A week living in my Mercedes EQV Electric Van with my family - am I crazy 🤪 ? Is It a good camper?
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 30 ก.ย. 2024
- #eqv #camper #ev #electricvan
#camperlife
What’s it like spending a week living in a Mercedes EQV? Here I find out exactly 🤪🤣
Mercedes don’t [yet] make the EQV Marco Polo Camper, but this EQV is also our mobile office for events, shuttle van, people carrier, practical family wagon and more, but on my week off we take it to the next level and spend the week camping in it!
Not just me, but my whole family!
What’s the van like?
What’s the range?
How efficient is it?
How big is it?
What do I need for a camping trip?
What modifications have I done?
This van has a large 100kwh battery (of which 90kwh Is useable). Is that enough?
Is there a future in having electric camper vans? I certainly think so!
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EV adoption is accelerating every year.
The number of electric vehicles and types of vehicles and trucks is growing.
Electric vehicles are just better. No noise, no emissions, less fuel costs, less maintenance costs and amazing technology. Gasoline and diesel are OLD polluting technology. So last century. Electric cars, electric trucks, electric buses, electric trash haulers, electric snow blowers, electric lawn mowers, electric snow mobiles, electric water craft, electric garden tools, electric mechanic tools, electric motor cycles, electric bicycles, electric scooters, electric farm tractors, electric construction equipment, electric delivery vehicles, ...... everything is going electric. No worries about starting after sitting for a few months. Gas always needs repairs.
Love it, stop giving me more reasons to love the EQV. Going to test drive one this Saturday.
interesting! we have just today tested the Eqv300 - and we also want to use it as a camping car, by removing seats in the cabin, our test trip will go to Sweden and Norway next month
You should find charging locations plentiful in Norway and Sweden, I follow "Bjorn Nyland" on TH-cam who lives in the former and often travels to the latter. Enjoy your trip.
Brilliant video. Real world experience - so valuable. Would love to get your feedback on whether it would be viable to take this car on a long trip (south of France)? Roscoff to Arcachon normally takes approx. 8hrs in our diesel XC90. Would love to switch to EV but with 4 kids the options are still pretty limited and worry that the car would be too limiting for holiday road trips. Thoughts?
You are spot on about the tourist areas of the country investing in EV charge points for EV`s.
I live in rural Co. Durham, and there are zero charge points(1 tesla destination point) within 5 miles of my home, and i can not charge at home. I was watching and thinking, yep, this is rural life mate!
As for camping, yep we do that too, but this is a BONOUS FEATURE of a EV- you can camp & charge your car! ICE cars can't do this, so a win win for the EV camper van.
With more new "van type" ev`s on the horizon, this looks to a great time to get one, once price parity comes into effect, especially if you go camping a lot.
Great stuff.
These are the kind of real world use videos people need to see, so thank you.
Hopefully camping and caravan sites will start to install charging points as well as offer a trickle charge overnight.
Although i use a hybrid now, which i can use to sleep in, there'll be a point when i'll be looking to get an EV that i can use as a micro camper. The possibilities are there now for quite decent travel, and things will only get better over the next few years.
Nice update on the van, im hoping more people use the eqv for camping like this it looks very capable(as long as there is places to plug in)
Richard, really well done. A clever way to show how EV’s rock
Another great video Richard! We went away for a few days in a caravan in Cornwall in our Model 3. Luckily I could park the car next to the caravan and could charged every night on on the granny charger at 2Kw/hr. Used the supercharger network to get down and back to Cornwall. It was easier than using an ICE car to do the same trip and cost me £17 to do 600 miles. For caravan and camp sites there is a need for many slow chargers and as you say faster top-up chargers in car parks, etc...
A pop-up roof would be a brilliant add-on..
Yep!
Richard. Just missed you at Moreton in Marsh. It seems that the EVC you were at needs a telephone call to get started. I spoke to someone there who had just taken delivery of a new ID4 and had the same problem. I also echo your thoughts on a lack of chargers in The Cotswolds. Really surprising for a major tourist destination. I had my M3 so just diverted to a Tesla Supercharger in Banbury but not everyone can do that.
