New RPoders in the Wolverine State - Event Date: 04 Aug 2020 - 04 Aug 2021

Welcome and congratulations on your "new to you" RPod. I hope you have many fun adventures and make many great memories with it. I agree that if your Cherokee is set up right, it will charge the battery/batteries. What it may or may not do is be able to both charge the battery and run the refrigerator on 12V at the same time. Many vehicles just don't have the capability to do so. We have run the refrigerator on propane for most of the time we have been traveling with our 179. Only recently, I installed an LiFePO4 (Lithium Iron Phosphate) battery instead of the two 6V batteries in series that I had been using (see my mods for details). I also installed a DC to DC charger and a dedicated circuit in our Frontier and can now both charge the battery and use the refrigerator on 12V DC. LP is still the way to go when not towing though as the refrigerator will discharge the battery/batteries rather quickly.

I also got a Renogy 100W Solar Suitcase with Voyager controller (again, see my mods for details). I got it on sale which was helpful. It is still more expensive than some other options, but it works well and I am pleased with it. As stated above, I would not go below 100W. Going with a 200W would have been nice, but the size and cost of the larger unit was higher than I wanted to pay. I have the connections to either use the solar port or a connection I made on the tongue with PowerPole type connectors.

One other thing I did recently was to pick up a Firman dual-fuel (gasoline or propane) generator from Costco. I don't know if it is still in stock but if so, it is much less expensive than a Champion or other dual-fuel generator brands. It is electric start and has a multi-function meter to track hours for maintenance (something the Champion lacked when I was looking). It is relatively quiet. It is on sale right now. http://www.costco.com/firman-2900w-running--3200w-peak-electric-start-gasoline-or-propane-fuel-powered-inverter-generator-gas-and-lp.product.100481637.html It delivers a little less power on propane than on gasoline, but it is easier to carry a second propane tank and not worry about gasoline fumes or spilling. It is powerful enough to run the AC. The down side is that it is quite heavy.

I had made a lot of these changes to prepare for a trip to Alaska which did not happen this year. I hope we can make it next year instead. In the meantime, we are much better set up for off-grid camping. Since you are experienced tent campers, I think you will be well pleased with the luxury of your RPod.

A checklist is a great idea, however after my first trip I was amazed how easy an R-Pod is to setup and take down.