Electrifying Beast is Australia's most powerful caravan

What if you could easily remove the batteries in your caravan and use them to help power your home during a black-out?

Or use your 'van as a mobile power station when you're not on holidays, fast-charging your EV or running a commercial workshop via a simple cord?

That's just some of the next-level, off-grid advantages of the 21ft Rembrandt 'Beast'; a high-spec aftermarket build from Capalaba, Queensland based Smart Caravan Solutions, that made its debut at the recent Cleveland Caravan, Camping, Boating & 4x4 Expo in Brisbane.

Starting life as a 21ft Rembrandt Titus off-road caravan with standard 12V 200Ah lithium battery system, the 'Beast' now boasts a 51.2V, 40kWh Bluetti lithium battery bank, 11.5kw inverter, 3600W solar array, Level 2 EV fast charger, 2400W (200Amp) DC-DC hyper-charger system, and a bespoke all-in-one Smart Control System.

Smart Caravan Solutions owner and licensed electrician, Sam Lonergan, has dubbed the estimated $40K-upgrade "Australia's most powerful caravan" and "the future of caravanning".

"The 'van was built as a test bed for testing products before they ever get installed in a customer's 'van, so we use it to push the limits of what can be done," he explains.

"We wanted to try out technologies that are new to the market, or not even in the market yet."

Lonergan says over the past couple of years he's been adapting off-the-shelf battery systems designed for commercial and residential use, and already adopted by some upmarket RV travel trailer manufacturers in the US.

In his case, it's the latest Bluetti 'plug 'n play' portable modular systems, that he reckons can be added to or reduced in capacity in a matter of minutes, once the initial installation is completed.

"They're a cross between a camping power station and a house battery deployment, and the batteries we use are actually designed to run large houses and small businesses," he says.

An advantage is the customer can start out small, and add extra battery packs and modules as required, right up to the nine-part Bluetti 51.2V system installed under the bed in the show unit.

This includes three head units with built-in inverter and solar regulator, and six dedicated battery modules for a capacity of around 40kWh, or the equivalent of 3500Ah at 12V.

That's double the capacity offered by the limited-edition, $400,000 Kokoda Counterstrike Vincere and the most expensive Bruders, while most mainstream 48V models available in Australia like the latest Snowy River SRT usually top out at 10kWh.

"This is the record for the most powerful caravan in the country by a fairly big margin," he says.

While overkill for most RV users, the extra-powerful set-up does have other benefits including alternative uses that could save money in the long run.

"We're actually running our entire workshop off-grid via a 30amp lead running from the caravan into our workshop," he says.

The Beast's 11.5kw inverter (equivalent to a Victron Mulitplus 5000), also delivers faster on-grid charging including full recharging using a generator in around two hours, he says.

The Victron 32Amp/7.2kw fast charger adds around $1000 to the total cost, and will help charge a Tesla car in a few hours, or you could even plug in and power another caravan.

The 2400w (200Amp) DC-DC Hyper-charger system, installed in this case in a Ford Ranger, "is unique as it lives in the tow vehicle and transmits the power at higher voltage, removing voltage drop and power losses".

"The key thing with this system, is that it can charge the batteries at twice the speed of a generator, all from a vehicle you already have," he says.

Smart Caravan Solutions has spent the past year testing the 16ft Luxury Awnings Flexible Solar Awning that can generate up to 1050W and currently retails for around $5000, together with the 2500W (in total) rooftop solar panels.

Trying to match the twin-wing Kokoda's 7.3kW rooftop solar array was out of the question, as Lonergan says "it's all the solar we could fit without removing the rooftop air-con".

"The array is a high efficiency design, and despite having such a high peak power, it will actually start making power as early as 6am and still works at a reduced rate in cloudy or rainy weather," he says.

Developed in-house, the next-gen Smart Control System operates from a single screen and "fully integrates into almost every (electrical) part of the caravan".

"If a window is left open and it detects you hitching up the 'van, it will send you a text, warning you to close that window," he explains.

"It can forecast the solar for the next day, allowing the user to manage their power usage, knowing what to expect to be recharged the next day."

The Smart Caravan Solutions team is also working on an atmospheric water generation system that can add around 50-70 litres to the tanks daily, depending on power usage and climatic conditions.

"It uses about the same power as an air-conditioner with similar noise; we're trying to make it modular so it can fit in a front toolbox."

An induction cooktop, compressor fridge and dishwasher have also been added to the now gas- and diesel-free off-grid caravan set-up.

"Even with all these additions, we still have 550kg of payload capacity left," he says.

Smart Caravan Solutions has already retro-fitted around 80 of the portable modular systems to customer 'vans, and Lonergan says it's a "fairly straightforward" job for a qualified electrician, with most of the factory wiring remaining.

"We can do this to any 'van with zero structural modifications," he says.

Budget on around $15,000-$20,000 for a "decent size, full box and dice" 650Ah-equivalent conversion, or circa $40K if you want to go full Beast-style using a 5kVA inverter.

"The modular system is by far one of the best things we've seen come to the Australian caravan market," Lonergan reckons.

"Removable power, commercial grade efficiency, active cooling and plug and play upgradability is something that the industry has needed to shake it up."

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