Van electrical installation and help, UK – get your van wired professionally, when you don’t have the time or need electrical assistance.
We had a quick chat with Stuart from Sunny Side Up who specialises in installing camper van electrics, think solar and leisure battery power systems for off-grid mobile vans throughout the UK. He comes to you to install your van electrics, which can take up to 4 days, depending on the size and complexity of the job. No need to worry, he arrives in his own van, which is his van accommodation during your van installation. It’s wise to note they don’t focus on single battery installs but they do use a range of batteries, Roamer, Fogstar and Victron, depending on cost and choice.
Focus: van electrical installation, off-grid power, van solar panel installation, van battery installation, professional camper van electrics knowledge and install
Interviewed by: Simon from Van Bandits
Interviewee: Stuart Bradshaw, Founder & Owner of Sunny Side Up
Read time: 5 –7 mins
Simon from Van Bandits
Sunny Side Up is a mobile business, so you must spend some time on the road. What’s the Sunnyside patch? Do you cover the whole of the UK?
Stuart for Sunny Side Up
We cover all of the UK. Today I’m pricing up a full install in Scotland and this week I’m going to Devon via the NEC (in Birmingham). A full install can be up to four day’s work, and we try to work it into a doable itinerary, i.e. travel to the furthest job and work our way back. We won’t do a small single-battery job for obvious reasons.
Simon for Van Bandits
How long have you been providing this service?
Stuart for Sunny Side Up
It started out with fitting out my own small van, then moving on to do fit-outs for friends and other favours. A family medical issue made me want to spend more quality time at the weekend, out and about. More holidays for less money!
I learnt to do electrics for vans and my business partner got certified for boats too and it grew from there. Then Covid came along and off it went!
Simon for Van Bandits
What are the most popular batteries/chargers you see being requested by the UK van community? Why is this do you think?
Stuart for Sunny Side Up
Roma and Fogstar have been very popular, mainly due to their 10-year warranty. These new Lithium batteries have come down in price too. They have a rapid charge and are just a better set-up.
Victron are the best on the market, and they have also come down in price. They are very robust and proven. They’ve been around a long time.
Simon for Van Bandits
The Victron batteries are lighter, and take up less space, but how long can I go off-grid without recharging? If I’m taking a break from travelling in a shared park-up, I don’t want to disturb the neighbours by turning the engine on to charge the batteries.
Stuart for Sunny Side Up
Rule of thumb is a lead battery will last half as long as a lithium battery, but really, how long is a piece of string? Can’t really say how long a battery will last on a charge without knowing what you’re running? Laptops? Fridge? A lithium battery comes with a brain built-in, so you know what’s going on with an app on your phone. With more information available it’s a lot easier to check performance.
Simon for Van Bandits
What’s your competitive edge in the market over some of your competitors? (i.e. why would I come to you for my van needs?)
Stuart for Sunny Side Up
Because we can come to you! We’re partnering with Roamer. We’re with them at the NEC. We do a lot of installs for them. It’s a good relationship. We’ll only install products we trust. It’s a mistake to fit underperforming items as going back to fix things costs money.
Simon for Van Bandits
The Sunny Side Up system is clearly meant to be part of a fully integrated power provision within a van, but can it be linked to external monitoring hardware? i.e. app/tablet/monitoring unit (see van control panels over at Savvyvan, which Stuart also installs).
Stuart for Sunny Side Up
All of the batteries that we fit come with an app so you can see how many amps and how much time you have left.
Simon for Van Bandits
If I decide to use your services, what kind of price range do you install a basic solar system for?
Stuart for Sunny Side Up
Every van is different, and every customer has different needs, so it’s hard to put a price on a system. Each install is tailor-made to a client’s exact requirements. If you’re always on a site hook-up, the install will be different. If you need inverters to run one or more laptops, again, that’s another setup. There’s not really a one-size solution. We need to know what a client needs it to do.
Simon for Van Bandits
So a phone consultation is essential? Spending time working out what a Van Bandit requires?
Stuart for Sunny Side Up
Yes!
Simon for Van Bandits
What kind of help is available after installation? Can we still contact Sunny Side Up for post-sale assistance?
Stuart for Sunny Side Up
We’re big on customer service. It can really make or break a business. We have no problem with people ringing us up and asking questions. We most often get asked to talk someone through how to use the system as it can be a lot to take in!
Simon for Van Bandits
What kind of guarantee comes with your battery products? What’s the expected lifetime span of the batteries? Is there anything that we can do to increase the lifetime span or get the maximum use out of these batteries?
Stuart for Sunny Side Up
We give guarantees based on the manufacturer’s warranty. Victron has a five-year warranty on batteries, but some inverters are only guaranteed for a year.
Having said that lithium batteries are very robust.
Simon for Van Bandits
What’s next for Sunny Side Up? What can we expect that’s new to the market, in particular relative to our van community?
Stuart for Sunny Side Up
We’ve started fitting trackers to vans now too and partnering with other suppliers.
Simon for Van Bandits
Anything else that you wanted to add or talk about?
Stuart for Sunny Side Up
Yes! Your van vibrates like mad. You’re driving around in a mini-earthquake! Check your connections, bolts will loosen. Every three months or so give ‘em a wiggle and nip them up with a spanner. Add it to the list of basic maintenance.
Simon for Van Bandits
Thanks Stuart, really appreciate your time an van insights
Sunny Side Up – mobile solar/electrical fitting services for Vans for a quote in the UK, call either
07734 927184
07719 009921
They’ll also help out with the installation of van touchscreen control panels.
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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