You can charge the camping battery while driving or connect the van to an external power source. To do this, you must connect the supplied cable (20 metres long) from the plug on the driver's side of the camper to a power source. Please note that campers cannot be charged at the stations for electric vehicles.
The 20 metre cable is in the trunk. To plug in for external power supply on Van Villa, open the compartment on the driver' side of the car:
Be careful when opening, as the door tends to fall down rapidly and could damage the car!
Fit the cable through the bottom of the compartment. There is a small trapdoor. That way you can still close and lock the compartment while being plugged in:
Click here to see the explanatory video:
This light is lit, when an external power source is connected:
To check the level of the two batteries, switch on the Camper Unit and use these buttons:
For motor battery:
For the camping battery:
Troubleshooting
If you experience trouble with the electricity in the living area, please check:
- If the Camper Unit is switched on.
- Please be aware that the 230V sockets can only be used when connected to external power! Without external power, only 12V (USB and 12V sockets, lights) can be used.
- Also check the battery level of the secondary battery
- If there is no power at all, check the battery main switch of the camping battery. It is to be found in the outside compartment, where the water tanks and external power connection are:
It has to be in the vertical position for the 12V power in the Van Villa to be switched on (A):
If the red part is taken off, there cannot be any power! Never remove the red key!
In case of connection to external power
If you are connected to external power (230V) and experience problems, please check, if the FI Switch or another of the 230V fuses jumped out.
The FI Switch in the Van Villa is located underneath the rear bench. Remove the cushion and fold up the wooden bench. You will see it inside the white plastic box. It needs to be flipped towards you to be working. The little windows need to show red.
If these are all fine, check if the cable or the socket on the other end (plugged in at the campsite) are faulty! Maybe a nice fellow camper lets you check with his cable and functioning socket?
Problems to load the Camping battery
When connected to external power but still the camping battery seems not to be loading, check the battery charging booster. You find it also underneath the rear bench:
Pressed-in button: Battery Charger is ON.
When green light is on, external power is connected.
Please note the following:
- When stationary, do not charge any device in the driver's cab via USB. The starter battery will discharge and the engine may not start!
- 230V sockets: only work with an external power connection
- USB ports and 12V sockets: work without an external power connection, with a charged camping battery (always keep it above 50% or 12V).
- With a full battery, you can be self-sufficient for 1-2 days without a power connection, depending on usage. Then you need to drive for a while to recharge the battery or connect your camper to an external power source.
- 🚗 Slow driving & short distances → hardly any battery charge
- 🛣️ Long drives on motorways → better charge, but takes several hours
- 🔋 The starter battery is charged first, then the camping battery.
- ⚠️ Driving alone is often not enough to fully charge the camping battery.
- 🔌 Recommendation: charge externally every 48 hours to avoid energy shortages (especially at night 💤).
- Don't forget to unplug the power cable before driving off! For some models, you need to press the blue lever next to the plug downwards.
For deeply discharged camping batteries
As camping batteries are not lithium batteries, we advise you never to discharge them below 30%. This can damage the battery. If you suspect that the camping battery is deeply discharged, try the following:
- Connect shore power and run the engine.
- Try this for about 30 minutes. The extra amperage can bring a deeply discharged battery back up to speed.