Coolbox or gas fridge, battery or gas lamp, gas cooker. For electrical entertainment the kids have the in-car DVD player and can charge up their DSs when we're out driving. Ditto the phones get charged in the car. If it's going to be cold we take more clothes, thicker sleeping bags and hot water bottles. I camped for twenty-odd years without EHU and managed perfectly fine...we really only got a EHU because we wanted to get a three-way fridge for extended trips abroad and it was going to be annoying to have to buy gas so often.
EHU is a nice little luxery IMO and we take it for fan heater kettle and light (and for fridge for longer trips), but can live without EHU quite easily if the trip is only 2 days or so (we never actually had EHU until a couple of years ago). I never bring laptop for me and I don't let my child bring anything electronic either ... it just goes against the grain for me while camping. Its the only way I can ensure that we really feel we've got away from it all. Never ever have we actually missed anything electronic either, we always find excellent alternatives even if we are away for 2-3 wks.
Have never has ehu until now in 15 years of camping even when my son was under a year old. We camp April to October without any issues being cold etc.
However I bought the kit this year for our first trip to France with our own tent. We've hired a fridge with our pitch so that we don't have to shop daily. Still can't envisage using it in the uk as we have a full non ehu cooking set up.
------------- 2011
37 nights in my tent
2012 booked
Swiss farm, henley (2)
La garangeoire (7)
Houlgate la vallee (2)
Dernwood farm (2)
Mellow farm (2)
Hole station (4 child free!)
Camping guyonierre (17 woohoo!)
Never had EHU, never needed EHU, never wanted EHU.
It's not difficult to live comfortably on camp without EHU and if we did have it the kids would just want to be on their electronic gadgets all day. Knowing that those are not an option they've never once complained and, as others have noted, as a result we talk, play and spend much more quality time together.
I only bought an EHU about 6 years ago to get a decent pitch on C&CC sites, non-electric pitches were becoming confined to the most unsuitable parts of the sites.
We went to Holmsley (Forest Holidays), the EHU spots were hideous, concrete, infested by caravans all in a row, the non-EHU you could get a nice characterful corner of the field to camp in.
I have just bought an EHU and will take it with me on every trip, but will only use it if the need arises, recharging my phone and heating for example. Until now I have managed without EHU without any problems.
We've just come back from a two (was meant to be three) night camp at Blackberry Wood. Although the days were fantastically sunny and lovely, it really dropped in temperature overnight - there was frost in the morning, and I really couldn't hack it. So I think we're going to invest in EHU for the Spring/Autumn, but otherwise we were really happy without it.
I am tempted to go without, would mean investing in a few incar chargers for various bits and bobs. I like the idea of going last minute and defo like the look of those views you can have without ... instead of the side of a caravan !!!
It might just take a bit of planning (in my head) lol !! As for the heater ... I asked my hubby where ours was ... he informed me that he blew it up last winter at work (dope) so wouldn't have one to take anyway.
------------- Faith :-)
May 2010 - Plans
July 2010 - Plans
Aug 2010 - Plans !!
I'm not perfect, I've given up trying to have a tidy house and no matter how hard I try my kids faces are NEVER clean !
EHU is more convenient and usually works out cheaper than batteries and gas etc, but I'm not overly bothered that i can't have it
Altho the wood stove does make a difference
If you can sort out heat (wood burner) light (stellia R and petromax paraffin lamp) and chilling food (iceytek) without ehu nothing else really matters
Just need to remember to charge everything the night before i go