Great post Richard. I recently bought an EQV, encouraged by some of your earlier videos. It's a great car and the perfect EV for our large family. I've just completed a work trip today with several burly colleagues on board and achieved 217 mile range comfortably so the numbers seem to stack up - certainly in the summer. And that was driving at the speed limit with the climate on (in eco mode). I want to use ours for camping also - and I plan to use the Kyham driveaway awning we used with our old T5. If you could post a link of where you sourced the awning rail and the thermal/blackout screens that would be great. Thanks and keep up the good work.
Nice one and glad pleased with it.
The rail was off eBay, and possibly the window blinds too. I’ll see if can find links, it was a few weeks ago now
@@RSEV
Look in your eBay account under purchases in the drop-down menu.
Hi did you manage to get the link for the thermal screens? thanks.
@@RSEV Very sad that you didnt give the link to where we could buy the rails and thermal blackout screens. Whats the point making a good review and not sharing the good stuff!
I couldn't justify 70k on one of these but something like a eVito Tourer L3 with a much lower range and a basic conversion is tempting. Shout out to Glyn Hudson who on his youtube channel shows what can be done with a low range camper van!
Another really informative video Richard always interesting to see how a non Tesla charges in remote areas
Great video. Taking an EV where no EV has gone before
You are a legend Richard. Love your channel, thank you for all the effort you put into it.
Thanks to yourself and the other viewers who take the time to leave nice comments, much appreicated
There is basically a camping mode in all EV's. Simply turn on your vehicle. Select Neutral. Put the vehicle in gear and keep the gear selector depressed and the vehicle will bypass all programming to turn the vehicle off. Make certain that you apply the emergency brake to ensure the vehicle does not roll away while sleeping Or if someone bumps you.
Works fine on my GM Chevy Volt which has a 150 minute shut down timer normally. the range loss for 10 hours overnight with climate control set to 20 C is roughly 2 kWh or 10 to 15 km.. I am in Canada.
I have seen Bjorn Nyland do something like this for the EQ range. To engage camping mode, select neutral and engage handbrake was all that was needed if I remember correctly
@@DeeSock Actually it is somewhat more complicated than that. NOT all cars behave in the same fashion and doing it that way may subsequently not cover all the bases needed. So if it works for anyone that way, please go ahead and do it. Otherwise some experimentation of sorts may be required to obtain the proper results.
For the EQV you just need to switch the ‘ignition’ on (key all the way over before the indent to switch the car on) and that will allow A/C and also keep the 12V battery topped up with the DC/DC running.
For heating my experience with the EQV was around 1% per hour at 8-9°C outside which is some amount but not too bad with this pack size. Maybe I’ll get the chance to check through winter.
Unfortunately it’s true that there is no way around the 30min time limit on the button on the dash/ app activation.
I've got a diesel campervan and would love to go electric, great to see your experience!
Not started watching properly but this will be amazing. It's exactly what I'm hoping to do one day.
Good video Richard - thank you. Interesting to think of the different ways to use an EV. We’ve recently ordered a car and I hadn’t considered the benefit of leaving the air con for the dog when we go off somewhere.
Interesting video, I used to have a VW Type 2 campervan. It will be interesting to see if Mercedes do their Marco Polo conversion on the EQV.
A great video. Love the channel. Have just bought an e208 GT Premium following seeing your video - just look at it!
Cool! I love the blue ones
By October this EQV will cost. £50 to fully charge at home !! And £80 to charge on the road. That’s for 180 miles of range. Buying an electric car now makes no financial sense. 😢they cost way more to buy and now more to run
Sustainable caper van the natural choice.for a green future EQV looks good choce for a conversion. Just looked at a Nissan van conversion with 200 w solar roof with a induction hop. but only 24kw he also has a camp side solar and big wind turbine and a charge point. If your ev camping in Pembrokeshire welcome to pop in for a tea 🍵 . Last year saw Richards Classic Split VW screen Tesla conversion made in his North Wales Classic Car Conversions Wales business. 😀 The future looks good. I did camp with our i3 but had a ⛺ thank you keep up the good work. More charge infostructure 🌎
10:10 so If I had to guess you're going 110+ KPH on the highway / can you try to test just that number there at 95kph on highways
22:39 good point!
