12V Fridge and 2019 RAM 1500 eTorque?

[Charp]

Can eTorque be considered a dual battery setup? Like the dual battery setup's people install on there Jeeps and Toyota's for over-landing? As I watched this video by FCA he mentions (around 3min mark) how the 48V battery pack keeps the 12V battery charged. I have a portable 12V fridge that I would like to keep in the truck bed, so I'm wondering if I could run a cable directly from the 12V starter battery to my truck bed for the fridge. It seems that having the additional capacity of the 48V pack, along with the power generating/charging abilities from the hybrid system would be a perfect setup for dual battery straight from the factory.

What do you all think?

 

[67cj5]

Can eTorque be considered a dual battery setup? Like the dual battery setup's people install on there Jeeps and Toyota's for over-landing? As I watched this video by FCA he mentions (around 3min mark) how the 48V battery pack keeps the 12V battery charged. I have a portable 12V fridge that I would like to keep in the truck bed, so I'm wondering if I could run cable directly from my 12V battery to my bed for this. It seems that having the additional capacity of the 48V pack, along with the power generating/charging abilities would be a perfect setup for dual battery straight from the factory.

What do you all think?

Why is it 48v, Is this truck some kind of Hybrid ?

 

[Charp]

Why is it 48v, Is this truck some kind of Hybrid ?

Yes, they call it a "mild" hybrid.

 

[mrfoamy]

I have wondered idea how far in the future is this for truck campers. Almost certainly big batteries and 120-240 volt inverters are in our future, but how far is the question.

 

[67cj5]

Nice, I like that Idea,

In the video it says it has a 12v side, So I think if you had another 12v battery on that side of things then you should be good to go, Have you asked Dodge about adding another AUX battery to power accessories, Because this is a new Idea when it comes to trucks my guess is that very few people here would know enough about how it works or even if it is possible to add another battery, ?

 

[67cj5]

I have wondered idea how far in the future is this for truck campers. Almost certainly big batteries and 120-240 volt inverters are in our future, but how far is the question.

LOL, All my inverters are 240v, but that all depends on which country you live in,

 

[Charp]

Nice, I like that Idea,

In the video it says it has a 12v side, So I think if you had another 12v battery on that side of things then you should be good to go, Have you asked Dodge about adding another AUX battery to power accessories, Because this is a new Idea when it comes to trucks my guess is that very few people here would know enough about how it works or even if it is possible to add another battery, ?

I agree with you. I've posted this question on other RAM forums and get no responses. I also have another AUX battery that I'd like to incorporate someday. I'm now thinking of using the 7-pin trailer connector as my power source for the fridge. It has a constant 12V supply from this pin and if this hybrid system works like I think it does, then I should be able to run the fridge over-night without draining the starter battery. I'm taking a 1200 mile trip next weekend and will give it a try. I'll keep a mini jump-pack in the truck, just in case it does drain the battery. Will be a good test.

 

[67cj5]

You could always run a feed from the existing 12v battery to an AUX 12v battery and that would double the Ah which should give you double the run time that way you won't be breaking in to any circuits until you can find out more about it,

 

[rkfoote]

I wouldn't count on it. The battery is only 430 watt hours (mostly just used for engine start/stop). My guess (only guessing) is that the battery+starter/generator only provides power to the 12v battery in the 'run' state.
(Also a bit annoying is the ACC mode automatically turns off after 20 minutes no matter how must solar you have on your roof)

 

[Charp]

I completed my 3k mile journey and decided to incorporate my 12V AUX 100ah battery. I used an RV 7-pin adapter/cable and ran it under the back bumper and into the truck bed, via one of the factory holes next to a tie down. I then terminated the 12v and ground leads from that cable to an Anderson plug and connected to the aux battery. This aux battery is housed in the Minn-Kota trolling motor power box, so it already has breakers and easy-to-connect external battery terminals which I also connected to an Anderson plug. I then had my 12V fridge connected to the aux battery with the same method.
This setup worked really well. The truck kept my aux battery charged while I drove and the aux battery provided power while stopped. It worked well because of the long drive times. I do have a small 50W solar panel that I may add into the equation down the road.

