Summary
We caught up with Roamer Founder & CEO Steve Kennedy to talk about high-quality batteries for off-grid campervan living, that are designed to keep charge, even after long intervals without use. Steve explains why they use lithium iron phosphate cells and all the advantages of running off batteries versus gas, when campervan living.
Focus: Campervan batteries, durable van batteries, lithium batteries different make-up
Interviewed by: Simon from Van Bandits
Interviewee: Steve Kennedy, Founder & CEO Roamer, UK
Read time: 5-6 minutes
Van Bandits
You and Kate bought and converted your first van in 2012. Is Stan the Van still part of your van adventuring world?
Steve at Roamer
No sadly not! Stan was a great van but it was pretty basic as campervans go, just a T4 with a rock and roll bed and a coolbox. I actually wrote that one off on the Autobahn on our way down to Croatia but we had some great adventures up till then! We’re now onto the 5th campervan we’ve built so we’re fully kitted out now with electric cooking, hot water and aircon, it’s pretty cosy in there and we can go off-grid for weeks. We are both big into skiing and we find that having a campervan is the best way to tour around the resorts without spending a fortune. We don’t get away as much as we used to in summers but we still manage 3-4 weeks in the Alps every winter.
Van Bandits
Good, reliable batteries are often key to a good time off-grid in a van, but what prompted the founding of the Roamer brand?
Steve at Roamer
This is going back 6 years now! I didn’t set out to create a big business, it all started because I wanted a high-capacity battery that could power our off-grid winter trips and there was nothing suitable on the market in the UK. I ended up working with a manufacturer to develop the battery I wanted, there was a minimum order of 10 batteries so I figured I’d take a punt and sell the rest. I built a website in an afternoon and listed them for sale, and within 24 hours they had all gone! We were using our kitchen as a warehouse for 6 months – there’s a great photo of Kate trying to cook dinner and she’s surrounded by battery boxes. Things have moved on a lot since then thankfully, we now design and engineer every component that goes into the batteries and have a great team based at the head office and distribution centre in Leeds, so there’s a bit more room to move about!
Van Bandits
What do Roamer batteries do, in terms of capabilities, that set them apart from, say Victron or Fogstar?
Steve at Roamer
We only make lithium batteries for campervans and boats; we don’t spread ourselves too thin by trying to make a million products or cover every market. And we have a really deep understanding of what people need because we use them ourselves and we’re constantly out there talking to our customers, whether that’s at trade shows, Van life festivals or on Facebook groups, we are very active in the community. We’re Van lifers but we’re also engineers, we designed and built every component inside our batteries and if you watch the teardown videos online, you’ll see the difference in quality. They might look the same from the outside but there are some big differences inside.
We actually pioneered a lot of the battery models that are popular now, we created the Seatbase design for example and we were the first to make a high-capacity battery over 400Ah. We’re onto our 4th generation of batteries so there’s been loads of little improvements over the years too. We added some really useful features to SMART4 such as the plug and play Victron integration, Active Balancing and emergency recovery features but actually, the main goal with the latest batteries was to create the most reliable battery on the market. Our batteries are now completely modular and can be upgraded and repaired easily. This gives a lot of peace of mind to our customers but honestly, this hasn’t been needed. Since launching the latest models we’ve only had two returns and they were for minor issues that were repaired in 5 minutes. These batteries just work.
Van Bandits
The main advantages of migrating to lithium over other leisure batteries seem to be both size and weight, the Roamer batteries are lighter, and take up less space, but how long can I go off-grid without recharging? If I’m wildlife watching in a remote location, I don’t want to disturb the locals by turning the engine on to charge the batteries.
Steve at Roamer
It really depends on what you’re using it for but even with a small battery it’s realistic to go for several days without charging and that’s allowing for some high-power stuff like a kettle or an air fryer. If you have solar panels then you could potentially go for months without plugging in or running the engine.
“While a big battery is always going to help, it’s important to find the right balance between battery size and charging capacity. It doesn’t matter how big your battery is if you can’t charge it quickly when you need to.”
This is why we include a free setup consultation with every battery purchase, we can advise on all the electrical parts in your campervan and help you get the most from your battery.
Van Bandits
The traditional power source for fridges in RVs has been gas, but there have been safety concerns for years. How does the safety record of lithium batteries compare?
