Good stuff for trying to keep it real and putting the cards on the table, going into the details of the situation. Yes, we the common man appreciate the budget build and transparency!

Totally understand the awkward position you are in Pat. Thankyou for your transparency about the whole thing, it’s good info. The fact that you were transparent and honest with this speaks to your integrity as a person and a creator. Appreciate the video!

Always take the free stuff! As long as as you say that you've gotten it for free and you say what you really think about it, then your no sell out. And a fully agree that you don't need a wall of red arc and lithium batteries to do camp. Respect man

Hey Patrick, thankyou for your honesty man ... sometimes it feels like that's in very short supply these days with some of the 4x4 channels. As a guy who has a couple of bucks left at the end of the fortnight and not much more, I love watching you guys run with the budget 4x4 life concept, it's just so damn easy to relate to. Watching other channels with their $100,000+ setups was fun initially ... but it's so far from my reality it's just become a TV show. Watching your channel is like getting a video from mates that have been out and were wishing you had joined them, it just feels more personal. I got lucky, I bought my 88 gq patrol flat tray from my dad, the old girl has been in our family for 22 years now. My best mate inherited a 92 80 series cruiser (grandpa spec) so we can relate to you guys and love Watching because we drive what you drive and while my mate and I are rapidly approaching 50 lol we are still boys at heart and love wrenching on our vehicles when we can or when we have to. Keep up the great work and don't forget that when companies do offer some sort of bonus or extra compensation, your time making videos is worth a mint for some of us that are building similar rigs, so we watch what you go through, how things work or don't work and it saves us money and time if we don't have to trial and error products. Stuff anyone who thinks your selling out mate cause your keeping it real and transparent, not going over the top and cranking out the same marketing crap about the products that some channels do. My patrol still sits here, winchless and in need of a better tray, but she works hard, has the essentials for a gq lol, headlight upgrade plus spotties, Bullbar and good 33 inch mud tyres. I don't have the cash to throw accessories on willy nilly, so what you guys produce in your videos is invaluable to guys like me doing the 4x4 life on a shoe string budget. Love ya work boys 😉👍👍

Disclaimer: This is my opinion based on my experiences with the company Having dealt with their warranty system and knowing someone who has worked in their warranty department. They are honestly the worst for honouring warranties. Sometimes taking months to even respond to a simple warranty claim

Good on you Patrick! Keeping it genuine and honest! I'm sick of all these other 4wd shows (not naming names) that are always complete sellouts to all these companies.

This is why I like this channel…Integrity is not something you usually associate with YT 4x4 channels… Well done and kudos to you 👍👍👍

The common man would take the new setup and continue testing for us. I'd like to see how the dc to dc and new battery go. You are a common man doing common things. Keep up the good work

Excellent stuff. So sorry to hear about your obstacles...but thank you for being out there and forward about this. Learned heaps. Keep it coming...happy travel

Transparency is key man! Your going about it all the right way dude and it isnt lost on us viewers! Keep doing what your doing and cant wait to see what youve got in store!

Your openness and integrity is refreshing and spot on the message you are aiming to deliver on KZfaq, really respect what you’re doing, thank you

Full respect for the open honesty. Love this channel. I'm keen to see how that new battery and dc to dc charger go.

What sets this youtube channel apart from all the other 4wd camping channels is how real and genuine you guys always are!

Thank you so much for keeping it real ! Appreciate it 🙏

Great vid, appreciate the honesty. It’s great to see someone doing a build on a smallish budget. Not all of us have the $$$$ to spend on our rigs. I running a standard agm with a ctek dcdc from the supercenter and it’s been in for 3yrs now and touch wood no major issues. Love your channel 👍

Your doing a great job with this channel man. Been watching you for 2 years now and you always step it up every vid. Appreciate the honest!

Definitely have the respect of the viewers. Cheers for the clarity with such a popular brand and honest encounters.

Awesome stuff Pat, really appreciate the honesty and openness with it all!

Just come across your channel. Very well done mate. The thought that goes into the content. The editing and camera work. You’re also a talented speaker. Keep it up 👍🏼

Good on you bro, please don’t get so stressed though… just chill. Props on the integrity. Hope the new setup gives you a good run and looking forward to seeing the long term. Cheers

Wow. We noticed yesterday that our mppt controller gets to 14.9v. It concerned us also enough to use our original one that is not from kings. I will be calling kings tomorrow to talk about a replacement.

Really get good value from your channel, you and your mate’s practical videos are really helpful. I’ll still be using kings gear, budget and learning what I need etc. I’ve had no issues with kings and warranty, and I have had them also surprise me with replacing with items damaged as a result of an item failure. Keep up the good work on your channel.

