If you want off-grid power this weekend with no tools, buy a Bluetti portable station. If you want a whole rooftop solar and battery system arriving in one box at one price, buy a Renogy kit. If you want a system you will grow, monitor and service for a decade, build it from Victron components. We sell all three, and each wins for a different kind of boondocker.
Three routes at a glance
| Bluetti (portable station) | Renogy (integrated kit) | Victron (components) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What you buy | One box with battery, inverter and charger inside | Panels, controller, battery, inverter and hardware, matched in one kit | Inverter/charger, solar controller, DC-DC charger, monitor, busbar; batteries and panels chosen separately |
| Install | None; plug in loads | Roof mount and wiring, with a manual | Design and wire it, or have an installer do it |
| Expandability | Model-dependent; Apex 300 takes expansion batteries | Within the kit's controller and inverter limits | Add batteries, parallel inverters, second MPPT |
| Monitoring | Bluetti app | Bluetooth to the Renogy app on most kits | VictronConnect, plus GX device and VRM remote portal |
| Entry price on our store | $848.99 (Elite 200 V2) | $1,799.98 (Off-Road Solution Kit) | $1,289.60 (12V Van kit, before batteries and panels) |
Route 1: Bluetti, the portable-station route
A portable station is the shortest path to running 120V loads off-grid. The Elite 200 V2 is $848.99 on our store: 2,073.6Wh of LiFePO4, 2,600W of AC output, up to 1,800W of AC charging (about an hour to 80%), up to 1,000W of solar input, and a UPS switchover of 15ms or less. The Elite 300 is $1,098.98 on our store with 3,014.4Wh and 2,400W, in a single carryable unit with no expansion modules. The Apex 300 is $1,398.99 on our store and is the one to buy if you expect to grow: 3,840W of output, 2,764.8Wh to start, expandable with B300K (2,764.8Wh, $988.99 on our store) or B500K modules up to six B300K per station, which Bluetti puts at 19,353.6Wh.
Strengths. No installation, no holes in the roof, no decisions about wire gauge or fusing. It moves between the trailer, the truck and the house. It is the right answer for a rented or borrowed rig, a camper you plan to sell, or an owner who does not want to touch the trailer's electrical system. Recharge options are all bolt-on: a PV200 folding panel ($348.99 on our store), a PV350 ($598.97 on our store), or a Charger 1 alternator charger ($218.97 on our store) in the tow vehicle, which per Bluetti brings a 1kWh station to full in about 2.5 hours of driving.
Weaknesses. A station is not wired into the RV's 12V house system, so the camper's own bank still has to carry the fridge, pump and lights unless you add DC output cabling. You are carrying the capacity: the Elite 400, one step up from the Elite 300, is listed at 85.98 lb. And expansion on the non-Apex models means buying a second station rather than adding a battery.
Bluetti also makes a fixed system for RVs. The 5kWh RV Kit (RV5 hub, B4810 battery, Epanel, Epad) is $3,598.99 on our store and is closer in spirit to the Victron route: a 5,000W 48V hub that replaces the converter, inverter, solar controller and DC-DC charger. We cover it against Victron in a separate guide.
Route 2: Renogy, the integrated-kit route
Renogy's kits are for the owner who wants the panels, controller, battery and inverter to arrive already matched, with the brackets, fuses and cables in the box. Three we would point a boondocker at:
- Off-Road Solar Solution Kit, $1,799.98 to $2,599.98 on our store depending on the build: a 200Ah smart LiFePO4 battery (2.56kWh) with either 200W rigid panels or 400W portable panels, so a roof rack can stay clear for gear and the array goes on the ground at camp. Every build in the range is listed at 111 lb.
- 400W 12V Complete Solar Kit with 3.6kWh, $1,899.98 with AGM batteries or $2,499.98 with Pro Series lithium on our store: four 100W panels, a Rover 40A MPPT controller, a 3,000W pure sine inverter and three 12V 100Ah batteries. Ships at 173 lb (lithium) or 314 lb (AGM).
- 600W 12V ShadowFlux Solar Kit with 5.12kWh, $3,199.98 on our store: three 200W anti-shading panels, a 5.12kWh smart battery, a 3,000W pure sine inverter, built-in DC-DC charging for charging while driving, and Bluetooth monitoring. It ships at 217 lb. The anti-shading panels are the point: a vent or awning arm over part of the array costs less output than on a conventional panel.
Strengths. One price, one order, one manual, and the sizing has been done for you. Renogy kits ship from our warehouse in Upland, California. The 12V architecture drops into the way most travel trailers are already wired, so the camper's lights, pump and fridge run off the new bank directly.
Weaknesses. It is still an installation: panels on the roof, a battery bank to secure, an inverter to mount and cable. The kit's controller and inverter set the ceiling, so growing past it means replacing parts rather than adding to them. And the boxes are heavy; plan for 111 to 314 lb landing on the driveway.
