Friends, I'm not what you'd call an experienced overlander, which is a word I've now learned means when you're truck camping. Part of the process of traveling overland is that you actually sleep in a folding tent on the roof of the truck you drive. Now, I'll be honest and say that sleeping on the roof of a truck, even if there are bungee straps keeping you from falling off, is not what I would call a fun weekend adventure. But it's the market Jackery is targeting with his new solar roof tent concept, which he showed off here at CES 2024 in Las Vegas and will launch as a real product in late 2024.
The Jackery rooftop tent solar generator is equipped with 1000W solar panels (with an efficiency rate of 25 percent). Unlike the flimsy panels you can currently buy, these are rigid sliding units that should offer a sturdier canopy to sleep under. Once you've parked and opened the tent, the panels are connected to an Explorer 1000 Plus generator. It will have 1,264 Wh of power and can produce speeds of up to 2,000 W, enough to power a 900 W stove for an hour. Plus, you can daisy-chain other batteries to further increase storage on longer trips away from an outlet and/or civilization.
There are no concrete details, yet, on how much this will cost when it hits retail, or how much it will change from this initial demo. But if you're a big fan of climbing onto the roof of a small truck and trying to sleep, without worrying about the terrifying prospect of tipping over and falling several feet to the ground, then this might be the product for you.
We're reporting live from CES 2024 in Las Vegas January 6-12. Stay up to date with the latest news from the show. here.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/jackerys-rooftop-solar-tent-makes-overlanding-more-environmentally-friendly-230029346.html?src=rss
