It not every day do you purchase a $120K top of the range 4WD and instantly take an oxy torch to it and cut off the rear section. Well, Peter Cedergren did just that. Peter does a lot of serious off-road escapes and wanted a purpose built vehicle to suit his needs. The 2016 Landcruiser Sahara was that vehicle, but with a few modifications thrown in.
The rear of the vehicle was completely modified to include a fully enclose canopy full of all the necessary equipment to go off-road and stay there for long periods of time.
Peter’s plan was to include 4 x fridges, 180A DC Air Compressor, a Travel Buddy Pie Warmer, Alpine Entertainment System and plenty of lighting including 2 x Xray Vision Light Bars. With long trips away for weeks at a time, Peter required a significant battery system to power all of these goodies and also needed to be able to recharge the batteries quickly from the vehicle and portable generator.
Peter approached Jared Clarke from Battery World Enoggera to see what system could be used to meet his demands. Jared contacted Cain at Enerdrive and together they designed a custom system to suit Peter’s application.
First of all, the vehicles alternator was never going to cut the mustard here and the fitment of a SBC 270A M2k hi-output unit to handle the higher charge rate required for the system was installed.
Next was working on what size battery bank was needed to sustain the loads over time and also a major factor was to keep the weight out of the truck. The only choice here was 2 x 200Ah 12v slimline Lithium Enerdrive batteries due to the space restrictions. With the batteries in parallel and being controlled by Enerdrive’s new Active Balancing System, the battery cells will be balanced across both batteries within 0.01v of each other and controlled by the external BMS system.
With the specific charge algorithm required for lithium batteries, it was decided to use a DC charger with lithium profiling for charging the house bank from the vehicle and leave the standard alternator regulation in place to operate the main engine and accessories like the front & rear winches and driving lights.
So, how do you re-charge 400Ah of lithium as quickly as possible while on the go, install 3 x 30A DC2DC chargers of course. The advantage of the Enerdrive DC2DC charger is they can be paralleled to increase the charge output for systems that run large capacity alternators or twin engine systems predominantly found in marine applications.
Next, the application required a large AC battery charger to recharge the batteries via a 2kw generator when at camp. The decision was made to go with a 3000w inverter with a 120A charger incorporated. “I don’t really need to have 3kW of inverter power, but when it’s incorporated with the large charger that is required then that’s a bonus” Peter said.
Also while at camp, Peter extends the sliding 205w solar panel that is installed under the large roof rack system that is fitted on the rear canopy of the vehicle. This runs through the MPPT solar controller that is part of the Enerdrive DC2DC charger.
“The 205w solar panel helps support part of the fridge loads and also acts as a shade/weather awning on the side of the cruiser” Peter added.
To date, Peter has done a few trips away in the Cruiser and all systems are operating as designed. “I’m extremely happy with what both Battery World Enoggera and Enerdrive have created and I’m just about to start my next project that will include the same setup again” commented Peter.
Watch this space for the next creation from Peter and the crew from Battery World Enoggera & Enerdrive.
If you are interested in a setup like this for your 4WD or Caravan etc, contact Jared Clarke at Battery World, 23 Pickering St, Enoggera QLD 4051. Ph: 07 3355 9602 enoggera@batteryworld.com.au