Home Assistant On Wheels: We’re going Inside the SmartyVan

Director-turned-vanlifer Mike from the YouTube channel SmartyVan shows how he turned a bare Mercedes Sprinter into a fully automated, off‑grid smart RV powered by Home Assistant and ESPHome. We cover DC power realities, alternator charging vs solar, Starlink on the move, Bluetooth presence, wired vs Zigbee sensors and PoE cameras with Frigate. Perfect for vanlife, RV, and tiny home builders.

Watch this episode on YouTube

Show notes for this episode are available at https://homeassistant.fm/HA227

Support the Podcast

Get early-access to episodes and an ad-free feed by supporting our Patreon.

https://homeassistant.fm/patreon

Share your story

We wouldn't be able to do this podcast without community members and home automation enthusiasts sharing their stories. To register your interest to come share your home automation journey, head over to homeassistant.fm and click share your story.

Chapters

00:00:00 - Intro, sponsors, Mike arrives

00:05:00 - From Sprinter shell to smart RV

00:10:00 - Power: solar, alternator, efficiency

00:16:00 - Home Assistant in a DC world

00:22:00 - Pi 4, microSD, backups

00:28:00 - Internet, Starlink, offline logic

00:35:32 - Van automations that matter

00:41:00 - Service mode and shop visits

00:47:00 - Presence without motion sensors

00:53:00 - OBD-II, WICAN, vehicle data

00:59:00 - Wired sensors vs Zigbee

01:05:00 - Cameras, Frigate, PoE control

01:09:00 - What’s next and where to find

This episode was made possible thanks to our sponsors

Home Assistant Cloud by Nabu Casa

Easily connect to Google and Amazon voice assistants for a small monthly fee that also supports the Home Assistant project. Configuration is via the User Interface so no fiddling with router settings, dynamic DNS, or YAML.

Zooz

If you're looking to upgrade your smart home - you can’t go past Zooz! Zooz offers a range of affordable and innovative devices, including water leak sensors, water valve controllers, smart plugs and scene controllers.

For the best prices on all Zooz products, head over to https://thesmartesthouse.com

Notion

Notion is an AI-powered, connected workspace for teams. Notion brings all your notes, docs, and projects into one space that just works. Try Custom Agents now at https://notion.com/homeassistant

Products Discussed

Google Coral USB TPU accelerator: https://amzn.to/4cNVot1

Aqara contact sensors: https://amzn.to/4utywFk

Hosts

Phil Hawthorne

Website

Smart Home Products

Twitter: @philhawthorne

Bluesky: @philhawthorne.com

Buy Phil a Coffee

Rohan Karamandi

Website

Smart Home Products

Twitter: @rohank9

Buy Rohan a Coffee

This episodes contains Amazon affiliate links. If you click on one of them and make a purchase, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases.

Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy