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Common questions - What makes the RPS a great option for  off grid living?
 

The RPS units were designed and built out of a need to capture back up energy where ever you can get it. The idea of fitting your energy capturing 'Power station' into your truck instead of into your caravan or Tiny home allows you to capture energy when in transit, and add more power options when Solar panels alone can fail to provide enough energy to keep main batteries topped up. The DCDC chargers can rapidly provide charge just by starting your vehicle.
 

Fossil fuel based Generators are often unable to be used due to noise or neighbour restrictions - however energy generated by Vehicles Alternators, combined with a vehicle mounted Solar Panel can passively capture large quanitites of energy during everyday travel to work, shops,  sightseeing, whatever! Why not capture this and add it to house batteries on return. 

 

RPS 3000 Units installed to date are typically capturing around 2000 -7000 watt hours a day with minimal driving times of under an hour a day when used in conjunction with a solar panel installed on vehicle. Thats between 2kw and 7Kw of Free power. This can be used to "top up" existing Batteries in tiny homes and caravans - Just plug the Tiny home or caravan lead into one of the RPS twin 240V outlets and it will push that captured power into your caravan / tiny home batteries. 
 

 

Why is a Renewable Power STation like the RPS 3000 still really usefull - even if you have a Generator?

For Caravaners - Petrol Generators can't be used in most National Parks or unpowered sites caravan parks in australia - Thats really limiting the spots you can charge up. Chances are your Van is going to end up in a partial shade site too... Bummer. For Tiny home owners - Running Generators when your house batteries are low is going to happen less frequently when your topping up your house batteries with an RPS. (And its just really easy to plug in a lead to the RPS and not have to fuel up / start generators all the time).

 

Why do you need to keep House Batteries topped up?

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It Pays to keep your house batteries in Tiny homes or Caravan close to full at all times to have the energy reserves totally topped up for periods when additional energy is needed - or potential solar energy is compromised by bad weather. It just gives you a longer running start through periods of non - renewable energy generation. 


Note on Portable Power stations and RPS 3000 Cabling

If your going to run DCDC charging options (In vehicle installation)  (the included RPS Cable Kits will need to be installed into your vehicle. ) 

 

Do I have to install a solar panel on my car?

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The RPS 3000 Gets its Energy from the Vehicles Cranking Battery (Alternator / DCDC) and can also take input power from up to a 600w Solar panel simultaniously... So You don't have to install a solar panel - but its a great addition. 

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How much power to I get if I don't  install a solar panel on your car -  If your interested in storing energy via the DCDC charging Only - the RPS will collect around 45 - 50 Amps input per hour while driving - Filling a typical 400 amphr battery pack in 8 hours driving time. 

This could be spread out over a working week - No problem! Especially if your not needing to transfer the power until weekends when your RPS has had a weeks driving around time to re-fill itself.  A 400 - 600 Watt solar panel might add an additional 250 Amps a day, so we'd reccommend the Solar panel as a bigger source of energy overall.. Its a better option. The DCDC charger is more of an emergency charger and it all helps. 

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Calculate your average daily/weekly driving time to ascertain if this is enough power to assist top ups - if it is not - Portable Solar panels can be a great tool to bolster incoming power figures. We have experimented with Dual DCDC chargers for even higher in vehicle charging speeds however major modifications to the vehicles alternators and wiring systems are usually required. 

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What Else is the RPS 3000 Usefull for?

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Of course - having 3000w of 240v Power on hand in your vehicle for us whenever you need it is fantastic for Camping, Re-Charging Drones, E-Bikes, UHF, Starlink, CPAT machines, Charging Tools and Equipment,  Induction Cookers, ETC ETC - and while these items can draw a lot of power - 400 amphrs of storage without driving gets you a lot of power on tap whenever you want it. Litterally anywhere.  

Portable Solar panels have improved immensely over the past few years, with excellent 200w units now hitting the market... Talk to your local suppliers for more information on non permanent solar options for the RPS. 

 

I would install a solar panel but they are ugly? 
 

See our Vehicle Specific Solar panel Roof racks here, were shipping out 'Tough Touring Australia' range of low profile roof racks with some changes to allow fittment of Large Household Solar panels instead of their more commonly sold roof top tent racks. 

 

These racks have over 10 years of 150KG + Loads running around the country in offroad environments with zero failures... Making them a great choice to fit up our solar panels. With over 32 Vehicles in their range of specific racks - Your getting a low profile rack that's been designed for your vehicle specifically... 

