Are You Prepared for Electrical Emergencies in Your Overlanding Rig?

When travelling with an overland rig like I do with my Rossmonster Baja, it is never the question if something will break or needs to be repaired – it is always the question how good you are prepared when something breaks.

When you are new to a rig or have not traveled that much for that long you don’t necessarily know what will happen. You may bring some common tools, but what about supplies to keep your trip going? Think things like fuses, breakers, a circuit tester, a wire stripper, wire connectors, and more. And then of course, do you know what fuses and breakers are actually used in your rig? You cannot just throw a random terminal fuse into the mix because it looks the same as the one that broke to begin with.

Therefore, it is important to check your specific rig as things may be slightly different between build years even if they look the same on the outside.

Here is a list of fuses and breakers that are used in my Rossmonster Baja. The reason I know about all these is because some of them gave up when I least expected it. Here is an example, in the 20 months that I own my Rossmonster Baja the main breaker for my solar power connection between the batteries and the MPPT solar charge controller broke twice – about 14 months apart from each other. I consider breakers and fuses a consumable item – especially in a challenging environment like an overland rig. I now carry 3 of these specific breakers with me. But since I had to look at the circuit breakers, I carry at least one spare of each with me as well. Please note, that most links on this page are so-called affiliate links and I would earn a tiny commission if you decide to buy through these links (at no extra cost to you). I appreciate your support.

Then, this year (2026) I had some more challenging situations. It was difficult to troubleshoot because I did not really know my entire electrical system to the extent that was needed to properly troubleshoot the situation. Along the way I found a blown terminal fuse in the engine bay for the alternator charging of my house batteries and a blown mega fuse on the Victron BMS CL 12-100. I carry those with me as spare parts now as well, but even more – I finally have a deeper understanding of how all these components work with each other and how the current is flowing between the components.

For this situation it was critical to have a circuit tester. When you check on Amazon for circuit testers, you will be overwhelmed by how many different ones there are. I had one of those more fancy ones and when it mattered I did not get it to work reliably as I did not know how it worked and what configuration settings I would need. Simple is better. I now have a cheap one that is super simple. It shows me the voltage in detail and there is no guessing. That is what matters. When the shit hits the fan, you do not want to stand in the way because you only have fancy tools that look cool, but are hard to use in a stressful situation. I had my fancy power meter/current tester for two years. I never used it. It has buttons and config settings that are confusing to me. And don’t get me wrong, I do understand enough of electrical wiring and have done quite a few installations of electrical components here and there, but that is easy in comparison. I plan things out, educate myself about it, and then go slowly and methodically through the process. That works great, but not when you are under stress. So, ditch the fancy tools and go with simple, easy to use tools that keep you grounded (pun intended).

I posted about my latest troubleshooting situation online and quite a few people chimed in and realized they were not prepared either and appreciated me sharing my experience and sharing the matching links to those electronic consumables like fuses and breakers.

In my troubleshooting situation I learned about terminal fuses and mega fuses and their different use cases. While there are some overlapping use cases, it is usually straightforward where to use them. I did not even know that my rig had a terminal fuse in the engine bay right at the battery, but I do know now. It also gives me a better appreciation to the people that build these rigs (assuming you are working with skilled professionals).

The list on this webpage is not a complete list of all the tools or consumables I carry with me when I travel. While this list is more Rossmonster specific, the overall idea of what you need applies to most overlanding rigs as these electrical systems work the same way. So, open your electrical cabinet and start taking detailed pictures and create a list of the different components.

I used AI to create a flow chart of my components and while it took some time and tweaking, the result was almost perfect. This diagram alone will help me to troubleshoot future situations as well as to consider potential upgrades. Which upgrades you may wonder? I am glad you asked. I am not sure yet, but I am considering to replace the Victron BMS CL 12-100 with two Victron Orion XS 50A DC-DC chargers and a Lynx Smart BMS. That is not a cheap upgrade and easily runs about $1,800 for the equipment alone. So, for now I will continue to use the system as is before I make a decision.

The List: Electrical Spares & Tools I Carry in My Rossmonster Baja

Most links below are affiliate links – I earn a tiny commission if you buy through them, at no extra cost to you. Always confirm the exact ratings used in your own rig before buying.

WINAMOO Automotive Test Light (3–120V LED)View on Amazon → BOJACK MEGA/AMG Fuse 100A (2-pack)View on Amazon → BOJACK Terminal Fuse 100A MRBF (2-pack)View on Amazon → BOJACK Terminal Fuse 125A MRBF (2-pack)View on Amazon → Blue Sea 5121 Class T Fuse 400AView on Amazon → 266-Pc Car Fuse Assortment KitView on Amazon → Chtaixi 32A 1-Pole DC BreakerView on Amazon → Chtaixi 40A 1-Pole DC BreakerView on Amazon → Chtaixi 60A 2-Pole DC BreakerView on Amazon → Aleric Relay Puller & Fuse Remover (6-pc)View on Amazon → ALITOVE Lever Wire Connectors (10-pc)View on Amazon → WAGO 221 Lever-Nut Connectors (80-pc)View on Amazon → Heat Shrink Butt Connectors (130-pc)View on Amazon → RED WOLF Harness Tape (5 rolls)View on Amazon → Braided Cable Sleeve, 25 ftView on Amazon → DOWELL Wire Stripper (22–30 AWG)View on Amazon → knoweasy Wire Stripper (32–7 AWG)View on Amazon → IRWIN Vise-Grip Wire StripperView on Amazon →

There you have it. Learn from experience and prepare so that you can enjoy being out in nature knowing confidently that you can do some basic things to extend your stay should troubleshooting be needed.

The list of electronic consumables links you back to Amazon. The links are so-called affiliate links and I would earn a tiny commission if you decide to buy through my links (at no cost to you). I appreciate your support and hope to see you down the road.