My dad and I recently returned home from a bare-bones weekend camping trip in my Toyota 4Runner.
We stayed at a primitive campsite with no running water or electricity, which made my wife and mom decide to stay home.
Had we brought some home luxuries, I’m sure they would have been more than willing to come along. So I dove into the rabbit hole of Overlanding and living “off-grid” without giving up all the luxuries that electricity offers us.
After all, at a minimum, I need something to power my laptop and WiFi router so my wife and I can still work if needed!
But I’d even like to have the option to store food in a small refrigerator, charge my kayak trolling motor battery, and have a hot cup of coffee in the morning while my wife dries her hair with a blow dryer and lights up the campsite with enough lights to be seen from outer space.
Is all that even possible, though?
Absolutely, it is! And that’s just the beginning of the possibilities with a REDARC system.
The Problem
When Overlanding or camping at a primitive campground, electricity was left at home. Your vehicle is the closest thing to a power station you have, but running down your car battery would eliminate your ride back to civilization.
You could bring along a loud, bulky generator, but you’d upset your campground neighbors or, at the very least, have to listen to it run all night. I don’t know about you, but I’d much rather listen to the crickets and the frogs than an annoying generator.
You also have to ensure you have fuel for the generator, which means adding more to the packing list and already limited space.
So, what other options do you have left?
Batteries.
However, transporting batteries can also be bulky, and unlike a generator, they only store energy instead of creating it. So you’re very limited on how much power you can bring along on your trip.
Well, you were limited.
The Solution
When you pair an ALPHA150 12V 150AH Lithium Battery with a solar panel, DC charger, battery isolator, and inverter, your vehicle becomes an off-grid power station, capable of powering anything you might need while camping for the weekend or longer.
You’ll be able to leave the cooler and ice at home and use a Portable Fridge instead. No more scrounging around for firewood; bring the toaster oven to cook your meals. Don’t forget the camp lights because you’ll need to see around camp after sunset.
My favorite is that you can power a fan to stay cool on warm nights.
This is all possible because you can charge the battery while driving down the road and using the solar panel. So even if the sun isn’t shining, you won’t run out of power.
If you’re uncomfortable with installing all this equipment, don’t worry; there’s likely an installer close by who can do the work, but a REDARC system is as simple as it gets to install.
Gone are the days of camping in survival mode, hoping to catch a few fish for dinner. It’s time for the backcountry to meet glamping!
You can now bring along everything, including the kitchen sink, on your next camping trip and have the ability to power it all.
Powering Down
I now see that had I had a REDARC system already installed in my Toyota 4Runner, my wife and mother would have happily tagged along for the weekend adventure with my dad and me because they wouldn’t have been lacking any of the essentials they’d come to expect at home.
So be sure to check out a REDARC system before heading out for a weekend of backcountry fishing, big-game hunting, or even disc golfing so you can easily power all your gear and electronics.
About Author:
Sam Jacobs is a writer, and chief historian, at Ammo. As a self-proclaimed outdoorsman, it’s his responsibility to use his knowledge and experience to educate others about ammunition, the outdoors, and conservation.
