Decades ago you could get away with an icebox for your food and by day three or four of a long trip you’d just have to resort to eating dry food. These days though with portable compressor fridges being so affordable there’s no reason to suffer with packaged food anymore! The only thing you need to consider is that you have enough power to keep it running happily – and the best way to do that is with a dual battery setup. A second battery in your vehicle means you can run your camping fridge, camp lights and other accessories with your car off, without worrying about flattening your starter battery and being stuck in the bush!

The basic idea of adding an auxiliary battery to your rig is to leave your car’s starter battery just for starting duties – there’s no risk of running your starter battery flat overnight by leaving your camp lights on or on those hot days when your portable fridge is running hard to cool down your food and drinks. Instead the second battery provides you with power on tap ready to run your 12V gear. Starter batteries are able to deliver a lot of power for a very short time period in order to start your car, but for a aux battery what you want is a ‘deep cycle’ battery – these are better suited to slowly being used for a long time without damage – so they’re much better suited to running low power devices like camping fridges or camp lighting. The other thing to look for is the type of battery – AGM batteries are one type that actually suspends the internal electrolyte in a fibreglass mat and in the case of Adventure Kings AGM deep Cycle batteries because they’re sealed in means they won’t gas or leak and they’re safe to use inside your vehicle – they also can charge a lot faster than flooded type batteries which are more suited for under bonnet or external use.

The best way to ensure your camping battery stays charged is with a DCDC charger – these connect the starter battery and the auxiliary battery into one system while the vehicle is on or running, and then disconnects the two batteries when you turn off your car – resulting in two separated, distinct 12V systems. The first system connected to your starter battery sits fully charged and ready to start your car when you need to, while the second system is connected to your camping battery and is able to power all your camping electrical gear. The main benefit of course is when your car is off you’re not going to flatten your starter battery but the second big benefit is that while the vehicle is running, you’re actually charging up both batteries! This means that if you’re driving for a few hours every 2 or 3 days you can keep your second battery charged up without even thinking about it!

Another excellent way to keep your second battery charged up is with a portable solar kit – this way you can charge up the aux battery without even needing to run your vehicle. Say you chose a 250W Folding solar blanket you can connect it right up to your camping battery and because it comes with everything you need including the solar regulator, you can set it up first thing in the morning and let it charge all day without a worry. The regulator will adjust the charge to ensure the battery is charged efficiently without overcharging – and AGM deep cycle batteries prefer to be kept topped up so camping solar is a perfect way to extend the length of your camping trips and extend the life of your battery. if you choose the right DC/DC charger with a built in solar regulator you can even plug your solar panel directly in to it – that way you’re using one system to charge your batteries while you’re driving and while you’re camping. That means you can add permanent solar to your rig and it’s always charging whenever you’re parked in the sun. You can also use a simple dual battery isolator – but these don’t work with a lot of modern vehicles with smart alternators and even on older vehicles a DCDC charger is a great idea because it will ensure the second battery is receiving the right amount of charge, even if your alternator isn’t delivering the right voltage. All good DCDC chargers offer you the option to select different battery chemistry types, whether it’s an AGM battery, a flooded or calcium deep cycle – some even offer lithium.

The last thing to think about when setting up a second battery system is the size you need to run the fridge and lighting you want to run – in reality it’s always better to choose a bigger battery as it offers you more of a buffer and allows you to camp for longer. A good minimum size is around a 100Ah deep cycle which will allow you to run a small camping fridge for around 48 hours in typical conditions. Stepping up to a 115Ah AGM or 138Ah deep cycle will allow you more power in reserve. Plus, the other thing you can do is join two same-sized deep cycle batteries in parallel (that’s connecting red to red and black to black) and you get double the power capacity! This is commonly utilised in vehicles that are going a little bit further remote as it not only gives you double the power reserve, but allows you to spread the weight of the deep cycle batteries around your vehicle as well as gives you a backup if one of the batteries does have any issues – that’s better than one big battery failing and leaving you with no power. Of course the easiest way to keep on top of your reserve power and any potential issues is with a battery monitor!