It’s a rare product that changes everything about the way you travel. The Jackery Solar Generator 1000 Pro did just that in ways that continually surprise me.
I spent six months building out (well, overseeing the build of) my 2018 Ram Promaster, which is outfitted with three stellar 100ah batteries from the Utah Company Lion Energy and a whole host of bells and whistles that drain those batteries more quickly than I’d like. I wanted a rig that I could park for weeks at a time in the middle of the desert, and after a couple of years of anxious Victron monitor-watching and of babying what electronic devices I was using in the van, I finally had to admit that this is a weekender rig, or a road warrior (so the alternator can keep the batteries charged.) I could get maybe three days off the grid, even with three 100w solar panels doing their damnedest, before either a drive or a shore power connection was necessary.
That’s entirely fine for dozens of different kinds of trips. But I also yearned for an outfit that would survive long hauls in the middle of nowhere, with propane as cooking fuel, but also with some kind of electric/solar-powered energy to keep my Dometic CFX3 Dual-Zone Cooler chilly, my Specialized Turbo Levo charged between epic mountain bike rides, juice up a projector for the occasional outdoor movie night (don’t knock it til you try it!), and keep my phone and laptop humming.
Enter the teardrop trailer I bought from a guy in rural Oregon made by Canada’s Droplet, into which I added another solar-fed Lion Safari UT1300 to power the lights and the small Dometic cooler in the trailer’s kitchen. But the secret weapon is Jackery’s Solar Generator 1000 Pro and the four 200w solar panels that come in a $3,999 kit. This setup cooks: the generator can zip from zero to full in 1.8 hours when all four panels are properly deployed, three times faster than its predecessor, the Solar Generator 1000. A foldable handle lets the generator tuck neatly away when not in use, and it comes with an integrated battery system to monitor and protect the battery’s life. It comes with two USB-C and two 100W PD ports, along with three 1000w AC output ports, two USB-A ports, and one DC port. Standby power is an impressive 10 years at one usage per week, with a low self-discharge rate that lasts 365 days from an 80 percent battery level.
The Jackery charges a laptop nine times, and it can power a hair dryer or an instant pot for nearly an hour. For my purposes, what’s most useful is that I can plug it into my car while I’m driving so that it’s not only charging the battery but also powering my larger Dometic cooler. When I camped, the system shines because, unlike the rooftop solar panels mounted atop my van or my teardrop, I can reposition the Jackery panels throughout the day, maximizing the sun’s power. So not only am I using less electricity because I’m relying on propane and butane for cooking, I’m also leveraging far more sunshine. Where I’m constantly afraid of running out of juice in the van, I hardly have to think about it with the Jackery, aside from a bit more manipulation of panels and plugging/unplugging of various devices. For longer-term boondocking, the Jackery Solar Generator 1000 Pro is a must. I can hardly remember how I ever camped without it.
$1597.00 – $3999.00 | jackery.com
Read more: Can Portable Power Packs Replace Dual Batteries?
Images: Winston Ross and Jackery
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