Steve at Roamer
We only use Lithium Iron Phosphate (LiFePO4) cells which are very safe, this is a totally different chemistry to the lithium batteries you find in electric scooters and mobile phones. We’ve found that more than half of our customers are now gas-free and cooking on an induction hob, or using an air fryer. It’s just so easy to do now, safety is important but the biggest factor is convenience and reliability. Gas requires a lot of maintenance, annual safety checks, gas lockers etc Compare that to a quality lithium battery system which is safe, lightweight, takes up very little room, is simple to use and requires almost zero maintenance.
Van Bandits
What are the most popular batteries you see being requested by the UK van community? Why is this?
Steve at Roamer
The best, and most popular batteries for van lifers at the moment are the 230SEATBASE4 which fits under a campervan swivel seat. It’s such a neat design and takes up very little space so it’s a great option in a small van. Customers with bigger vans or motorhomes love our 460SMART4 especially if they’re also fitting a Victron charging system as everything links together perfectly. The trend is towards bigger and bigger batteries, as the cost of lithium reduces which is why we now allow up to 16 batteries to be connected in parallel. We’re also selling a lot more 24V and 48V batteries for campervans, as these allow for much higher power.
Van Bandits
Do you provide guidance with installing the batteries? What kind of skills or experience do you need before you do a self-installation?! If I decide to use your services, what kind of price range do you install batteries for?
Steve at Roamer
We’ve made our batteries as ‘drop-in’ as possible so it’s usually a lot simpler than you think. There’s no need to rip out all your electrics and start again, you can use pretty much any lead acid charger out there. We also have an extensive knowledge base online with all the battery information, setup guides and step-by-step instructions for installing and using the batteries. If you decide you’d rather leave it to a professional, then we have 290 installers around the country who can help you out, usually for a low fixed price. Expect to pay around £200 for a battery install only, going up to maybe £2,000 for a complete custom electrical install with everything, solar, charging, inverter etc.
Van Bandits
What kind of help is available after I’ve purchased and installed the battery? Can we still contact Roamer for post-sale assistance?
Steve at Roamer
Every battery purchase comes with a free setup consultation so this is a great opportunity to ask all the questions you have about fusing, cable sizing etc. We also offer a free system design service, so if you’re looking for a complete electrical setup, we can spec everything you need along with wiring diagrams and provide as much support as you need along the way. And of course, you’re always welcome to give our UK based team a call or drop us an email whenever you need.
Van Bandits
What kind of guarantee comes with your battery products? What’s the expected lifetime span of these batteries? Is there anything that we can do to increase the lifetime span or get the maximum use out of these batteries?
Steve at Roamer
Roamer batteries come with a ten-year warranty but realistically you can expect it to last 15 years or more. They’re very low maintenance as batteries go, if you put the battery into storage mode then you can store them for a year without any issues. Our batteries also have Active Balancing which extends the useful life of the cells and also allows you to use a wider range of charge voltages, you don’t need to use the most expensive chargers. Mostly it’s just common-sense stuff like checking the app every now and again, charging it when it gets low and not leaving it in really hot environments.
Van Bandits
What’s next for Roamer? What can we expect that’s new to the market, in particular relative to our van community?
Steve at Roamer
Integration is our key focus at the moment. We added CANbus communication to SMART4 batteries which means they can speak to other third-party chargers, monitoring screens and inverters. Its plug and play with a Victron Cerbo GX for example, so if you want to view your battery data on a touchscreen or even online, you can do that now. We can also communicate with other brands like Garmin, Simarine and SavvyVan, so it’s just about making the batteries more user friendly, and working perfectly with all the other great products out there.
Van Bandits
Anything else that you wanted to add or talk about?
Steve at Roamer
We’ll be at a few of the summer Van Life festivals so we’d love to see you there and chat about batteries or just Van Life in general. Roamer customers can come and grab some free merch and have unlimited coffees, all battery powered of course! In terms of Van life adventures of our own, it’s our tenth anniversary this summer so Kate and I are going to retrace our honeymoon from ten years ago when we took our campervan Gus the Bus around Italy and the Dolomites.
Thanks!
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Simon has plenty of experience with converting campers and vanlife. In a former life he used to be ‘on the tools’ as a carpenter in the UK and has a strong interest in woodwork, interior designing and cabinet making. He loves the methodology of DIY campervan conversion, the setup and getting the ship on the road. Read more on Simon’s van bandits profile.
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