Power Option For Fridge In Part Time Rig

[Ubiety]

I do not like to mess with factory wiring, I have installed a switch pro system and a winch which operate directly off the factory battery, Everything in the cockpit and accessories used while driving all run through the switch pro, disconnect one wire and its all isolated, same with the winch. Everything camping related (back of house) is run off a house battery where the back seat used to be, this is charged thru a RedArc manager 30, with DCDC charging via a #6 wire from the factory battery via a 50 amp fused disconnect, one push of a button disconnects the system from vehicle battery and back to stock to get me home if there is a failure. Everythign in the back is controlled via Redvision and protected with fuses and low voltate shut off. The Jeep has its own low voltage or timed shut off of its accessories if I am a putz and leave something turned on. lastly have a jump pack and jumper cables as a last resort, but traditionaly only use those on other rigs so far. We also carry a Jackery (300 in summer and 1000 in winter) to take up into the tent for charging things and running an electric blanket in the winter season which is a part of the husband / wife agreement of happy camping trips (and yes I do apprecate it in the winter too).

Sounds a lot like my setup except Voswitch and Renogy parts. Winch runs straight to battery via solenoid that is controlled by the Voswitch, compressor is run off of a relay that is connected to battery and energized by the Voswitch, the Renogy alternator sense wire runs to Voswitch as well. A "weird"(?) thing I have noticed with the Renogy/alternator-sense is that it only affects current draw if the charging system is < ~13.4 volts - meaning if the alternator is charging at full bore (say 14.6 volts) the Renogy will draw current even if the alternator sense circuit is open via the Voswitch. If the battery/alternator are at say 12.2 volts then it seems to respect the alternator sense wire condition and only charge if the circuit is closed. Not sure that will make sense and it seems a little weird to me but I am ok with it because charging the house battery when there is an excess of voltage is ok if I am understanding things correctly. I run offroad lights, radios, etc directly off of the Voswitch (their current draw is well within spec for the Voswitch). I do not have the Voswitch connected to the ignition, meaning it can power on and drive things at all times. A bit unsafe but how I want it to be in order to run radios without the truck ignition on. I have trained myself to turn it off but some sort of automagical low voltage cutoff would probably be beneficial. I made my house battery/charger portable so it can be yanked out of the truck to run stuff at a base camp if I desire. Its all just a big toy for me ;) I do want to add another big solenoid to disrupt the main power cable running from the battery to the Renogy in the bed of the truck, but it is fused and safe. Another project for a rainy day!

 

[Ubiety]

I've actually wondered if in an emergency, the auxiliary battery would have enough CCA juice to start the engine or not. Switching the wiring would be tricky (at least in the WK2) as there's not much room to move in that tiny compartment under the seat.

Wouldn't it have to? I mean its purpose is to restart the engine when autostart is in use? Or is it only to power accessories when the autostart has stopped the motor? I don't know, don't care for autostart and leave it disabled and don't think about it. I'd rather pay the toll in a little gas use than new starters. I work from home so my truck sees mostly out-of-city driving where autostart is not a huge factor. Now if I could only train my wife to turn it off in her car life would be complete! Hahaha

 

[OTH Overland]

Sounds a lot like my setup except Voswitch and Renogy parts. Winch runs straight to battery via solenoid that is controlled by the Voswitch, compressor is run off of a relay that is connected to battery and energized by the Voswitch, the Renogy alternator sense wire runs to Voswitch as well. A "weird"(?) thing I have noticed with the Renogy/alternator-sense is that it only affects current draw if the charging system is < ~13.4 volts - meaning if the alternator is charging at full bore (say 14.6 volts) the Renogy will draw current even if the alternator sense circuit is open via the Voswitch. If the battery/alternator are at say 12.2 volts then it seems to respect the alternator sense wire condition and only charge if the circuit is closed. Not sure that will make sense and it seems a little weird to me but I am ok with it because charging the house battery when there is an excess of voltage is ok if I am understanding things correctly. I run offroad lights, radios, etc directly off of the Voswitch (their current draw is well within spec for the Voswitch). I do not have the Voswitch connected to the ignition, meaning it can power on and drive things at all times. A bit unsafe but how I want it to be in order to run radios without the truck ignition on. I have trained myself to turn it off but some sort of automagical low voltage cutoff would probably be beneficial. I made my house battery/charger portable so it can be yanked out of the truck to run stuff at a base camp if I desire. Its all just a big toy for me ;) I do want to add another big solenoid to disrupt the main power cable running from the battery to the Renogy in the bed of the truck, but it is fused and safe. Another project for a rainy day!

My switchpro is also connected direct, it does have ignitiion sense so I can program each switch to work with key on or always as I wish. Radios and interior lighting have a long time delay so I can use them with key off, but will turn off eventually if I forget in my old age. On the ram, I have a switch that controls the standard horn vs train horn using the stock steering wheel control, turns it back to stock horn when key is off so I don't wake the neigborhood (anymore) when locking the doors with the remote

 

[Ubiety]

train horn

Well now you have my interest ;) The switchpro sounds pretty configurable, cool! I have not messed with the Voswitch config too much, maybe I should! Oh yeah, waiting for the rain to return ;)

 

[OTH Overland]

In a WK2, the fuse box is a bit further and takes a little more room. There's next to no room in the WK2 engine bay without some major modifications. Hell, they don't even have the battery in there, it's under the seat. :)

On our Grand Cherokee we use a slide in box with one large drawer and an Engel 30qt drawer fridge (currently the drawer holds tools and recovery, working on building a rear seat delete with storage and moving those there, then the drawer becomes food/kitchen storage. The box uses stock anchor points in the Jeep to secure it. When we go on more than a day trip we put two totes on top of the box with camping gear etc. This Jeep is Michelle's daily driver so we keep it light and clutter free most of the time, I am planning on pulling the spare tire and put it on a swing out carrier, then I can use the space where it was for an ARB compressor, DCDC charger and a house battery, last thing I want to do is pull the fridge/drawer cabinet and all the related stuff out to change a tire on the side of the freeway

 

[lhoffm4]

I didn’t read all the replies (I apologize) but before all the SoGens and Solar Panels became a “thing”, we would run a second battery with an isolator from the engine compartment to where ever you wanted it. If you want fancy-pick up a battery box already wired for a 12v plug and maybe a couple USB ports. You will probably pay about $40-$50 for the box and what ever battery you chose will determine that. If cost is your primary concern, I’d say buy anew batt for your vehicle and use the old one for your battery bank. If not,the bigger the better. Just be careful how much you discharge it unless you always have it being charged or you decide to get a LiFePO4 bank.