POWER POINTS

REDARC IS KEEPING THE RANGER’S 12-VOLT POWER NEEDS MET.

- MATT RAUDONIKIS

THERE WAS a time when a simple solenoid-type of dual-battery system was enough to happily supply your auxiliary 12-volt power needs – it’d keep the Engel cold without draining a vehicle’s main starter battery, and perhaps run a camp light every now and then. This still does the job for many folks and their vehicles, but in an age when vehicle manufacturers are filling the cars with complex electronics systems, travellers never leave home without every conceivable electronic gadget, and 4x4 builds that include everything including the kitchen sink, our auxiliary power needs have changed considerably.

Our Ford Ranger has become one of those ‘everything including the kitchen sink’ type builds, so a good source of reliable power was essential for powering fridges, lights, gadgets, an inverter and charging the batteries for the team’s tools. For the right gear we went straight to the good folks at Redarc Electronics for proven, Australian-made hardware.

Redarc has extensive technical information available on its website to help you design the right system for your needs, and this is backed with online wring guides and tech support. We spoke directly with the technicians at Redarc’s Adelaide HQ and described our vehicle build and expected electrical needs, to get the best advice on the right product for the job. They recommended we run a Redarc Manager30 BC-DC charging system for battery management and a 2000-watt inverter for 240-volt power supply. These would be controlled via a RedVision TVMSKIT04.

The Manager30 is Redarc’s state-of-the-art battery charging system and is designed to work in vehicles with multiple batteries including the vehicle start battery, auxiliary batteries and any batteries in the camper trailer or caravan. The Manager30 is a 30-amp unit, and there is a smaller 15-amp version available.