TESTED: IRONMAN 4X4 POWER PACK
NEED TEMPORARY POWER? IRONMAN 4X4 HAS THE ANSWER.
WHEN travelling in our Ford Ranger prior to fitting the Allsafe Mining Vehicles & Equipment (AMVE) custom aluminium canopy with its internal Redarc 12-volt power system and lithium batteries, we still needed an auxiliary 12-volt power source for the ute. This was primarily for powering the fridge which we could run off the factory Ford 12-volt outlets while the car was running, but not overnight with the engine switched off. Without a dual-battery system or any source of auxiliary power, we couldn’t risk draining the car’s main starter battery by operating accessories off it.
We needed a temporary solution while waiting for the canopy to be built, so we picked up the Portable Power Pack from Ironman 4x4. The PPP is just what it says, supplying portable 12-volt power wherever you need it from in-built 44amp/h battery. It can be charged three ways – either using a 240-volt home power cord, 12-volt power cord or via the solar charge input.
The front of the unit features multiple power outlets comprising a 12-volt cigarette lighter-style plug, 12-volt Merit plug and a USB outlet. The power outlets are protected by individual circuit breakers. There’s also a clear display showing the state of charge voltage and the current draw on the unit at any time. This is all housed in a heavy-duty ABS plastic housing with a carry handle. You can remove it from the car altogether to power something like a fridge in camp, and it can be kept topped up with a solar panel if in use for more than a few days.
We charged the Portable Power Pack using 240-volt before we went away and stowed it securely in the passenger-side rear footwell, where it could easily be plugged into the standard 12-volt socket. Our 12-volt fridge was powered off the car during the day when the engine was running and then, each afternoon when we got in to camp, it was simply a matter of swapping the fridge power from the car to the power pack to run overnight. In the morning the fridge was plugged back in to the car’s 12-volt to run all day and the PPP plugged in to another of the Ford’s outlets to be charged for the next evening.
With this setup, the power pack served us well, keeping the fridge running 24 hours a day for the length of our trips. The in-built USB was handy for charging phones and head torches while on the road and when the car’s USB ports were in use. The power pack comes with charge cords for both 240- and 12-volt charging and is available from Ironman 4x4 stores around the country.
The portable power pack served as a great auxiliary source of 12-volt power when we didn’t have an inbuilt system in the car, but we’d consider still carrying one for power use around the campsite and as a back-up. It’s a worthwhile consideration for any time you need power when out on the road.