Dual Battery vs Power Station - which options is best for your overlanding/car camping needs?

Having enough power on overlanding trips is a must to keep your fridge running, charging electronics, and powering devices. There are two key ways to do this - a portable power station/solar generator or a dual battery system like mine powered by Redarc and Antigravity Batteries. I break down the pros and cons of each to help you chose which options is best for you.

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[Spessforce]

For the majority of people with vehicles, the challenges of integrating a DIY dual battery setup makes a portable power station far more appealing, even with its downsides.

[pamthompson]

I love my Ecoflow Delta, it can recharge with 110 w from 0 to 80% in 1 hour, full charge in 2 hours. Usually can keep charged off my 400 w solar panel on my roof, 4-6 hours while driving charges it is totally. Has kept me covered for 5 months camping cross country. Haven't tried the 12v charge off the car.

[tomfrengillo]

My two cents: I went with a portable system for our teardrop camper, and opted out of the battery approach. My reasoning was: Simple. Flexible. Portable. It’s a self contained system, and doesn’t need an inverter, Solar controller, etc. If there are issues, it’s not behind a wall or a hood. Also, if my rig changes, I can bring my solution along for whatever we get next. It’s also portable. We have used our Jackery and Bluetti in our rooftop tent, our ground tent, and now our teardrop. We’ve brought them with us when renting a Class B Van. AND if we use them in our house to backup our fridge, or when working remote bring it along. Some considerations after a year: make sure you can charge while driving. Either through cigarette lighter or your rigs inverter if you have one. Our Tacoma has an inverter. However our best decision was to prewire our teardrop so we could charge the power station through the 7pin connection while driving. Allows us to leave the station in the teardrop. Another thing is considering buying one or two smaller units if charge time is a concern; simply the 300W units can charge in 2-3 hours and a solar panel is all you need. We do this with our fridge. We don’t bring home appliances with us so the inverter needs have less importance. We use a Jackery 1000 and Bluetti A50S. Been looking for a 300W station to round it out, but that’s probably overkill to be honest. Our solutions works well for 2-5 day trips (most of the time). If during sunny spring - fall weather, have had no issues keeping units topped up with solar panels, even when using with our diesel heater and fridge. I feel like this system is cost effective and maybe even cheaper when looking at the complexity of install, additional hardware and battery costs and all the flexibility with multi-use.

[Lordoftheflatbush]

Switched to a power station several years ago and never regretted this step.

[mariodasilva]

Thanks so much for this comparison, which fit my thoughts exactly! I'm not a camper but I have had many power outages before the power company laid thicker cables in my housing estate. To avoid requiring certification by the electrical company, my solution was to have two car 12v 65A batteries in parallel with a battery isolator as offline, same as dual batteries in cars. They are constantly being charged by 2 100A solar panels in parallel at the window glass. As I'm on the top floor of my block it gets all the morning sun. This 12v 1000W inverter gave me 2xAC and 2xUSB for just under 3 hours for my fridge or six hours of fan at low speed. This is all off grid and AC cable runs are used when needed. Now because this all worked nicely and cheaply, I'm thinking of 2 more batterIes to a quad system in the same setup with an isolator and batteryclamps on wheels and I would have two similar sets that could be joined up in parallel as needs arise, OR moved into another part of the house to power something else with another inverter! I like your Bluetooth link to the batteries! Desktop Computers? I have two 24v UPS 1500w for those blackouts, or laptops if longer use is required. Thanks for thinking out of the box. I decided to not go for all in ones.

[robsouthoz]

Great to see someone cover this so well. Something that isn't taken into account often is the effort and cost of all the parts required for an installed setup - really if you take into account everything (decent gauge wires, inverter, dc-dc charger, battery box(es), terminals, fuses etc etc) I think you'll find installed cost is a lot higher than you think - even before labour. Given the space and weight it takes, you really need a huge power draw to justify it over the larger portable options in my view.

[akamithewicked]

I could fix my own battery setup in case I need to, replace whatever parts . I cant fix a power station in case whatever inside that box gets fried .. I rather build my own thing.

[IdontspeakBro.]

I have 400ah of lithium. 3000w inverter and 500 watt of solar. The idea of building that into a portable concept like this makes me moist.