Brilliant, great to see the practicalities of EV camping
EV Camping will be all the rage when the new VW Buzz camper van arrives!
Been looking forward to that for years now. Got bored waiting 🤣
@@RSEV :-D :-D There's a few split screen one's been converted to EV 8-)
There's a lot of wear on the drivers seat considering the EQV isn't that old.
Yes.
Monitoring that…
Trouble is because it’s high up, many would sort of slide in and out so I bet the bolster could suffer
Camp mode and dog mode would really add value. I hope Mercedes does read feedback like Musk does on twitter 😂
I'm jealous, i need to EV convert my Toyota Alphard 🙈⚡👍
I’m the fella from the campsite by the Thames in Oxfordshire. Really nice to meet you and thanks for the mention. The night you left a child put a gas canister into a wood burning stove in one of the teepees on the site and it exploded, taking out all the canvas. Nobody was hurt luckily. However, the next morning the campsite owner was dismantling the teepee and the central scaffolding pole fell on him causing serious injury. Luckily there was a GP and a nurse in our camping group to help him. He’s still in hospital but he’s going to be OK. Thanks for the video. Just waiting for an electric VW California to replace my diesel one. Am sure it will be pricey though!
Wooah! That’s crazy, sounds very lucky no one killed but certainly some life changing events there.
Great to meet. I hope the rest of your trip was relaxing (other than the tepee explosion collapsing day!)
Brilliant video. One of your best. Really great to see camping in the EQV.
Thank you
@@RSEV this video convinced my wife that we should get an EQV as our next car. Thank you Richard 👍.
Why don't they know their chargers aren't working?
How dose it work with heating while camping? The car has no camping mode. How did you do with it while sleeping for example? Did you had to go up att night to turn heating on again or is there a way to keep it on whole night? 🤔 I own eqv in about a month now and I too want to camp in it 🙂 but I live in Sweden and I don't want to freeze to death at night 😜.
Have you sorted out how to run the heating/AC over night as camping mode?
@@peterekholm7381i didn't camp in it yet 😊. But as I understand so only way is to leave it with "ignition" on,thats the one upside of having real car key 😅
I’ve watched many a video on EV’s with yourself, Bjorn, EV man, Fully Charged and the German guy Chris as well as some car wow with Mat Watson. Never seen one quite like this. Loved it! Thanks Richard!
Very nice video !
Nice one
First!
Hi Richard great video just ordered a EQV for the family just wandering where you got the window covers. Had a look on eBay but can only see 2014-2020 third gen v class ones . is the New EQV the same size as 4th gen v class
Brighton have just installed some of those Siemens efacec chargers. They keep breaking down.
I’m in Brighton this weekend… it’s the London to Brighton EV rally. Madeira drive on the seafront is closed off all day and lots of EV stuff to see - come and say hi!
@@RSEV will do. 👍
It cost me around £30 to fill up a 60 kWh tesla model 3 that can do 270 miles. so you must have had a lot of free charging. £20 to do 500 miles in a 100 kWh van that does 2.5 miles per kWh does not add up ?? How did you manage this ? I watch a lot of your videos, and love your content to not taking a swipe. Thanks for the video
You pay £0.50 per kWh at home?
This eqv video was a long time ago… but from memory it would have been the cost of a charge at home with cheap overnight tariff of something like £0.05 then some free campsite charging (or £5 for an electric hook up) and I think there was a short shell top-up which was probably £0.28 per kWh but it was a short stop
Electric is more expensive now of course
@@RSEV didn’t realize the video was so old. It currently cost £.30 per KWh at home and over £.50 at Tesla superchargers which is double what it was 3 months ago
I’m very concerned how expensive electric is getting just as we’re all looking to change to electric cars.
