Favorite Pricey Not-from-ci-accessory

I'm home from CICO 2024. (Sad, I know). One of the things I do at CICO is wander around and ask people what their favorite accessory is which was in some way a "game changer". I found that some people had pricey add-ons and some had budget add-ons. In order to not compete too much, I've made two threads. I'm encouraging forum readers to add a post to this forum thread. In this case, I'm thinking "pricey thing", more than $100 for example.

I'm also going to ask that you do not post an accessory type which has it's own thread, like Awnings, fridge, or paper towel holder. Those have their own threads!

I'll start. I have multiple things not from CI themselves which certainly cost more than $100. This accessory often gets comments at CICO. Keep in mind I'm a single female, knees are starting to tell me hold old they are, and my driveway at home has a slight incline. With that in mind, pushing the trailer into position at home isn't fun without a second person. But this made it possible: Trailer Valet 5X - Trailer Hand Dolly 5,000 Lbs I think they no longer make the exact model I have, but the 5x is the most similar to what I have.

I had the stock jack replaced with this. For travelling, I do take the main assembly off and it travels in the back of the car, because although it 'probably' would be fine for clearance, I don't want to chance it.

 

I didn’t want to mount a shower and side shower stall on the CI and mounted in on the travel vehicle to keep the area around the CI dry and not get all muddy and wet. On our CA trip the 23zero shower stall has worked out great. For quick over night stopping it is set up as the porti potty room.

The 23zero has two zippers so you can reach into the back window to grab your towel or things. Sets up quick and breaks down quickly

 

I think my best game changer is my solo stove. Fill it with 20 pounds of pellets and a duraflame log and you have a NICE fire for about 2 hours. As that dies, if you add logs that are mostly dry, you can add time to that pretty easily and with no muss, no fuss.

The Ranger (the size I have) takes 20 pounds of pellets, and cost about $200, plus $40 for the pellet adapter. This makes fires easier since it burns so cleanly, and easily --- even though I pride myself of fire skills.

I bought it and though it might be a bit excessive but haven't regretted it once since I bought it. UNLIKE the propane torch, which I realized is terrible.

 

I'd have to say probably the best thing we've added at this point is our sogen & solar panels. We have often found that many of the nicer waterfront campsites at campgrounds we stay at are ones without hookups. Also we have been trying to use our Federal Senior Pass more often, which allows free admission to any of the national parks, and half price camping at them, and most federally operated campgrounds like National Forest Service, & Army Corp campgrounds. Few if any of the Forest Service Campgrounds have electric hookups, and like the Army Corp campground at Crosslake we stayed at this week, many of the sites had electric, but none of the waterfront sites did. We had a waterfront site, and had all the electric we needed with the sogen.

So, it has added a lot of options for site selection that we wouldn't have had without it (if we wanted power and no noise from a generator).
Even though we don't always have a site with good sun, be it from trees, or clouds, if we can't recharge the sogen from the sun, we can recharge it from either a generator, which will recharge it in about an hour, and give us at least a days worth of power, if not two, or three depending on what you are using, or recharge at a nearby site with power, or more recently I added a charging unit to our TV which will recharge it in about an hour and a half at idle. So you aren't disturbing yourself or your fellow campers peace with a continuously running generator.

Maybe the second best thing has been the propane fire pit. With the ceramic logs, lava rock, and vermiculite with rock wool for embers, it has a very realistic wood fire look (especially after dark), is instant on and off, without the smoke, and ash of wood. A 20lb tank will provide about 8-10 hrs of operation at your choosing for about $12- 20 worth of propane depending on if you buy it at Tractor Supply filling your own, or Menards/Walmart with a tank exchange. It is also often allowed when campfires are not.

 

Thanks dustin!
I agree with the sogen as highly useful. I've been farting around with these awhile and the two I have (40ah, 70ah) have been pretty reliable and useful, and recharge ok on 200w solar panels, plus AC of course.
My little VW takes much longer to recharge either via DC from car cigarette plug but its because it goes thru inverter plugged then AC to sogen, where it gets converted to DC- highly inefficient.

Did you go DC to DC for car charging?
What and how?
(Maybe on another thread? )

Or DM if you like- Sorry for my enthusiasm -I dont want to threadjack or go too far OT on this excellent topic here...

 

I have the smallest Solo and its incredibly efficient- some twigs and dry wood thumb sized kindling sliced off grocery store wood if in a pinch...
gives the "mesmerizing fire meditative calming" effect that is cooked into our human dna...
with no fuss and some easy ash cleanup.

I remember the old saying from BSA or such 60 years ago - not PC but you get the point:
"Injun build small fire sit close- white man build big fire sit far away...)

 

For me it would have to be my Goal Zero Yeti Core 1000 SoGen battery and DC to DC charger with line running to the bed of my truck. I rarely camp where there are hookups and constantly worried about having enough battery to get through my stay. I dedicated the Yeti to run my Dometic Fridge that I now keep in the truck bed. The DC to DC charger puts out 200+ watts when driving so I always arrive with the Yeti fully charged. It relieves the pressure from the camper battery. When needed I can top off the camper or Yeti batteries with a solar panel or for the a Yeti, just go for a short drive or idle the truck for 30 minutes or so. The Yeti actually runs the Dometic for three plus days with no charge at all. I also love that the input and output ports on the Yeti are Anderson Power Pole type eliminating the need for a #$@&* cigarette lighter socket and plug that would never stay connected when I had a Jackery SoGen.

