KampingLogik

I've used this portable suitcase solar panel for over two years in travel all over the US with great success.

We have crisscrossed the United States with our un-refurbished 1975 Prowler camper with our family of 6. It is a bit beat up and not everything works, but it has brought us the greatest family memories and taken us to many National Parks and Monuments, State Parks and weekend trips to the beach. Without this trailer, we would never have embarked on most of these adventures as a family. Not everything has to be "Pinterest perfect" - just get out there!

Took the Thunderbolt 100watt portable solar panel out into the wild, 11 days camping with no hookups... the panel functioned as expected and withstood some harsh rainy days with no issue. As I foresaw, the biggest frustration is carrying the panel in its box around while in transit, and stashing the box while camping. All in all, a rad value!

Got in a good 11 day trip using the HQST 100ah lithium battery for our vintage trailer. It recharged quick and the voltage never dropped too low, even on cloudy or rainy days. So great to never need to run the generator!

I test and look at the features of this Jackery 290 & compare to a component system. I picked this new Jackery model up at Harbor Freight with a 10% off coupon. It looks to be a model sitting between the Jackery 240 and 300 models at a price sitting just between those two models with a combo of features from each.

So here is a simplistic starter-level description of the basic necessary components to get off-grid 12 volt power for camping, vans, campers, trailers, cabins etc. These are the main components you will need, but these are scalable to larger capacity components to handle larger needs. I hope this helps you get started with solar!

1 cable connection and a solar panel is charging up the power station, that easy! All-in-one power stations make 12 volt battery/solar power absolutely plug and play. All the main components of a 12v system (inverter, charge controller, battery) are housed within the power station. The main trade-off is that you cannot upgrade specific components, and the higher capacity power stations get pretty pricey. But nothing could be simpler or more portable!

Here is a little video of the 5 group sites at the Seawall Campground in Acadia National Park. Maybe this can help you decide on a site or give you an idea what things look like. Hope it helps!

Thinking through the benefits and trade offs of the different options for 12v off-grid power for campers, vans, overlanding, cabins etc. Which one has worked best for you and why? I have slowly built up 2 decently capable component systems in my van and trailer, but these all-in-one power stations are amazingly simple. Different budgets, goals and needs will lead each person to their own system!

Trade-offs between all-in-one + solar, 12v component + solar, and a gas generator all hovering around the $400 mark. If you don't have a ton to spend but need off-grid power for camping and outdoor activities, maybe this rundown can help you decide what is the best setup for your needs.

It can be tough to get your power station recharged on a cloudy day if you are solely relying on solar. You may need to charge from your vehicle while driving around or a larger capacity power station to make it through the cloudy days.

Its no problem to get the Jackery 290 charged up fairly quick with the Harbor Freight 100w panel - it recharges the Jackery battery with a 60w input which equates to about 20% per hour, at least up to the 90% mark when the Jackery starts dialing down the input wattage automatically. Very different outcome from our cloudy day results.

Here is my compare and contrast of these two 100 watt portable solar panels. The HF solar panel has less features but the Renogy costs over twice as much. I also connect up the HF panel to a charge controller, battery and 12v outlet... let me know which one looks like a better option to you!

Buffalo (aka American Bison) are so awesome... I never get tired of seeing them in the National Parks like Tetons, Yellowstone, Wind Cave, Roosevelt :-) Truly amazing creatures!