MAINS OR SHORE POWER: 240 volt electricity supplied by plugging a lead from the motorhome into a house or caravan park power pole.

BATTERY ISOLATOR: Isolates the vehicle's starting battery to stop it being drained by lights and accessories.

DEEP CYCLE BATTERY: Provides low amperage discharge to operate accessories. Deep cycle batteries are built to withstand frequent discharging and recharging. Charged from a battery charger on shore power and surplus alternator power while moving.

RESERVE CAPACITY: Amount of time that a battery can sustain a discharge at a specified level.

INVERTER: Electrical 'transformer' that converts storage battery power to 240 volts for appliances. Inverter's size is dictated by power requirements.

GREY WATER: Used water from the sink, shower or wash basin, usually stored in a tank until drained.

BLACK WATER: Used water from the toilet, stored in a separate tank until flushed into sewerage mains.

CASSETTE TOILET: A chemical toilet with a cassette container for waste disposal.

LPG: Liquid propane gas, used for stoves, grills, water heaters and (most) fridges.

PILOT LIGHT: Small flame used to ignite LPG water heaters and fridges on demand. Always extinguished when travelling.

THREEWAY FRIDGE: A fridge that operates on 240 volts (shore power), 12 volts (for travelling) and LPG (when parked away from shore power).