About RV Off-Grid Living
Road-tested gear reviews from someone who’s been stranded far enough out to mean it.
The idea for this site came from a forest service road in central Oregon, about 40 miles from cell service, when my house batteries died and I realized my “emergency kit” was a joke.
I’d been boondocking for a couple of years at that point. I thought I had things figured out. Turns out I’d been getting lucky, staying close enough to towns that nothing had to work perfectly. Once I started pushing further out, BLM land in Utah, forest roads in the Cascades, desert camping in Arizona, I learned fast which gear holds up and which gear just looks good in an Amazon listing.
That’s what this site is built on.
How I Test
Every product I write about has been used on a real trip, hauled down washboard forest roads, run in desert heat, tested at altitude, operated in dust and mud. When I say a battery holds its rated capacity, I’ve measured it. When I say a filter clogs early, I’ve replaced it in the field.
What You’ll Find Here
- Portable power reviews with real watt-hour output, not just rated capacity
- Water filter comparisons run to clogging, not stopped at manufacturer claims
- 12V fridge amp-draw measured at actual ambient temps, desert heat, not lab conditions
- Emergency kit builds based on real remote trips, not YouTube survival fantasy
- Honest failure notes on every recommended product, what it doesn’t do well
What I Skip
Campground reviews. Full-hookup RV content. Anything I haven’t personally run on a real trip. I use affiliate links to fund this site, buying through them costs you nothing extra. But I’ve never recommended something I wouldn’t stake a week in the backcountry on.
Start with whatever you’re least prepared for. That’s usually the right call.