
Solar panels and an additional battery in your camper are a very popular option for people who spend at least some time off-grid, outside the camping sites or want to use their own renewable source of energy.
The most popular option is to install solar panels on the camper’s roof. However, we opted for an independent power station with portable folding solar panels. After due research, we chose the Vtoman Flashspeed 1500 with 400W solars. There are probably other good products on the market, but this one seemed excellent, with many positive reviews. After two months of regular use, we can agree with all of them: this is a quality multipurpose product.

The reasons we chose portable over preinstalled are the following (they may be proved to be misguided, as it often happens, but for now they stand):
- There is not enough space on the roof for solar panels with desirable power due to roof windows, the need for roof rails, and the need to carry additional equipment on the roof.
- The vehicle has to be in the sun (not in the shade, which is comfortable and desirable) while charging (we suppose there should be options for removing solar panels from the roof, but we did not find any available for now).
- installing solar power in our camper would give us only 12V AC output, not DC power, which is sometimes needed. The solution is an additional inverter, of course.
- Coosing an independent power station allows us to use it for other purposes, like field trips with other vehicles or charging small gadgets at home (phones, watches, e-bike batteries, etc.).

Until now, all these reasons have proved to be valid. Vtoman FlashSpeed 1500 adds some 15 kilograms to our weight (another 15 if we carry an additional 1500W battery), but it is ok. The device is practical and easy to fit in the camper garage. We tested the DC charging – under one hour from 10% to 100%, which is fantastic. Solar charging depends on the sun’s intensity, but we managed to charge it fully for 5 to 9 hours.
When camping without DC power, we connect the Vtoman’s DC output to the camper’s DC input port, and we can normally use AC, DC, and USB chargers inside the camper. Our power expenditure for one regular camping day was around 600W (42% of the battery). That means we can charge it again for 3 hours (very sunny day) up to 5 hours (moderate sunny day).
We have been very happy with this product and recommend it without hesitation.
We have no connection with the manufacturer or the sellers and no financial interest whatsoever. For further information purposes, you can visit Vtoman’s official site.
We bought ours via Amazon.de where you can, from time to time, find special vouchers to reduce the price significantly (up to 40%)
Official information about the product:
Huge Power and Capacity: FlashSpeed 500 features a powerful output power of 1500W and a huge capacity of 1548Wh, with a maximum instantaneous output power of 3000W [V-Beyond Tech].
One Hour to Full Charge: FlashSpeed 500 can be fully charged in 1 hour with 1500W AC input. It also supports 400W solar input and 200W DC input.
Capacity Expansion: Add the additional battery to double the capacity of the FlashSpeed 500 from 1548Wh to 3096Wh and extend the runtime of your devices.
UPS Function FlashSpeed 1500 has a switching time of <20ms to ensure uninterrupted power supply for your CPAP machines and refrigerator during power outages.
Improved Stackable Design: FlashSpeed 500’s stackable design allows batteries to be added on top to maximize capacity and make it easier to transport and save space.
SuperSafe LiFeBMS System and LiFePo4 Battery: FlashSpeed 1500 features a SuperSafe™ LIFEBMS™ system with 10 safety protection features and uses a LiFePO4 battery that can last over 3100 cycles.