My Overland/Bug Out

[The Car Stereo Company]

i asked him the same question about alaska in the winter and death valley in the summer. alaska in winter, sure i can do that. but death valley in the summer, im gonna melt

 

[Lilla Kharn]

Totally legit and great answers.

Obstacle is the way - perfect.

If you have questions about the Aux battery and BCDC, I went HAM on trying to increase my understanding of it all when I did mine. Farthest from an expert as you can be, but did turn my mind to a number of the considerations. Mine's been working flawlessly. 1225 BCDC, bluetop 55Ah deep cycle in a trolling battery box, some accessories run off it, plus snivel gear in camp - lights, charging accessories etc. I didn't go lithium bcs I need it to accept a charge below freezing, but would like to run a 100 Ah lithium for more capacity and some weight savings, or maybe a bit smaller lithium.

I also wired in an extension off it for running my compressor, or to easily connect 120w folding solar - just avoids me having to open my hood and mess with my battery.

I also wired in a direct to main battery outlet in my glove box so I could run a 20w solar either inside the window or outside (for less power loss) as s trickle charger for the main battery in camp. This way, the main battery is running some lights, car alarm and other little things... stays up and reliable.

I’m currently on an unplanned road trip around Arizona, Utah, and wherever else I might want to go. I have read everything and will be responding when I get back! I also highly recommend NOT jumping the truck with the Leitner rack. But there was minimal damage...

i asked him the same question about alaska in the winter and death valley in the summer. alaska in winter, sure i can do that. but death valley in the summer, im gonna melt

I’m still dragging you along.

 

[Lilla Kharn]

Totally legit and great answers.

Obstacle is the way - perfect.

If you have questions about the Aux battery and BCDC, I went HAM on trying to increase my understanding of it all when I did mine. Farthest from an expert as you can be, but did turn my mind to a number of the considerations. Mine's been working flawlessly. 1225 BCDC, bluetop 55Ah deep cycle in a trolling battery box, some accessories run off it, plus snivel gear in camp - lights, charging accessories etc. I didn't go lithium bcs I need it to accept a charge below freezing, but would like to run a 100 Ah lithium for more capacity and some weight savings, or maybe a bit smaller lithium.

I also wired in an extension off it for running my compressor, or to easily connect 120w folding solar - just avoids me having to open my hood and mess with my battery.

I also wired in a direct to main battery outlet in my glove box so I could run a 20w solar either inside the window or outside (for less power loss) as s trickle charger for the main battery in camp. This way, the main battery is running some lights, car alarm and other little things... stays up and reliable.

I have my dream setup in mind. A heated lithium battery in the bed with a BCDC charger. This will route to a charging station I’ll set up in the back seat of the cab, an Anderson plug for the tent, and to the back of the truck. I was seriously considering mounting a solar panel to the roof of the tent but I think I’m going to use a collapsible one for now. I want to mount my arb compressor in the bed along with a fridge. I’m just not sure about having the arb exposed to the elements since I’m not running a bed cover. More research is needed.

In the tent, I want USB ports, ports for the heaters (explained further), and a fan.

I also thought about putting some power outlets in one of my pods but I don’t think it’s worth it.

I found the solution to my heating problem in the form of a combination of a heated underpad and a radiant heater when I’m getting out from under the covers. The amount of power this will use determines if I get a mounted solar panel.

I can also use the remote start on the truck for 15 minutes of charge. I don’t know how much that gives me so it’s something I’ll be testing when it happens.

 

[amREADY]

I have my dream setup in mind. A heated lithium battery in the bed with a BCDC charger. This will route to a charging station I’ll set up in the back seat of the cab, an Anderson plug for the tent, and to the back of the truck. I was seriously considering mounting a solar panel to the roof of the tent but I think I’m going to use a collapsible one for now. I want to mount my arb compressor in the bed along with a fridge. I’m just not sure about having the arb exposed to the elements since I’m not running a bed cover. More research is needed.

In the tent, I want USB ports, ports for the heaters (explained further), and a fan.

I also thought about putting some power outlets in one of my pods but I don’t think it’s worth it.

I found the solution to my heating problem in the form of a combination of a heated underpad and a radiant heater when I’m getting out from under the covers. The amount of power this will use determines if I get a mounted solar panel.

I can also use the remote start on the truck for 15 minutes of charge. I don’t know how much that gives me so it’s something I’ll be testing when it happens.

Oh, that is all super legit.

This is how I get power to my tent (and around camp). Anderson powerpole to Aux battery, then has voltage, switch, lights at both ends, one red, one white, USB ports and 12v outlet port. Then run an extension from it into the tent and split off from there for lighting, phone/camera charging etc.

