My trailer electrical box

[jwilson2598]

Thought I would share this over here since I posted it in my trailer thread. The idea was to put together a electric box for my trailer that could support long weekend adventures, with the ability to do dry camping as well as campground activity.

I picked up a 5 lb propane tank and mount for my grill and other propane needs, and got that mounted up along with the tongue box a fellow ExPo member graciously donated to the cause.

I then electrical system. The goal was to have a large deep cycle 12V battery, couple of sockets, and DC as well as AC recharging. Components ended up being the following:

Duracell Group 31 AGM battery - Deka remake for only $179
Toad-Charge 10A DC to DC charger
Ctek 4.3 MUS AC charger
Blue Sea 6 circuit fuse panel and battery cutoff switch
Blue Sea 12V socket
MinnKota Trolling motor plug for larger wires on fridge circuit
Cobra 800W inverter (collecting dust on shelf)
15GFCI outlet and cover
NOCO charge plug

I took it on the maiden voyage this past weekend, and was able to run my ARB fridge and do some electronics charging in a 3 day trip with no problems.

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[jwilson2598]

I also added a NOCO plug to pass through the AC power. It's hard to see in the pictures, but the outlet is actually wired with a plug, so it can be hooked to the 3 way on the pass through plug for shore power distribution, or the inverter for dry camping.

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[jwilson2598]

Finally, here's the basic diagram for what I did. The dotted lines from the AC outlet represent that it can be plugged into the inverter for battery only, off-grid use, or plugged into the 3 way tap for distribution of shore power if at a campground or somewhere else with power available.

View attachment 300045

Solar will probably be added in the future, but this is a good start for now and got me through this past weekend.


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[tarditi]

This is a great setup, BTW - I saw it in person this weekend and JWilson showed me how everything is built and configured - quite impressive!

 

[Srpat]

Nice setup. Very helpful diagram. Why no fuse before the blue sea panel? How would your diagram change to add solar? Any thoughts on a charging relay (blue sea acr) to prevent discharging vehicle battery when not driving, or do you just plan to unplug the trailer when camped? And, since I'm asking a few questions, any idea if you could upgrade the vehicles always hot wire to the trailer to get more of a charge to the battery when driving?

 

[jwilson2598]

Nice setup. Very helpful diagram. Why no fuse before the blue sea panel? How would your diagram change to add solar? Any thoughts on a charging relay (blue sea acr) to prevent discharging vehicle battery when not driving, or do you just plan to unplug the trailer when camped? And, since I'm asking a few questions, any idea if you could upgrade the vehicles always hot wire to the trailer to get more of a charge to the battery when driving?

I figured with every circuit being fused, I should be fine on not fusing the power prior to the panel. You could probably add something if desired, although the I might think more circuit breaker.

The ToadCharge setup I use already has a protection circuit that keeps the trailer battery from draining the battery on the tow vehicle, so unplugging is not necessary. The Toad Charge actually calls for 12 gauge wire, but I used 10 both on the tow vehicle and all the way to the charger. It will charge up to 10 amp which should be sufficient for my needs. At MAOF, I hooked it up once for a bit just to see and in the short time I ran it, I was able to watch the voltage at the fridge come up watching the remote monitor.

 

[dsm02c]

Great setup! Going to imitate this on my trailer, have been brainstorming adding power to my trailer and this just made it much easier! Thank you!

 

[jwilson2598]

It's been a while, but I finally got around to adding solar to this

I've been wanting to add solar options to my power box to allow for charging when camping without having to use the Jeep. Recently I ordered a Renogy 100W panel and Ctek D250S dual charger. The Ctek will allow me to replace my existing Toad Charger for vehicle charging and incorporate the solar as well. It should also charge faster than the Toad Charge did.

Here's the setup inside now:

I also added an extra waterproof high current socket for hooking up the panel below my normal outlets. I also wanted a quick visual check, so I added a voltmeter as well so I can check the battery voltage at a glance:

 

[jwilson2598]

The board does not remove, but it's not bad at all to get to the fuses. The cover snaps off easily and I can reach right in and change them out if need be.

 

[EmersonHart13]

Looks great, have you updated your diagram? Thanks

 

[jwilson2598]

Looks great, have you updated your diagram? Thanks

Hmmm, guess I should do that

Diagram has been updated to reflect the latest changes:

Addition of solar
Addition of 2 extra 12V outlets
Addition of voltmeter
Addition of trailer brakes and backup battery for those
Replacement of Toad Charge with Ctek D250S
Moving inverter behind cutoff switch to prevent any parasitic draw

 

[KyleRogers]

GREAT setup! Thanks for the inspiration!

Question for ya: how did you connect the inverter to the 15GFCI outlet? Hoping to do the same

Kyle

 

[Tdimmitt]

Is it possible to get an updated diagram and photos please.

 

[Hooligans805]

It's been a while, but I finally got around to adding solar to this

I've been wanting to add solar options to my power box to allow for charging when camping without having to use the Jeep. Recently I ordered a Renogy 100W panel and Ctek D250S dual charger. The Ctek will allow me to replace my existing Toad Charger for vehicle charging and incorporate the solar as well. It should also charge faster than the Toad Charge did.

Here's the setup inside now:

I also added an extra waterproof high current socket for hooking up the panel below my normal outlets. I also wanted a quick visual check, so I added a voltmeter as well so I can check the battery voltage at a glance:

For some reasons I can't see your pics of the new setup. What you have done so far is awesome! Great job! I would like to install something like this on my trailer but I am still so confused on where to start. I would love to get some kind of electric in the trailer for some led lights before july.

 

[jwilson2598]

GREAT setup! Thanks for the inspiration!

Question for ya: how did you connect the inverter to the 15GFCI outlet? Hoping to do the same

Kyle

Sorry I didn’t see this until now...

I have the outlet wired to a standard 3 prong plug. That way I can either plug it into the inverter when off grid camping, or I plug it into a 3 way tap which is hooked up to my AC inlet for camping somewhere with hookups.