 

Hey Kevin.
We have an EcoFlow Delta 2 which has a 1024Wh capacity, and as Randy mentioned about the similarly powered Yeti 1000 it will run the Dometic for about 3 days without recharging depending on enviromental conditions, and if that is all it's used for, but sometimes a toaster gets plugged into it, and re-chargeable devices etc. which can bring that recharge time down to considerably less duration. I agree, the cigarette plug charger is painfully slow for recharging, which is the result of the limited current capacity of the lighter plug, so up until recently I would charge with solar, or AC if available, or our generator.
EcoFlow recently came out with a 800W DC to DC Alternator Charger for TV's that will charge the sogen in a little over an hour, but seemed somewhat overpriced. https://us.ecoflow.com/products/800...=USD&msclkid=ca197b1f386b111e4c551c1ed326cc80
Early in Sept. I happened to run across a kind of flash sale they had, and was able to snag one for $199 which was about 1/3 of it's normal price. EcoFlow does that sort of thing quite often with their products, especially when they come out with new products, but that was quite a bit larger discount than I'd seen before, so I decided to grab one.
The downside of EcoFlow (and this may be true of other sogens as well) is that they tend to use proprietary connectors, and also, you run their products though an app you install on your phone that they have developed for their products. The app works well, and gives you a lot of adjustability with their products like charge rates and charge limits along with monitoring the SOC, and real time charge input and discharge output of the sogen, as well as hours of charge remaining at current discharge rate etc..
So it's very nice in that way, but because of the brand specific app, I don't think the 800W Alternator Charger could be used with any other brand sogen without a real tech geek somehow hacking it. I did a temporary installation, with the cord for the charger hooked to the battery and ground then coiled under the hood, and the charger & sogen are hooked to it only when recharging is needed. Then it can easily be removed for installation into another vehicle if desired. The downside of that type of installation is it isn't available while driving like it would be if installed as intended with the cord entering the TV cabin and the charger mounted inside at a place where the sogen can sit. It's still relatively new to me, so I don't have enough experience with it yet to give an informed review, but I'm cautiously optimistic.

 

Thanks Randy! Thats def the way to go I think-put the extra power in the TV if you are gonna keep the Dometic in TV too. And feed it from the TV alternator on cloudy days, like the CTEK does in the CI with solar. I cannot feed the battery inside the sogen direct as its not controlled by the battery monitor, for DC to external DC.
So I'm noodling on another way...

Thanks for the Anderson plug reminder- I recall that on another thread and can confirm the Dometic cigarrette plug working loose is a pain, too.

What "DC to DC" box model and maker, pls? I recall an earlier thread on this, but cant recall if you filled us in then.

 

Thanks, dustin! I read good things/see youtube reviews on the ecolab gear. Definitely interested in hearing how it goes in next few times out camping.
Sogen as a pony battery makes a lot of sense.

 

Pretty stout looking...that would go with the hot water heater CI sells. Easier setup/down than the CI side tent.

Now me, I can see myself driving off forgettting to take it down...
"Hey, whats that noise?"

 

I travel with 3 sogens. Small, medium and large. They fit different needs. On my recent 3 week trip I started using the small one (Jackery 300) to run the Dometic fridge at night and not be a drain on my AGM battery. The medium (Ecoflow River Pro) runs an egg cooker and makes coffee. (The coffee maker can also make instant oatmeal.) The large one (Ecoflow Delta Mini) is mainly for running a microwave I travel with. Very handy.

While car charging is slow, I find that with some reasonable planning, I can plug one into the car while I cruise around the parks I visit, and they will charge during the day. Even if not charged fully, they charge enough to keep me going. No need to use solar to charge even though I do travel with solar charging options.

 

Interesting! What microwave have you found that is convenient enough to take camping with you?

If anyone is interested in getting into a sogen, and DC to DC tow vehicle charger, the EcoFlow Delta 2 and the 800W Alternator DC-DC charger is on sale as a package right now at a good price that essentially gets you the charger for $200 over what the sogens regularly best on sale price is. https://us.ecoflow.com/products/ecoflow-delta-2-950-portable-power-station
I think there other great maybe even better sogens out there besides EcoFlow too, so do your homework/research, but this is a good price for that package.

 

I use an LG inverter microwave. It varies the draw of power based on the cook settings you use, unlike a regular microwave that will draw full power and then cycle on and off to try and simulate a less than full power cook setting. When I run it it at 70% power it only draws around 1050 watts. I've experimented at home with how different settings affect the cook time, but generally use 70% for everything and just adjust the timing. (Keeps the draw on the sogen well below the max) At the risk of stating the obvious, I'm only heating things up and not actually "cooking" a meal.

I guess convenience is in the eye of the beholder. It's relatively quick and easy to clean up after. (It's not fun trying to cook, eat and clean in the dark and cold after the sun has gone down.) I'm not at camp long enough to get into "real" cooking. Fits easily in the back of the car next to all the sogens. lol

 

....well unfortunately the $599.00 price it was when I posted that message only lasted during Prime Days sale and is now back to it's pretty much regular price again. It will probably go on sale again at or near that price during the Black Friday sale or the pre Black Friday sale or the pre- pre Black Friday sale, or the.......