 

[shade]

I completed my 3k mile journey and decided to incorporate my 12V AUX 100ah battery. I used an RV 7-pin adapter/cable and ran it under the back bumper and into the truck bed, via one of the factory holes next to a tie down. I then terminated the 12v and ground leads from that cable to an Anderson plug and connected to the aux battery. This aux battery is housed in the Minn-Kota trolling motor power box, so it already has breakers and easy-to-connect external battery terminals which I also connected to an Anderson plug. I then had my 12V fridge connected to the aux battery with the same method.
This setup worked really well. The truck kept my aux battery charged while I drove and the aux battery provided power while stopped. It worked well because of the long drive times. I do have a small 50W solar panel that I may add into the equation down the road.

Simple, and gets the job done. If it's a lead acid battery, you'll extend its life by making sure it's fully charged occasionally. It may not be getting to 100% the way you're using it.

 

[Photobug]

Simple, and gets the job done. If it's a lead acid battery, you'll extend its life by making sure it's fully charged occasionally. It may not be getting to 100% the way you're using it.

I am going to second Shade's opinion here. As long as you are driving each day this system will work, but likely not charging your aux battery fully. When you get home, make sure you charge the battery fully to ensure it's topped off every so often.

Other things to consider:

The seven pin wire is designed to bring lights to the back of the truck the wire is not heavy enough gauge to provide an optimum charging voltage (see voltage drop.)

If your system does not have a cut off, (solenoid, etc) it is possible when running the fridge from the aux battery you are drawing from possibly all of the batteries from the truck. If you don't hang out for more than a day or two before driving, it won't likely be a problem but the potential to not be able to start your truck exists.

The fuse on the trolling motor power box does not protect the 7 pin wiring leading to the back of the truck. You need to fuse nearest the source (battery), otherwise the fuse "may" protect from a fire but only after the wire melts.

Having just watched the video, that is one sophisticated truck. The last thing you want to do ever is to drain this 48v battery this system can't be cheap. I would hope Dodge has done something to protect that battery from a parasitic draw, a fridge, causing damage, if not make sure you protect this likely, very expensive battery.

One last addition, that is a sharp looking truck. I like the part of the video where they talk about some features of the cabin mounted battery that I did not really understand while showing you all the cool ******** the rear seats could do. I drive a Cummins Dodge and frequent a forum related to that. While the Cummins guys could likely wrench circles around this forum, I don't go there for electric advice. Your truck is way cool/sophisticated good luck figuring out what is going on under the hood or behind the seat.

What kind of mileage did you get on your 3k trip? Care to share some photos?

 

[Buddha.]

The fuse on the trolling motor power box does not protect the 7 pin wiring leading to the back of the truck. You need to fuse nearest the source (battery), otherwise the fuse "may" protect from a fire but only after the wire melts.

Are you suggesting the factory trailer wiring is not fused from the factory?
I don't know about his ram but my chevy has a bunch of fuses in the fuse block just for the individual trailer wires.

When i added a topper to my truck I tapped into the fifth wheel wiring harness to run a couple dome lights. That 12v constant on wire is 10 guage and fused at 20 amps. And yes voltage at that wire is usually a couple tenths lower than battery voltage.

 

[Charp]

I checked my aux battery voltage after being parked a few days and it was 13V. I'm quite surprised how it has actually charged. My original goal was just to keep a charge while driving, but it did charge as well. May be using more of the 48V battery to do so, but did a good job. I will only use this setup for long trips and won't be running my fridge long term. The fridge has worked great and it's one of those Amazon made in China 12V models that look like an ARB.
I was getting over 21mpg with this etorque system on my trip and then came the wind. We were traveling in North Dakota when the blizzard hit. MPG dropped to 15 because of constant wind. Had to cut our trip short because of that crazy October storm, even for North Dakota standards.

 

[shade]

Having just watched the video, that is one sophisticated truck. The last thing you want to do ever is to drain this 48v battery this system can't be cheap. I would hope Dodge has done something to protect that battery from a parasitic draw, a fridge, causing damage, if not make sure you protect this likely, very expensive battery.

I'd want to know more about how it works, too.

I imagine it's like a hybrid car's 12V system, where the 12V side is charged off the main battery, with management in place to protect it all.