Regardless of the equipment and accessories on board, you need a battery or battery system with enough capacity to start your vehicle, and have reserve power for times when the vehicle is not running.
While there are certainly occasions where there is shore power at your disposal, or you have room to bring a generator, those options are not always practical. Having sufficient battery power on board your rig to start the engine, and run accessories while in camp, helps keep you safe, and self-sufficient.
We will discuss the difference between Cranking and Deep-Cycle batteries, and basic automotive battery types, including standard Flooded Lead Acid, AGM (Advanced Glass Mat) - as well as a mention on an up and coming automotive battery technology - Lithium Polymer. We'll go over with the advantages and disadvantages of each for the off-road enthusiast. We will discuss dual battery systems, their uses, along with newer "jump-start" packs for emergency starting. If time allows, we will also delve into the charging system components required to keep your battery system charged, including alternators and solar panels, and battery maintenance chargers and there uses.
Some sites for additional information:
General Information on Lead-Acid batteries
OPTIMA Spiral-Wound AGM Batteries
ODYSSEY Extreme AGM Batteries
- VOLTAGE AS RELATED TO BATTERY STATE OF CHARGE
- Battery-State-of-Charge-Table.jpg (132.54 KiB) Viewed 2903 times
