Member III
2020 Ram 2500 Power Wagon Build
- Thread starter Roloc
- Start date
Enthusiast III
Ack sorry this took so long to respond to I totally missed it. It's right around 31.5" I have a molle panel on there so that's why it's not exact.
Enthusiast III
I have been thinking about this project and trying to plan it for a year and then waiting on parts and the time to finish for months! But I have done it. Dual battery setup on the 2020 Ram Power Wagon complete and ran it to a box with the bluetooth Garmin PowerSwitch to control from my phone or Garmin Overlander as well as a fuse block for future accessories in the truck bed/rack.
Below is my writeup from this thread where a BUNCH of Overland Bound folks helped me figure all of this out.
Optima Yellowtop DH7 for the battery and the NHOverland Battery Mount the mount was key to this whole thing to my knowledge there are no other options to do this for the Gas Ram 2500s 2019+. That is charged from the starter battery by the Redarc BCDC charger. I will eventually put an Anderson plug on there for solar and then either charge temporarily or permanently but I haven't figured that out yet. The reason for this being is that for some reason Ram decided to put the ECU there where it isn't there on the diesel engines so you can't use the factory battery mount like the diesels have... trust me I tried....
Also not particularly satisfied with those battery terminals. I may swap them out. But I do LOVE the blue sea terminal fuses. Great option that saves wiring and less connections is always better I think.
All of that through a 2/0 cable to this "custom" built box that is meant to take up as little space as possible in the RSI box so I can still use it for storage. This is where eventually I will run all of the auxiliary lighting and hard wire the fridge to also a rear facing dash cam. The big kicker Is I have a 50amp Anderson plug I mounted on the top that you can't see. I plan on using that to charge the trailer as well as plug my portable air compressor when needed. I am also thinking about hooking up a permanent compressor for the air bags to keep them inflated to a constant pressure. So lots of fun to be had now that is accessible.
So yeah pretty happy with the results. A few things I am going to fix like vacuuming around the box to get all the saw dust away and waiting for big enough heat shrink for the big cables but after that it's just all about getting things wired up to the box and getting out there!
Below is my writeup from this thread where a BUNCH of Overland Bound folks helped me figure all of this out.
Optima Yellowtop DH7 for the battery and the NHOverland Battery Mount the mount was key to this whole thing to my knowledge there are no other options to do this for the Gas Ram 2500s 2019+. That is charged from the starter battery by the Redarc BCDC charger. I will eventually put an Anderson plug on there for solar and then either charge temporarily or permanently but I haven't figured that out yet. The reason for this being is that for some reason Ram decided to put the ECU there where it isn't there on the diesel engines so you can't use the factory battery mount like the diesels have... trust me I tried....
Also not particularly satisfied with those battery terminals. I may swap them out. But I do LOVE the blue sea terminal fuses. Great option that saves wiring and less connections is always better I think.
All of that through a 2/0 cable to this "custom" built box that is meant to take up as little space as possible in the RSI box so I can still use it for storage. This is where eventually I will run all of the auxiliary lighting and hard wire the fridge to also a rear facing dash cam. The big kicker Is I have a 50amp Anderson plug I mounted on the top that you can't see. I plan on using that to charge the trailer as well as plug my portable air compressor when needed. I am also thinking about hooking up a permanent compressor for the air bags to keep them inflated to a constant pressure. So lots of fun to be had now that is accessible.
So yeah pretty happy with the results. A few things I am going to fix like vacuuming around the box to get all the saw dust away and waiting for big enough heat shrink for the big cables but after that it's just all about getting things wired up to the box and getting out there!
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Member III
Member III
I like you power station setup. I plan to run half bins on both sides of my RSI SmartCap. I will mount my on board air system on one side and do a power setup on the other. For the power side I'm thinking about running a 25-40ah LiFePO4 battery connected to my 100w solar panel. That will run my fridge SmartCap lights and maybe even all my off road lights. That way my truck battery is just used for the truck. With the dogs using the space in front of the half bins and both bins already allocated for air and power, I'll need to find a good way/place to put my recovery gear.
