Affiliate links here. Every spec is labeled — Spec, Reported, Measured, Estimate — so you always know which kind of claim you're reading. No fabricated awards. No invented test data.
Where are you right now?
Pick your path
I need to size my power system
Not sure how much battery, solar, or charging speed you need? These four resources walk you through the math without selling you anything.
- How Many Watt-Hours Do I Need? →
- Free Power Sizing Calculator →
- Simple vs DIY Electrical →
- Solar for Beginners →
I'm ready to buy
Skip the research spiral. Three picks, three buttons, done.
- → My three picks (quick-buy)
- Under $1,000 fast-charging picks →
- Under $500 entry tier →
- Size your system first →
My setup isn't keeping up
Nine times out of ten it's one of three things. Check them in this order before buying anything new.
- Fast charging not keeping up? What to fix first →
- Alternator charging: the upgrade most people miss →
- Is your solar actually underdelivering? →
- How much power does your fridge really use? →
How we think about power
Recovery-first, not best-case.
Most van life advice is written for perfect conditions: sunny days, campground hookups, no schedule pressure. That's not most van life.
Real van life has cloudy stretches, quiet-hour campgrounds, heavy work weeks, and parking constraints you didn't plan for. The question that actually matters isn't "what works when things go well?" — it's what keeps me stable through my worst week?
That shifts what you prioritize:
- Recharge speed often beats raw capacity when your recovery windows are short
- Alternator charging while you drive is consistently underrated vs. solar
- One failure on a bad week matters more than impressive specs on a good one
Every spec is labeled:
Van life gear marketing blurs these constantly. Here, you always know which one you're looking at.
Why it matters
A "1,800W fast-charge" rating is the peak input, not the sustained average — so real charge times often run 25–40% longer than the headline number suggests. The label tells you whether you're looking at the headline or the lived reality.
How we test and label claims →Everything below is filtered through that. See the picks that survived →
Field notes
One story per path
Each of these started as a problem we didn't see coming.
Why I Chose Portable Power Over a Fixed Battery System
Eight years full-time in a van with a portable power station. Three times it saved me in ways a hardwired system never could.
Seven Years on the Yeti 1400: Why We Switched
Seven years on a Yeti 1400. What finally pushed us to the Bluetti Elite 200 V2 — and what we'd tell anyone making the same decision today.
When Our Power Station Died in the Mountains — What We Did
The Goal Zero battery crash hit us deep in the mountains with no replacement option. What survival-mode power management actually looks like.
Stay in the loop
What I'd buy this month.
One email a month: what broke since last issue, what I'd actually buy right now, and the spec lies worth knowing.
No spam, ever. See our privacy policy.
Beyond the gear
The part that keeps people stuck isn't the gear.
The Leave Anyway Kit is a 10-section workspace for everything van life forces you to figure out that isn't gear — money, mail, work, the conversation with your people. Built from eight years of full-time.
- The fear — how to stop letting it run the calendar
- The money — budgets that survive on the road, not just on paper
- The job question — remote, seasonal, or a full reset
- The logistics — insurance, mail, address, vehicle
- The first 30 days — the part nobody warns you about
Common questions