Accessory maker Jackery, which produces a wide variety of battery-based portable power products and solar power collection systems, showed an expandable solar array atop a possibly hard-sided rooftop tent at this week’s Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas.
Jackery says the tent/array, which is still in prototype form, will likely enter production this summer. The solar system mounts to the hard shell of the rooftop tent as typical but features large slide-out solar panels that fit under the center panel. Jackery also issued a video that briefly included an image of a hard-sided rooftop tent. The power would be stored in a Jackery battery/inverter for powering 120-volt devices and smaller electronics.
Jackery offers a wide range of solar power panels, inverters, batteries, and other devices popular with campers and overlanders. They also produce solar power solutions for homes. A rooftop tent would be a new foray for the company. In direct sunlight, the fully extended panels are said to generate 1,000 Watts (or 1 Kilowatt) of power.
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Extendable solar panels are not exactly a new idea, but they have been rare so far as an overlanding product. One concern is wind resistance for the sliding panels and the tent structure. It will be interesting to see how Jackery addresses that issue.
So far, no pricing or a specific retail date has been announced.
