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Create A Van Life

Eight years One van Every spec sourced

The truth about
van power.

Specs sourced. Failures documented. Picks I'd actually buy.

Size my system → Start here →
Eight+ years full-time van life Claims labeled Spec, Reported, Measured, Estimate No fake urgency. Ever.

What brings you here?

I stealth camp — I can't make noise charging Power stations are silent. Eight years, zero generators — here's how. I boondock for weeks — I need solar to keep up Six years on 300W. What works, what doesn't, what to skip. I want to run a fridge and work remotely full-time Daily power demands, full-timer picks, no compromises

Not sure which fits? Start here →

From the Road

Eight years of real situations. Not scenarios we imagined — things that actually happened.

Power Failure

The battery % crash that changed how we review gear

In the mountains, our Goal Zero Yeti 1400 showed 60% — then died. We managed every watt in survival mode for days. Turns out both it and our Bluetti had the same bug.

Read the story → Winter Failure

Cold weather killed my charging — and I thought the station was broken

Colorado, deep winter. The Yeti 1400 wouldn't charge from wall or solar — nothing. Turns out lithium cells lock out below freezing. It took a full day to warm it enough to accept power again.

Read the story → Upgrade Lesson

What changed when we went from Yeti 1400 to Bluetti Elite 200V2

Seven years on the Yeti, then we upgraded. The Bluetti filled in under an hour from wall — the Yeti took most of a day. The difference wasn't capacity. It was how fast bad weeks could be erased.

Read the story →

Top Picks Across Tiers

One pick per use case — across the budget and premium tiers. Already decided on premium? See my three picks →

EcoFlow DELTA 2 portable power station
Under $1k · Fast Recovery EcoFlow DELTA 2 Erase a bad week fast — fills in under an hour from wall
Read our pick → Buy direct → Amazon →
BLUETTI AC180 portable power station
Under $1k · Quiet Hours BLUETTI AC180 Predictable solar intake, campground-friendly footprint
Read our pick → Buy direct → Amazon →
Our Pick
BLUETTI Elite 300 portable power station
Premium · 3kWh Best Value BLUETTI Elite 300 3kWh, 58 lbs — the one we'd buy today at this tier
Read our pick → Buy direct → Amazon →