Imagine what the cost per kWh will be when 20% of cars are full electric.
Currently buying and running a Toyota Prius is cheaper overall than buying and running an equivalent full electric car, and it’s only early days
I drove a 2021 Mercedes S350D up to Leeds a couple months ago and averaged 57.7 MPG in a huge heavy car . Total trip cost around £70 there and bad back, even with fuel being £1.70 per liter. That same journey would have cost the same plus time charging if I took the Model 3, and an S Class is not exactly an economical car. Compare that with the model X and the model X would have cost a lot more for that journey because of a lower Miles per kWh being a bigger heavier car. Sorry to go on but I’m just a bit worried the way it’s going. We all know that the model 3 is the best in terms economy from the battery compared to all other electric cars so the numbers are not looking good for the future unless something changes
If you assume an optimistic 30 mpg from a fossil van, then 1.30 per litre, that's £112 for fuel so you saved about £90? (Paid the bar bill?)
If you assume an optimistic 30 mpg from a fossil van, then 1.30 per litre, that's £112 for fuel so you saved about £90? (Paid the bar bill?)
In the UK the campsite infrastructure required to allow even just a handful of EV’s or EV campers to plug in concurrently, even on 2.2KW constant charge, is prohibitive for the certificated, temporary holiday or anything apart from large club owned sites. So while a single EV can of course be accommodated the load, KW usage and cost of new electric circuits required is way over the horizon to being practical for most campsite owners.
Thank you for making this video! I am considering buying this when it becomes available in the US, and taking it camping too! I love your ideas for camping!
Great video, dad used to own the Vianos growing up. Lovely van. Don’t quite understand the cost calculation of nearly 600 miles on around £20, even with your free charge. As my Model 3 SR+ would cost around £20 for 600 miles and that’s a 50kw battery not 100kw. Surely it would be nearer £40?
Come to the lake district all the Booths supermarkets in Keswick, Windermere and Kendal all have instavolt 50KW contactless payments.
Great video Richard, as always very informative and practical. I look forward to seeing some full camper van or Motorhome ev conversions. We have had an Autotrail Comanche motorhome and now having a Buccaneer Cruiser caravan which is way too heavy for my Tesla M3 LR. I would love to have an small ev Motorhome but a lot of sites are limited to 10 amps (2.3KW) and would not be happy about us charging at that maximum overnight.
I share your frustration with the number of old and faulty chargers, the roll out of new rapid chargers has been slow in the north of England, We live in Chesterfield and keep the caravan up near York.
Richard good insite to staying in van/car overnight, just wondering you mentioned caution on the 12v battery running low with the interior lights on, just wondering does the 12v battery only charge when plugged in and charging, could you not charge the 12v battery off the large van pack
BP Pulse chargers are pretty unreliable. They have at least got more staff answering calls so you're not left waiting too long now but there's lots of BP chargers around my local area and its common to arrive at one and find its faulty.
This shows how easy it would be to provide a purpose built conversion for this vehicle. The large battery is definatley the clincher here. I agree that more sites, hotels etc will ensure their future business by installing more charging points. They dont need to be expensive units, just a load of 13 amp plugs (suitably wired up of course) for overnight charging.
Need more Daniel content!
😂🐾🐶
Hi Richard
Great informative and interesting video do you have a link for the window blinds please
Why do they need to reboot the chargers?
If it is such an issue, a reboot button on the screen would be a solution?
BP Pulse are letting their customers down big time recently and getting worse.
They seem to be struggling a bit right now, but also aware and hopefully working to resolve all very quickly
@@RSEV I had a chat with one of their people at #FullyChargedLive and got told that they have made a number of improvements over the last two years.
Not sure their definition of improvements is the same as mine though.
BP Chargemaster the new Ecotricity, almost like they don't care. Seems they are also happy to missadvertise charger speeds as I've seen quite a few say that their chargers just don't deliver the advertised speed no matter the conditions
Hi mate, I have one of these premium plus ordered.
