Dragonfly Energy Employee, Kalyn Huckaby, Powers Her VW Bus with Battle Born Batteries

Born and raised in Northern Nevada, Kalyn Huckaby loves the state that she calls home and is excited to be a part of a company that loves it too. Her passion for the outdoors and renewable energy made her the perfect fit to work at Dragonfly Energy. Now, with five years of experience under her belt and a wealth of knowledge about all things Battle Born Batteries, Kalyn thrives as an integral part of our company while still making time to go camping in her VW bus and enjoy the outdoors.

Meet Kalyn Huckaby

Full of family-owned businesses, farmland, and wide-open spaces, Fallon is a small town nestled just east of the Sierras in Northern Nevada. Known for being home to the fighter jets of the Top Gun Naval Air Station, the rugged off-roading terrain of Sand Mountain, and some of the world’s best cantaloupe,  Fallon is the perfect place for those who crave adventure and love being outdoors.

As a Fallon native, Kalyn Huckaby grew up with a passion for spending time in nature and exploring the world around her. When she wasn’t helping with her family’s salt mining business, Kalyn was camping, hiking, paddleboarding, snowboarding, or doing just about any other outdoor activity. She fell in love with the natural beauty surrounding her in Northern Nevada and loves that being outdoors allows her to spend uninterrupted time with her friends and family.

In addition to simply enjoying her time outdoors, Kalyn loved playing sports growing up. Although she played multiple sports, softball quickly became her main focus. Upon graduating high school, Kalyn was recruited to play at the collegiate level in North Dakota. She left her hometown to spend the next two years in the flatlands of the Midwest. Kalyn enjoyed playing softball, but she was counting down the days until she could be surrounded by mountains again.

After getting her Associate of Science degree, Kalyn moved back to Nevada. At 20 years old, with a college degree, she had no idea what to do with and the majority of her work experience helping with the salt mine in Fallon; she simply began looking for jobs on Indeed. Kalyn found a job ad for a Shipping Associate at a very small, local battery company called Dragonfly Energy. Despite not having experience, she took a chance, applied, interviewed, and was offered the job.

Five Years and Five Different Roles at Dragonfly Energy

With around 20 employees when Kalyn started, everyone at Dragonfly Energy was working hard to pitch in and help wherever they could. Even if it meant learning how to do things on the fly. Kalyn excelled in this environment and quickly learned the entire shipping and packing process. She also programmed all the components and accessories that were being shipped out.

As her knowledge grew, so did her hunger to learn more. She left shipping and went into the sales department. This was a daunting challenge but one she was ready to tackle head-on. From beginning as a sales assistant to becoming a full-fledged sales team member, Kalyn learned the ins and outs of how Battle Born Batteries worked. She quickly became skilled in designing systems for any application.

Once she was confident in her abilities to configure and design electrical systems, Kalyn moved on to play an instrumental role in our RMA department. Continued growth at Dragonfly Energy led to reevaluating key processes to ensure proper efficiency and utmost customer care. Kalyn was pivotal in creating RMA processes that met customers’ needs, kept detailed records, and smoothly transitioned through all department touchpoints.

As these processes were implemented, Kalyn moved, once again, into the marketing department. This is where she currently works as our Marketing Coordinator and Brand Ambassador Manager. Her deep knowledge of the company, the internal workings of Battle Born Batteries and electrical systems, and her passion for the mission of Dragonfly Energy shaped Kalyn to be the perfect fit for this role. She is our first point of contact for brand ambassadors, assisting with system configuration and troubleshooting. In addition, she attends countless tradeshows and writes the technical specs for manuals and data sheets.

A Dream Come True in a VW Bus

While working at Dragonfly Energy, Kalyn has helped countless customers and brand ambassadors configure their off-grid electrical systems. Whether full-timers or weekend warriors, she has helped each one of them achieve their dreams of living life untethered to the grid. The more she helped others achieve their off-grid dreams, the more she realized her own. Although she wasn’t looking to travel full-time, she searched for the perfect rig for weekend adventures and extended camping trips.

Despite growing up tent camping, and loving it, Kalyn has always dreamed of owning a VW bus. A VW bus would be the perfect camper. Kalyn says she’s “always been a beachy, ocean girl at heart living in a mountain city.” Having a VW bus would offer the best of both worlds for weekends at the lake as well as trips to the coast.

When Kalyn found a VW bus for sale that had already been converted into a camper, she couldn’t pass it up. Immediately, she hopped on a plane to the Pacific Northwest (PNW) and drove back to Reno in her dream vehicle. As she made her way down the coast of the PNW in her newly acquired VW Bus, named Coastee, she couldn’t help but be in awe of the surreal experience. Camping along the way in breathtaking spots she had never had the opportunity to visit and simply enjoying the ease of just parking and already having camp set up for the night.

Kalyn Upgrades Coastee with the Power of Battle Born Batteries

Coastee was nearly perfect when Kalyn picked her up, but she was in need of one major upgrade. Without a reliable electrical system, many things in the bus wouldn’t be useable without electrical hookups. But Kalyn didn’t buy Coastee to spend weekends and vacations in crowded campgrounds. She wanted to be off-grid and away from the world’s chaos, simply being able to spend time in nature. With her technical expertise, Kalyn knew exactly what she would need for a Battle Born Batteries electrical system.

Coastee’s electrical upgrade includes:

• 2 – 12V 100Ah Deep Cycle LiFePO4 GC2 Battle Born Batteries
• 1 – Orion 12/12-18 DC to DC Charger
• 1 – 12V 1200w Victron Phoenix Inverter
• 1 – Victron Battery Monitor BMV 712
• 1 – IP65 Charger

This powerful system gives Kalyn more than enough power to run everything she needs while camping. Now, when Kalyn, her boyfriend Mike, and their adorable pups, Alpine and Sawyer, head off on weekend adventures, they don’t have to spend time worrying about having enough power. They can pack up, park in their desired destination, and spend the rest of the time enjoying being out in nature. Being able to cook, flip on lights, watch movies, and have heat in cooler weather has been a gamechanger. Coastee still has her charm as a retro vehicle while being able to utilize modern-day technology.

What’s Up Next for Kalyn?

Kalyn loves that she’s been able to experience the power of Battle Born Batteries firsthand. She uses her experiences to help customers and brand ambassadors achieve similar goals of spending more time off-grid. She’s looking forward to taking Coastee on many more weekend trips in Tahoe and extended vacations to more National Parks in the coming year. These trips will allow Kalyn, Mike, Sawyer, and Alpine to spend more time together outdoors while still enjoying the comforts of home!

Along with spending time traveling, Kalyn is eager to participate in the exciting growth and changes happening at Dragonfly Energy. In the five years since she started, Dragonfly Energy is no longer the small startup it used to be. We now have nearly 200 employees all working hard to drive innovation and continue producing quality products. Kalyn’s looking forward to continuing to be a part of the growth. As we use our current products and new technologies to make widespread renewable energy attainable

Dragonfly Energy wouldn’t be the company it is today without dedicated and hardworking employees like Kalyn. We’re so thankful for all of the different roles she’s played over the last five years, and we’re thrilled that she is still playing an integral role on our team. We can’t wait to see what she accomplishes next!