Accessories & Add-Ons
12V Accessories, UHF, Inverters & Fitouts
UHF radios, inverters, USB and 12V outlets, brake controllers, towbar and Anderson wiring, air horns and labelled auxiliary switch panels.
The numbers
- UHF CB licensing in Australia
- ACMA class licence, no individual licence
- UHF emergency channels
- 5 and 35, emergency use only
- UHF highway / caravan channels
- 40 highway, 18 caravanners, 10 convoys
- Accessory circuit target voltage drop
- Under 3%
- Fuse placement
- Within 300 mm of the power source
Quick answer
What should be considered before adding accessories to a vehicle’s electrical system?
Every accessory adds current draw, and the vehicle’s existing circuits were sized for factory loads only. Wired Right in Albion Park Rail fits accessories on their own fused auxiliary circuits rather than tapping existing wiring, sizes cable so voltage drop stays under 3%, and fuses within 300 mm of the power source. UHF CB operates under an ACMA class licence, so no individual licence is needed.
Accessory installs are where most vehicle electrical problems are created. A UHF spliced into the cigarette lighter circuit, an inverter earthed to a painted bracket, a brake controller taken off the stop-light wire, each one works on the day and fails within a year, usually taking something else with it.
We run accessories on their own auxiliary circuits from a labelled fuse block, with cable sized for the run and fusing at the source. It costs a little more on the day and it means the next accessory is a twenty-minute job instead of a rewire.
Whether it is a single USB-C outlet in a work ute or a full switch panel with eight labelled circuits, the standard is the same.
What this covers
UHF radios, antennas & comms systems
Radio, antenna and earth plane installed correctly. Antenna position matters more than antenna price. UHF CB runs under an ACMA class licence, so no individual licence is required.
GPS tracking & fleet systems
Hardwired tracking with ignition sensing for single vehicles or whole fleets.
USB, USB-C & 12V charging outlets
Fused outlets in the dash, console, tray or canopy, on a switched or permanent feed as required.
Phone mounts & device integration
Mounts positioned clear of airbags and driver sightlines, with power run inside the trim.
Inverters: 240 V power systems
Pure sine inverters sized to the load, fused at the battery, earthed correctly and RCD protected where required.
Electric brake controllers
Proportional and inertia controllers installed and calibrated on the road with the trailer connected.
Trailer & Anderson plug wiring
Charge circuits and accessory feeds run in cable sized for the distance, with the connector rated above the circuit fuse.
Towbar wiring & trailer electrics
7-pin flat, 7-pin round and 12-pin flat harnesses, wired to the correct pin standard and tested with a trailer tester.
Horn & air horn upgrades
Compressor and horn on their own relay and fuse so the factory horn circuit is not overloaded.
Auxiliary switch panels
Backlit, labelled panels with individual circuit protection, positioned within reach and wired through relays.
How the job runs
- 1
Add up the load first
Total accessory current is calculated before the first cable is run, so the auxiliary circuit is sized once and correctly.
- 2
Build a proper distribution point
A labelled auxiliary fuse block becomes the single place future accessories connect to.
- 3
Size cable to the run
Length and current determine the gauge. Target is under 3% voltage drop at the accessory, measured not assumed.
- 4
Mount so it survives
Antennas, inverters and controllers mounted where heat, vibration and water will not kill them in a year.
- 5
Test with the real load
Trailer tester on the plug, inverter run at rated load, UHF checked for transmit and receive before you leave.
Accessories & Add-Ons: common questions
Do I need a licence to use a UHF CB radio in Australia?
No. UHF CB operates under an ACMA class licence, which means anyone can use a compliant radio without applying for an individual licence. Channels 5 and 35 are reserved for emergencies, channel 40 is the highway channel, 18 is used by caravanners and 10 by 4WD convoys.
Where should a UHF antenna be mounted?
As high as practical and as close to the centre of a metal ground plane as the vehicle allows. Bull bar mounts are common but a roof or gutter mount usually performs better. A cheap antenna mounted well will out-perform an expensive one mounted badly.
Can I run a fridge or power tools from an inverter?
Yes, with the right sizing. A pure sine inverter is needed for anything with a motor or electronics, and the cable and fuse have to suit the inverter’s input current, not its output rating. A 2,000 W inverter can draw over 180 amps at full load, which is well beyond typical accessory wiring.
Why not just tap into an existing wire?
Because factory circuits are sized for factory loads, and modern vehicles monitor current on many of them. Tapping causes blown fuses, phantom warning lights and, on CAN-controlled circuits, lost-communication faults. A separate fused auxiliary circuit avoids all of it.
Can you wire a towbar to a car that never had one?
Yes. We fit the correct harness for the vehicle: plug-and-play where the manufacturer supports it, or a properly relayed loom where it does not. Every pin is then tested with a trailer tester before you tow.
Where we do this work
All work is carried out at the workshop, Albion Park Rail NSW 2527. Customers travel in from across the Illawarra and Shellharbour:
Related work
Accessories & Add-Ons
Get this booked in
Ring the workshop or send the vehicle details and what it is doing. You will get a realistic time and an honest price before anything starts.