If you’ve seen any of the videos we’ve been posting, you know that I am a woman who likes a back up plan. If possible, I want a plan B but I am always asking myself - is a Plan B warranted? Is this too much? Quite often the answer is yes because based on the way we camp we usually aren’t very far from civilization. But for our upcoming two week camping trip (which will hopefully include a lot of time off grid) in New Mexico, I decided that a strong Plan B was warranted.

As an aside, let me just clarify what the terms boondocking and dry camping mean because it plays into why I think we need a Plan B.

Boondocking vs. Dry Camping

Boondocking is when you are nowhere near a municipal source for power, water or sewer. All those fabulous Instagram pictures of a Happier Camper in the middle of the desert? That’s boondocking. Dry Camping is similar but different. You’ve got the same constraints - no power, water or sewer hookups - but you are at a campground. We usually camp at state campgrounds and this is where we dry camp. Even though we’ve been camping for four years now, our boondocking experience has been somewhat limited. We boondocked up on Prince Edward Island and on some one-off hipcamp reservations on someone’s land but for the most part we dry camp. And because we don’t boondock all that much, I’ve never really felt the need for a back up power source. Until now.

Why Back Up Power

In a word, heat. That is my number one concern on this trip because camping in the desert at night can be cold. The heater in the HCT relies on two things - the propane tank and the power for the fan to distribute the hot air. If either of those things don’t work, we are in for a very long night and I know this because - surprise! - the first night we slept in the HCT we didn’t have heat. It’s a story for another time but Mike braved it out in the camper with the dogs and I slept in a semi-reclined position in the car with the engine running and the heated seat on. I never want to have that experience again - and I think Mike will agree that given my mood that morning he also feels the same - so that means an alternative power source and a heater that I can plug into it.

The Jackery (and Solar Panel)

I did quite a bit of research on this topic and I won’t bore you with the details, but the Jackery is our chosen back up power source. It provides a clean sine wave which is actually really important. All of our lovely electronic devices expect this - and if you don’t have a smooth sine wave you could have spikes. Guess what your electronic devices don’t like? That’s right, spikes. Do you pay more for clean sine wave power? My research showed yes. Worth it not to fry my laptop or ipad? Absolutely.

You can charge the Jackery by plugging it in at home and then keeping it in your vehicle until the battery drains or - and I really like this feature - you can plug it into your cigarette lighter in the car to charge it while you are driving. And that may be all that you really need but I did decide to include the solar panel for this package I bought on Amazon. I’m not sure I had a really good rationale for getting the solar panel other than, it just seemed like a good thing to be able to be completely off grid for multiple days and to have the ability to charge the Jackery but if I’m totally honest I think I wanted it because it looks cool.

And For The Heat

For the heat, I really just wanted a small portable heater that I could plug into the Jackery. On the advice of a friend, we have this on order - it is the Vornado VMH500 Whole Room Heater. The styling is nice and feels like it’s going to work well inside the HCT but the specs were the big selling point. It works similarly to how a forced air furnace works and it’s very efficient, plus it has the normal safety features you’d expect. We had a Mr. Heater that we got when we bought our HC1 back in 2016 which worked great (on propane) but the flame and the dog tail of a Newfoundland lead to some serious anxiety so I’m looking forward to trying this one out.

Here is the video we did for the Jackery unboxing - check it out and be sure to like and subscribe to make it easier for people to find the content!

So how about you? What are the things that you feel like you really need a Plan B for and why? Share your experiences here and help out your fellow Happier Campers!