kiloxraysierra
New member
Hi Folks,
I have a RAM 1500 (gasser) that is my daily driver. After a year of waiting, I picked up a GFC camper in December. I chose this camper because I like that it is mainly a truck cap with a wedge tent on top - the truck bed can still be used as a truck bed. The plan is to load up what I need for the weekend (or the occasional 2 week trip) on Friday and pull it all back out on Sunday night. Most of my camping is in the spring/summer/fall, mostly weekend trips with occasional 2 week trips where I'm never in the same spot for more than 2 days.
I will have fairly modest power needs in the bed of the truck: ARB 37qt fridge, maybe some LED lights, USB ports for charging iPhone/iPad and maybe an infrequently used HAM radio (FT-818ND or FT-847). I already have a 50AH Bioenno Power LiFePO4 battery in a PowerWerx battery box with an added ARB specific 12V plug port. I'm aware of the temperature charging restrictions for LiFePO4 batteries and at the moment, I don't think this will be an issue. Any cold weather trips will be short enough that the battery shouldn't need a charge at all.
To use the fridge in the back seat of the truck last summer, I ran wires (10AWG/15A fuse) direct from the battery stud in the engine fuse box & a ground near the battery to the ARB 12V plug I installed in the back seat. I plug the fridge into the truck while driving and then switch to the battery box when I arrive in camp.
I would like the solution in the bed of the truck to be a bit more "plug it and forget it", so I've been reading through the forums and putting together bits and pieces that I think should do the trick. I'm no electrical engineer though, so I'm hoping some of you kind folks can provide some feedback. I'm not tied to any of the bits I have now, so definitely willing to entertain alternatives.
Dedicated +/- cables from the engine bay (battery stud in fuse box, nearby ground). Probably 4AWG as this is likely 15ft one way (30ft round trip) with a 30A fuse on the + side right at the battery stud. I'd like to terminate with a SB50 PowerPole connector mounted in the bed (should probably have a 30A fuse here as well).
Everything else will go in a hard box that can be removed. I'll have another SB50 PowerPole connector mounted on the box as input to a Blue Sea ML-ACR (7622). I probably won't use the engine isolation features or the remote control. This will be the input to a Victron Orion-Tr 12/12-18 set to 14.5V output feeding the Power Supply input of a West Mountain Radio Epic PWRgate. The 50AH LiFePO4 will be the battery (charging limited to 10A by the PWRgate) and at some point in the future I may add Solar directly to the input on the PWRgate. The Load Out leads will connect to a Blue Sea 5025 Fuse Block with appropriate fuses to run panel mounts in the hard case for the ARB 12V plug, USB plugs and probably 12V socket plug as well.
Friday night I load everything up, connect a jumper between the SB50 in the bed of the truck and the hard box and I should be good to go, right? ?
I am a bit concerned the ML-ACR won't function correctly in this configuration... I want to ensure the hard box isn't pulling from the starter battery when the truck is turned off.
Looking forward to your feedback.
I have a RAM 1500 (gasser) that is my daily driver. After a year of waiting, I picked up a GFC camper in December. I chose this camper because I like that it is mainly a truck cap with a wedge tent on top - the truck bed can still be used as a truck bed. The plan is to load up what I need for the weekend (or the occasional 2 week trip) on Friday and pull it all back out on Sunday night. Most of my camping is in the spring/summer/fall, mostly weekend trips with occasional 2 week trips where I'm never in the same spot for more than 2 days.
I will have fairly modest power needs in the bed of the truck: ARB 37qt fridge, maybe some LED lights, USB ports for charging iPhone/iPad and maybe an infrequently used HAM radio (FT-818ND or FT-847). I already have a 50AH Bioenno Power LiFePO4 battery in a PowerWerx battery box with an added ARB specific 12V plug port. I'm aware of the temperature charging restrictions for LiFePO4 batteries and at the moment, I don't think this will be an issue. Any cold weather trips will be short enough that the battery shouldn't need a charge at all.
To use the fridge in the back seat of the truck last summer, I ran wires (10AWG/15A fuse) direct from the battery stud in the engine fuse box & a ground near the battery to the ARB 12V plug I installed in the back seat. I plug the fridge into the truck while driving and then switch to the battery box when I arrive in camp.
I would like the solution in the bed of the truck to be a bit more "plug it and forget it", so I've been reading through the forums and putting together bits and pieces that I think should do the trick. I'm no electrical engineer though, so I'm hoping some of you kind folks can provide some feedback. I'm not tied to any of the bits I have now, so definitely willing to entertain alternatives.
Dedicated +/- cables from the engine bay (battery stud in fuse box, nearby ground). Probably 4AWG as this is likely 15ft one way (30ft round trip) with a 30A fuse on the + side right at the battery stud. I'd like to terminate with a SB50 PowerPole connector mounted in the bed (should probably have a 30A fuse here as well).
Everything else will go in a hard box that can be removed. I'll have another SB50 PowerPole connector mounted on the box as input to a Blue Sea ML-ACR (7622). I probably won't use the engine isolation features or the remote control. This will be the input to a Victron Orion-Tr 12/12-18 set to 14.5V output feeding the Power Supply input of a West Mountain Radio Epic PWRgate. The 50AH LiFePO4 will be the battery (charging limited to 10A by the PWRgate) and at some point in the future I may add Solar directly to the input on the PWRgate. The Load Out leads will connect to a Blue Sea 5025 Fuse Block with appropriate fuses to run panel mounts in the hard case for the ARB 12V plug, USB plugs and probably 12V socket plug as well.
Friday night I load everything up, connect a jumper between the SB50 in the bed of the truck and the hard box and I should be good to go, right? ?
I am a bit concerned the ML-ACR won't function correctly in this configuration... I want to ensure the hard box isn't pulling from the starter battery when the truck is turned off.
Looking forward to your feedback.