Practical use of Power Station

Ever since we got the Prolite camping trailer, the actual power consumption when running on batter eluded us. SWe had the battery checked twice and got it back with 'all normal'. Still, all the 'juice' was down after a day. I had all my wattage consumption calculated and the deep cycle marine battery should have run for three days without a problem. The 40 watt solar panel with a mostly sunny day should have been able to top up the battery. And still, it didn't happen.

We were on our Maritimes trip in 2018 and in PEI we had enough and bought a Honda Generator EU1000i to charge the battery. That solved the problem, we just ran the generator for an hour or so when we took a break in one of the service stations along the road. this is a $1,000 unit and delivers 900 watt. This model will NOT run a kettle, toaster or hair dryer. Most of the appliances with heating coils require 1500 watt. But it is small, light-weight and runs from 3 to 8 hours on a single tank. All depending on the power draw.

It took almost two years to finally replace the battery with a new one. That solved all our problems. So the battery was defective after all. What did I learn? Trust the math, running a 50 watt unit will run for 10 hours on a 500 watt battery. If you don't know the wattage, use this formula: Amps x volt = watt. So a 4 Amp unit on 12 volt uses 48 watt. That's it. I know, there is some loss due to cable size, inverter etc. But the math still works fine and actually computes ever since we have the new battery.

Age of the Power Station
We got the oportunity to test the ALLPOWERS S1500 and BougheRV 1200W Power Station. Dino from CheaperJeeperTV lent us both units including the solar panels to run our tests.

CheaperJeeperTV BougeRV 1200W, 1100Wh Portable Power Station Unboxing and Testing

CheaperJeeperTV ALLPOWERS S1500 Power Station. It's Low Cost, High Function, & Bluetooth App Make It a Game Changer.

CheaperJeeperTV The ALLPOWERS 100W Solar Panel vs the Jackery 100W Solar Panel. Which Is the Better Value?

DIY Off-road trail
I am building an off-road camping trailer and a reliable power source is critical. We didn't make a decision yet on how we accomplish this and this documentation is our decision process.

Beside the hardware, we have some very specific requirements and limitations to consider, so here we go

What do we already have?
The new trailer will have a deep-cycle lead acid battery. It will be used in the winter @ -15 celsius and lithium-ion batteries wont charge at these temperature. This battery is also used in the Prolite trailer and usually stored in the garage when the trailer is not in use.

We have the Honda Generator EU1000i, both the battery and generator have a dedicated compartment in the new trailer.

What will the off-road trailer have
There will be solar panel on the roof permanently installed. The panel will be somewhere between 100 to 300 watt.

No permanent heating is planned at this time, but our oil-filled radiator is an option. Testing with the Power Station is outstanding

The kitchen has a propane stove and we have a 5 pound tank
The ICECO fridge will be in in the Jeep. We don't know yet how we'll power the fridge when it is parked.
USB charging is in the trailer and draw from the trailer battery
Possibly a 400 watt inverter, we have the unit but no decision made if it will be built in.
There will be no power converter in the trailer. 110 volt comes through an extension cord from the outside.

What are our obstacles?
We are living in Canada and travel in Canada. Winter is cold and long. Solar power in January and February is from zero to unreliable. These are real numbers from people that have have solar panels installed for profit. Winter camping will be likely limited to one night or campsites with electrical power.
Camping on crown land in winter is usually impossible since the roads and trails are not groomed for vehicle. They are either covered with lots of snow or only open for snowmobile.
Solar power may be possible, but the days are very short and the sun stays low in the sky. This reduces the efficiency dramatically. Reading about solar power in the Yukon, the efficiency droppes by 30% in September. We are planning to drive on the Dempster to Tuktoyaktuk in Northwest Territories. We don't expect that the solar panels can keep the battery(ies) fully charged and count on the generator and/or shore power.

Most of the campsites in Ontario are in forested areas. The solar panels are mounted on the trailer and likely not removable (may change).

Power Station
As I mentioned before, we are testing the BougeRV and Allpowers battery packs to find out what we need. Our first impression was very positive. At the same time, we are reading and watching as much as possible about Power Stations. Here is what we learned

Some power stations are for indoor use and not for camping. The Allpowers S1500 is one of them. Well, it is in the user guide and the solar panels can not be used in the rain.
Some power stations do not output 120 volts, but drop below. It is still 'acceptable' power by many applicances but not all.
We will use the power station in the house when we are not travelling to replace an aging APC UPS system in the office.