One budget, one big buck – but both are foolproof

THE BUDGET SETUP

Relatively cheap to setup, but will still allow you to keep the fridge running cold.

THE GEAR:

Adventure Kings Dual Battery System – comes with Smart Battery Isolator, including cabling, battery lugs and connectors: Normally $89.00
Adventure Kings 98Ah deep-cycle AGM battery: Normally $249.00
Battery tray: $100-$150 (model dependent)
TOTAL PRICE: $400-$500

WHAT IT GETS YOU:

This is the perfect first setup to get you up and running. It’ll happily run a fridge over-night, and the Smart Battery Isolator will allow for charging of the second battery while the vehicle’s running, as well as isolate and protect the main battery when you turn the engine off at camp. The 98Ah Adventure Kings Deep Cycle battery will typically run a normal fridge safely for around 10 hours before needing to be recharged, and the kit comes with enough cabling to mount the auxiliary battery under the bonnet.

WHAT IT CAN’T DO:

Not as suited to modern 4WDs due to a number of limitations. Namely, smart alternators that don’t always offer full charging, and a lack of under-bonnet space that means the second battery can’t often fit in the engine bay. Won’t let you stay at one campsite more than one night before needing to drive for at least a couple of hours to re-charge. Won’t let you monitor battery levels without further accessories.

THE NEXT STEP:

Add in an Adventure Kings 160W portable solar panel with in-built regulator for $159. This should at full sunlight put about 8A back into the auxiliary battery per hour, as long as you’re facing the sun and not in any shade. It’ll let you camp for a second and third night safely before needing to start the vehicle up and go for a drive.

THE ULTIMATE SETUP

What you want if you never want to worry about flat batteries again.

THE GEAR:

CTEK D250SA DC/DC charger, Smartpass 120 energy management unit and Battery sense Bluetooth battery monitor: RRP $867.95
Two Adventure Kings 115Ah Deep-Cycle AGM battery: Normally $249ea
CTEK M300 25A 8-step charger: RRP $461.03
Assorted cabling and supplies: $250
Adventure Kings 110W fixed solar panel: Normally $109
TOTAL PRICE: Approx $2250

WHAT IT GETS YOU:

This setup is the absolute bee’s knees of 12v. We’re talking about 230Ah of battery capacity, well enough to run your fridge for a second night without worrying about the batteries going flat. What’s really trick about the CTEK Battery Sense is that it let you keep an eye on battery levels at camp. Throw in a 110W solar panel and you’re pretty much sorted

WHAT IT CAN’T DO:

This setup’s typically designed to run multiple batteries in the rear of the vehicle – the cargo bay or a ute tub or tray – because very few vehicles can fit two auxiliary batteries under the bonnet. That means there’s more cost involved in the cabling and components to make it work, and you can’t skimp either – voltage drop can seriously effect this system if under-sized wiring is used.

THE NEXT STEP:

Push the limits of this setup’s battery capacity – which is highly unlikely – and the next step would be to add extra batteries, and other consumers like an Adventure Kings 1500W Inverter for charging all your gear!

EASY 12V SKILLS EVERYONE SHOULD HAVE

Here’s your 12v installs and fault-finding crash course

SOLDERING

The absolute first skill you should learn. Use a pair of vice-grips or similar to hold the wiring in position, then apply heat with the soldering iron directly to the wiring. When the wiring is hot, feed solder directly into it. Continue to hold the tip of the soldering iron in place until the solder heats to the point that it flows into the wiring. Remove soldering iron carefully and don’t disturb the wiring for at least 30 seconds to allow the solder to set.

INSULATION & SECURING

This is vitally important because unsecured, improperly insulated wiring is a hazard. Heat shrink is great, but sometimes on tight repair jobs it’s difficult to heat the wiring without prematurely shrinking the heatshrink. Quality electrical tape can do just as a good a job – apply it while the wiring is still warm, to allow it to form around the connection. After a few wraps, then apply pressure as you wrap. Finish by securing the wiring with cable ties but don’t force it into a position it doesn’t naturally want to sit in as this will stress the wiring over time and cause it to fail.