The mppt on my kings 250watt solar panel was dead out of the box. Set it up, tested it, zero volts out. I start the warranty claim today.

Recently come across ur channel & had to see this, appreciate ur honest opinions & dilema’s that go with trying to create this type of content. Enjoying ur vids. Cheers

Just stumbled upon your channel after purchasing some Kings equipment and looking up videos to see how best to set them up. Watching this video, I'm impressed not only with your knowledge, but your honesty and integrity is beyond reproach! Looks like I'll be watching Aussie Arvos videos all morning.

Great to see the honest feedback and your thoughts on things you have done.

Great video mate, so many channels are building the "ultimate 4wd setup" with all sponsored gear. Good on you for sticking with the more affordable angle for your channel. You've got my respect. 👍

I've had that exact Kings MPPT controller for 3 years when they first brought them out and still works perfectly and please the only reason you got a new lithium battery and DC/DC charger replacement is because of your channel the normal person would have got SHIT

Keep doing what you do Pat, your subscribers know you're genuine. I love the budget builds, Kings gear has its place and good on em for coming to the party. Test it it out and let us know how it goes.

I used to work at the Dandenong 4WD super centre on greens road. The amount of recalls or returns was pretty high and the customers returning them was a mix bag of understanding or not happy customers but at the end of the day it comes down to the product that company sells. It’s literally hit and miss when it comes to their products but when it comes to the solar systems they really can’t cheap out on these products as majority of the market is reliant on solar to run their appliances to make their trips make or break. Their customer service and recall service is meh. We didn’t compensate much customers unless if the situation was really bad. It’s good you lads are staying transparent and honest. At the end of the day they are a business who wants to make money so it is what it is

Keeping it real boys🙌🏼💯 Good job! I respect you for that as we all love DIY budget projects with the hopes of getting safe and reliable products that suits everyone's budget💯💥

I really look forward to your videos and how refreshingly honest and Frank you guys are I can appreciate the ethical dilemma you were in and handled it well. I have ceased watching some of the bigger channels as they have become sell outs for the freebies they receive. Keep me honest Pat!!

Thank you mate , this video was helpful and I got a faulty MPPT replaced. Cheers. What helped to confirm a problem was the MPPT threw up to 16.0v, but a 12v charger sat constant on 14.4v.

Really respect your honesty and being transparent throughout this whole video series . Like you said yourself keeping it real is going to keep your viewers

New to your channel and loving it 👌 You’re a good man for not turning your back on your viewers. Not an easy decision to make for anyone in that situation, where you could’ve easily took the freebies and not said anything, leading other folks astray. Just goes to show that you’re a man of integrity for showing full transparency and asking Kings what they would do for their average customers. Keep up the killer content legend 🍻

I’ve been a subscriber of yours since pretty much day dot, great to see the growth in your channel and how you handled this situation well and truly with integrity and honesty.

Great, honest and entertaining channel. Always loved the down to earth approach.

Thanks for the transparency, this is how these projects/reviews should be done. 👍

Good stuff. The new drawer setup looks great. Looking forward to your new 12 volt build.

Well done.. please keep up the great work, it's fantastic to see an honest bloke on you tube. 👏

good onya Pat.... yeah that could of been a big problem like a vehicle fire that voltage going up ...yeah it was a tricky situation to be in for sure but its good to see someone with genuine honesty about the situation ... btw that was a awesome spot to camp👍 ... big thumbs up 👍

Great vid mate & respect the honesty, I recently bought their MPPT to upgrade from an eBay PWM. It arrived and the print on the face was skewed which I didn’t mind but on testing, lights were flashing and the volt reader was jumping all over the place… Soo, I bought their fold out panel kit knowing it comes with another controller. When the kit arrived, the MPPT controller had been wired wrong on inspection. I changed this and tested it. It all seemed to work fine but now thankfully after watching this vid & having not used it since testing, I remember the volt meter reading over 15 volts. This has now raised concern. I will do some more testing and another vid to send to them as it was hard enough having them replace the 1st controller. Thanks again🤙

Respect brother. Good to see you boys always keeping it real.

Good job calling them out Patrick. Can't wait to see the build of the new set up. Was that campsite over in Bunyip? Looked like a beautiful spot

The honesty and integrity from you on this channel will be the sole reason you will succeed beyond others on KZfaq, if you were a stone's throw away from me in NSW I'd buy you a god damn beer mate. Legend!

