Running a fridge and charging phones for three nights off-grid without starting the car? Here's exactly what we use, what it cost, and what we'd do differently.
When we got serious about camping with the family, the first thing that hit me was how fast a traditional esky turns into a waterlogged mess and how quickly everyone's phones go flat. So we built out a proper off-grid camping power setup — lithium battery, solar panel, chargers, and required cables.
This is the full kit, every piece tested across Victorian high country, coastal parks, and dusty bush camps. Nothing on this list is theoretical.
What's in our off-grid camping power setup
- Kings 12V 100Ah LiFePO4 lithium battery (the heart of it)
- Kings Portable 12V Battery Box (the housing)
- Kings 200W Folding Solar Panel (the sunlight-to-amps bit)
- Kings Folding Solar Panel Bag (protects the panel in transit)
- Kings 15A PWM Solar Controller (stops the panel frying the battery)
- Kings 65W USB GaN Charger (for laptops and fast phone charging before you leave)
- Kings 85W USB Car Charger (keeps everyone topped up on the drive or from the battery)
We paid under $600 AUD for the full power setup. Kings run deals constantly — prices change daily, so check the links below for current pricing. Not cheap, but every piece pulls its weight.
Kings 12V 100Ah LiFePO4 Battery — ★★★★★
What it is: A 100Ah lithium iron phosphate battery with a built-in battery management system (BMS). Lithium means it weighs about half what a traditional AGM battery does (around 12kg vs 26kg) and lasts 2,000+ charge cycles instead of 300-500.
Why it's the backbone: Everything else in this setup plugs into this battery. It runs the fridge (more on that in the cooking kit review), charges phones, and keeps the whole camp powered after dark. One full charge gets us through about three days of normal family camping before we start relying on the solar panel to top up. Over a recent 4 day camping trip we only had 1 day of sun (day 2) and we arrived home with a full battery.
Pros:
- 2,000+ cycles = years of use before you even notice degradation
- Integrated BMS protects against over-charge, over-discharge, over-current
- Can safely discharge to ~10% without damage (unlike AGM which hates going below 50%)
- Around half the weight of an equivalent AGM battery
Cons:
- Price — roughly 2-3× what an AGM equivalent costs upfront
- You won't see the long-term value until you've been using it for a year or two
- Not cold-rated — if you're doing winter camping below -10°C it needs insulation
Verdict: If you're going to camp more than a few weekends a year, lithium pays off. For occasional use, AGM is still fine, but you'll replace it sooner.
View product at 4WD Supacentre ↗
Kings Portable 12V Battery Box — ★★★★☆
What it is: A hardened plastic box that houses the battery, with 2× USB outputs, a cigarette lighter socket, and a built-in voltmeter on the side. Turns a battery into a portable power station.
Why we use it: Without the box, the battery is just a heavy lump of lithium. With it, you've got something you can grab by the handle, dump in the car, and start using immediately. The voltmeter is the most-used feature — you glance at it every morning to see how the night went. Be aware that it will give you Volts not percentage of how full the battery is and you will need to look up the actual state of charge. In the example of a 12V Battery, you can see in the table below that it would be fully charged at 14.6V.
| Cell Voltage | Battery Voltage (12V) | Charge % |
|---|---|---|
| 3.65 | 14.6 | 100 |
| 3.375 | 13.5 | 99 |
| 3.35 | 13.4 | 90 |
| 3.325 | 13.3 | 80 |
| 3.3 | 13.2 | 70 |
| 3.275 | 13.1 | 60 |
| 3.2625 | 13.05 | 50 |
| 3.25 | 13.0 | 40 |
| 3.225 | 12.9 | 30 |
| 3.2 | 12.8 | 20 |
| 3.0 | 12.0 | 10 |
| 2.5 | 10.0 | 0 |
You can find this table in a full guide on the 4wdSupaStore website ↗
Pros:
- Lithium-compatible out of the box (not all older battery boxes are)
- Integrated USB outputs mean you can top up phones without needing the GaN charger.
- Voltmeter lets you see remaining capacity at a glance
- Durable enough to sit in the boot and not worry about it
Cons:
- USB outputs are 5V/2.1A — fine for phones, too slow for laptops, the 85W USB Car Charger is better for high draw items.
- Voltmeter is approximate — real state-of-charge on lithium isn't linear with voltage, so treat it as a rough guide.
