Inverter

 Hi all. Just bought a 2018 Warwick XL and want to find out if the van has an inverter and if so how to activate. It’s got plenty of 240v sockets and a microwave but I’ve seen nothing in the handbook about an inverter. Anyone in the know? Thanks.

Hi , I've got a 2017 Warwick xl , no inverter fitted from new but have fitted one ' just in case '   it has now been in 3 of our previous Van's and used probably twice  !

Thanks for confirming Kaspian. We camp off grid. Had the factory inverter in our California and never used it. Now seem to be in possession of a decorative microwave! Anyone recommend an inverter installer? Cheers folks.

Not decorative, just a really heavy and volume inefficient storage. We keep measuring jugs and plastic bowls in there. Most folk seem to use them as bread bins.

of course inverters are a 'good idea' if they provide a solution to your camping requirements...
not everyone goes to a site with hook up and the first thing to establish is what equipment you might wish to use in these circumstances..
running heating, hot water, water pump, fridges and hobs/ovens are easy with gas.
lights, tv, usb charging of tablets/phones all use 12v...again no problem..
...but there will be the odd piece of kit that is mains only and this is where an inverter comes in....low wattage hairdrier, coffee maker, larger laptop possibly...
we have a mains only sky box and have a small inverter (500 watt) to run this.
while it is a bit less efficient than running a similar device directly from 12v (there are no modern 12v Sky boxes now) a loss of, say, 10% is negligible on a low power unit for only a couple of hours.
at the other end of the scale, some vans have very large battery banks and large (upto 3kw) inverters and a switch (manual or automatic) to change all the mains sockets over to inverted power when not on a mains hook up...
obviously these larger, more complicated systems (supported by large solar banks) are not cheap but provide total autonomy to their owners who probably spend months in their van and never have a requirement for external electric.
as i said, ypu need to determing what you want the inverter for in order to best assess its power level...
a simple 500w -1000w inverter might be less than £200 and installation is simple..
two decent sized leads (thick but short) can connect directly to the leisure battery as close as is practical (to reduce losses).
they usually have an on/off switch, some with a remote switch for convenience (keep turned off when not in use) and a three pin 240v output socket.
just fit a normal 240 extension lead to provide a socket/power where you need it. 
our inverter is located in our double floor next to the leisure batteries and i have an extension running rearwards to the garage where i can charge our electric bike batteries when not on ehu.
we do have a pair of 95ah leisure batteries and a supporting solar panel so we do have decent supply of 12v power and a method of replenishing it...for free.
good luck.

If intending to run the  microwave you will need a substantial inverter to handle the initial start up current draw demanded by the microwave which is likely to result in an inverter that is   a physically large unit to place under the sofa box close to the battery. As said these draw a large amount of power from the battery and then you are really looking at extra batteries/ seriously upgraded solar array etc etc a real can of worms if constantly  off grid.  You will then be involved in years of forum  debate over which  batteries / solar etc is best. Our inverter only produces around 800W continuous and was bought to allow mains  charger for cameras and laptops and a small TV etc to be used but as tech moves on and USB chargers became common it is far cheaper to convert to 12v / USB appliances .   The vision of wild camping in some idyllic spot off grid with fully functioning 240v sockets and microwaves  really is just a marketing  mans dream. The Van's as delivered from  the factory  are not capable of this .

if i was camping in some idyllic spot (for me thats somewhere warm) the last thing id be thinking about would be the microwave...we dont even have one..more likely a cold salad and a beer/wine...
many folk have the kit to run plenty of appliances without recourse to a cable but that kit can be comprehensive and expensive.
OTOH to run the odd small appliance (like our Sky box) a lowish power inverter is cheap and easy to fit....and very useful...
using the van off grid in the same way as you might with a hook up will require a change in mindset....gas becomes the fuel of necessity, with solar/12v (and decent batteries) alongside.
OH forgoes her hairdrier....small price to pay for being where we want to be (with no microwave)...

Thanks all. It’s a Warwick XL on an 18 plate so microwave compulsory not an option. Think I’ll sack the idea of inverter given comments provided. Seems an expensive way to heat a can of beans. Decoration it is then. Cheers.

Camper-x wrote:Thanks all. It’s a Warwick XL on an 18 plate so microwave compulsory not an option. Think I’ll sack the idea of inverter given comments provided. Seems an expensive way to heat a can of beans. Decoration it is then. Cheers.

surely you'd use gas for heating beans
if you have no need of any other appliances off-grid then, you're right, you have no need of an inverter...
you could also remove the microwave and create some extra storage?