Sherpa CHARGE-500 Smart Charger
The DC-DC charger that turns your engine hours into stored energy
The CHARGE-500 takes power from your vehicle’s alternator while you drive and converts it into a fast 42V / 500W charge for your Sherpa power station — up to five times faster than standard vehicle charging. Smart auto-detect kicks in when the engine starts and shuts off when it stops, protecting your starter battery. The answer for road users who can’t rely on mains, and don’t want to depend solely on sunshine.
Who is the CHARGE-500 for?
If you’re running a Sherpa power station in a van, motorhome, narrowboat, or commercial vehicle and you’ve ever found yourself looking at clouded skies wondering how you’ll top the unit up, this is the product that fixes it. Solar is brilliant when the sun cooperates — less so on a grey week of British winter. The CHARGE-500 turns the engine you’re already running into a serious recharge source, no shore power required.
- Campervan & motorhome users wanting a guaranteed top-up between sites without the faff of finding a shore-power hookup
- Overlanders & long-distance travellers who can’t plan around mains availability
- Tradespeople & mobile professionals running tools, lighting or refrigeration off a power station all day, then driving between jobs to recharge
- Commercial fleet operators — turn engine hours into stored energy with no extra fuel cost beyond what you’re already burning
- Solar-equipped users wanting a hybrid setup — solar when it’s sunny, alternator when it isn’t
How it works
The CHARGE-500 is a DC-DC converter sized specifically to feed Sherpa power stations through their existing MPPT input. Wired directly to your vehicle’s starter battery via the supplied fused 5m cable, it sits dormant until the alternator starts producing charging voltage — which means the engine is running. It then converts that 12V or 24V alternator output into a clean 42V / 500W feed, terminated in standard MC4 solar connectors that plug straight into your power station’s solar input.
Smart voltage detection — protects your starter battery
Most cheap DC-DC chargers either need a manual switch or require a wake-up signal wired in from the ignition circuit. The CHARGE-500 needs neither. Its built-in voltage detection system watches the vehicle battery and recognises the moment the alternator kicks in (battery voltage rises from a resting ~12.6V to a charging ~14.0V+).
- Adjustable threshold: 12V to 30V range — works on cars, vans, 4×4s, motorhomes and 24V commercial trucks
- No wake-up signal needed: automatic activation means simpler wiring — no need to tap into the ignition switch
- Engine-off auto cut-off: when alternator voltage drops, the unit shuts down to protect the starter battery
- Insignificant standby drain when ON: negligible draw if left switched on, but Sherpa recommends switching off after long journeys for stationary periods to be safe
Up to 5× faster than standard vehicle charging
Most portable power stations charge from a vehicle’s 12V cigarette socket at 100–120W — a slow trickle that barely keeps up with appliances running off the unit while you drive. The CHARGE-500 wires directly to the battery and delivers the full 500W to the power station’s high-voltage MPPT input.
Pairs with solar for the best of both worlds
You don’t have to choose between alternator and solar. Many Sherpa users run a hybrid setup — solar when parked in the sun, CHARGE-500 when driving or when the weather doesn’t cooperate.
- Solar parked — alternator driving: never miss a recharge opportunity
- Same MC4 connector: swap between the two using the same input on your power station
- Sherpa recommends isolating the inputs: use a switch to flick between sources rather than connecting both at once
- End-to-end UK warranty on both products from Sherpa
Compatibility
The CHARGE-500 is designed primarily for Sherpa power stations, but works with any portable power station whose MPPT input accepts a 42V DC feed.
| Sherpa PEAK 1.8 / 2.2 / 3.6 | Fully compatible — standard MC4 input |
| Sherpa BASE 2.5 / 5.0 | Fully compatible — via included MC4 input |
| Sherpa PRO 5.0 | Fully compatible |
| Sherpa PEAK 0.6 | Not recommended — this unit doesn’t accept high charge input |
| Third-party power stations | Compatible if they accept 42V DC via MPPT — check spec sheet first |
| Vehicle types | Cars, vans, 4×4s, motorhomes, narrowboats, 24V commercial trucks — any vehicle with a combustion engine and 12–30V battery |
Installation overview
The CHARGE-500 ships install-ready out of the box with everything needed for a typical install. The most time-consuming part is running the 5m fused power cable from the vehicle battery to wherever you want to mount the unit (typically inside a cupboard, under a seat, or in a battery compartment).
- Step 1: Decide where to locate the unit — ideally somewhere ventilated for the cooling fan, within reach of where the power station will sit
- Step 2: Run the 5m fused (100A) input cable from the vehicle battery to that location — the part that may benefit from professional fitment depending on your vehicle
- Step 3: Plug the cable into the CHARGE-500 input
- Step 4: Connect the MC4 output cable to your power station’s solar input
- Step 5: Set the activation voltage threshold using the supplied mini screwdriver — 12V cars / 24V trucks etc.
- Step 6: Drive — the unit auto-activates when alternator voltage is detected
Built to last
- Fan-cooled aluminium chassis for sustained 500W output without thermal derating
- Mechanical latching isolation switch for safely disabling the unit during storage or servicing
- Pre-fused 100A input cable for safety on the high-current vehicle side
- 5-year warranty — significantly longer than typical DC-DC charger warranties (most are 1–2 years)
- 10+ year design life with sensible use
Technical specification
| Output power | 500W continuous |
| Output voltage | 42V DC (matches Sherpa MPPT input) |
| Output connector | MC4 (standard solar connector) |
| Input voltage range | 12V to 30V (adjustable threshold) |
| Input cable | 5m, fused 100A, included |
| Output cable | 0.5m MC4-terminated, included |
| Activation | Automatic via alternator voltage detection — no wake-up signal required |
| Cooling | Fan-cooled chassis |
| Isolation | Mechanical latching isolation switch |
| Vehicle compatibility | 12V cars / vans / 4×4s / motorhomes; 24V commercial trucks |
| Power station compatibility | All Sherpa PEAK 1.8+ / BASE / PRO models, plus third-party MPPTs accepting 42V DC |
| Equivalent solar footprint | ~2m² of foldable solar at typical UK insolation |
| Charge speed gain | Up to 5× faster than standard 12V cigarette-socket charging |
| Design life | 10+ years with normal use |
| Warranty | 5-year standard warranty |
What’s in the box
- 1 × CHARGE-500 Smart Charger
- 1 × 5m fused (100A) input power cable set
- 1 × 0.5m MC4-terminated output cable
- 1 × mini screwdriver (for setting the activation voltage threshold)
- 1 × user manual
Sherpa power stations are sold separately. Compatible with all Sherpa PEAK 1.8 and above, BASE and PRO models.
Important fulfilment, delivery & warranty information
To keep things fully transparent, this product is supplied and fulfilled by one of our trusted UK-based third-party partners. It is not stocked directly at our own premises.
- Partner-fulfilled product: dispatched directly by the supplier from their own fulfilment operation
- Delivery & tracking: delivery times and courier arrangements may vary depending on supplier stock and destination — tracking details will be provided once available
- 5-year manufacturer-backed warranty: the standard 5-year Sherpa warranty covers manufacturing defects. Warranty support, diagnostics and any necessary repairs are handled directly by Sherpa or authorised service partners as they are the product specialists
- Installation: while the CHARGE-500 ships install-ready, running the 5m fused power cable from your vehicle battery is the part that may benefit from professional fitment depending on your vehicle and confidence with auto-electrics
- Support from us: if you experience any issue, please contact us first — we will help coordinate the next steps with Sherpa where required
Your statutory rights under UK consumer law are not affected. Where applicable, we will continue to act as your point of contact for order-related queries, returns guidance and support coordination.