 

Solar panels with a Tough Touring Roof rack will add a mere 60mm in most cases to the vehicles overall roof height. The Solar panel racks look no different to a typical  roof rack - and weigh about the same and are about the same dimensions. Typical 4wd vehicles will easily accept a single 400W household panel - While Vehicles with longer roof lines (Vans and American 4wd) can often take single solar panels up to 600w - The solar panel also shades your cars roof providing some heat shelter from our burning sun in summer months. 

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Can the RPS 3000 be used as a UPS when not in the vehicle? 
 

Yes - The RPS supplys power anywhere. You can also charge it at home with any 12 Volt  AC Mains Charger via any one of its 4 Grey anderson ports.

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​How Much does it cost to fit RPS 3000 ( Or a portable power station) Cabling into my Vehicle?

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A typical Mechanic or Auto electricial would take around 2 hours labour to install a DCDC cable properly under your vehicle and run it to an anderson port at the rear. (Attached to the chassis with the included heavy duty cable ties). 
 

Solar Cabling likewise can be run through vehicle cable ports for a really neat finish - Of Course Time taken to running cable through vehicles (especially from the roof) will vary according to your vehicle and your specific preferences. 

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What is involved in RPS 3000  (or Portable Power Station) installation and what does that cost?
 

RPS installation can be as simple as sliding into a prepared canopy partition space and bolting it down. (An Hour or two) For Internal front wall canopy installation, mount points can be drilled throught he RPS back plate, then bolted to the canopy wall - fast and secure install. 

In Wagons - Please ensure that cargo cannot become a missile in an accident - use rated tie down straps or bolt it down using the pre drilled RPS bolt points to secure the unit safely. 

The unit can be bolted down in any orientation, on its side, standing whatever works. 

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Secure Installation of any Vehicle Based Accessory can involve Customised mounting brackets and additional hardware. 

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As a rough rule of thumb - Installation costs are a necessary part of the RPS 3000 units usage, and if the costs seem high - Consider that on average, An RPS 3000 Unit + Installation costs will typically end up costing around Half the price of a similar Spec "Installed" Dual battery system. These savings are due to the 'Cookie Cutter' assembly of the RPS units, The design is perfected - Units are assembled en-masse to well thought through configurations. 

If you prefer an 'Open wall mounted' system, the front cover plate of the RPS Housing can be removed leaving the chargers, Inverters, wiring and all connections visible and accessable.

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Why not install a Custom Victron Dual Battery System - after all they can do the same thing...

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Yes - They can and will do the same thing and sometimes with advantages over a pre-fab / self contained all in one unit like the RPS.

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Its true to say 'Not all applications will suit the RPS 3000' - Built in Custom Dual Battery systems can take better advantage of Available space, and certainly can be built into hidden cavities etc -

On the Negative - The advantages of customised Dual battery systems can come with major  additional costs in installation time.

Dual Battery System can become a 'Repeated Investment' as you move between vehicles over time.​

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Whats the difference between an RPS 3000 and a Portable Power Station - Like a 'Blue Eddy' Power station or similar? 

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RPS 3000 run all components at 12 volts - so any failures are repairable without risk of electrocution. The entire RPS is bolted together with a 5mm Allen Key for easy disassembly and replacement of any single failed component. 

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There is nothing wrong with Portable power stations... !!!! Quite amazing little wonders.

Some basics though that put them apart from an RPS here.

 

1. All in one Portable power stations typically run at 56Volts to achieve their smaller stature and still deliver good power - Ok if you don't intend to ever fix anything yourself. Dangerous if you do. 

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2. Because of the High Operating Voltage - They are not advised to be serviced yourself, (Dangerous) Also almost all components run off a shared main board. A single failure can render the entire unit to fail.

 

3.Plugs on the majority of portable power stations are also not familiar to 4wd equipment.
 

4.Charging the units is typically restricted to mains power.

 

5.The attractive initial price point is actually quite amazing. However if you start adding the DCDC charging kit, Comparable Battery storage and Power outputs, the prices quickly get very close to a home built Independent charger / inverter / Component unit like the RPS. 

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6. In an RPS, If any part of the unit fails - Its most likely that the rest of the unit will keep operating. This gives remote users options to keep power flowing in case of damage, or unexpected  failure of any singular electrical component. Trobleshooting is easy. The Unit is designed to be repaired in the field by a novice... all be it with a tech on the phone, they should be able to get you going again with just an allen Key and a pair of pliers at worst.

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