Hi all,
I've got a multi-month trip planned for this summer and I've been making adjustments to my truck as needed. Gonna be making a loop around the US from about June to October or so. I'm used to dual-sport motorcycle camping, so this will be my first time with an actual camper (though small). I'll be in my 09 Tacoma with an ARE High Contractor Top. I've got pretty much all of the logistics sorted out, except for one thing. I need a fridge, but want to do it as simply and easily as possible. I have no desire to spend $500+ on an onboard dual battery setup. Also, sometimes I camp locally out of my Jeep, so whatever aux power source I use, I want to be able to disconnect from my truck and take with me for 1-2 day camping trips.
For the fridge, I'll probably go Alpicool C40. They're pretty efficient and it would fit perfectly in the area I've got set aside for it.
Totally fine with putting solar on the roof of my topper. I've got a flat aluminum rack up there that should fit it perfectly.
Now, here's where I run into issues. Ideally, I'd like to be able to charge the battery pack (whether that be Jackery, Bluetti, or Ecoflow) from the 12v cigarette lighter in my truck while driving, and then rely on the solar panel to charge it when the truck is parked/also adding power while driving. On this trip, I'll be driving for large parts and then staying with other people for 1-2 weeks at a time, out of the truck entirely. So, the fridge will only be used on the road trip portions of the trip. That being said, I'll need to run the fridge on the nights I'm camping in the truck, so some sort of battery or solar generator is kind of a requirement. However, most of these power stations that I'm finding will only charge one way or the other at a time. Is there a cheap and effective way to be charge from 12 volt and also charge with solar at the same time? I'd even be okay with charging from the car while driving, and then hitting a switch or swapping cables or something when I park, but I'd like an easier way to do that than getting behind my seat and swapping cables every time I park, if possible.
I've done a lot of research online, but most videos I'm finding are just paid reviews of products and not actually informational past listing the specs of each model.
Thanks for any help.
As far as power stations go, looks like a 500 wh station should be enough. EcoFlow is running a deal right now on their River Pro with 720 wh, but from reading reviews it sounds like they burn up the 12v charging cables for some reason.
I've got a multi-month trip planned for this summer and I've been making adjustments to my truck as needed. Gonna be making a loop around the US from about June to October or so. I'm used to dual-sport motorcycle camping, so this will be my first time with an actual camper (though small). I'll be in my 09 Tacoma with an ARE High Contractor Top. I've got pretty much all of the logistics sorted out, except for one thing. I need a fridge, but want to do it as simply and easily as possible. I have no desire to spend $500+ on an onboard dual battery setup. Also, sometimes I camp locally out of my Jeep, so whatever aux power source I use, I want to be able to disconnect from my truck and take with me for 1-2 day camping trips.
For the fridge, I'll probably go Alpicool C40. They're pretty efficient and it would fit perfectly in the area I've got set aside for it.
Totally fine with putting solar on the roof of my topper. I've got a flat aluminum rack up there that should fit it perfectly.
Now, here's where I run into issues. Ideally, I'd like to be able to charge the battery pack (whether that be Jackery, Bluetti, or Ecoflow) from the 12v cigarette lighter in my truck while driving, and then rely on the solar panel to charge it when the truck is parked/also adding power while driving. On this trip, I'll be driving for large parts and then staying with other people for 1-2 weeks at a time, out of the truck entirely. So, the fridge will only be used on the road trip portions of the trip. That being said, I'll need to run the fridge on the nights I'm camping in the truck, so some sort of battery or solar generator is kind of a requirement. However, most of these power stations that I'm finding will only charge one way or the other at a time. Is there a cheap and effective way to be charge from 12 volt and also charge with solar at the same time? I'd even be okay with charging from the car while driving, and then hitting a switch or swapping cables or something when I park, but I'd like an easier way to do that than getting behind my seat and swapping cables every time I park, if possible.
I've done a lot of research online, but most videos I'm finding are just paid reviews of products and not actually informational past listing the specs of each model.
Thanks for any help.
As far as power stations go, looks like a 500 wh station should be enough. EcoFlow is running a deal right now on their River Pro with 720 wh, but from reading reviews it sounds like they burn up the 12v charging cables for some reason.
