ITTOG
Well-known member
That works, or build your own. I wanted mine to work while I was towing my trailer.
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Gladiator Pop-Up Pass Through Camper Build
- Thread starter Mules
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... That doesn't look like a 5 gallon bucket with a Gamma Seal, mounted on a roof-rack, just waiting to be driven over rough-roads or trails. ... Gamma Seal® Lids | U.S. Plastic Corp.
The Gamma Seal® bucket lid turns pails into reusable containers. To use, tap the adapter ring (includes rubber gasket) on the bucket with...
97heavyweight
Well-known member
Have you fitted the camper to the truck and driven around yet to see how it does with the flex? I know on a tacoma the bed flexes quite a bit more than you may suspect. If it were me personally i'd test that before putting more time and money into it.
As far as the above setup goes. Do you not care about charging with your alternator? If you want that you will need a DC to DC charge controller. I picked up Renogy's 30amp DC to DC charge controller and it works great.
For the battery i recommend buy once, cry once. I wish that is what i had done. I'm right now limping along an 220ah AGM. As long as I have good weather and or drive every day it is fine.
As far as the above setup goes. Do you not care about charging with your alternator? If you want that you will need a DC to DC charge controller. I picked up Renogy's 30amp DC to DC charge controller and it works great.
For the battery i recommend buy once, cry once. I wish that is what i had done. I'm right now limping along an 220ah AGM. As long as I have good weather and or drive every day it is fine.
Mules
Well-known member
Thanks for the response.
1) I've heard from a couple Tacoma owners talk about bed twist. I love Toyota, as a former Landcruiser and Tundra owner myself. I've read a couple articles that say Toyota achieves some of the best 4 wheeling capability by allowing the bed to twist. Also I understand that some Tacoma beds are composite, instead of steal, and I'm not sure if this adds to the twist. Jeep, on the other hand intentionally tries to limit frame twist. The rock crawling world created frame stiffeners for the old TJs and JKs. Also the Jeep JL frame uses a stronger type of steel to achieve 18% stronger frame than it's predecessor the JK. When I did my own frame flex testing, I was surprised to only get 3/8" of twist from the JT. Although I didn't measure it, my old Tundra looked like it twisted inches. I will take your advice and do some testing before I disconnect the sway bars and go for full articulation.
2 & 3) The DC to DC charger would work pretty good if I team it up with a fast charging LiPO battery. There's some 100AH LiPOs that can recharge in 2 hours. Like you said, if you go wheeling once in a while, you could get away without solar. There's a lot of choices. Solar charging or Alternator charging or big enough battery to last, or all the above? Looks like I need to increase my budget
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Mules
Well-known member
Another thought about electric vs. propane.
Southern rigs, (Australian African, Texas and Baja) have plenty of sun making solar/electric a great option. Northern rigs (Rocky Mountains, Canadian) are pretty concerned about heating, making propane or diesel a great option. This leaves this Midwestern boy confused. ?
Southern rigs, (Australian African, Texas and Baja) have plenty of sun making solar/electric a great option. Northern rigs (Rocky Mountains, Canadian) are pretty concerned about heating, making propane or diesel a great option. This leaves this Midwestern boy confused. ?
97heavyweight
Well-known member
So for me as someone living in the PNW. I have 2 100w solar panels on the roof. Those feed into a Renogy 30amp dc to dc charge controller. Then my starter battery also feeds into the dc to dc charge controller so I can charge with the alternator or solar. When in camp my system loads will use both the starter and house battery until 12.8V then the charge controller will isolate the starter battery and house battery. I have a write up on my thread about it as well as a diagram. I went camping this weekend and with my fridge and both fans running all night I dropped to 12.4V and by 845am my battery was at 14.6V. Before this winter I will be upgrading my battery to a heated battle born lithium ion 100ah battery.
dstefan
Well-known member
FWIW, I’m running a 100ah Battleborn house battery powering LED lights, ARB 50 qt, device charging, Maxxair fan, and a 12v heating pad for my back. I went with a National Luna power pack to house it as I wanted easily removable. Ive never dropped below 80% and the 25amp DCDC charger in the Powerpack charges it incredibly fast. Ive quit carrying my 100 watt solar panel unless I know I’ll be somewhere for 4-5 days stationary , which is nearly never.
Think you should look at a DCDC charger over solar. Much more reliable and effecient.
Edit: Mario at ATOverland is a big proponent of the National Luna DcDc chargers and specs them in his builds. I see why after a years experience with it.
Think you should look at a DCDC charger over solar. Much more reliable and effecient.
Edit: Mario at ATOverland is a big proponent of the National Luna DcDc chargers and specs them in his builds. I see why after a years experience with it.
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Mules
Well-known member
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dstefan
Well-known member
They do. I’d also point out you can just use their DCDC charger without the expense and ports, etc of the the power pack.
Mules
Well-known member
Would you recommend the NLDC25 or NLDC 40 (25 or 40 amp)? I think this depends on the battery charging rate. Does 25amp sound right for a 100AH LiPO battery and 40amp for 200AH LiPOs? Also Redarc looks a bit cheaper, any opinions?
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