Power
Stay charged without hookups.
Solar, batteries, and the real math behind keeping your rig running off-grid — field-tested numbers, not spec-sheet promises.
Power is where most trips quietly succeed or fail
Get it right and you stop thinking about it. Get it wrong and every cloudy day becomes a problem. This is everything we've learned about sizing a system that actually holds up — the panels, the batteries, and the honest trade-offs in between.
The power tools
Solar Calculator — live
Size your panels and battery against how you actually camp, and see whether your power budget holds.
Battery Calculator — coming
How many amp-hours you really need, and how long they'll last between charges.
Generator Calculator — coming
Whether a generator earns its place in your rig, and how much fuel it'll burn.
Start here
How much solar do you actually need?
Watts, sun-hours, and the honest answer for your setup.
Lithium vs. AGM
What the upgrade really buys you — and when it isn't worth it.
Sizing your battery bank
Match your storage to how you camp, not to a forum thread.
Going deeper
Charging while you drive
DC-DC chargers and getting real amps from your alternator.
When a generator earns its keep
The trips where solar alone won't cut it.
Reading your battery monitor
State of charge, and the numbers that actually matter.
Power, from the road
7 nights in Moab on solar alone
What our power budget actually did in the desert, day by day — and the one thing we'd size differently.
Winter power in the Sierra
Short days, cold batteries, and how close we came to running out.
Power sorted? Here's what's next
Water & Waste
How long your fresh, grey, and black tanks really last.
Getting Started
New to all this? Start with the first-nights basics.
Finding Spots
Where to actually put all this power to use.
Want a plan, not just guides?
Run the calculators and we'll build you a personalized power plan — free, and tuned to your rig.