One of the biggest things to get right is your battery & charging systems.
If you want to truly enjoy your off road experience, you need to make sure your battery and charging system is up to scratch. Following are the essential things to you need to know to think about, to ensure you have a superb battery and charging system to look after you on your travels.
1. Auxiliary batteries
To start with get yourself a deep-cycle AGM battery, which charge much quicker than traditional batteries... they also need no maintenance and an extended life and with a low self-discharge rate. They should be charged at a higher rate (14.7V) and are more expensive, but they are worth it.
TOP TIPS:
In order to choose which battery you need, think about these things:
- How much power your appliances will need?
- How long will you want to operate each appliance each day?
- How many days you'll be away from mains power?
2. DC-DC charging
If you as more extreme off road experience in mind, offline for a weekend or more, you should make sure you have a DC-DC charging system to make sure you have reliable power for the whole trip.
A DC-DC charging system will recharge, maintain, and extend the life of your auxiliary battery or batteries while you're on the track... either with an alternator, or solar when you've stopped for the night.
TOP TIPS:
When you're buying a DC-DC charging system think about:
- Do you need a portable or inbuilt DC-DC power solution?
- Do you need to charge batteries from an alternator or solar or both?
- Do you need a charger with a special mode for AGM batteries?
- Do you need a charger designed for smart alternators?
- What type of charging capacity do you need?
3. Meters & monitors
Meters and monitors enable you maximised control of your battery and charging system... you'll always be aware of how much power you've got in the bank, so you'll never get caught short by a flat battery in the middle of nowhere.
