[Swede71]

Maiden voyage with this trailer from S Africa, had sun, rain, wind. Towed great, only 1279lbs, barely felt it behind the runner. Off-road it was like butter with my suspension and the independent suspension on the trailer. Lots of room inside, very happy with it and looking forward to more trips this summer. Even with the rain and the clouds the solar blanket kept my Yeti 400, 75L fridge/freezer, trailer & 6 USB devices all charged up during the day. This is going to be an Awesome summer. Lots of months of planning to get to this stage, just need my rear bumper from Pelfreybilt, to complete this build.

[Cymon]

Originally Posted by Swede71

Maiden voyage with this trailer from S Africa, had sun, rain, wind. Towed great, only 1279lbs, barely felt it behind the runner. Off-road it was like butter with my suspension and the independent suspension on the trailer. Lots of room inside, very happy with it and looking forward to more trips this summer. Even with the rain and the clouds the solar blanket kept my Yeti 400, 75L fridge/freezer, trailer & 6 USB devices all charged up during the day. This is going to be an Awesome summer. Lots of months of planning to get to this stage, just need my rear bumper from Pelfreybilt, to complete this build.

Awesome setup! What solar blanket is that? Does it pack up well?

[Swede71]

Originally Posted by Cymon

Awesome setup! What solar blanket is that? Does it pack up well?

It packs up to the size of a laptop, and only 13.6lbs, it is based off of the Redarc solar blanket and has two 2.4A USB charging ports built in and a 23.5% efficiency rating which is the best available for now. Company is Off Grid Trek out of Canada here is the link, pricing is in Canadian dollars. Have been testing it, the 120W solar blanket & 28W solar panel for the last 3 months and they have been exceeding my expectations. Home - Off Grid Trek - Products designed to go further, longer.

If there is interest we can possibly organize a group buy with these.

[Cymon]

Originally Posted by Swede71

It packs up to the size of a laptop, and only 13.6lbs, it is based off of the Redarc solar blanket and has two 2.4A USB charging ports built in and a 23.5% efficiency rating which is the best available for now. Company is Off Grid Trek out of Canada here is the link, pricing is in Canadian dollars. Have been testing it, the 120W solar blanket & 28W solar panel for the last 3 months and they have been exceeding my expectations. Home - Off Grid Trek - Products designed to go further, longer.

If there is interest we can possibly organize a group buy with these.
]

Thanks! I’ve been looking closely at the Goal Zero Nomad 100 to power my Yeti 400 Li, which powers my fridge when the car is off, they usually have them open box for about 40% off, but these look really good (likely out of my price range for now), but I would look carefulky into a group buy depending on the price.

[Swede71]

Originally Posted by Cymon

Thanks! I’ve been looking closely at the Goal Zero Nomad 100 to power my Yeti 400 Li, which powers my fridge when the car is off, they usually have them open box for about 40% off, but these look really good (likely out of my price range for now), but I would look carefulky into a group buy depending on the price.

I have 2 of the Nomad 100's that I used last year, I found they are heavier at 10.2lbs/each, have a fabric not rubberized material so not truly waterproof, not flexible so had to move them often and do not work well in low light, plus did power my Yeti 400 fully/daily when under heavy load ie 65L fridge/freezer and a couple of USB devices. I like to camp in the mountains where sometimes there is only 2-3hrs of good light in between the mountain peaks with full sun, so not much time to charge. The Nomad 100's just did not do the job and were to bulky/heavy & time consuming. These solar blankets are quite the opposite and I am very happy with them. 2 weeks ago just for fun I smoked 14lbs worth of farm grown chickens for 4hrs using my yeti 400 that used about 250W to start up my Traeger smoker then a continuous 52W to maintain the temp. I used the 120W solar blanket in the back yard under a large Mayday tree and it gave gave the Yeti 400 an average of 65W - 72W with partial shade. So I am sold on these, at the end I had a great meal and a fully topped up Yeti 400.

[nglayton]

Just checked out that solar blanket on their website. Looks awesome, but OUCH! The price will set you back a few.

[Swede71]

Originally Posted by nglayton

Just checked out that solar blanket on their website. Looks awesome, but OUCH! The price will set you back a few.

Price is in Canadian dollars, so less in US dollars and is priced the same per/Watt as a Goal Zero Nomad 100, with more features and a higher efficiency rating so actually a better bang for the buck. Either way it is not for everyone.

[nglayton]

Originally Posted by Swede71

Price is in Canadian dollars, so less in US dollars and is priced the same per/Watt as a Goal Zero Nomad 100, with more features and a higher efficiency rating so actually a better bang for the buck. Either way it is not for everyone.

That definitely helps. I would never have guessed it was Canadian dollars.

[graphadflinin]

These are beautiful photos, thank you for sharing the report. We also want to buy a solar blanket for the pool, but I looked at various sites and realized that I would have to pay good money for it. During the quarantine, I had problems with work, so at the moment I can only buy a weighted blanket, instead of a solar one. To be honest, when I read the reviews about the weighted blanket, I thought it would be wonderful to get it. Especially since I have trouble sleeping, and they promised that this blanket eliminates these problems and creates a feeling of incredible comfort. Well, it attracted me and I want to check it out. If someone already has such a blanket, please leave your feedback so that I don't waste money.