BougeRV Rover2000 Portable Power Station Review

We were near the top of our first rocky pass on a weeklong overlanding trip through the San Juan mountains when it dawned on us: We’d entrusted our lives, or at least our ice cream and margaritas, to a magic box that, along with solar panels and an electric cooler, converts energy from a distant flaming ball of hydrogen into ice cubes.

For that reason, we were eager to put that magic box, aka Bouge RV’s new Rover2000 portable power station, to the test. 

Right off the bat, we were optimistic. Even though it packs a hefty 2,000 Wh, it’s particularly light and compact for its size thanks to its advanced semi-solid-state battery technology. We also packed 400 W of portable solar panels. Since we expected June rainstorms to hinder our sun charging, we brought an expansion battery, which upped our capacity to a combined 4,000 Wh of electricity. Here’s what we learned. 

In short: Affordable and compact for its size, BougeRV’s Rover2000 is a great portable power station for off-grid adventures that require a decent amount of power, whether that’s running an electric cooler or Starlink internet. It’s well-suited to overlanding, car and van camping, and other off-grid adventures like running the basecamp at a 24-hour race, documentary shoot, or mobile workshop. Being expandable, it can also back up your home fridge, Wi-Fi, and other essentials during a power outage. 

To see how the BougeRV Rover2000 compares to other portable power options on the market, check out GearJunkie’s Best Portable Power Stations Buyer’s Guide.

BougeRV Rover2000 Power Station: Review

Brand New, Safer Battery Tech

My partner and I have tested portable power stations from over a dozen brands. This was our second BougeRV model, and we were skeptical going in, as we hadn’t been wildly impressed with the first one. It was fine, but rather noisy and used outdated battery technology. 

But right out of the box, we could tell that the Rover2000 was an entirely different beast. 

Most importantly, this marks the company’s transition to semi-solid-state lithium battery technology. These gel pouch cells are safer than the liquid-based NMC technology, which is still used in some of BougeRV’s older models and by a few other companies, notably Jackery.

The new tech also makes it more compact and a whopping 15 pounds (30%) lighter than competitors using LiFePO4 composition (which is currently the gold standard for most portable power stations). 

As we carried it to our Nissan Xterra to load up for camping, that size and weight difference were certainly noticeable. At 47 pounds, I could lift it by myself, and even with the expansion battery, it didn’t take up much more room than my clothes backpack. 

Power in the Field

The Rover2000’s primary task was keeping our Dometic dual-zone electric cooler running — no surprise; it did fine with that. We also used it to brew coffee and keep our laptops, phones, and portable speakers charged. But a true test of it would be how it delivers under pressure. It’s time to break out the reciprocating saw. 

I know, it’s kind of cheating to cut up a fallen log into campfire-friendly lengths with a power tool. But it’s so much easier. And we still use an old trusty camping hatchet and our elbow grease to split those. 

Not just any portable power station will run a reciprocating saw. But the Rover2000’s 2,200W inverter with 4,000W surge was up for the task. In fact, with that sort of power, it is capable of running most household appliances, even a portable air conditioner. (But don’t get too excited — even when the power station is fully expanded to 8,000 Wh, you might have just enough juice to make it through the night.) 

All of our power use on day one drained about 1,400 Wh. Time to get out the solar panels — another area where this unit excels. It can take in 1,500 W of solar, which is more than any other model of its size that we’ve seen so far.

So, if you lugged around that many panels, you could recharge from empty in under 2 hours. We only brought 400 W worth of panels, so it took us 4 hours to top off what we used. 

Other Notable Features

It got jostled around pretty good on some of the rougher roads, but its aluminum housing proved to be plenty durable. A five-setting light bar came in handy at night, and even better, it has a nice, warm spectrum (I can’t stand those glaring white and blue tones).

It also has ample outlets for various devices, and they made this one a lot quieter than the old model. The noise tops out at about 40dB when the fan kicks on (which only happens when you’re charging it).

The Rover2000 also comes with a 5-year warranty, which is standard in the industry, and the battery is supposed to last at least 3,000 full recharging cycles. This is six times more than regular NMC batteries, and just slightly less than typical LiFePo44, which means it should last about 10 years if you use it on the daily. It also has a good operating range, from 104 degrees F down to -4 degrees F. 

The Rover2000 at Home

The nice thing about portable power stations is that they’re also quite useful around the house. We could use the Rover2000 to power the electric lawnmower and weed whacker, plus it will run just about any power tool.

Then, when the power goes out, it makes a handy short-term solution for powering the fridge and Wi-Fi. No need to miss movie night when the grid’s down! It also recharges from AC wall power at 1,500 W, taking it from 0% to 100% in under 2 hours. 

Being expandable to 8,000 Wh (using three expansion batteries) means it can grow into a good home backup system. The only caveat is that, unlike some competitors, BougeRV doesn’t make a home integration panel that automatically transfers your home circuits to the power station when the power goes out. So, you’ll just have to plug in what you want to run manually.

Solar Panels & Other Accessories

BougeRV makes standard 100W and 200W solar panels, but they also make a really nifty 100W solar “blanket.” The flexible panel can be draped over things, like a camp chair or vehicle hood. It uses an emerging solar panel technology called CIGS, which supposedly makes it lighter and more efficient. It’s also super portable, folding to roughly 14” x 10.5” by 1″ thick. 

We also used the Rover2000 to power our favorite BougeRV accessory: a portable hot water heater, which is unlike anything I’ve ever seen before. It’s compact, gets water super hot, and is great for everything from showers to dishes and washing off the mountain bikes. (It uses propane to heat the water, but requires electricity to run the control panel.)

BougeRV also makes several lines of electric coolers and just came out with a new portable air 4,000-BTU air conditioning unit, that we’re also looking forward to testing out with the Rover2000 before too long. 

Room for Improvement

The Rover2000 is overwhelmingly a great product. Its biggest fault is probably just that it doesn’t have a 30A RV-style outlet, which is only an issue if you plan on using it as off-grid power for your RV or camper. (Alternatively, you could probably use a widely available adapter that converts the TT-30 trailer plug into a standard 120V household plug.)

The size is also overkill for anyone who just needs a power station to keep their electronics charged. And, it doesn’t have an IP weatherproof rating, though a lot of power stations don’t. 

Another minus is that it doesn’t have wheels. But, BougeRV does make a cart for it, which is surprisingly sturdy and easy to pull across dirt campgrounds. If you try to pull it along with an expansion battery on top, make sure to strap it down, as the expansion battery will want to slide off the side. 

Finally, the plug configuration is a bit awkward. There are outlets/inputs on both ends, which means you need a bit of extra space if you have to access them at the same time. 

BougeRV Rover2000: The Bar for the Next Generation 

After 7 days on dirt roads and a few months of using it around the house, we are convinced that not only did BougeRV step up its game, but the brand is now a leader in the industry. And even though it’s one of only two power stations that we know of to use semi-solid-state battery technology, it’s priced competitively at $1,899 (and you can often find it on sale for less). 

The Rover2000 is overkill for basic camping, but it’s a great choice for upping truck/van camping comforts a notch with luxuries like fans, electric coolers, satellite internet, coffee makers, and even an InstantPot.

It’s also great for emergency home backup and off-grid workshop use. It recharges quickly from solar and wall power, and it’s lighter and more compact for its watt-hour size than just about anything else out there.