Around five months ago I picked up the Anker Solix C1000 portable power station to run my fridge and Maxxair fan in my OVRLND truck camper. I got it for a great price, a hair under $600, and luckily it’s still going for that price! Not bad for a 1056wh capacity able to put out 2400 watts.
Now that I’ve put this power station through the ringer I feel I can give some honest thoughts on how this has worked out. With portable power stations getting cheaper, these all-in-one setups are becoming appealing to those looking for an easy electrical setup in their truck camper or camper van. I really didn’t want to deal with wiring and buying multiple devices to get my fridge and fan powered, so a power station was my solution.
Right off the bat I knew I wouldn’t be keeping this thing topped off daily. I wanted to see how my usage would be without solar or vehicle alternator charging. Part of the reason I went with the Anker Solix C1000 is because it allows for very fast recharging speeds from the wall charger. My thoughts were if it charges from 0-100% in an hour, I wouldn’t mind charging this thing up in the driveway every 3-4 days.
Real life usage: Anker Solix C1000 Review
My camping fridge and fan are both really efficient. I keep the fridge around 35 degrees and the fan only runs an hour a day, if that. I occasionally charge phones and devices. Sometimes I plug in the computer monitor and get some work done or watch a movie. While I don’t live in my truck camper, I’m hanging out in there for at least an hour on the daily before work and during breaks so I keep the fridge running 24/7.
- Related: How I power my truck camper
The results are based on ambient temperature. When it’s above 80 outside, it’s going to be in the 90s inside the camper (when I’m not running the fan). So the fridge has to work a lot harder. When it’s in the 60-70s outside, the camper is usually around the upper 70s inside. Obviously this will effect the battery life of the power station. On warmer weeks I’m seeing about 2-3 days before I have to recharge. On cooler weeks I can go 3-4 days without plugging in the system. Again… this thing only takes an hour to recharge so I’m fine with all of these results.
With that said, my camper is already wired up for solar from the factory. It’s one of the add-ons that I had OVRLND Campers add to my build so I’m starting to get the itch to install a panel up on top of the camper. Even with a 100 watt panel I think it’ll keep my Anker Solix C1000 topped off with my usage. And if I wanted to expand my solar array, this power station can handle 600 watts max solar input. That’s fantastic!
Pros and Cons of Anker Solix C1000 so far
Pros:
- Not too big or heavy
- Ambient night light that hardly draws any power
- Six AC plug inputs
- 2 usb-c and 2 usb-a outlets with fast charging
- car socket 12 volt input
- not loud
Cons:
- No 30amp output
- When it’s really hot in the camper, battery drains faster (same goes for any battery)
- The phone app can be a little finicky and doesn’t provide any data on usage or battery quality
If you need a portable power station with a 30A output I highly recommend the Pecron E1500LFP. Sometimes you can pick it up for $600 and it even has more battery capacity.
I recommend the Anker Solix C1000
So far I’m really happy with my purchase for my intended usage. It stays hidden under my cabinet/table in the camper and has done everything I’ve asked of it. It has even run my Nintendo Switch on a big screen without a hiccup. I can say that I recommend the Anker Solix C1000.
Other recommended power stations:
Happy camping!