Companion Rover 70 lithium power station -1 year review update - HGT Rig Build

[@charlescraig1286]

I just wanted to thank you for your review. I watched it and ended up buying the product. I'm really happy with my purchase, so thank you for your help. Your review was really informative and it's great to have honest opinions like yours to rely on. I appreciate the time and effort you put into creating it. Thanks again for your review, and I look forward to seeing more from you in the future.

[@HappyGoTravel]

Cheers for the comment mate I appreciate it ✌️

[@tullywhiteman4894]

Thanks for reviewing this one. I have question if anyone can andwer. My little ones like to have the white noise and fan going in Summer which runs from 240V. Would this battery hold up over night considering it's got a 45L fridge and some strip lights running as well?

[@darrenbryans8288]

I own one too. I had the option of under bonnet or one of these. I choose this because it’s light weight, and it’s portable. I do use mine the way you started out, as in use the cig socket in the unit to add power and run my fridge at the same time from the battery, BUT, while I am loading the 4wd getting ready to go, I cool the fridge down to -4 off off mains power in the garage. Then when I take off I run the fridge through the battery unit. Being already cold the compressor doesn’t have to come on much at all to maintain the temp and I find battery will only drop to around 95% by the time I reach where I am going. Other benefit of the portable is just that, it’s portable so if we set up a camp area a little way from the car, I can take the fridge and the battery with me so I don’t have to keep going back and forward. I also bought a 12 volt electric blanket, 5w from Kogan. That means I can still camp in a tent even in winter and the portable battery sits in the tent and powers the blanket. I hate being cocooned in a sleeping bag. I can unzip it like an ordinary blanket. It works a treat. You can run the electric blanket all night long, and keep the fridge running, (Waeco CF35) and in the morning there’s still around 45% battery. I bought a 200w Hardcore solar blanket and while sitting at camp even on a dull day, by the end of the day I’m back up to 100% battery. Or if I go 4wding the car will top the battery back to a level where you can still camp for days. The solar blanket also has alligator clips and a tpms controller so if my starter battery died, which I wouldn’t because I am not using it, but that’s always the conventional dual battery counter argument, then you can charge your starter battery using the solar blanket. I also turn my 4wd’S over every 3 years, so this way i don’t waste money on installing a fresh dual battery set up every 3 years. This one comes with me to every car. Or, if I didn’t take my car and go in a mates, the system can come with me and we have the same benefit. The unit is very robust too I agree, it certainly doesn’t feel cheap it feels like a high end product.

[@HappyGoTravel]

That’s awesome to hear, they a great unit ✌️

[@raymondricciardi]

This dual battery set up hits the mark for our needs as well. I went for a larger battery, for longer stays, but the principle is the same. It also backs up as a second power source for our house when the grid fails us. And you can take it out of the vehicle and save a little weight when you're not touring, or use it in other vehicles. Thanks for sharing.

[@HappyGoTravel]

That’s it they are pretty handy ✌️

[@raymondricciardi]

@@HappyGoTravel and here we are (again - wind, trees, saturated grounds and overhead power cables are not meant to coexist), grid down and the battery set up is going within a minute. Can't recommend one of these setups enough.

[@cluby62victoria59]

Good review mate. Thanks for taking the time to share your experience

[@greenhornet358]

Great review, thank you. I have 1 of these and have been using it for about 18 months primarily to run a 60lt ARB fridge. I support everything you say in the review. The only thing I find that is slightly different is that I can keep good charge up to my Rover while it is running the fridge. I run the fridge off the Rover while charging the Rover with the DC Cig charger. The only reason I can think as to why I might be able to do this is I have a high output alternator (comes standard with Ranger FX4Max). I am actually thinking of buying a second unit because they work so well.

[@HappyGoTravel]

Cheers dude✌️ that is interesting to hear, I might need to play around with it again and see if I can make that work. That would make it an absolutely perfect option

[@greenhornet358]

@@HappyGoTravel Its a hunch, not a proven fact, but that's the only thing I can think of. The fridge still draws more power than the 12v charging cable from the cig socket can put in to the Rover, but not so much that I need to run the fridge on the vehicle battery while driving to preserve the Rover. If I drive for 4-8 hours on a 25-28o day, I would probably go from 100% to 75% in the Rover, which I think, is less than what you experienced? Hopefully we have stumbled upon something 🙂

[@AussieDownUnder]

Bloody handy review this. Thanks mate

[@HappyGoTravel]

Cheers mate ✌️

[@AussieDownUnder]

@@HappyGoTravel mate do you just plug your fridge into the cig port on the rover? if so how do you use another cig port if need be? That engel socket is a waste of space IMO

[@HappyGoTravel]

@@AussieDownUnder it definitely is a waste. I got an Engle plug to make an adapter but I’ve never needed it. The only thing I run on cig is the fridge

[@Chook57]

Gr8 review mate, this would go perfect with the lithium battery fridge i reckon..

[@sootymoobile]

I've been using the 40ah version for multi day camps to run a 55L fridge just fine with 120w folding solar just fine. Thanks for tip using the inverter to charge instead, going to try that out next trip. With the fridge draw i found it would only charge around 3-4% an hour with the cig socket but thats on a batt thats nearly half the size.

[@bendrayton8737]

Great review mate

[@HappyGoTravel]

Cheers mate✌️

[@jarednewport4861]

Great review, I recently bought the Companion 40AH and was wondering if I'd be able to charge the pack and run the fridge at the same time in the tray, good to know it doesn't really work. Will just flick it over from car to battery pack when I pull up like you mentioned.