Hot Tip: If you use an Anderson plug to fridge cable (This one ↗) from the battery box, it frees up your ‘cigarette lighter socket’ to be used with the 85W USB Car Charger. This means you have 2 USB-C points (65W and 20W) for phones and laptops, a QC3.0 fast charging USB-A point in addition the the 2x USB-A points natively built into the box that are better for re-charging lamps and head torches.
Verdict: Essential if you want to move the battery around without wiring up every time. Don't buy a bare battery without one.
View product at 4WD Supacentre ↗
Kings 200W Folding Solar Panel — ★★★★★
What it is: A bi-fold 200W panel that folds into a carry case, with quick-connect plugs and kickstand legs.
Why 200W: For our family's usage (fridge running 24/7, phones, chargers), 200W is the sweet spot. In full Australian sun it can push out 150-180W realistically, which refills the battery during daylight hours faster than we drain it. A 120W panel would be borderline; a 300W panel would be overkill for a 100Ah battery. Over 4 days of non-stop use for fridge, phones, lighting devices, with 1 day of sun and 3 days of overcast we still went home with a full battery.
Pros:
- Folds into half of its deployed size
- Quick-connect plugs mean no fumbling with crocodile clips in the dark
- Kickstand keeps it angled at the sun without needing extra gear
- Reasonable weight for the output
Cons:
- You need to reposition it every 2-3 hours to track the sun for best performance (but honestly I don't do this)
- Cables are on the short side — a 6m extension lead helps and is usually free with purchase
- Folded size is still bulky and you would need a ute or roof racks to cart it if the back of your car was full with kids.
Verdict: The right size panel for a 100Ah battery and real family camping. Buy this; don't go smaller.
View product at 4WD Supacentre ↗
Kings 15A PWM Solar Controller — ★★★★☆
What it is: The safety buffer between the solar panel and the battery. PWM (pulse width modulation) regulates the charge so you don't cook the battery on a hot sunny day.
Why you need one: Solar panels can push out voltage well above what a 12V battery wants. Without a controller, you'd overcharge and damage the battery. The controller throttles input to match what the battery needs.
Pros:
- Simple, reliable, does one job
- PWM is efficient enough for this size setup (you'd only need MPPT for bigger systems)
- Clear LED indicators show charging/battery status
- Can wire lighting or accessory solution off this with an Anderson plug
- Has 2 low watt USB-A ports on the controller
Cons:
- Not MPPT — if you upgraded to 400W+ solar, you'd want a proper MPPT controller for the efficiency gain
- Nothing exciting about it. It just works.
Hot Tip: Get slightly longer cables if needed and screw or double sided tape to your battery box.
Verdict: Plug-and-play, cheap, essential. Don't run a solar setup without one.
View product at 4WD Supacentre ↗
Kings Folding Solar Panel Bag — ★★★★★
What it is: A heavy-duty carry and storage bag designed for the Kings folding solar panels. Padded construction with a large front pocket for accessories — Anderson leads, controller, extension cables.
Why it's in the kit: Without a bag, the solar panel rattles around in the boot and gets scratched. This bag protects it in transit and keeps all the fiddly accessories in one place so you're not hunting for leads when it's time to set up.
Pros:
- Heavy-duty construction — handles the weight of a 200W panel easily
- Great zipper — smooth and durable
- Extra pocket for all accessories — controller, Anderson leads, extension cables all stay together
- Protects panel from scratches and normal wear during transport
Cons:
- Won't protect against hard bashes or over-tightening with a ratchet strap — it's transit protection, not armour
Verdict: Buy it with the panel. Cheap insurance and keeps everything in one bag.
View product at 4WD Supacentre ↗
Kings 65W USB GaN Charger — ★★★★★
What it is: A compact charger using Gallium Nitride (GaN) technology instead of silicon. Half the size of a traditional 65W charger, runs cooler, charges laptops, phones, and tablets fast via USB-C Power Delivery.
Why we use it : This is primarily used for pre-charging items before we leave or if staying at a powered site it can be plugged into any standard power point to be used for a quick charge. We use this when not taking our full power setup for caravan park camping.
