The ZoupW 200 Watt Solar Panel was added to our off grid camping arsenal this year as we traversed through Michigan. While we have an excellent gas powered generator, we thought these external panels would be enough to power our lights and keep our LP fridge running with the trust EcoFlow powering CPAPs and charging phones.
While shopping for units that could plug into our solar on the side input we considered going with a rooftop setup instead as it offered more watts for a negligible price bump. The fear was that while camping in the dense woods our camper would be shaded which turned out to be absolutely true on all of our boon docking sites. The ability to move the panel into a sunny area was as crucial as an extra long cable to connect the panel to camper.
The panel was extremely simple to setup and indeed provided power to our batteries. Unfortunately for us, our dual 6 volt Trojans gave the ghost on the first stop. This caused us to make a 2 hour round trip to NAPA for a couple 12 volts. The failure was by no means related to the panels, but a side effect of trying to push them too long as they were entering their 5th year of service. Once swapped the new batteries certainly held a charge longer, but by no means were these panels up to the job of topping them off enough to last the night. Had we been in a less wooded area and had something a bit better than bargain 12 volts things would have performed better. Enough to leave the generator at home is likely a no.
Where the panels excelled was cell phone and laptop charge ups. The controller came with USB outputs and we were able to plug our devices straight in with fantastic results! For tent camping off grid for an extended period this could be a game changer.
pros:
- Simple to use
- Packs neat and flat
- Direct USB charging option
cons:
- Not beefy enough to extend our off grid experience with a standard 12 volt setup and limited sun
tips:
- Keep the panels in full sun as much as possible for best results
- Tuck the cable from panel to camper under the camper to limit tripping
You can find these levels on Amazon as well as other fine retailers.
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