Lessons Learned Living Off-Grid For A Week in Moab

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Last Updated on: 21st April 2025, 10:57 am

Last week, I did something many people would consider to be crazy. Instead of getting a hotel or paying for space in an RV park with full hookups, I drove several miles up a rough dirt road and parked my travel trailer. Not only is there no water or electricity out near Copper Ridge and Klondike Wash, but the internet connection is iffy at best.

So, why jump into the deep end on my first RV trip and go completely off grid? First off, there’s the problem of trying to go to Moab during the Easter Jeep Safari and not booking something in advance. Plus, you’re not going to get the kind of dark, quiet nights I got in town, nor do you get these kinds of views during the day!

In this article, I want to discuss some important lessons I learned spending a few days relying on 1200 watts of solar panels, 8 kWh of battery, and a backup connection to my Chevy Suburban’s alternator. While some things went about like expected, others didn’t.

Lesson 1: Always Be Charging

The biggest thing I’d recommend to anyone wanting to “boondock” like I did is to focus on making sure you never miss out on potential energy. If there’s a way to put some electricity away for later, make sure you take advantage of it. Without the grid or a generator to back you up, missing out on charging opportunities means you might not have enough energy later.

Whether it’s solar power, vehicle power, or being able to plug in for a night while on the road, it’s important to never pass an opportunity up. Even when cloudy, my 1200-watt solar setup was pulling in 200–300 watts, so there’s never a bad time to have panels ready to collect as much sunlight as possible.

Lesson 2: Make Solar Charging As Effortless As Possible

There’s a reason #1 was “always be charging.” I didn’t charge as much as I could, and regretted it. Why? Because I was tired, in a hurry, or didn’t feel up to it after going out riding.

My first opportunity cost me between 8 and 10 kWh of energy. I got in really late the first night and had to get out and do some work early the next day, so I skipped putting my panels out. It was a bright, sunny day that would have easily given me 10 hours of 800–1100 watts of power. But, by the time I got back to the trailer, night was already falling.

My second opportunity cost me about 6 kWh of energy. Instead of putting out all three of my EcoFlow 400-watt panels, I put just one out. This was enough to keep up my fridge and some ventilation for a cat staying in the trailer, with just a little bit more for charging. I got almost 400 watts out of the single panel for the whole day, but could have gotten almost 1200 watts.

By the time things got less busy, the sun was periodically interrupted by clouds. Two days later, I was starting to run short on energy and had to plug the Suburban in and idle it to try and catch up. Then, unexpected winter weather crept into the area, and I didn’t have enough energy to run heat on the last night.

If I had mounted solar to the roof of the trailer instead of putting out folding panels, I would have had no problem at all charging on those first two days. The whole trip would have been more comfortable and run more smoothly.

Lesson 3: Hunt Down Parasitic Loads

Because I basically wired my trailer to pull power from my EcoFlow Delta Pro 3 as if it was a pedestal at an RV park, things aren’t that efficient. The biggest problem I found was that the power converter (converts 120-volt AC to 12-volt DC to power lights, water pump, etc) burned about 40 watts even with nothing pulling power. This adds up to about 1.1 kWh per day of wasted energy!

Other little power draws I was able to run down included a propane leak detector I have no use for, the original RV fridge (replaced with a better fridge before the trip), and a battery charging circuit that shocked me during trip preparation.

Lesson 4: Focus On Efficiency

When I first bought the old travel trailer, I figured out pretty quick that it was designed to be run mostly on propane. Sure, most things could also run on electric at an RV park, but because plugging in at a park means unlimited power, the manufacturer didn’t prioritize efficiency at all.

The factory absorptive refrigerator was the biggest problem (450 watts!), but getting rid of propane required ripping out several other things. The gas cooktop, the gas oven, and the gas heater all had to be replaced and disconnected. I’m still in the process of trying to find a better water heater.

I still need to replace the factory air conditioner with a heat pump, close off some unnecessary vents, wire 12-volt power to come directly from the power station instead of double converting, and go around sealing up air leaks.

Lesson 5: Find Ways To Do Without

One thing I noticed right away in the spring was that outside temperatures were pretty good. 70–75 degrees felt pretty good outside, but inside, the trapped heat ended up turning the trailer into a little oven. Worse, because I traveled with a cat that has special medical needs, I couldn’t just open the windows.

To get around this problem, I need to work on improving insulation, opening up other ventilation options, and installing a better ventilation fan to pull in fresh air on those nice days. Adding some reflective shades to the windows would also help.

On the coldest night, when I only had enough extra energy to run resistive heat for a few hours, we did what other people camping out in tents did: piled on more blankets. We also closed a curtain up to contain body heat and residual heater air in the bedroom, and ended up sleeping very comfortably.

Lesson 6: Be An Energy Omnivore

The final thing I’d recommend is not to worry too much about energy sources. I think with the improvements above, I won’t run out of solar power very often. But, unexpected weather changes and unforeseen storm systems can easily lead to depleted batteries no matter how careful you are.

So, I’m going to be adding a backup generator to my trailer. This might sound like a step back, with some readers wondering why I didn’t just keep the propane appliances if I was going to be burning gas in the end anyway. But, that thinking ignores the fact that going electric gave me more options.

While I can use gas or propane in a pinch, everything in the camper can now be powered by solar, the grid, an EV tow vehicle (still in my future plans), a gas tow vehicle’s alternator, and anything else I can find. Having multiple options makes my travel trailer an omnivore instead of being an obligate fossil fuel eater 100% of the time.

All images by Jennifer Sensiba.