Ok, so the simple setup I started with fell flat. I'm a natural-born problem solver, and this is a problem I'm fully qulified to solve!
So, what did we learn?
- We need much more capacity
- We need faster charging, with more options
- Solar is unlikely to be successful as a single charging option
Great, so, get a bigger solar generator! After all, the ECOFLOW Delta has 5x the power of your current solution, and charges extremely fast.
EFDELTA 1250 Wh Portable Power Station Recharge 0 to 80% In One Hour
Well, sure. Except, the 12v charger and solar charging are shared and I'd need to run wiring to the device to charge it off my alternator as the 400W rated draw far exceeds the 13A limitation of my accessory sockets. If you use the appropriate cable for charging it through the accessory socket it takes 10-12 hours to fully recharge! Also, this thing is big and heavy, so dragging it to an outlet to charge it won't be fun either. And I'd have to remember to switch between alternator and solar charging, and when I'm driving all that solar energy is just going to waste.
These limitations were pretty universal across the whole family of these products. If you're just a weekend camper, or will be staying places with 120v outlets... this is probably still the solution for you. Unfortunately, the devices do lack a bit of flexibility and are effectively non-repairable. Any fault in one of the components, including batteries could render the entire unit ready for the landfill. And worse, the remainder of the trip with no electricity!
As you can imagine, this is not the solution I ended up going with.