Wild Camping in Vietnam – A Motorhome Journey
Welcome to Robert Nguyen, our new dealer in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, who happens to have a fascinating hobby. When he and his family aren't working, they love spending a few nights under the stars, enjoying the tranquility of natural spots like the Tau Cave (Hang Tau) in Son La province.
Hang Tau is a remote village with twenty stilt houses, home to the Hmong people who lead a simple lifestyle of herding and farming. The enclosed village is situated on a grassy plateau of about one hectare in a mountainous region.
There is no electricity or cellular connection here, and the nearest town is 18 km (11 miles) away via a dirt road. To reach the village, you'll need an SUV – like the Ford Ranger Raptor pictured here, equipped with its own accommodation in the form of a roof tent.
A neat mobile energy system for Automotive from Victron Energy provides all the necessary power for a luxurious glamping getaway, consisting of a 230V AC 3kVA MultiPlus inverter/charger capable of powering any household appliance.
The camper features a dual battery system – a 12V lead-acid starter battery for the internal combustion engine, and a 24V lithium iron phosphate battery that powers the inverter for «household» loads. Battery charging – both 12V and 24V – is controlled and automatically switched by three Orion-Tr Smart DC-DC 12/24/15A 360W chargers.
Orion-Tr Smart DC-DC Charger
The Orion DC-DC charger features an engine running detection mechanism, which simplifies installation and wiring. It is based on user-defined DC alternator voltage and works with both «standard» and «smart» vehicle alternators. The Orion DC-DC charger constantly monitors the charging voltage, so when the engine is turned off again, the voltage drop is detected and charging is disabled. You can find more information about the engine running detection sequence on the product page – DC/DC chargers. Orion DC-DC chargers are available with an output power of up to 400W (up to 1400W from 2025), and an unlimited number of units can be connected in parallel to increase the output power.
Power flow and battery charging scheme
1 Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) 12 Volts
The lithium battery in this setup can be charged by the Orion-Tr Smart 12/24-15A Non-isolated DC-DC charger and the MultiPlus-II 24/3000/70-32 inverter when it receives AC power from the grid or a 230 Volt fuel generator.
Real-time system data information – at hand, nearby, or from afar
The heart of the installation is the Cerbo GX communication center. It allows the inverter and the BMV 712 smart battery monitor to communicate with each other, as well as with the user via the GX Touch 50 display.
Furthermore, the Cerbo GX is a multi-port communication center that receives data from a variety of Victron and third-party equipment, allowing power, temperature, tank levels... virtually a vast array of information to be transmitted to the Victron Remote Management (VRM) web platform – Victron's communication portal that allows for polling and managing the system from anywhere in the world.
In addition, all smart devices can be monitored and controlled locally using the VictronConnect app on a smartphone. The VictronConnect app, which allows the user to view and change their system settings directly from a phone or tablet, has recently been enhanced with an additional feature called «Instant Readout». This feature lets you immediately check vital data of individual devices in real-time – without having to «connect» to each device. In this system, the MultiPlus-II, Orion DC-DC chargers, and lithium batteries will report data to the VictronConnect app.
The motorhome power supply system assembly is configured as follows:
We would like to express our gratitude to Mr. Nguyen Huu Tuong from Hanoi – a professional photographer – whose works were used in this story.
Total-Energo LLC will help you implement a similar project in Ukraine, as we specialize in manufacturing power systems for motorhomes of any complexity. We are interested in taking on non-standard, complex projects that require meticulous work in designing and developing a solution, as well as in installation.
