Posted by Martin Maisonpierre // Jun 08, 2018
Off-Grid Engineering Dual Battery Systems: Perfect for Overlanding Vehicles
Overlanding goes hand in hand with the need for electronic accessories. Extra lighting, radio communications, navigation and fridge freezers all add to the electrical load on a vehicle’s battery system. The ultimate solution is to add another battery to the vehicle’s system, commonly referred to as a dual-battery system. This allows one battery to be reserved as the starter battery for turning over the motor, while the secondary battery becomes the ‘house’ battery for the accessory electronics.
Off-Grid Engineering out of Colorado has become the go-to specialists for vehicle-specific wiring kits and electronic control systems. They create individual solutions for the most common overlanding vehicles for the US market, covering everything from the billet aluminum battery tray to the proper gauged wiring kits, cut and sleeved to the exact length needed for each application.
Their kit includes a Blue Sea 7622 ML-ACR, which is a 500 amp smart relay that automatically links and unlinks the batteries to ensure that the starting battery is properly isolated from the draw that normally occurs while camped out of a vehicle (fridge cycling, running the stereo, charging cameras, etc). This isolator also allows for self-jump starting from the secondary battery if the starter battery has an issue.
All of this comes complete with vehicle-specific install instructions, zip ties, fuses and new battery terminals. The installation of a kit from Off-Grid Engineering only takes a few hours and is hardly noticeable after the wires are tucked and the hardware is tightened. The clean aluminum pieces will create an uncontrollable urge to routinely clean your engine bay, just so the hardware shines as brilliantly as the day you installed it. Especially if you choose to also run a compressor and wiring panel solution Powertrays, which is a sister company to Off-Grid Engineering
About the Author
Martin Maisonpierre
Martin manages the daily operations of our PR division. His expertise spans social and digital media, with a focus on public relations, public affairs, corporate social responsibility programs and crisis communications. Prior to joining HayterComm, Martin acted as the communications director for Cascade Designs and its brands MSR, Therm-a-Rest, SealLine, Platypus, and PackTowl overseeing media relations, government and public affairs, and internal communications responsibilities. He is an avid trail runner and backcountry skier, spending his time playing outdoors in the pacific northwest.