As I was heading back north this spring, I stopped off for a visit to the Lion Energy headquarters in American Fork Utah to meet the team and check out their operation. While I was there they were in the process of expanding the warehouse. Their business appears to be growing by leaps and bounds! … Read more
In this video, I review the Safari ME portable power station from Lion Energy. This isn’t my first time reviewing a Lion Energy product. In fact, two years ago I installed and reviewed their UT1300 12V RV lithium battery offering. Over the months that followed, I published a number of updates and demo videos. They … Read more
In this video, I perform an informal, unscientific test of the Safari UT1300 lithium batteries cold-weather performance. Charge/discharge tests, how low can you go? I put the battery inside a plastic file box to simulate a battery box and load it into my deep freeze. I then and test the charge and discharging amperage at … Read more
In this video, I update you on how it’s going with the new Lion Energy UT 1300 batteries now that I have been doing some real-world tests boondocking in the southwest. I’ve been able to charge the batteries perfectly well with my existing Bogart solar controller and my Intelipower PD9260 converter charger by using its … Read more
In this video, I give you a quick look at the new Lion Energy UT 1300 lithium RV battery. I’m swapping out my model UT 1200s for this latest offering. The new model is the same footprint but about 3 lbs heavier. However, the capacity has been upped from 90 amp hours to 105 hours … Read more
In this video, I conclude my initial review of my new Lion Energy Safari UT 1200 lithium batteries. I have 3 of their 12V 90Ah batteries wired in parallel to produce a 270Ah bank. They are replacing 4 Interstate 6V golf cart batteries we have used for the last 3-4 years. So far, I’ve published … Read more
In the following two videos I put my new Lion Energy Safari UT 12V 90Ah lithium batteries through multiple real-world RVing test situations. For more information about the Safari UT check out my previous blog posts and videos – Upgrading Lead Acid RV Batteries to Lithium and Lion Energy Safari UT Lithium Battery Q & … Read more
Now that I have installed and begun my review of the Lion Energy Safari UT lithium iron phosphate (LIFePO4) battery, there have been quite a few questions popping up from my LYRV readers and viewers. Rather than continue to answer the common questions over and over, I’ve decided to publish Q & A type post … Read more
In this first video, I introduce you to Lion Energy’s Safari UT battery that I will be installing in our Cougar fifth-wheel trailer. The Safari UT is a 12V 90AH Lithium Iron Phosphate battery designed as a drop-in replacement for typical lead-acid type batteries found in RVs. I’ll be removing my current battery bank consisting … Read more
In this video, I go over our March 2022 snowbird trip highway route, and camping stops along the way. The month’s travel took us from near Lake Mead NRA in southwest Nevada up in elevation to the Great Salt Lake in northeast Utah. In the video, there are clips from camping at a wildlife management … Read more
Luckily, I’ve had a chance to try out and review several portable lithium power stations throughout the last couple of years. I’ve tested various Jackery, Himcen, Bluetti, and Lion Energy offerings. In the comment section of these videos, I’d often hear about another lithium power station maker called EcoFlow. Several people even asked if I … Read more
Over the last 11 years of full-time RVing, our off-grid power system has evolved and changed quite often. Early on, I slowly increased our power input and output options and storage capacity as I could afford it. Then as my LYRV YouTube channel grew, I was offered product samples for review by various companies. Many … Read more
This video shows you how we pack the truck and trailer as full-time RVers who take extended trips. Then I break down how our actual real-world weights compare to our truck and trailer max weight specifications. Over the years we have acquired a fair amount of stuff. To help take as much weight off the … Read more
In this video, I take a cheap battery monitor w/shunt I had kicking around and repurposed it to show amps and volts coming off a 600-watt solar panel array. I wired it up to be able to be easily connected in line with the solar panel output cable. The main reason for this meter is … Read more
I thought now would be a good time to publish an update on a pair of my core RV boondocking products I have previously reviewed. First, the heart of our system, three Lion Energy Safari UT1300 lithium-type batteries. Second an Energizer 2000 watt gas generator from Midland Power. I’ve used the products for a decent … Read more