I need 230v sockets in the rear ideally and was wondering if you have any reccomendations or specs on the DC/AC capabilities here.
I've fitted plenty of inverters into my old diesel vans with solar panels and b2b chargers, leisure batteries etc. But can I do similar here without causing permanent damage to anything
I’d love to help but I don’t think I can. Look up a company called Holbon. He’s an electrical specialist who works on EVs daily.
Great vlog. Would you lay out all the cables you used and name them for us pls.
dvdl5
vur.fyi
Why not charge the gadgets inside the van, while the car stays connected?
Camping with a 70k vehicle.....realistic lol
There is no point in camping and there is certainly no point in camping if you are eating at bloody McDonalds. Talk about clueless fail.
What page of the camping rule book is this on?
600 Miles is almost 1000 km. If you've paid only 20 GBP that is cheap electricity. Our average consumption with the eqv is currently at 27 kWh/100km so 270 kWh would be used (a bit more charged due to charging losses) which at AC chargers would cost me around 38c/kWh or 102,60 EUR. Fast DC charging is more links 70c for the cheapest so 189 EUR. Charged at home would be cheaper but then I'm not exactly traveling anymore.
Left with charge, and then had “free” charging at campsites. Just a couple dc charges to top up in between.
Worked out to a bit over £20 in the end but not by much
@@RSEV Okay then I can follow. I forgot for how long but you should also get an ionity subscription with your EQ_ to help bring that DC charge cost down. I can even use that on my electric 😎.
@@H4n583 I have a Porsche charging card which gives me £0.30 per kWh 👍
Thanks for another great video. Looks great van
You should be staying at the Ritz with all your TH-cam revenue!! 😉
You need millions of views per video for decent money
Great to see the first video really on EQV camping. Got mine in March and it’s a great camper. Added an additional 12V (li-ion) and routed the rear 12V ports to that for powering devices and a cooler with the car off. Also added an inverter to supply an induction hob while ignition is on. Also attached a tow bar for the bike rack. Now really just missing a collapsible roof. Maybe something for next year. I am using the fold down bench to sleep on though which works great and leaves room for stuff to put under.
Is the second battery connected to the electrical system of the car, or how do you charge it? If connected to the system of the car, how do you prevent draining the main 12 V battery?
@@E.T.1971I am charging the second battery through a charge controller from in parallel to the main battery. In between the main battery and the charge controller is a so called battery protect from victron that you can set to only close the (solid state) switch from a certain voltage upwards. Which is set to a value that reflects the vehicle DC/DC converter running meaning the high voltage system is supporting the 12V system. That happens when in an EQV the ignition is switched on.
I'm getting an EQV and planning to use it for camping! Any tips you can share? Which bench do you recommend? Also, what additional battery and charger should I get? #vanlife #EQV #camping
@@andnrk Nice! I started with the sleeper bench and extension that was available to order when I got mine, that definitely works. They discontinued this but I think also re-introduced it I believe. For the battery I am using a small 40Ah Li-Ion battery from Liontron with a Victron charge controller as I wrote above. Depends on what your abilities and use cases are you can use a larger one and for wiring it up it depends what you can do. Generally the advantage of the EQV is that as long as the ignition is on, you are charging your 12V battery from the high voltage system.
Is the EQV camper van already available for 4 people beds?
No such available unfortunately, not in the UK at least.
This van is now for sale though on our website www.rsymons.co.uk
Great report!
I love electric cars but the problem is the constant conversation about charging really says it all. Keep in mind the low adoption of electric vehicles at the moment. Could you have the same length video on a ICE version of this? It would last about 2 minutes. The infrastructure is so poor in some areas. Unless you have one of the latest 250+ miles in all conditions it can be a primary car but with added stress and headache. As charging is always in the back of your mind.
The whole point of this video was to tell you all about the charging not about all the things they did each day. 600 miles 24 hours of driving.