Pros:
- GaN means it's tiny — fits in a toiletries bag
- Runs cool even at full load (traditional chargers get hot)
- USB-C PD charges laptops, MacBooks, iPads at full speed
- One USB-C and one USB-A — covers everything
Cons:
- 65W is enough for most laptops but tight for high-end gaming or Pro M-series MacBooks under load
Tip: Match your cable to the charger's output — a USB-C to USB-C cable rated for the right wattage will charge significantly faster than a cheap USB-A cable. Check your device supports the wattage too, otherwise you're leaving speed on the table.
Verdict: Simple and it works, these often come free from 4wdsupacentre with other purchases.
View product at 4WD Supacentre ↗
Kings 85W USB Car Charger — ★★★★★
What it is: A triple USB output car charger — fits into a cigarette lighter socket, gives you 85W of fast charging split across USB-C and USB-A ports.
Why we use it: On the drive to camp, the whole family's devices are draining. Kids on iPads, phones running nav, cameras dying. The car's built-in USB is usually pathetic (5W per port). This gives proper fast charging for everyone simultaneously. Once at camp we plug it into our battery box for use while camping for higher draw items like phones.
Pros:
- Three ports so nobody fights over charging
- 85W total output with Power Delivery means laptops charge on the drive
- Works off both 12V and 24V vehicles / batteries
- Compact enough that it doesn't hang out of the socket awkwardly
Cons:
- The 85W is split across ports — you only get full PD speed if you're using one port alone
- Cigarette socket fit can be loose on some vehicles
Tip: Use the drive to camp as your charging window — plug in every device with a USB-C PD cable and arrive with everything at 100%. Make sure your cables support the wattage or you'll only get a trickle charge. Once at camp, move it to your battery box.
Verdict: Solves the "everyone's flat when we arrive" problem. Cheaper than a second battery.
View product at 4WD Supacentre ↗
How our off-grid power setup works together
Morning: solar panel out, plugged into the controller, controller plugged into the battery box. Battery charges throughout the day while we're at camp.
Daytime: Fridge runs off the battery box 24/7 via the Anderson plug to fridge cable. Phones top up via the Kings 85W USB Car Charger pluged into the 12v cigarette point. 4 remainign USB-A points on the battery box and controller are used for everything else.
Evening (optional): Pack the solar panel away. Battery voltage check on the box voltmeter before bed.
Drive day: 85W car charger handles the drive. If you have the socket in the back of your car, you could also top off the Battery via a 12V vehicle socket.
This setup's main job is running the fridge — see our camp cooking kit review for the full fridge breakdown.
Four days off-grid with this setup, we've never run the battery below 80% with solar topping up even with minimal sun. Without solar, it'd be more like two - there days, pending temperature draining the battery.
What we'd upgrade in our camping power setup (eventually)
- Swap PWM controller for MPPT if we ever go to 300W+ of solar. MPPT extracts about 15-30% more from the same panels.
- Add a DC-DC charger in the vehicle so we can charge the main battery box off the alternator while driving, not just solar.
- Add 1-2 Kings 20,000mAh Lithium Portable Power Banks For keeping things charged when in use.
None of these are needed for standard family weekend camping. They're what you add once you start doing week-long trips in remote areas.
What we paid
- 100Ah LiFePO4 Battery: we paid $258.95
- Battery Box: included with battery
- 200W Solar Panel: we paid $198.90
- Folding Solar Panel Bag: included with Solar Panel. Also come with 6m cables.
- 15A Solar Controller: we paid $29.95
- 65W GaN Charger: Was thrown in with another purchase, but can be purchased alone for $49.95
- 85W Car Charger: we paid $39.95
- Total: we paid $577.70 AUD
Prices change daily — Kings run deals, combos and wholesale pricing constantly. Check the links above for current prices. You should be able to get the full power setup for under $650.
The bottom line on our off-grid power setup
This is the setup that let us stop worrying about power when we're camping. Fridge running, phones charging, all off-grid, across four-day trips. It's not the cheapest option — you can absolutely camp with an icebox and a cigarette lighter USB — but if you want actual comfort and self-sufficiency off-grid, this is what it costs. From the multiple trips so far, with a good day of sun every 3 days or so, I am confident with could run this setup indefinitely.
Every piece here has been used on real trips. Every piece pulls its weight. If any of it falls short, we'll update this post.
For the rest of our Light & Power kit — lantern, mosquito lamps, turbo fan and more — see our camp accessories & lighting review.
Want to see the rest of our camping setup? Check out Our Setup for the full kit list, kit by kit.