BATTERY POWER

INSTALLING A REDARC SMART BATTERY MONITOR AND DUAL BATTERY CHARGER IN A 2018 RAM 1500.

- BRANDON HOFFNER

I recently installed a REDARC smart battery monitor in my 2018 RAM 1500 Laramie 4x4.

The installation process should have been relatively straightforward, as the instructions provided by REDARC were clear and easy to follow-but I made it harder. We'll get to that.

While this article is primarily about the easy-to-install REDARC smart battery monitor, I also had to install a REDARC BCDC1225D dual battery charger.

This 12-volt, 25-amp in-vehicle DC-DC battery charger is designed to charge secondary battery banks to 100% while on the move. It's solar-ready and suitable for a wide range of battery types, including lithium, AGM, GEL, standard lead acid, and calcium. I needed this setup to power an ARB compressor and auxiliary lights.

with an auxiliary battery. Eventually, I connected the monitor to my auxiliary battery to keep track of its voltage, current, power, and state of charge.

Now for the "I made it harder" part.

At this point, the rig is pulled into the garage, half torn apart, and I need to add bumpers that have been sitting on the shelf for a year. I also have to add lights and remove the foldable tonneau cover so that the "new to me topper" can be mounted on the bed.