Enthusiast III
Sounds like a plan the half bins are awesome. I have a full bin on the other side and that’s where I put the recovery gear. There is a weight limit of 55lbs on the full bins I’m not sure what the half bins are but gotta keep that in mind. Maybe under the backseat for the recovery gear?
Member III
RSI says the limit for half bins are 25lbs. I plan to attach the wire grating for the dog's create to the ends of the half bins. That should allow them to carry a bit more weight since they will be supported on one end from the bed. I don't think I'll need to go over teh 25lbs limit, but it can't hurt having the bins supported more. I'm thinking of adding some molly panels to the insides of the half bins and all of my straps could be attached to that. The traction boards may end up on top of the SmartCap along with the solar panel and other tools. The straps might also fit nicely in the under floor cubbies in the back seat area. I'm sure I'll have to play around with stuff to figure it all out.
Enthusiast III
Yeah for sure more support is better. That recovery gear gets heavy though which is why I meantioned it. Also you shouldcheck out icky concepts molle panels too. Really good stuff I may add them to the sides but I have them in the bulkhead and keep the portable compressor and my jack all secured against those.
Member III
Thanks, I'll checkout icky concepts. I run a molle panel on the front of my Gladiator's bed now. I have my hi-lift mounted to it and that works well.
Uberland
Rank VII
Influencer I
I've really appreciated your build thread, especially the RSI cap. How are you liking it now that you've owned it for a while? Is it insulated? I definitely like the look and the roof load potential, but I'd be looking to probably set up a sleeping option inside (hence my question on the insulation). Thanks!
Member III
Hey Roloc, what made you go with the PowerSwitch over something like the SwitchPros or the like?
Member III
I've got another question/ask for you if you don't mind. Can you measure the distance between the center most roof supports for me? I want to get some lights to go in there and thought I'd add them to the Christmas list for the wife, but my cap will not be here until next year.
Enthusiast III
Love it. It is not insulated though, I have only slept in the back once and it was fine but the low was only like 45. One thing to keep in mind is there is no way that I know of to lock them from the inside or open them so you have to rig something up to keep the door closed. I just use a rope, no biggie but a oversight in my opinion by RSI. I usually sleep in my Hiker Trailer these days.
Three reasons... 1) I already had a Garmin overlander which means I had the switch panel already installed and no need to run more wires. 2) I like the bluetooth app and it actually works, I had an spod before and the app was god awful, the Garmin one works fantastic. 3) You can program your own buttons, so like say you want three separate lights to come on at 50% (think rack lights and setting up camp) you can make one button that does that so it is very customizable. I don't know a ton about Switchpros but I know that wasn't possible with the sPod.
I'll have to do the measurements later, I am not near a tape measure.
Member III
Thanks Roloc. I've looked at the Garmin Overlander a few times in the past, but it never seemed to offer enough to justify the cost. I've always ran Gaia GPS on my 10" tablet for maps and just used my phone for the times I need on road nav. GPS and SOS is handled by an InReach Mini. I'll have to give it another look now that they have it working with some other modules. For the PowerSwitch, you still have to wire in your own fuses/relays correct?
Enthusiast III
no it’s got all of that built in. And yeah I mean the overlander is a bit overkill when compared to On-x or Gia or something but I like not having to download anything and then being able to just randomly look for dispersed campsites while out on the trail has saved us more than a few times with the overlander.
Enthusiast III
found a tape measure! It’s 41 inches also I’d look into their hide away table for in that space I have it and really like it
Member III
Thanks for the measurement. I was hoping to find the lights I want to mount inside the cap on a Black Friday sale, but it was not meant to be :( The table seems pretty cool, but I already have a nice aluminium folding table that I carry with me. Plus, $400 for a folding table is a bit much. I'd rather put that towards some other mods.
Member III
Enthusiast III