I respect you telling the truth and honest opinion of products . keep up the good work. LOVE YOUR CHANNEL.

Really well said Pat. Much respect for the clarity and openess.

Went through 2 on my work Ute on a basic solar set up. First one wouldn’t charge properly, got a new one on warranty. the second read the 12v circuit as a 24v circuit and pumped the full voltage potential of the panel which was like 19v into the battery. Threw it in the bin and bought a basic redarc PWM for like 120 for repco and it’s been good ever since

Love this channel! Realistic for your everyday explorer

Great video. Love the fact you're focusing on budget for accessibility. I think you've done a great service to not only your own channel, but Kings as well in this vid. We'll done

well done, a man of true integrity!! wish there were more like him.

Love the video and the honesty, good to see someone keeping it real! 👍🏼

Proper good channel. Been absolutely loving your videos lately. Big inspiration for to take my missus and little girl out for the weekend more!

Good vid... we are just planning our set up for our 80 and enjoying the updates

Well done mate. Laying it out there for everyone as a customer is where we relate to them. Gotta be honest about it 💯 cheers mate 👍

Great transparency 👍 IMO, there is absolutely nothing wrong that you took their offer since it was a warranty claim, and they have not asked you to remain silent. Plus if they confirmed they would also do this with others having the same issues, I don't see any problem with that (finger's crossed that is actually true). I like the fact you're doing a budget build. As you've said, not everyone has huge budgets for a 12V system. I too have several Kings products in my 4WD and they've been working well. And the 3 times that I've had to deal with Kings with warranty, they've been fantastic (ie. 200W solar blanket replaced, Refunded VMS GPS, stretcher replaced). I've always found their customer service - whether it was my local store or online - very good and easy to deal with. And as most likely many do, as things evolved in my setup (or fail), they are slowly replaced by higher quality (= more expensive) products. But usually, not until the Kings fail, which not many have (touch wood). Keep up the great work in your channel.

Big respect for the transparency! I've had a rough run with kings gear also, had bought one of the DC-DC charges myself after upgrading from a EPever MPPT controller (Good controller but wanted alternator input) had the temp sensor fail, wrote the whole unit off. Kings weren't open to replace or repair or suggest a replacement sensor. Went with a CTEK one and haven't looked back.

You can get a lemon in any product from any supplier but it is great to see your honesty and how upfront you are with your reviews

cheep and cheerfull / cheep and tearfull The Integrity that you have showed in this and shareing your struggle in the decisions bodes well for you- awsome

Great video, appreciate the straight honesty, I’m sick of the $$$$$builds, need more budget builds/video’s like this 👍👍👍👍👍glad I got onto your channel recently, keep it up buddy

I bought two of these and had the same problem with high voltage but it didn't destroy my batteries. All companies end-up producing something that's not up to standard but I have been happy with with kings products and found them very helpful when I had a problem. Keep up the good work.

Really appreciate you putting out this video. I enjoy all your videos and advice.

I had exactly the same controller. The battery was dead in 2 months. Mate, we appreciate your honesty and you should have taken what you can from them. You could have said nothing and we probably wouldn't have thought a thing. I have more appreciation for what you guys tell us. Keep going in the same direction

Top work you guys thank you for telling us what you had found and what your thoughts. Its a good and honest revue

Man total respect for honesty and YT/public exposure aside if I was in your situation I would have done the exact same thing as a gesture of good will from a company. Comparatively without knowing warranty terms it would be interesting to see if bigger ticket product manufacturers would also do the same in warranting downstream devices/appliances that were affected by similar scenarios. Not so much 12v power source related but I had a Kings compressor fail (leaking air back out cylinder stopping peak pressure for the cut-off switch from working), logged warranty claim online accompanied with a quick video uploaded to show the fault. Waited a couple days for processing and got it replaced without question, rocked up to local store with bare unit and swapped it with full replacement straight off the shelf. Ended up with extra hoses etc as I kept the original gear not pertaining to the fault. That's the only warranty claim I've had to date but it was no issue at all dealing with warranty. I guess from their perspective/in their defence along with a lot of other retailers - accept that shit happens, no need for beef because you've spent $X and now it's stuffed. Keep a cool head don't be pushy while dealing with warranty stuff - *help them help you* so you can get back to drinking beer and burning things sooner.👌

Thanks for your honest review. Should be more of it. Coincidently I just purchased an MPPT regulator from Kings!

Great work Patrick the channel is great with all your content about yours and the other vehicles you are always truthful about every product and service you have used (not like some other channels)

Good on you Patrick for not being able to be bought by potential sponsors 👌 Thanks for being so honest and down to earth!

