Show off your aux fuse panels.

Is the high amp relay acting like a battery isolater, but instead of isolating a battery powers the panel when the alternator is engages?

 

Went through pretty much every page and I gotta say I like all these different custom ideas.

thanks to all

 

The SPOD is kept my cables all managed and it’s nice to know everything is fused and clean

 

has anyone ever put their fuse panel in the cubby in the side of the bed? im thinking about moving mine there.

 

That's gonna require you to run a lot more wire than you otherwise would with it in the engine bay. Is there a compelling reason to relocate it to the bed?

 

I think it would just be neater and eventually I want to add a switch pro for more accessories. right now I have the blue sea panel and a rats nest of wire under the hood. I realize the wire gauge would all have to change.

 

YMMV but to me that seems like a huge PITA for little benefit. If you've got the time and skills go for it! I'd be interested to see how that project turns out for you. Post pics and report back if you do it.

 

I thought of the same but like others have said it's totally opposite of where you want to be. Unless you want most switches located in bed then it may not be so bad....

But also in general it's not good to run heavy gauge hot wires through frame , cabin , along chassis etc. That would be required I think if you went that route (from battery and fuse back to panel in bed)

 

It depends on how many circuits you need or if you have your primary or a secondary battery in the bed. Lots of scenarios for either/both locations.

 

That's why I asked if there was a compelling reason for moving it there, i.e. second battery in bed.

 

I think it should also be considered if there’s a compelling reason for putting it all in the engine bay. The assumption is often yes but that assumption is often made with seemingly little forthought. ANY location should be thoroughly examined. One of the real problems with all-in-one panels is the sheer number of wires that come together. Multiple smaller panels can greatly improve accessibility while also reducing the amount of wire in the same fashion as a house with sub panels along with a main distribution panel.

 

I have a blue sea panel in my driver cubby but this is dedicated power for the bed area accessories (fan, lights, fridge, etc for my drifter camper). Additionally, I have my compressor mounted in the driver cubby also so I ran 1 4ga power wire (with a circuit breaker) from the battery in the engine bay to the cubby. The power cable goes into a splitter and one end provides power to my blue sea panel, the other goes to my compressor. I'll almost never run the compressor at the same time as any stuff on the blue sea panel so figured I could use one power wire. Been running like that for a year with no issues so far.

For more context, I do have a bussman fuse box in the engine bay for accessories in the front and in the cab.

 

Did you make that box? Don’t think I’ve seen something like that before. Are your relays inside? How do you access the oem fuse box now?

Don’t think you need to tap into ignition unless you’re worried about turning something on and draining your battery. But not totally sure what you’ve got going on here

 

I'm surprised I don't see more panels on the passenger side of the engine bay. That is where I would put one when I start adding more accessories.

 

I’ve thought about it simply because there’s more space to work with, but the drivers side makes more sense for wire routing, especially if you’re running in-cab switches. You just pop right through the firewall boot and come out under the steering wheel (with easy access to the interior fuse box and oem switches for tapping ignition or dimmer power) and run up the A-pillar if going overhead. You can do something similar on the pass side, but I don’t think it would be nearly as easy. Plus, the cable run to the battery is like 12” instead of ~60”.

Besides the extra space, one perk of a passenger side install is it’s much easier to run wire down that side of the truck when going to any accessories in the rear - the gas tank and other shit on the drivers side is kinda difficult to route around. But overall not worth it imo. Any specific reason you want to put it there?

Oh yeah and you need to leave that space on the passenger side empty so you can install a supercharger

 

Shortest battery cables is one reason, existing firewall boot is another. But if you relocate the battery or install a 2nd house battery both of those considerations become moot plus there are several other grommeted locations through the cab body for wire runs. Figure out what your likely needs are plus possible upgrades then decide what/where. All in one is nice but multiple smaller panels can make sense too and reduce the size of the main cable feeding each. For in-cab accessories a panel in the cab works well having a single #10 wire supplying it paired with center console switches for things like aftermarket seat heaters, jump seat power port for fridge, air switch controls, etc. Manual trannies have an excellent spot under the cup holders that’s easier to access than the stock location.
Exterior lighting calls for an exterior panel with ceiling or left of steering switches.
In-bed accessories call for a panel & switches there.
For just a few accessories separate panels won’t make sense but it doesn’t take many extras to turn what you thought was going to be a simple set up into that rats’ nest you were trying to avoid.
Having multiple panels each with some space available means more options down the road for additions you haven’t thought of rather than one panel that’s full or nearly so.

 

Understood All, thanks for the input. I just thought the less crowding around the master cylinder, the better.

 

I had run the six wire connector to the cab before I realized I only had five relays to use. I think I finally found a use for that sixth wire - my GMRS radio. Happy accidents.

 

I used it to trigger a 40A relay. Both the rtmr and blue seas are limited to 30A per circuit.

 

Gonna bump this as I was going over my set up with an electrician. For those running 4 gauge battery cables, ensure your breaker is max 80 AMPS.
If it's thicker you can do a 100 amp breaker, but most set ups I've seen are 4 gauge cables. Including mine. As 4 gauge is rated to ~82 amps only.

It's mentioned in this thread before and others but design the breaker point in the system first and go from there. Safest way anyways.