How We Lived Off the Sun for 3 Weeks

We spent 3 weeks exploring the west while living out of our Chevy Tahoe and rooftop tent… all while living off of the sun!

All of our road trips prior to our big trip out west had been a week or less, where we charged our phones on small battery blocks/the car and stopped to get ice every other day. We knew we wanted to up our game for our longer road trip. We researched A TON of products before buying anything and learned a couple tips throughout our trip. Read on to learn how you can also live off the sun, whether that be on a road trip or at home.

Jackery Battery and Solar Panel

Soaking up the sun.

Our first and most important purchase was buying a portable battery and solar panel. This allowed us to power everything else we talk about below.

We researched different brands by comparing prices, size, weight, and wattage. We ultimately landed with Jackery because of how well-known the company was with the outdoor community. We read many great reviews and looked through multiple friend’s posts.

We narrowed it down to the Explorer 1000 and 100W Solar Panel. This was because we wanted a battery that would have enough power to charge our cooler throughout the day and night, along with our electronics. We decided on one solar panel instead of two because we were ok with a slower charge. We haven’t seen a need to get a second one yet.

To get a full charge, it takes around 7-8 hours. During our long trip, we would get back to our campsite around 3pm with the battery being at 50%, charge until the sun set, which would get it back to around 80%. We never had an issue keeping it charged in our location, but if the weather was cloudier, we would’ve had a harder time.

Dometic Powered Cooler

Our daily afternoon charge setup.

Along with the Jackery, this was a game-changing purchase! We remember previous road trips having to go out of our way to get ice. We didn’t feel like we could be truly off-grid knowing that we had to get ice for our food and making sure our electronics were charged just in case of an emergency.

But here comes… the Dometic cooler!

We spent a lot of time researching which cooler was right for us. We decided on the CFX345 model, which is 46 liters and can fit 67 cans. We wanted to be able to store a couple cans of beer, along with veggies, sandwich supplies, sides, and snacks. This size ended up about right for the amount of food/drinks we had.

Prior to taking our trip out west, we didn’t know how much battery the cooler would drain from the Jackery overnight. After the first night, we were pleasantly surprised. Our cooler had only taken 8% of power!

The rest of the trip was a breeze. We would charge up the battery from the solar panels each afternoon/evening which would keep our cooler cold overnight and throughout the morning. The biggest perk of this was our ability to have fresh veggies and not having all of our food get wet from the melted ice.

Rechargeable Flashlights

Prior to investing in a high-quality flashlight, we had a ton of battery non-rechargeable flashlights. Knowing our goal was to be off-grid, we decided to look into rechargeable flashlights so we could easily get around at night. We simply plug them into our Jackery battery during the day.

Rechargeable Fan

While we haven’t used it every night, our rechargeable fan was a LIFESAVER during our night in Sedona, AZ. It was 80 degrees with no wind. We had minimal clothes on already and could barely sleep. Once we turned on the fan, it was manageable and helped us not sweat as much.

The fan has a hook to easily hang from anywhere and lasts throughout the night. Like the flashlights, we recharge during the day. It’s a must-have if you’re camping during the summer!

Rechargeable Shower Head

We talked about this in more detail in our previous blog post. Being able to shower outdoors allowed us to live off-grid. We loved how easy the shower head was to use and the fact that we could recharge throughout the day.

Reflecting back on our 3-week trip, we are so thankful to have been able to live sustainably off-grid. While these experiences are from our trip, we do see ourselves continuing to find ways to utilize the sun in our everyday lives. We’re looking forward to continuing learning and improving!

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