Hey guys,
Been around Expo Portal for a while but really am just now venturing into upgrading electrical stuff and need a little guidance.
My current setup is my factory battery running normal Truck power, LED lighting, a winch as well as charging phones, laptops etc on a dying little 400watt inverter. I have a deep cycle in a walmart battery box that I charge at home and will bring with us in the back of the truck. I will use it while camping to run additional lighting, etc...
I have a trip coming up where we will be off grid for a few weeks and power recharging(campground/ outlets) will be minimal to none.
I am interested in going to a dual battery setup with Optima red tops but don't know much about them. I am pretty sure I would like the system to charge both batteries off of the Alternator but be able to monitor both batteries and switch when I get one too low/ know when to run the truck for power.
I have also considered just using my current Deep cycle and this http://www.zumasrusstore.com/collections/zuma-50-89-01-parts/products/charger-solar-5w
To get me through the trip.
Please send me suggestions, concepts and best practices. I am excited to learn, just need to know what I should be learning. We currently will not be running a fridge, but if I get it all set up correctly I would be interested in moving from coolers to a fridge setup. I work at a college and have access to a cube(dorm) fridge, would that be too much to run on a dual battery setup?
Been around Expo Portal for a while but really am just now venturing into upgrading electrical stuff and need a little guidance.
My current setup is my factory battery running normal Truck power, LED lighting, a winch as well as charging phones, laptops etc on a dying little 400watt inverter. I have a deep cycle in a walmart battery box that I charge at home and will bring with us in the back of the truck. I will use it while camping to run additional lighting, etc...
I have a trip coming up where we will be off grid for a few weeks and power recharging(campground/ outlets) will be minimal to none.
I am interested in going to a dual battery setup with Optima red tops but don't know much about them. I am pretty sure I would like the system to charge both batteries off of the Alternator but be able to monitor both batteries and switch when I get one too low/ know when to run the truck for power.
I have also considered just using my current Deep cycle and this http://www.zumasrusstore.com/collections/zuma-50-89-01-parts/products/charger-solar-5w
To get me through the trip.
Please send me suggestions, concepts and best practices. I am excited to learn, just need to know what I should be learning. We currently will not be running a fridge, but if I get it all set up correctly I would be interested in moving from coolers to a fridge setup. I work at a college and have access to a cube(dorm) fridge, would that be too much to run on a dual battery setup?