go. We did HLTAID011 and it gave us genuine confidence.
Communication
In remote Australia, a mobile phone is not a safety device. Carry:
- PLB (Personal Locator Beacon) — non-negotiable, registered with AMSA, costs ~$300 and can save your life
- Satellite communicator (Garmin inReach or similar) — for two-way messaging and weather when you’re out of range
- UHF CB radio — for communicating with road trains and other travellers on outback tracks. Channel 40 is the road channel.
Common Mistakes That Cost People Dearly
The “It’ll Be Fine” Mindset
The single most common cause of serious trouble in remote Australia is underestimating the environment. Heat kills faster than you expect. Distances between help are enormous. Your 4WD is only as good as your recovery gear and your skills.
Don’t self-rescue what you can’t handle. Activating a PLB is not failure. It’s what they’re for.
Not Telling Anyone Your Plan
Leave a detailed trip plan with someone at home — dates, route, campsites, expected check-in times. If you don’t check in, they call AMSA. This takes ten minutes to set up and could be the difference between a rescue in six hours and a search that starts too late.
Skipping the Pre-Trip Vehicle Check
Corrugated outback roads will find every weakness in your rig. Before any remote trip, check:
- Wheel bearings on van and vehicle
- All bolts on the van (especially drawbar bolts — these work loose)
- Tyre condition including the spares
- Brake pads and brake controller calibration
- All electrical connections
- Water and waste tank fittings
We found a cracked drawbar fitting during a pre-trip check in Darwin. That would have been catastrophic at speed on a remote track.
Overloading
Your tow vehicle has a legal and safe towing capacity. Your van has a legal ATM (aggregate trailer mass). Exceeding either is illegal, dangerous, and voids your insurance.
Weigh your outfit at a public weighbridge before your first serious trip. Many people are shocked to find they’re over — and your recovery gear, water jerry cans, and food stock add up quickly.
Running the Fridge Without Monitoring the Battery
The fridge is the highest draw item in most setups and it runs continuously. A blocked condenser, a door seal that’s not seating properly, or a thermostat set too cold will quietly drain your battery without alarming you until the morning.
Check battery voltage each evening before sunset. Know what your fridge draws per hour so you can calculate overnight draw. Set a low-battery alarm.
The One-Page Summary
| Resource | Minimum | Comfortable |
|---|---|---|
| Water (family of 4) | 120L | 160L+ with jerry backup |
| Solar | 200W | 350–400W |
| Battery (usable Ah) | 100Ah lithium | 200Ah lithium |
| Spares | 1 full-size | 2 full-size |
| Communication | PLB | PLB + satellite communicator |
Go remote prepared. The outback rewards the ready and punishes the careless — not with malice, but with indifference. It doesn’t know you’re there.
Have a question about a specific setup or piece of gear? Drop it in the comments — we’ve probably made that mistake so you don’t have to.