Added bonus is the blue voltage light is perfect for middle of the night leaks. Not obnoxiously bright, but enough. The red extension rolls up inside the container to keep it tidy when packing up.

 

[Lilla Kharn]

Oh, that is all super legit.

This is how I get power to my tent (and around camp). Anderson powerpole to Aux battery, then has voltage, switch, lights at both ends, one red, one white, USB ports and 12v outlet port. Then run an extension from it into the tent and split off from there for lighting, phone/camera charging etc.

Added bonus is the blue voltage light is perfect for middle of the night leaks. Not obnoxiously bright, but enough. The red extension rolls up inside the container to keep it tidy when packing up.

That is an awesome setup. When you turn on your truck, how fast does that battery charge?

 

[amREADY]

That is an awesome setup. When you turn on your truck, how fast does that battery charge?

Thx. Since it is rated to push the full 25A if it needs it, I think most times it throttles it down less than that. The battery is a 55Ah AGM and 1225 BCDC from Redarc. I'd estimate, but haven't messed around with it to confirm, it pushes maybe 15A into it. Maybe 20, but I typically don't let it run down and never past 50% if I can help it.

So with chainsaw math, say it is full at 50A (not a new battery) and I let it get down to say 25A, then it would take just over an hour to get it to full charge. Typically I don't need that between moving every few days or solar. Or I could just run my ARB cooler off my main battery for a day if I didn't want to charge the Aux battery.

But if I had the perfect storm or rain, not moving/driving, then I'd need to idle it a bit to get some of my charge back or run on my main battery.

That's why I'm looking at a 100Ah lithium as it gives me about 80Ah of capacity vs 25Ah on an AGM since lithium can go down to 20%. 80 would mean I wouldn't need to think about it.

 

[Lilla Kharn]

Thx. Since it is rated to push the full 25A if it needs it, I think most times it throttles it down less than that. The battery is a 55Ah AGM and 1225 BCDC from Redarc. I'd estimate, but haven't messed around with it to confirm, it pushes maybe 15A into it. Maybe 20, but I typically don't let it run down and never past 50% if I can help it.

So with chainsaw math, say it is full at 50A (not a new battery) and I let it get down to say 25A, then it would take just over an hour to get it to full charge. Typically I don't need that between moving every few days or solar. Or I could just run my ARB cooler off my main battery for a day if I didn't want to charge the Aux battery.

But if I had the perfect storm or rain, not moving/driving, then I'd need to idle it a bit to get some of my charge back or run on my main battery.

That's why I'm looking at a 100Ah lithium as it gives me about 80Ah of capacity vs 25Ah on an AGM since lithium can go down to 20%. 80 would mean I wouldn't need to think about it.

That’s my exact thought in going lithium versus AGM. AGM works for the starter battery but for overlanding it seems that the lithium’s are just the way to go regardless of how much they cost.

 

[sixshooter_45]

Thx. Since it is rated to push the full 25A if it needs it, I think most times it throttles it down less than that. The battery is a 55Ah AGM and 1225 BCDC from Redarc. I'd estimate, but haven't messed around with it to confirm, it pushes maybe 15A into it. Maybe 20, but I typically don't let it run down and never past 50% if I can help it.

So with chainsaw math, say it is full at 50A (not a new battery) and I let it get down to say 25A, then it would take just over an hour to get it to full charge. Typically I don't need that between moving every few days or solar. Or I could just run my ARB cooler off my main battery for a day if I didn't want to charge the Aux battery.

But if I had the perfect storm or rain, not moving/driving, then I'd need to idle it a bit to get some of my charge back or run on my main battery.

That's why I'm looking at a 100Ah lithium as it gives me about 80Ah of capacity vs 25Ah on an AGM since lithium can go down to 20%. 80 would mean I wouldn't need to think about it.

You might have to address the method of charging a lithium battery as I believe they tend to be hard to charge in extreme cold.

Here is some interesting reading on charging lithium batteries in the cold as well as damaging them:

Why charging li-ion batteries in cold temperatures would harm them

 

[Lilla Kharn]

You might have to address the method of charging a lithium battery as I believe they tend to be hard to charge in extreme cold.

Here is some interesting reading on charging lithium batteries in the cold as well as damaging them:

Why charging li-ion batteries in cold temperatures would harm them

They make heated lithium batteries that have internal temperature management. Self heating and insulating. Of course more money...

 

[John M BUNMAN]

Sweet set up.