VOLTAGE FAULT-FINDING

The simplest and easiest way to find faults. Put your multimeter onto the Voltage setting, and set the range to 20V (unless it can do auto-ranging). Connect the black lead from the COMMON (COM) or NEGATIVE port to a good earth point – ideally the negative terminal on the battery, or a clean, unpainted metal part of the engine or body. Now, connect the red lead to the 10A socket. Probe the positive side of your battery to check the multimeter works, the earth connection is good and the leads are plugged in properly – it should read around the 12.6V-12.8V mark when the vehicle’s off, and between 13.5V and 14.4V when it’s running. Take the red lead’s probe and start following the path of 12v from the battery to the problem area. Check both sides of any components like fuses, circuit breakers, terminals and the like. The sharp end of the probe can be used to dig in through wiring insulation to check voltage while only leaving a tiny hole in the wiring.

CONTINUITY FAULT-FINDING

The next thing you should learn to do with your multimeter is check for continuity, which is useful for checking for breaks in the 12v circuit through things like fuses and connectors. Set the switch on the multimeter to the continuity setting, which looks like a little speaker symbol (check the instruction manual if you’re not sure). Connect the red and black probes together and the multimeter should beep – this indicates that it’s sensing a connected circuit. Now, use the probes to check for continuity through various components. An easy example to test are blade fuses – they have little exposed terminals on their head so you can check if a fuse is blown without taking it out. Connect the probes to both of the terminals, and the multimeter will beep if the connection is good. No beep, you’ve found your problem.

RESISTANCE FAULT-FINDING

A bit more advanced, but extremely helpful in diagnosing open or short circuits or faulty components if you have a factory wiring manual or similar that tells you the resistance values for various components. Set your multimeter to the resistance setting, indicated with the Ohm signal. The display should read ‘OL’ – Open Loop. This means there’s no connection at all. Connect the two probes together and check what is shown on the display. Ideally it should be as low as possible but there will naturally be some resistance through the probe wires. Write down this value and then measure the resistance through the suspected faulty component. If it shows OL then there’s an open loop, a physically broken connection within the component that needs fixing. If it shows a reading then write it down and subtract that initial resistance reading from it, to find the resistance that the component has. Compare it to the factory spec to find out if the component is faulty.

THE $100 12V TOOLKIT THAT’LL SOLVE 99% OF YOUR PROBLEMS!

No need to spend mega-bucks – here’s the tools that’ll get you out of trouble on the cheap. With a few of the right tools you’ll be able to install or fix almost anything you need to.

1. Multimeter. If you don’t have one you’re shooting in the dark. It doesn’t have to be flash, because even the most basic ones will solve the majority of off-road problems. $20 should buy you one that does auto-ranging voltage measurement, resistance and continuity. PRICE: $20
2. Soldering iron. In our experience, unless you’re looking at the high-end stuff, then forget about gas soldering irons cause they suck. Get a decent 240v soldering iron, ideally one that has selectable dual power settings like 50w and 100w so you can solder small and large wiring. Run it off an inverter if you HAVE to use it out in the bush, or just ‘twist and tape’ securely to get you to where you can access 240v power. PRICE: $35
3. Jaws-type wire stripper. This is a tool that turns ordinary blokes into 12v legends. Stops you from stuffing around with side-cutters in tight access places, and prevents accidentally cutting through the wire at the same time. PRICE: $15
4. Ratchet crimper. Another example of a pro bit of gear that will massively increase the quality of your 12v jobs. You just can’t get as good a crimp using any other tool as you can with this. PRICE: $20
5. Multi-pack of crimp terminals. This one’s well used and has been re-stocked, but instead of buying random packets one at a time and always running out, buy a multi-pack of insulated crimp terminals like this so you’ve always got what you need. PRICE: $20

TOTAL: $110. Okay, we blew the budget by $10, but these five bits of gear are the perfect starting point for a 12v toolkit that will get you out of trouble time and time again. Hunt around car parts stores, hardware stores, electrical component stores and online and you’ll probably get it all for under the $100 mark.