Power for your Overlander

This seems to be a subject that people end up either over-complicating or spending vast amounts of money on. In recent years lithium power packs or so-called “solar generators” like the Jackary have been popping up at eye-watering prices, so I thought I'd jot down a few musings on all this and make a few suggestions.

I'm not a technophobe but I do think that keeping things simple and robust is generally a Good Thing if you're overlanding or off-roading. I'm in a minority here - all hobbies attract gear heads and a lot of the overland scene is made up of folks who are practising maximalism either for fun, show, or profit.

While modern battery chemistries are great and do offer some advantages, they also bring drawbacks and complications (and often significant cost) and I'm not sure they automatically make more sense for overlanding.

If you just want to power some 12v things then just buying a 12v lead-acid battery and charging it up before you go may be the simplest approach - you can pick up standard leisure batteries very cheaply and smaller sealed lead acid units such as are found in UPS or motorbikes can also bring a useful amount of power without impacting your main battery.

If you want your battery to last longer than 1 charge then charging it on the go is a must. Thankfully it's also super simple - basic split charge units are often just a standard 12v relay in a box, even up to the 140A ones. Wired to your vehicle's alternator warning light, they engage once the engine is turning and the alternator is operating.

These things can be as little as a few pounds/dollars and are super simple, and in many cases this will be all you need.

If you don't want a split charge or want to make your battery a bit more portable, or just like having an alternative power source then charging your 2nd battery with a solar panel is cheap & easy these days, and you're not reliant on the vehicle's alternator for power.

A solar panel is a nice backup thing to have as it means you have a way of getting charge into batteries if your alternator fails.

Again, these can be small cheap trickle charge style panels or larger panels with charge controllers, they need not be expensive.

For not much more than a standard split-charge relay you can buy one with a small voltage-sensitive switch in it that will engage (with a delay) once the main battery is above a certain voltage. This is a nice touch and given it's often hardly any more money than a “dumb” relay I'd say it's worth it.