10 Tech Gadgets for Boondocking

Whether you’re a full-time RVer like ourselves, or a weekend camper, van camper, automobile traveler or even a boater, you’ll want to take some tech toys with you so you can be plugged in. However, if you’re like us, once you go off the grid, you’ll need to rethink your electronic peripherals because not all can work without being plugged in to a 120 volt outlet.

Since Dan completed our solar install, we had to figure out how we can still be plugged in but the electronics have to be other than 120 volt. In doing so, we’ve found some pretty awesome finds that we’d like to share in this blog.

Be it known, we USE these products; they are not just some random listing.

1) RAVPower PORTABLE 26800mAh USB BATTERY PACK

This was listed on our Santa’s Top 25 Gifts for RVers and Campers and for good reason! You can buy these in any size you want. We have several. Since we’ve been boondocking and plugability has become limited to 12volt when we’re on solar, we simply charge these suckers up and take them everywhere with us to charge our phones, tablets, portable speaker, camera, etc. You can never have too many of them.

We listed this one first because you can plug in some of the following in to either charge or operate with these. This larger capacity battery pack has 3 ports so we can charge 3 electronic devices at the same time. We purchased this one on Amazon for about $42.

2) OPOLAR F201 RECHARGEABLE PORTABLE MINI USB FAN

WOW! That phrase, ‘good things come in small packages’ surely describes these little Godsends in warm weather. We wished we knew about these when our son was deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan in the hot desert seasons. Instead of traditional small fans that plug into 110 outlets, these are USB powered so we can charge and operate them off of our solar by plugging into our 12v outlet. They last up to 6 hours if left on continuously on battery charge. We use these at our bedsides and living areas while we are on solar to keep the air moving and cool. You’d be surprised how powerful they are. They have three speed settings and a small LED light. These would also be great to have in your vehicles. We also take them outside with us at dusk to keep the mosquitoes away. We bought two of these for about $15 each.

3) O2COOL 10″ PORTABLE FAN WITH AC ADAPTER

We needed a bigger fan on warm days to move the air in our 5th wheel when we’re on solar. This 2-speed, dual-power fan plugs in with the AC adapter (included) or 6 “D” batteries which gives us about 40 hours of battery life. They are small and pack nicely away in a cabinet when we don’t need it. We place this on the floor if we step out to keep Krissie and Kandi cool on warm days. We also take it outside on windless days or nights to move their air around and to keep mosquitoes from ruining our evening. We bought this one on Amazon for less than $20.

4) KINGEAR AIR PURIFIER OFFICE DESKTOP AIR CLEANER

When we sold our S&B and moved into our RV, we brought our big honkin’ electric Air Purifiers with us. We loved them however, we didn’t love the size, cleaning maintenance and cost of filters. They were cumbersome and on packing day, they were a pain to stow. With a little research and review reading, we found these on Amazon also for $60 each.

The filters are replaceable which also can be purchased on Amazon. They are quite small yet pack punch when it comes to purifying the air. These are must-haves if you have pets, cook inside your RV or smoke. Aren’t these cute little guys?

5) LOGITECH BLUETOOTH KEYBOARD

While I do most of my blogging and writing on my laptop, I sometimes will want to sit outside do some writing without lugging my laptop out with me. I found this cool keyboard at a military PX store however, they can be found elsewhere. It simply takes a two AAA batteries.

It is Bluetooth capable so there are no cables or cords. There’s an on/off switch on the bottom to preserve the battery life when you’re not using. This particular model has a indented trough for my electronic tablet to set in. Its one of the best $40-50 I’ve ever spent.

6) BOSE BLUETOOTH SPEAKER

We’ve had Bluetooth speakers before but they never seemed to last or they would lose their parity. After researching and reading reviews, I figured I couldn’t go wrong with buying a Bose product. Don’t let this little guy fool you for it’s size. It’s rugged and puts out quality sound at the touch of a button. It was super easy to pair with my phone, tablet, and laptop.

It comes with a USB cable for charging. A typical charge will last all day and night of continuous use. I bought ours on sale for $100 which was a big spend for us but hey, we enjoy our music.

7) YOUNG LIVING ESSENTIAL OIL ORB DIFFUSER

We diffuse essential oils daily but when we operate on solar, I needed something that operated and/or charged on a USB cord that can be powered on our 12volt system. Well, it just so happens that Young Living has a travel-size USB Orb Diffuser that you can take anywhere you travel whether in your car, RV or pack in your travel suitcase.

Simply open it, add the prescribed amount of water and choice of essential oils, close it up and turn it on. It will diffuse up to four and a half hours continuous (green LED) or intermittent (blue LED). It comes with three essential oil wicks. You can read more about our blog, “Traveling with Essential Oils”.

You can order one, two or ten of these little darlings, replacement wicks and any of their high quality essential oils from Young Living Essential Oils through us. You can either sign up as to be your own distributor (you will need my # as your Sponsor and Enroller) to receive a 24% discount or if you’d prefer, you can simply sign up as a retail customer and order accordingly. You will need my distributor #1495003 to order whichever method you choose.

8) 12Volt DC LAPTOP PC COMPUTER CAR CHARGING CORD

This was our most recent purchases and Iove it! Since operating on solar, we needed a way to charge my work laptop without hooking up the generator to operate our 110 outlets. We did a little research and found this little power tether. It powers and charges battery from a 12volt DC outlet that Dan installed. This Laptop Car Charging Cord is compatible with my Toshiba Satellite Laptop. Surprisingly, this cost us only $20.

9) ResMed CPAP 12V POWER CORD

Unfortunately, one of us has to wear a CPAP device during slumber. Because it needs to operate with humidification, this was probably ‘the’ biggest energy user that we had to contend with while on solar. Dan installed a cigarette lighter outlet in the bedroom so we could use this 12v power adapter charger.

We researched various CPAP user communities and were recommended this. It works flawlessly. It has an on/off switch so we don’t have to unplug it every time. Now, we have complete freedom to boondock where we want and enjoy a peaceful night’s sleep too!

10) ELECTRONIC PICTURE FRAME

This was a big hit in our listed in our Santa’s Top 25 Gifts for RVers and Campers. In fact, we were hoping we’d be gifted one of these ourselves! Since living in an RV, it doesn’t allow us a lot of wall or surface space to have photo frames. This cool gadget allows us enjoy family and friends photos on a timed sequence.

Our photos are stored on an SD card, inserted into the card drive and played continuously when turned on. It plugs into a standard 110 outlet. If we want to change or add photos, all we do is either change out the SD card for another or upload new photos to add to our existing one. Just ‘plug and play’! This isn’t really ‘solar friendly’ as it operates on a 110v outlet however, its still a cool tech gadget to have in your RV.

We hope that gives you some ideas on how you, as an RVer, can still enjoy being connected or enjoy your electronics but with energy conservation in mind. Ever since we’ve installed our solar project, we’ve learned that we still can be plugged in…just a little differently.