1. The diesel heater
Pick: the 5 kW Chinese-clone diesel heater (sold under Vevor / various other brands), €160–€220.
The single piece of kit that turns "weekend van" into "year-round van" in Ireland. The Chinese clones are now reliable enough that we'd buy one over a Webasto unless you've got fleet-grade requirements. Output 2–5 kW, runs on diesel from the main tank, ~1A nominal current draw on 12V. Fitting takes a competent DIYer about a day.
Browse 5 kW diesel heaters on Amazon (affiliate)
2. Leisure battery & charging
Pick: a 200 Ah LiFePO4 leisure battery from a reputable brand, €700–€1,100.
Don't buy lead-acid. Lithium iron phosphate batteries cost twice as much up front and last 6–10 times longer. They charge faster, weigh half as much, and don't lose capacity in cold weather the way lead-acid does. Pair with a Victron MPPT solar controller and a 30 A DC-DC charger from the alternator.
200 Ah LiFePO4 batteries on Amazon (affiliate)
Victron MPPT solar controllers (affiliate)
3. Roof fan
Pick: Maxxair Maxxfan Deluxe (10-speed, with rain shield), ~€320–€380.
The Maxxfan is the de facto standard among full-time van lifers and worth every cent over the cheaper Fiamma. The rain shield means you can run it in genuinely Irish weather without water coming in. Set it to extract on speed 1 continuously to manage condensation; bump to speed 4–6 for cooking ventilation.
Maxxair Maxxfan Deluxe on Amazon (affiliate)
4. Cooking
Picks:
- 2-burner gas hob: Dometic HSG 2370 or similar, €180–€260. Glass-top, sealed, easy to clean.
- 12V compressor fridge: Dometic CRX-50 (~€700) or the cheaper Vevor 50 L compressor fridge (~€320). Compressor > absorption for any van that's plugged in or running solar; absorption fridges are slow, fussy and only really useful if you're at sites with EHU all the time.
- Camping kettle / coffee: Aeropress Go for coffee, a small whistling kettle for the gas hob. Skip the 12V kettles — they'll empty your battery.
- Cast-iron pan: a 24 cm cast-iron skillet earns its weight in the kitchen and lives in the under-bed locker forever.
12V compressor fridges on Amazon (affiliate)
Aeropress Go (affiliate)
Cast iron skillet (affiliate)
5. Water
Picks:
- 60–100 L freshwater tank (rigid plastic, not flexible bag — flexible bags chafe and split).
- Shurflo or Whale 12V pump.
- Inline carbon block water filter (Camco or similar) — not strictly needed for Irish water, which is generally good, but cheap insurance.
- Outside fill cap (locking).
12V water pumps on Amazon (affiliate)
6. Lighting & living
Picks:
- Dimmable LED strip (warm white, 12V) for ambient lighting.
- Two reading-spot lights with switches (gooseneck, bedside).
- USB-C ports throughout the van — one near the bed, one near the dinette, one near the kitchen.
- One mains socket via the inverter (don't run lights through the inverter; waste of battery).
12V LED strips on Amazon (affiliate)
What we'd skip
- Composting toilets that cost €1,000+. A Nature's Head is fine but you can build a perfectly good DIY composting toilet for €200. The Nature's Head premium is brand, not function.
- Solar generators (Jackery, EcoFlow) as your primary battery. Fine as a portable backup, awful as a main system — you're paying twice as much for half the capacity vs a properly-installed leisure battery.
- "Off-grid solar showers". Hot water in Irish weather is hard. A Truma combi heater or instant gas heater is the right answer; the solar shower is for July only.
- Fancy wood-effect cladding. Looks great, weighs a lot, traps moisture against the insulation. Plywood and a good vapour barrier do the job better.
- Bluetti / Anker portable power stations as the main electrics. Same reasoning as the Jackery point above.