12 Volts in the bed of the Silverado?

[James86004]

Is there an always-on or accessory-on hot wire at the rear of an 06 Silverado where I can easily tap into? I want to put our cooler back there, which draws 5 amps max.

 

[02TahoeMD]

There may be a hot lead running along inside of the trailer harness. Otherwise, you would be stuck with running a lead back there from the battery - which, I would recommend doing anyway. The wiring in the harness is a pretty small gauge, and if you are going run a power appliance I think your best bet would be to run a medium to large gauge line from either the battery or a power distribution point.

 

[SicNick]

might as well add a 2nd battery while you're at it, there is one size ammo box that fits a class 78 batt perfectly( get the same size and power of your engine batt) then run a hot line with an isolator switch.

This is how my truck is setup except i have 2 engine batteries then the third back up/house battery :smiley_drive:

 

[Outback]

For that long of a run I would use 10 Gauge wire. Maybe throw a 30 amp fuse in the line as well.

 

[eugene]

If you have the heavy duty towing package there is one for the trailer brakes, othewise run your own.
Second battery is nice too, easy to stick in the second battery tray from a diesel to mount it too.

 

[vtarider]

I think that is a "great idea" ,maybe throw in an inverter in the bed to power a few things,anyone have a set with pics or any other advice. Im looking to set up my truck with a shell and some cabinets for storage/sleeping and other options any advice would be great.

Thanks Dave

 

[Mike S]

I took the simple route and ran a #10 hot wire from the DS battery through an in-line ATM< fuse holder, out and along the frame rail, up through the tailgate stanchion and out under the rear of the bed rail. This runs my fridge, lights, blower for the dog crates, etc. Took all of and hour to get it all hooked up. It grounds to a protected area behind the rear fender. Took 30 feet of wire.