DB or PB

[NJ Rodz]

Hey everyone, just giving some thought to the following question.

With the rapidly increased in technology of the Portable battery Station, will they make dual batteries set ups obsolete? I know that the limiting factor is the charging time while driving, but there coming up with good solutions to deal with that road block. Let me know what are your thoughts and share your battery setup, DB or PB let’s see it!

 

[MOAK]

For us? Dual batteries all the way for our overland truck/cruiser. The vehicle is our power plant, solar panel on top, dual batteries under hood with 175 amp hours. We don’t have to think about it. The entire system charges up all by itself with nary a thought. All the wiring runs through a fuse panel and all accessories are permanently mounted. I can’t imagine the hassle of making a storage space, strapping down properly, keeping charged or lugging around a portable unit. We don’t do that in our home, why do that in our home away from home?

 

[MidOH]

Meh. My house battery is my house battery. My vehicle battery is my vehicle battery.

I don't need or want both under the hood. The camper battery system charges itself just fine. Theres no need to overdo it. We don't need 4000w of electricity when parked. Just keep my fridge going, and a few led lights is all.

Not really into the portable things either. If I need a ton of electricity (Air conditioning?), I'll go to a campground with electric, or just stay home.

 

[rgallant]

I think it is another use case thing. A small portable works for me, but I have no fridge, or other huge draws so it fine. It charges while driving and I rarely stay in one place for more than a couple of days.

 

[Autism Family Travels]

We have a jackery 200 for our phones/ipads when camping, I would love to be able to fit a house battery in the patriot somewhere so we could just leave the fridge plugged in all night without worry about flattening our starting battery. Not sure how we can do that. Still researching it.

 

[pcstockton]

100Ah 12V PowerMax LiFePO4 Battery / 1280Wh Portable Power Station

Dr. Prepare PowerMax is a combination of a 12V 100Ah LiFePO4 battery and a solar generator, supplying power during your RV travel, outdoor camping, and it can be also used as the emergency power and home backup battery.

drprepare.com

This is an awesome product. 100aH, MPPT, no unneeded inverter. It comes with nice brackets for mounting on my drawers on the side of the Dometic.

Runs my Dometic for 5-6 days without charging. Can charge from DC Cigarette to Anderson while driving.

 

[Wanderlost]

Up until recently we were strictly dual battery. Now that the portable units are getting more powerful and less expensive.... They almost look like the best way to go.

 

[ThundahBeagle]

DB or PB? PBJ? I could use a sammich right about now

 

[Boucher]

When I built up the H2 things were pretty expensive so I went with building my own system


The Aux Battery used with it is a Kickass SLIM line (A big increase in price from what I paid) The primary function of the system is to work the compressor and fridge, the battery is charged using a CTEK controller and roof solar panel. The system continues to work great.

That being said I believe I will be using a portable one when I build out the F250 Mainly for convenience, the truck already has two batteries and two alternators and it will primarily be used for the fridge, worst case I can charge it while traveling or off the campers system.

 

[HaVeeBear]

As stated above, I agree it will be a use case thing; especially for those who need a lot of power. With that, however, some small trailer manufacturers (Hiker and another one I can't remember) are building their trailers with wiring to plug in to a portable power station. I just finished a camping trailer build and skipped all the electrical wiring and am using a portable power station.

 

[KonzaLander]

Dual battery for the win! For me and my use It is out of sight, out of mind. A dual battery system doesn't consume storage space, doesn't require me to 'plug things in', doesn't rely on external charging sources (meaning sources that are not hardwired), can allow for a self jump start and can't be quickly carried away by a thief.

That said, I have a buddy who swears by a portable power station. He uses it to power a CPAP and charge devices in his tent. For his use a dual battery system makes no sense.

 

[smritte]

^^^ I'm the same as him^^^^^

 

[Tundracamper]

I feel the portable solution is better for me as there are about 50 other things I can do with the power source in addition to overlanding.

Of course, telling someone you have a portable battery versus a built-in battery doesn’t generate the “ooooh” factor many overlanders seek from fellow overlanders. So, there’s that too - guess it depends on how important having a 100% ovelranding-dedicated everything is.

 

[Pyrat]

I just acquired an Anker 757, which has just over 1200 watt hours of storage. Charging from about 25% to full capacity plugged into a wall socket took less than one hour. My 1st Gen Sequoia has a cigarette lighter plug right by the rear door, so charging while operating the vehicle doesn't require any additional modification. I am looking forward to seeing how long recharging takes using this power source. For me, the advantage of the portable power unit is the ability to setup camp and then be able to go exploring and still have power at the camp site. And, of course, there are all the other uses like during a power outage at home, etc. What's the best solution? As my Spouse is fond of saying, it depends... :)