Route 3: Victron, the component route
Victron sells the pieces between the batteries and the outlets, and you (or we, or your installer) size the batteries and panels to the rig. Our two starting points are kits priced as the sum of their parts:
- 12V Van and Small Camper Power Kit, $1,289.60 on our store: MultiPlus 12/2000/80-50 inverter/charger, SmartSolar MPPT 100/30, Orion XS 12/12-50A DC-DC charger for alternator charging, SmartShunt 500A monitor, VE.Bus Smart Dongle and a fused busbar. Sized for a 200 to 300Ah lithium bank and up to about 400W of solar, running a microwave, induction hob or coffee maker one at a time.
- 12V Travel Trailer Power Kit, $2,307.01 on our store: MultiPlus-II 12/3000 2x120V inverter/charger, SmartSolar MPPT 150/70, Orion XS 50A, SmartShunt, Lynx Distributor, Cerbo GX MK2 and GX Touch 50. Sized for a 300 to 600Ah lithium bank, 600 to 1,000W of roof solar and 30/50A shore power, with both legs of a 50A panel powered.
Batteries are separate. The Victron LiFePO4 NG range runs from a 12.8V/100Ah at $688.99 to a 12.8V/300Ah at $1,666.99 on our store, and the trailer kit page suggests pairing with two or three 200Ah or 300Ah NG batteries. Panels are separate too.
Strengths. Everything talks to everything: inverter/charger, solar controller, DC-DC charger and monitor show up as one system in VictronConnect and on the GX Touch display, with remote monitoring through VRM. The MultiPlus-II's PowerAssist stops a small generator or shore connection from overloading by supplementing it from the battery, and the inverter supports parallel configurations when a system needs to scale. Every part can be replaced or upgraded on its own. This is the route for a rig you plan to keep.
Weaknesses. It is a design job. You are choosing battery chemistry, bank size, panel wattage, fusing and cable, and the box count is higher than either other route. The price climbs quickly with batteries: two 300Ah NG batteries add $3,333.98 to the trailer kit before a single panel.
Budgets from our live prices
| Scenario | Bluetti | Renogy | Victron (batteries included, panels not) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Weekend boondocking, couple, small trailer or van | Elite 200 V2 + PV200: $1,197.98 | Off-Road Solution Kit from $1,799.98; 400W Complete Kit AGM $1,899.98 | Van kit + one 200Ah NG: $2,459.59 |
| Week-long trips, residential fridge, coffee every morning | Elite 300 + PV350 + Charger 1: $1,916.92, or Apex 300 + B300K: $2,387.98 | 400W Complete Kit lithium $2,499.98; 600W ShadowFlux 5.12kWh $3,199.98 | Trailer kit + two 200Ah NG: $4,646.99 |
| Full-time or extended stays | 5kWh RV Kit $3,598.99 + roof solar | 600W ShadowFlux 5.12kWh $3,199.98 | Trailer kit + two 300Ah NG: $5,640.99 |
Those Victron totals assume drop-in lithium such as the NG batteries, which carry their own internal BMS. A bank built from Victron Smart (non drop-in) batteries needs a Lynx Smart BMS added on top, so treat the figures as the floor for the battery type shown rather than a fixed quote.
Two things to read into that table. The Bluetti column costs the least at the weekend and week-long rows because nothing is installed, and you carry it. The Victron column looks expensive until you notice it is the one where monitoring, alternator charging and shore-power management are all in the price, and where adding a third battery later is a cable, not a new system. The Renogy column sits between them and is the one where the roof array is already in the box.
Who should pick which
- Pick Bluetti if you want power this weekend, you do not want to modify the rig, the rig is rented, borrowed or about to be sold, or you want the same battery to serve the trailer, the truck and the house. Pick the Apex 300 over the Elite models if you expect to add capacity.
- Pick Renogy if you want a rooftop system, you are comfortable with a weekend of installation from a manual, and you want one price for panels, controller, battery and inverter. Pick the 600W ShadowFlux kit if your roof is crowded with vents and an air conditioner.
- Pick Victron if you plan to keep the rig, want to watch every amp from your phone or from the couch at home, expect to grow the bank, or run a generator or 50A shore power alongside solar. Pick the trailer kit if you want both legs of a 50A panel live; the van kit if one inverter and a 200 to 300Ah bank is enough.
Browse the Bluetti collection alongside our Renogy and Victron ranges; we are the one store that carries all three.
What we'd do
For a first off-grid system in a trailer we intended to keep, we would build Victron, starting from the travel trailer kit and two 200Ah NG batteries, and add panels to the roof space we had. For a trailer we might sell in two years, or for a second vehicle, we would buy an Elite 300 and a Charger 1 and stop there. For an owner who wants the whole rooftop job done from one box, the Renogy 600W ShadowFlux kit is the one we would hand across the counter.
Free US shipping, no minimum. Questions? Call or email — we run all three brands in our own trailers.