Every spring the same question lands on RV boards. Can I run my rig at the festival? The answer changes from one gate to the next. Some festivals ban every portable generator. One bans RVs outright. Two explicitly allow solar and batteries. Here is what each one allows, and how to size a quiet lithium setup for a weekend.
The rules, festival by festival
We checked each rule on the festival's own camping page or FAQ in September 2026. Rules change every year, so read the current page before you pack.
| Festival | RVs | Portable generators | Solar and batteries | Hookups |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coachella (Indio) | Not allowed: "NO RV/Motorhome camping" | "NO Generators (Gas)" | Solar panels banned under the no-glass rule; "NO Extra Car Batteries" | Powered Car Camping: one outlet, small devices only |
| Stagecoach, The Resort (Indio) | Allowed | Banned by Indio Fire, "excluding Solar Powered" | Solar powered allowed | Every site serves 30 amp and 50 amp; bring 50 to 75 ft of cord |
| Lightning in a Bottle (Buena Vista Lake) | Allowed | Portable gas generators prohibited | "Solar and battery powered generators are also ok to use" | Powered RV pass: one 30 amp hookup |
| Joshua Tree Music Festival | Allowed | Whisper-quiet generators, 8am to 10pm, most areas | Portable power stations suggested | Some RV power sites; amperage not listed |
| Camp EDC (Las Vegas) | Allowed | Reported: A/C must run from an onboard generator | Not confirmed | Reported: bring your own 75 ft cable |
| Burning Man (Black Rock City) | Allowed | Allowed, quiet and small, fuel 10 ft away | Solar encouraged | Bring your own power |
A few details matter.
- Stagecoach allows only factory-installed RV generators. "No aftermarket installs." Staff may still ask you to shut one down if the exhaust bothers your neighbors.
- Coachella is car and tent camping only. There is no RV option inside the festival.
- Camp EDC: the official site blocked us, so these rules are as reported by Cruise America's EDC guide. Check lasvegas.edc.com before you go.
- Burning Man's official generator page asks for "the quietest generator you can afford". It also pushes camps toward solar.
The two-strike breaker problem at Stagecoach
Stagecoach's Resort page is blunt. Pop the pedestal breaker once and staff reset it with a warning. Pop it twice and your RV is "disconnected from the power grid for the remainder of the festival without a refund". Coachella's La Campana tents run the same two-strike rule.
The usual cause is simple. Two roof air conditioners start at once while a microwave or hair dryer is running. On a 30 amp pedestal that trips fast. Three habits prevent it:
- Run one high-draw load at a time. A/C, microwave, kettle and hair dryer take turns.
- Stagger the A/C starts. Let one compressor settle before the second starts.
- Let a battery carry the peaks. An inverter-charger such as the Victron MultiPlus-II can cap what it draws from shore power and top up from the battery. That keeps the pedestal under its limit. Our MultiPlus-II sizing guide covers the models.
Sizing lithium and an inverter for a festival weekend
With portable gas generators banned at Stagecoach and LIB, and curfewed at JTMF, a lithium bank covers the quiet hours. Size it from your loads, not a guess.
- List what runs, and for how long. A 12V fridge, fans, lights, phone charging and a CPAP are typical overnight loads.
- Multiply watts by hours. A 60 watt load for 10 hours is 600 watt-hours.
- Add up a full day, then multiply by the nights you need without charging.
- Divide by 12.8 volts to get amp-hours for a 12V lithium bank. Leave some margin.
One Eco-Worthy 12V 280 Ah LiFePO4 stores about 3.5 kilowatt-hours at nominal voltage. That covers a fridge, fans and devices for a weekend with room to spare. Air conditioning is a different class of load. A rooftop A/C running all night will empty a single battery. For A/C, plan on shore power or the factory generator where it is allowed.
Inverter size follows your biggest AC load, not your battery.
- A 1000W inverter covers a laptop, TV, CPAP and small appliances. Our 1000W sizing guide lists what fits.
- The Victron Phoenix 12/3000 handles a microwave or coffee maker.
- If you also want shore charging and the breaker protection above, the MultiPlus-II is inverter and charger in one box.
Solar earns its keep at LIB, Burning Man and Stagecoach, where solar is allowed. A SmartSolar MPPT 100/30 or 100/50 matches most roof and portable panel sets. Our MPPT pairing chart shows which fits. Coachella campers should note that its no-glass rule names solar panels.
Add a SmartShunt. Lithium voltage barely moves until the battery is nearly empty. The shunt shows the real state of charge on your phone.
Cords
Stagecoach requires 50 to 75 feet of cord on every powered RV site. Reports say Camp EDC wants 75 feet. Most RVs ship with a 25 or 30 foot cord, so you will need an extension rated for your service.
We do not stock RV extension cords. Buy a 30 amp or 50 amp RV extension from an RV supply store, matched to your rig's plug. Our 30A generator cord is a 20 ft L5-30P to TT-30R cord for a generator's twist-lock outlet. It is not a pedestal extension. Keep cords out of walkways too. Burning Man's guidance says to make sure people "can't trip over any power cords".
Fusing a festival lithium bank
A 280 Ah lithium battery can deliver an enormous short-circuit current. Fuse it properly, even for a weekend build.
- Main battery fuse: use one with an interrupt rating a lithium bank needs. That means a Class T fuse, mounted in a Lynx Class-T Power In. Our van fuse sizing guide explains the rule.
- Branch circuits: a MEGA fuse in a MEGA fuse holder protects the inverter cable.
- Cable size comes from the inverter's current and the length of the run. See our cable, fuse and busbar sizing chart.
We do not stock heated lithium batteries. Spring festivals are warm, so that rarely matters in Indio. Desert nights can still get cold in early spring. The Eco-Worthy 280 Ah has low-temperature charge protection, so it will not accept charge below its limit.
On your way east
Indio is about 75 miles from Upland on I-10. Joshua Tree is about 95. Stagecoach and JTMF crowds from Los Angeles and Orange County drive right past us. Send us your rig, your festival and your loads, and we will size the battery, inverter and fusing with you. For more, read our shore power vs generator vs solar comparison.
Everything ships from Upland, California.