[Johnno]

I have a new ranger coming and will be going a power station instead of a dual battery this time. having having the charger, inverter, inputs, outputs, meters etc all in a single compact and removable box makes a lot more sense for my use. Being able to remove it and use when camping, carvaning, use it as a backup at home is incredibly flexible. Power stations have come down a lot and it is actually cheaper than a dual battery system. If you were non stop touring for months a dual battery is the way to go, otherwise i think most people would be better served by a power station if you are starting from scratch.

[Bolthole_Studios]

Good video, thanks for covering this. I now disagree that a power station can’t run a whole rig set up. My Bluetti powers both my AC and DC distribution panels and I still have the option to easily unplug and take it to my other rig or for emergency power for my house. A lot has changed and come down in cost from a year ago when you shot this. Still great info, but an update video would be very useful for people just starting out.
Drive fast and take chances!

[ayechapin]

Everybody's needs are different and everyone's set ups are unique... thanks for the info

[murda]

A pretty fair and balanced review of these different systems. Well done!

[Utah_Mike]

I run dual 6 volt lead batteries & a 1000 watt power station. Solar for both and they seem to be fully charged most of the time. About $600 invested + solar panel cost. Frig, personal electronics, microwave & fans.

[stinkykd]

Very informative! Love to see the pros/cons. Im pretty bought into Goal Zero. They are the OG but have been resting on laurels. Pulling trigger on 1500x and two 300 watt Ranger panels. I like the idea of adding a "link" to expand to more batteries for the house while tied into my grid with the integration kit. Your set up looks great!

[willdrivesu]

I have to say, I love your setup there...and the fact that it's so simple to wire up....everyone else I see with these systems look like they're opening a hatch on the space shuttle when you look at them.

[ricklavis]

I have had a dual battery setup in my truck camper for 26 years with upgrades along the way. But in my new van I went with a Bluetti 200 max power station. Gives a cleaner look inside the van than all the separate pieces and is 2048WH and 2200 watt inverter. I run my fridge from the 12 volt cigarette plug and my lights from one of the 5521 outlets. On a really rough road I run the fridge from one of the ac outlets. It has a 30 amp 12 volt outlet that I can wire to a fuse block if I want to hard wire various devices. It has 4 ac outlets and multiple usb and barrel connector outlets plus two wireless phone charging pads on top. You can add an additional battery from Bluetti but at a prohibitive cost.
Both systems work great and the cost was about the same. So it probably comes down to personal preference and ease of setup.

[kurtburkhardt]

They each have specific advantages. We have both and they do complement each other. Redarc 1225, 200 watts solar, Optima blue top AGM. EcoFlow 1300 Delta. Particularly, on cloudy days or when we are at camp more than 2 days.

[aprilwine]

I enjoy your videos very much. . I have a small home built 5x8’ over-landing trailer i pull behind my 2.3 turbo two door JL. . I put in the trailer two 200ah Li Time LIFEPO4 batteries with a 3000watt pure sine inverter with two 250watt solar panels on top with a MPPT 60amp charge controller at $155. Total cost was $1800 for the entire system . Batteries $500 each. Budget inverter that has worked VERY well for $400. Used panels for $60 each
I have charged my friends’ power stations with it while on the trails. People get a kick out of that. I have gone all electric unless I will be gone for several days then i bring a propane on demand gas shower/ water heater. We use electric blankets, microwave, induction hot plate even an electric space heater that is used for 5-10 min at a time while getting dressed in the morning. When in camp we can plug an extension cord into one of exterior pugs and run the camp. I have pulled it more than a 2000 miles off road throughout Idaho Washington and Oregon. Never failed me. Planning a trip to the arctic circle, Canadian Northern Territory next July. Want to go???!
The electric installation was easy. EVERYTHING is on YouTube. While portable power stations certainly have their place i haven’t found it in my situation.

[sweetmustang]

I'm so mesmerized by the hair that I lose track of the conversation. I did notice that the first accessory he mentioned was a hair dryer. Lol

[twcamping]

we use a Bluetti AC50S for our fridge going for 1 deg it stays 50 hrs without charge only 27-30W.. 35lts with LG compressor.
We have a 100W portable Solar and works good. We do not use any charging or cooking just for gadgets.
It all boils down to your power needs....we just keep it simple.