During the course of our film making and videography, we are always looking to find great gear that helps us tell our stories, without added complication. In this case we were looking for a connection / control device to insert into the audio chain of our video recordings. We needed to merge the stand-alone Rode VideoMic Pro+ Shotgun Mic with a set of Lavalier Wireless Pro mics into a nice clean signal going into the camera for sound on our recordings. Beachtek kept popping up on our searches. It turns out that these guys are a small pro company out of Kelowna, BC, who design and make DSLR camera adapters suited for exactly this purpose. We decided that the DXA-GO would be ideal.

One thing that would be good to have along with this unit is a storage pouch to stow the unit in our camera rig bag. All in all, this Beachtek bit of gear is exactly what we needed for this particular application, it also looks to be quite robust and resilient. We will update this review as we use the unit.

A look at the Beachtek DXA-GO incorporated into our camera rig.

SumoSprings is a product from SuperSprings International out of California. They are a cool group of guys that have figured out a way to support and stabilize a load in a truck, motor home or a trailer using an innovative and practically indestructible rubber-like compound that gets denser as more pressure is applied to it. There are three densities, Blue: the lightest and most practical, Yellow: medium, and Black: for the most demanding applications. We needed a slight lift on our truck, as it sagged about an inch while towing our trailer. We elected, based on the recommendation from the Engineers at SuperSprings, to use a two part (Blue) product SSR-143-40-2, as our truck is a 4x4 lifted 3" higher than factory specs.

You can watch the Video of our Installation and some other cool scenes.....

So far ...Our ride is firmer and feels more planted. The position of the truck is about an inch higher at the rear. The cornering is much better with even less body roll than there was before (not that there was much). When you combine this addition with our already existing Bilstein 5100 shocks, the ride is fantastic...not cushy by any means, but you do get the sense that the capability of our pickup has been transformed.

Upon hooking up the trailer, we noticed an inch less sag than before, so the truck actually sits at least an inch higher in the rear, even with the trailer (5600 lbs, approx 800 lbs of tongue weight).

We haven't hauled the trailer any distance as of yet, and haven't hooked up the Andersen weight distribution hitch, so we still have yet to report on how this factors in. My guess is that we will have to loosen the bushing / chain tension to balance the load for this adjustment.

Stay tuned for our next update...

Victron is a forward-thinking energy company based in The Netherlands. We used Victron components throughout the Design / Build of our "Non-RV". Their devices have communication interfaces with excellent integration, specializing in Off-Grid and Solar. Components have typically robust construction and Smart Design.

We used Blue Sea products throughout our "Non-RV" build project. Great company from Bellingham, WA. Top quality, well designed and crafted components, superb customer support. Primarily Designed for the Marine Industry. Suitable for harsh environments and long-term and consistent use.

Brahma Wheel Lock, designed in Vancouver, BC. It's simply the best lock we've seen anywhere. Easy to use, very secure, stores flat. We met the Designer...there is plenty of heart and soul that went into the development of this product. Smart engineering, wouldn't be without it. Highly recommended.

Classic Industrial Design Ltd.  604-291-7655

We used 3 x 200Ah of the DLB-GC12-12V Lithium Marine Blue from Discover Batteries of Vancouver, BC. These have a smart design with smart component type removable BMS, which has a metal heat sump surface at the top, Gore vents, terminal fuses and covers, carry handles and tabs at the bottom to screw the batteries down, etc... Not the cheapest, but if you look closely, you get what you pay for. They also have clear and concise specification and system setup information in their on-line literature. Discover batteries also have an excellent warranty program.

Very Innovative Design, easy to setup, top notch Detail and Machining. Light weight and does the job on compatible trailers. Great company to deal with in Idaho Falls, ID.

Rugged and IP certified sensor for Temperature, Humidity and Acceleration monitoring. They have a waterproof version that can be mounted anywhere.
Small company from Finland, wonderful Design. Interfaces with Victron Remote Monitoring via Wifi. Also has it's own Bluetooth App.

Cool company from Port Townsend, WA. Valves work in both directions. Pressure is only engaged when stem is inserted. This is a great idea for keeping your water system free from intrusion. Stainless Steel construction, Flush mount.

Power Watchdog 30 Amp Surge protector with EPO
(Emergency Power Off)
Product No. PWD30-EPO

Upon initial inspection, this unit looks and feels very robust and user-friendly. That is to say that the interface is quite simple and easy to read and monitor via Bluetooth via iPhone or Mobile Device. In our trailer / Non-RV with all the Solar equipment, etc., we are used to a complex array of information to absorb on a daily basis. I can imagine for many RV (or even boat) owners, it would be literally a breath of fresh air to have a Power Surge protector that does its job without being too complex on the outside. Kind of like a nice simple but ultra functional dashboard of a modern and well thought out EV vehicle.
The Power Watchdog, with its strong and well lit branding icon, seems to do just that. It remains quiet and peaceful, until there is trouble, and then it quickly bounds to alarm its owner that there is trouble.
In our case we plugged into some shore power that was untested, and within a few minutes the unit gave an "E7"  notification on my smart phone. This indicated that there was a missing, intermittent or weak ground present in the AC source on this particular outlet, and that it could be dangerous and should be checked and repaired. The "Power-Off" function wouldn't let any charging happen until things were good. We immediately switched to another AC outlet and the Dog logo lit up white to indicate all good. He laid down and remained peaceful from then on.
In many cases, you could be plugged in to a non-familiar or possibly even a familiar AC Shore power outlet, and have a condition such as this and not be aware of it. You and your loved ones could potentially be subject to dangerous and potentially life-threatening stray electrical current, not to mention your electrical system.
The PWD30-EPO does seem very simple on the outside, but don't let that fool you. There is plenty of tech on the inside in order to generate the various error codes (E1 to E9).

We will be testing this unit on an ongoing basis to see how it performs over time. Meanwhile, stay tuned for a report on what our electrical technician finds upon closer inspection of the offending shore power outlet...

We did discover, (after the Watchdog found it) that the particular AC outlet that our rig was plugged into, had a missing or intermittent ground. We would have never suspected this condition, as our Victron system showed consistent AC current coming in. The only issue that I can see, is that if you need power, even if there is a condition such as an intermittent ground, you have no way of shutting the EPO function off on the Power Watchdog unit. My sense is that this is by design for ultimate safety. So the only way around that would be to unplug the Surge protector unit completely.  So far, and given this instance, we would highly recommend the Power Watchdog to use on a regular basis for safety and peace of mind.

Installation .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   4.9
Ease of Use .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   4.7
Hardware Quality  .   .   .   .   .   .   4.9
Cost Competitiveness   .   .   .   .  4.2
Performance   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .  4.7
Customer Support.    .   .   .   .   .  4.9


https://hughesautoformers.com/