Dual Battery vs 75amp Thumper

G'day Alex

I think you're really asking two questions here - DBS v power pack, and if you go with a power pack, which one?

The benefit of a DBS is that you fit it and forget it. It's always there for you to plug your accessories in to. To charge it you go for a drive.The benefit of a power pack is that you can remove it from the vehicle either when you're not using it, or when you're camped out under a gum tree somewhere. Both systems can be topped up from a solar panel.

The Thumper is a good product that some members of this forum will say costs too much just for a pretty box. There are certainly cheaper products available on this forum which give a higher battery capacity than a Thumper for an equivalent price, or cheaper.

I personally use a 75 A/H Thumper with an in-car charge kit.

Two reasons. With so many stories about cracks in Prado inner guards I wanted to keep the weight out of the engine bay; and when I camp I remove the Thumper from the vehicle and leave it under the previously mentioned gum tree, attached to my 40L Engel. Depending on the ambient temperature it powers the Engel for nearly (not quite) three days.I'll eventually buy a solar panel to keep the unit topped up when it's out of the vehicle.

I'm very happy with this.

My 2c worth....

George_M

Make your own power pack. The off the shelf solutions are big $$$ for stuff all power. I built mine to be a dual battery that I can take with me....................

I bought a battery box, threw in a 120ah fullriver, put in 2x 12v power sockets with a holesaw, put some circuit breakers inside the box and wired some big bad cable to and anderson plug on the side. Also put a battery monitor on the box. In the vehicle I plug it in and its a dual battery setup.... charges off the anderson plug and runs through a regular dual battery isolator. When 'I need mobility I just undo the anderson plug and away I go. I just made my own thumper with bits from the local springers..................

A thumper is 48ah and retails for $600..... my whole setup was $450 (including the dual battery isolator for the car) and has 120ah. All the same functionality, more than twice the power and heaps cheaper........................

An interesting topic and one I have personal experience with.

Without intending to offend anyone, mj1 is giving a distorted view of the Thumper product.

The 48 A/h unit mj1 mentions is in fact the "outback" classification which comes in a 30 A/h or 48 A/h unit. similar product, made by the same Company. (Blue Apple)

Then there is the the "Thumper" range of portable battery systems which range from a 60 A/h to a 105 A/h unit, with or without a "High Cranking" feature.

The 75+ A/h unit (which I have) is about the most practical size unit for the majority of "portable" uses. The 105 A/h unit has its place but would hardly be classed as "portable" due to the extra weight, but of course, it still is.

OK, now let me state that I have the fortune of having both a "dual battery system" and a "portable battery system" both being able to be charged from the vehicle alternator. The only primary difference between the two, is one is portable and one is not.

The dual Battery system consists of an Exide Extreme (primary) battery and an Exide Orbital (auxiliary) battery controlled by a Piranha DBS150 electronic Isolator.
This was my first installation and still works OK, the only problem being the capacity of the auxiliary battery is limited to around 55 A/h for an AGM battery that will fit in the engine bay.

Then I had the opportunity (funds) to buy a Thumper for a good price at one of the 4WD Shows with the expectation that I could still charge the unit from the vehicle alternator while travelling, but was not restricted to leaving the fridge in the vehicle when camping.

So, the "dual battery system" and the "portable battery system" are both similar in principal, but given the experience I now have, I wouldn't bother with anything else but the "Thumper" portable battery solution plus the in-car charging system in future
installations.

The "Thumper" has the advantage of being regenerated by the eventual replacement of the smaller internal battery packs over time, without the need to fully replace the whole system. The "Thumper" now comes with a digital voltage display and includes
(in the 75 A/h unit, 3 ports to connect a variety of devices. Two of the ports are the "merit" style socket and one is the standard "cigarette" style socket.

If you have a solar panel to assist recharging while stationary, it can be plugged into any of the available ports.

In the "High Cranking" range of "Thumpers" you also have the ability to use it to jump start virtually any vehicle,, at a slightly higher purchase price, but I believe the factory has a similar A/h capacity range that sells for a cheaper price, without the "high cranking" capacity feature.

So, I am a believer in the product because I use it and could not be happier with my choice.

Two friends of mine "only" have the Thumper system, plus the in-car charging systems at their disposal. Although they both have the 60 A/h units and no other means of maintaining a charge, except running the Vehicle now and again, they are getting by quite comfortably.

For the record, I have no relationship, commercial, or otherwise, with the "Home of 12 volt", (Blue Apple) or the people running the business. I do "know" the boys behind the business as I have talked to them at some 4WD Shows when making purchasing decisions and one of the things I can say is that they really know their products and 12 volt technology in general and can offer qualified advice on whatever solution you may need.

Alex B

I have both -

I use the aux battery for powering the fridge.

I have a RAPS 600W Thumper. Waeco don't market these anymore. They are made by Blue Apple in South Australia and marketed by Waeco.

I charge it in the car and then use it in the camper for lights, fan, laptop, etc. I was going to purchase a generator but they are not permitted in a lot of National Parks so I purchased the Thumper instead.

My advice to you is to spend a bit more money and purchase both.

Tjilpi

I use Super Charge Gold batteries in all my vehicles and as a second battery in a battery box which I can transfer from vehicle to vehicle, having wired both vehicles the same. I have an isolator in the battery box.
So as far as mobility goes,"" under the gum tree" who is going to lift my 80 litre Waeco out of the vehicle full of food and beer and put it under the "tree" and the battery.
Cheers Bruce

Hi Alex,
Your post was very help full as I was also trying to decide which way to go.
I have just booked my 100 series in to have a redarc duel battery solenoid with a 105 amp/hr battery fitted for $320. I liked the idea of being able to move the pack from car to car but after much deliberation decided that we don't really need it to be portable. As already mentioned the chance of theft is reduced if the fridge is in the car. good luck with which ever way you go.
P.S I don't need a battery tray as the car already has two starting batteries.

Col

For what it is worth (not much?), we had a 48ah Thumper which we bought with our first "play size" 4WD because we couldn't get a DBS in the vehicle, & because it was portable. It served us well for about 8 years & ran our 40 litre fridge on cool for about 2 days (usually turned off at night). We found the in-car charger could never get the charge up as high as the 240v supply could. In fact it never left being strapped in to the rear of the 4WDs as I used a long cord where necessary instead.
Now on our third 4WD and decided to fit a DBS and sold the Thumper through this forum. Had the new system 12 months now & are positive we made the right decision (for us) with the DBS. Also more room in the back of the 4WD for another crate of beer, Heathers' new hair drier, or something.