"The minute the truth isn't told the channel loses respect" great words to live by.

Thanks for the video. Love your work. I am about to start a 12V system to power a big trip. I have similar thoughts on reliable, functional and cost effective. I'll be fitting a renogy 50A dual input dcdc charger. Still tossing up the battery of choice

We bought a kings AGM. Basic set up Only fridge running. I got more out of a lead acid ¼ the weight. Hopefully just the battery in your senario. Ended Up getting a gelcell from Jaycar. Get nearly 3days if I need it.

I watch 2 four wheel channels. Your integrity is what makes this channel great. Must be so hard not to go the route of all channels and influences. "Give me free stuff". Keep up the good work

I have been watching these videos for a while, but subscribed today due to this video. Keep doing what you are doing guys!!

Much respect to you brother 🙏🏾

Good on you mate thanks for keeping it really and keep up the great vids and get the boys back on the channel 👍

Hi Patrick, I loved the way you have approached a tricky problem. I would suggest for the purity of the build, you should replace the AGM with a similar budget items. Using a premium lithium product changes the audience. Good luck Trev

Love where you’re coming from. You did well out of it in the end. I’ve seen plenty of KZfaq vids where people test gear that was given to the by a company and it turns out to be a piece of s##t. And they will happily put it up to be watched. The companies know this and I’d like to think it keeps them on their toes. Well done, mate. 😀

Good honest video, mate. Well done. Would love to be able to go 4x4ing with my son some day, so knowing how to do things on a budget is a good thing. Love the spot you camped 💪🏼

Had the exact same problem. Threw the kings regulator in the bin and bought a redarc bcdc charger. Haven’t had an issue since. 🤙

Thanks for your honesty and ethics. Spot on about the big $ 12v installs.

I had a faulty mppt which cooked my battery too. They never compensated me for my cooked battery. Glad you got your sorted !

I think you you made the right call, and I enjoy your chanel seeing all the stages I went through building my own cars. The kings 12v system is cheap and now you can try it out and let us all know of it works.

I’m gland you made this video , because I bought the kings MPPT controller with the solar blanket and the voltage on my battery box was climbing to over 15 volts as well , I’ve only used it on one trip for 2 days but I’ll be taking it back.

I unwrapped a kings 20amp mppt controller from the box, plug it into my 120w solar blanket and checked the voltage/amps on my renogy monitor. Instantly went to 18v’s. Unplugged it and threw it straight in the bin. Bought a victron 75/15 mppt controller and have never looked back.

Good honest video mate. Thanks for sharing. As others have said, keep being honest and transparent about products you are gifted and the viewer will remain loyal. 👍

Great vid Patrick, cheap 12V systems are what most of us want to see. I’ve made my 12V system for under 1k, and got kings for the battery, battery box and solar blanket, and I got a new Redarc 1225D on sale. It works reliably, runs my fridge, lights, charges everything, and I got a CTEK battery monitor so I can see what the battery is doing. Can’t wait to see how the lithium battery performs!

respect to this man, glad you were honest

Thanks for the video. I use the Kings 200w solar blanket with the same MPPT controller. I noticed the fridge was reading 15.8V on my latest trip... thought it might be a charging voltage reading or something too. I assume I should also be calling Kings?! Who knows how much damage I've done to the battery!

This is why I love y’all’s channel. Keep it up.

What a legend, thank you for being honest to your viewers. Please keep us updated on the 12V system!

Great video, appreciate your candour.

Keeping it real, glad you are honest with us viewers. Looking forward to the 12v setup!

Respect for you and your channel.

I very much appreciate your honesty. Greeting from Chile 🇨🇱

You were offered the Lithium battery to TEST it; so test it. The other items are replacement UNDER WARRANTY. Why would you feel bad about that.

Well done Thanks for the honest feedback on the products you use How about introducing your offsider or did miss it in a previous video? Keep up the real life 4x4 content 👌

You're dead right Pat about the big expensive setups being on KZfaq already - I run Enerdrive gear myself and understand the costs for supply and install, so its great to see how the cheaper gear fairs against some of these "premium" 12v providers. Keep at it mate! Great reviews and videos!

If only we could have politicians with the integrity and transparency you have! Props to you for being so open and caring about other consumers as well.

Can confirm you got special treatment, am in the exact same situation and not anywhere near close to getting my battery compensated or anything else that was included in the package that my controller killed

Nice honesty vlog. Go with the Victron smart solar controller so you can change the charge settings to suit the lithium battery. 👍