[@tyzon00800]

Yes you can

[@weridegiantsmtb284]

Cheers mate great review! Been waiting to see how these units go an pretty impressive so far. I’m just scared having anything lithium onboard as once it touches water it’s explosive. I’ll have to make a decision soon I think lol cheers 🍻 Odin62 👍🏼

[@antmobile3275]

hey mate if you use the 12v inverter and plug it into the power station would it work if i wanted to run a small tv?

[@HappyGoTravel]

It would depend on the draw of the Inverter and the tv. But a small camp tv it would definitely run

[@paulshain362]

Great vid mate. Serious question though would you consider it’s bigger brother that’s now available at around the $1400 mark or still lean towards the 70 due to its price point?

[@HappyGoTravel]

It’s a tough one, I like the design of the 70 more. But extra capacity is always a good thing, I’ve never thought I wish I had less battery power left 🤣 also I like the 100 has Anderson outlets as well. As for price there are some great deals on the 70 around, if you can get away with the capacity I’d still go with it.

[@dustblowingman]

Have you tried connecting an AC inverter into the 12v cig socket? The 10A limit should comfortably support a 1500w inverter I'd think

[@HappyGoTravel]

I generally charge it off inverter through the day when driving and run the fridge off of the car as well, I’ll have to try running it all together

[@ruukusanla]

​​@@HappyGoTravel touching on this. why do you charge it through an inverter as opposed to just the standard 12volt plugin? does the inverter provide some benefit? edit. is it purely the higher charge rate through the inverter?

[@HappyGoTravel]

@@ruukusanla it charges it nearly twice as quick. I don’t know the exact rates. But testing in real world has shown me this time and time again

[@ruukusanla]

@@HappyGoTravel appreciate the feedback this unit is a strong contender in my purchase options linking with a dometic fridge for several day trips...👍

[@spencerm106]

​@@HappyGoTravelgreat observation, I quickly looked at the tech details on this. With the 12v DC charger, it's rated for 5A at 14V, that's only 70W, given you likely have a smart alternator, voltage is probably lower, around 13.2V. The AC charger pumps out 19.5V at 5A, hence around 100W of charging, and solar 16-24V at 12A thus up to 200W+. I'm not sure using the AC inverter is good for the charger (likely gets warm due to harmonics from a modified square wave AC output). I think your trick would be a DC boost converter, 12V to 24V rated at 10A. It will stimulate a solar panel and the inbuilt regulator will do the rest. Just an idea anyway... All at your own risk though 😅

[@jaysimmonds309]

What type of setup / components do you have running the fridge from the car? It's off of the starter? Thanks mate.

[@HappyGoTravel]

Hey mate, it just runs from the starter battery when I’m driving and it’s not hooked to the power pack.

[@kakman1958]

Good stuff, this is high on the list of power packs for us. We're not in a desperate hurry so might keep an eye out to see if anyone puts them on special. $800 would be a great buy.

[@antmobile3275]

hey mate check out tentworld they got them for 699 at the moment

[@kakman1958]

@@antmobile3275 Cheers, thanks for the tip. There's a store about 15 minutes away so I might pop in.

[@antmobile3275]

Just got mine today from anaconda they price beat tentworld ended up getting it for $629

[@kakman1958]

@@antmobile3275 Wow. I called the local Tentworld yesterday and they'd sold out. Went to the Anaconda Warehouse at Chullora to see if they might be on sale but they were still at $900. Which Anaconda you hit? I wondered whether they price match - did they have to call them or were they happy to match based on the website?

[@antmobile3275]

I went to Eastern Creek anaconda i told them that tentworld in punchbowl had them in stock for 699 amd the beat it by 10 percent all the did was looked at their online store and the beat it

[@pedrorana5058]

Hi mate. Great review. I bought one and tried it out recently. I just have a 12v fridge plugged in. Did you find that the rover turns off particularly when fridge compressor isnt running and therefore turns of the fridge altogether? Happened 3x to me on a cold day. Cheers

[@HappyGoTravel]

Hey mate I don’t find that at all. The screen will turn off to save power, but the outlet lights that show what outlet is on stay illuminated.

[@semklm7579]

How have you managed this issue? Happened to ours? Only thing I can think is to run a low watt usb fan constantly so unit won't power off when compressor cycles in cold weather

[@robertpuleston3676]

If you going to buy again look into the 90ah lithium thumper $1700 but pearler set up seriously

[@HappyGoTravel]

I like the redarc bcdc in them, they look like a well built unit

[@paulwebb2097]

You have lost weight mate. good vid.

[@HappyGoTravel]

Thanks mate ✌️ definitely a few kg down these days, I’m trying to be healthier. I just need to find health beer and I’ll be right 🤣🤣

[@paulwebb2097]

@@HappyGoTravel Gin and soda , no bread or pasta 🤣

[@HappyGoTravel]

@@paulwebb2097 hahaha that’s way too healthy for me. It takes away my favourite food groups 🤣🤣

[@jent650]

Hey HGT do you know where to get an adapter for the engel stock? my 12v accessories are all the standard 12v cigarette plugs

[@HappyGoTravel]

I picked up one at jaycar, you can get a Engle to cig adapter if you wanted to make a second cig socket

[@SteveSpurling1]

If I was to use one for a 35l waeco and charge via solar during the day (while in the one spot) would i get away with it for a 3 day trip?

[@HappyGoTravel]

yeah definitely, you'd probably find it would run the 35L for 3 days without charge if the fridge isn't working hard.

[@MEOxley23]

What do you run your fridge on during the day?

[@HappyGoTravel]

I’m generally always 4wding so mainly the car. If I stop at a river or something for a few hours I swap it over if it’s only an hour I generally don’t even worry about it

[@jorgejnr7902]

👍👍👍👍🤙🤙👍👍💯

[@032254855]

picked up a companion 100 for about $1480 a couple weeks ago something in the 150 A/H would be nice think it would be a bit more forgiving