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Off-grid electric camper box modernizes Jeep Wrangler camping

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The days of all-electric Jeep Wranglers leaving behind only agitated dust while roaming the vast Western wilderness may still be a long ways off, but Phoenix startup DirtBox Gear has a new way of electrifying the other half of the overlanding experience. Unique from the typical camper-in-a-box kit, DirtBox’s Juice Box wires lithium battery power inside the Wrangler tailgate. Use it to run an induction cooktop and 12-V fridge/freezer, and you can power your base camp without a single LPG tank or canister.

Throughout two decades of off-roading and camping through the deserts and mountains of the American Southwest, DirtBox Gear cofounder Greg Whitworth repeatedly battled two problems he couldn’t shake: the near-impossible task of organizing all the necessary off-road and camping gear, accessories, and odds and ends and the chore of trying to keep operational the fast-draining electronics that have become so much more prevalent over that 20-year timespan.

Whitworth turned to friend and cabinetmaker Rod McGalliard, cofounder #2 of DirtBox, and got to work creating a solution that neatly combines storage and electricity. The Juice Box looks like a fairly simple RV drawer stack, but in place of a top drawer it includes a full Renogy power system complete with 170-Ah 12-V lithium-iron-phosphate battery, 2,000-W pure sine wave inverter, DC-DC charger, battery and inverter monitors, and BT-2 Bluetooth module. Also included are a solar input for plug-and-play solar charging and a series of 110-V, 12-V and USB outlets spread around the front and back for access from both outside and from the rear seats. The two drawers below offer a combined 83.5 liters of storage space.

Along with its electrical hardware, the Juice Box gives users 83.5 liters of storage capacity
Along with its electrical hardware, the Juice Box gives users 83.5 liters of storage capacity

DirtBox Gear

Off-roaders can use the Juice Box independently to power their own equipment and electronics, and DirtBox also offers an accompanying fridge/stove module to mount right next to it. Included is a dual-slide system built to hold 45- to 50-quart (43- to 47-L) fridge/ freezers behind a stove platform up front.

While campers could use the stove platform for a basic dual-burner gas camping stove, DirtBox has designed it with an induction cooktop in mind. Plug it into the Juice Box and enjoy a stable, flameless cooking solution without the hassles of carrying LPG. The Juice Box includes a dedicated 12-V outlet at the lower rear corner for the fridge/freezer.

The fridge/stove module mounts neatly beside the Juice Box and makes for an organized electric kitchen
The fridge/stove module mounts neatly beside the Juice Box and makes for an organized electric kitchen

DirtBox Gear

Campers can also plug into the Juice Box to power kitchen appliances, such as a blender, automatic drip coffeemaker, coffee grinder or crockpot. Attach a drop-down Wrangler tailgate table like this one from Front Runner, and the Wrangler transforms into a pretty solid little food-prep and cooking station.

Both the Juice Box and the fridge/stove module are made to mount to an accompanying polyurethane enamel-coated plywood base plate. DirtBox currently offers plates that fit Jeep Wrangler JK and JL Unlimiteds and old Cherokee XJ models. It is working to add options for popular off-roaders like the Toyota 4Runner.

DirtBox has designed its initial base plates specifically for Wrangler JKU and JLU models; additional vehicle models will be supported in the future
DirtBox has designed its initial base plates specifically for Wrangler JKU and JLU models; additional vehicle models will be supported in the future

DirtBox Gear

Unsurprisingly, the Juice Box is the wallet-diving piece of the DirtBox puzzle at $3,929. The base plate tacks on $293, and the dual-slide fridge/stove box costs $1,297 (fridge and stove not included).

Source: DirtBox Gear

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Source: https://newatlas.com/outdoors/off-grid-electric-camper-box-modernizes-jeep-wrangler-camping/

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