Electric ideas Help!

Hi jersey bean

Have a look on the campertrailers.org site, there is a heap of wiring diagrams in the tech tips section, hopefully you will find what you need.


Cheers


Lisa

The success of your multiple batteries will depend largely on the output of your alternator and it's ability to effectively charge all batteries while travelling.

I have a 100Ah auxiliary battery in the rear of my rig, to run the 40l Engel fridge.
I also have 2 80Ah batteries in the camper, supported by a dc-dc charger, to run a 65l upright Waeco compressor fridge, LED lights and the water pump. This fridge has proven to be relatively "hungry" on battery supply and I need to keep my eye on the system to stop over discharge of the camper batteries.

All batteries receive a charge from the alternator when travelling and the camper batteries are assisted by an 80 watt solar panel system at camp. This solar system connects to the dc-dc charger's solar input port which utilises MPPT technology to provide the best output to charge the batteries.

The starting battery is protected from over discharge by an isolator between it and the auxiliary battery. The additional camper batteries are paralleled with the vehicle auxiliary battery when the camper is connected, but generally, when stationary at camp, I disconnect the cable from the vehicle to the camper so in effect, I have two separate systems. One (auxiliary battery) running the Engel and two camper batteries (160Ah) running the Waeco and other 12 volt requirements in the camper.

Derek Bester has some excellent wiring diagrams on his web site for your reference.
Derek is a business member of ExplorOz and provides both sound advice and good product solutions for consideration.

Frequently Asked Questions

JB,

if I can give you one piece of advice, no two...do your research and don't scrimp. Quality costs but spending to get quality in the first place will save you from spoilt food and warm beer (and even greater expense) later.

You will get a thousand impassioned opinions on this site and many others but the most important thing for you to do is have a thorough understanding of your needs and what it is that you want to achieve (ie; how many fridges/freezers you wish to run, what other accessories you intend charging/running, how much space you have for solar panels, can you afford two DC-DC chargers etc etc), your budget and what is available. Personally I balance cost against customer service and "go local" with purchasing products where I can. First, have a look at John's "Electricity for camping" blog on this site.

Here are two blogs of mine that may also offer some advice. In the ute build, scroll down to the section on the electrics.

Redarc review

Ute Build

It may seem daunting but take a breath, do some reading and you'll be amazed at what you can learn.

Good luck with it all. Mick

If you haven't got much experience in doing 12v electrical I would highly recommend pay the money and get it done correctly.

Most people who do it professionally have the expertise, equipment and the right quality parts on hand.

FYI... there is good quality and bad quality insulation tape, heat shrink, cable ties and terminals and the difference between the two are quite noticeable...... and the same goes for cable crimpers..... do you know what's what?

A couple of good books for you would be

Solar That Really Works

The Camper Trailer Book