Auxiliary battery setup

I installed an auxiliary battery system and happy with how it turned out. Was a tight fit behind the seats but got it figured out. System charges battery via solar and starter battery/alternator. DC to DC/MPPT solar charger, 100ah lithium battery, 6 slot fuse block, and 160w solar panel. Added 3 isolation switches to turn on/off solar charging, alternator charging, and positive bus. The Bluetooth modules for the renogy products work pretty good and gives tons of data on charger and battery. The panel in the bed has a USB C, USB, 12v plug, 2 Anderson power pole connectors at 30a each. I installed to mainly to run my fridge/freezer, camper shell lights, and to run and charge miscellaneous things. Figured I’d share.

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That is a nice clean setup. Thanks for sharing.

 

Very clean - Nice work!

 

Nice! Looks a lot cleaner than mine that I just finished. Crammed it all behind one seat so I could still use the other storage area.

 

I think yours looks great! I guess the major thing is how it functions.

 

I wish I could find some spare space like this in my access cab.

But ya, I have to agree 200% that's a very clean and professional looking installation!

 

I got a 200watt solar kit from Renogy that includes a 40a MPPT, 1000Watt inverter and 100ah Lipo4 heated battery. I'm adding in a 6 fuse panel for camper lights and charging ports for a fridge/phones. I'm really interested in setting mine up the same way you've done here.

 

I’ve liked mine for sure, been running my fridge for a month now and everything is working great. Plenty of power for whatever I’d really need, heck I just installed a roof fan in my shell.

 

how big of a fridge/freezer are you running? I'm surprised 100Ah is enough. Only asking because I've been dreaming up ideas for adding solar power to my deer stand

 

I have an iceco VL65 fairly nice size, I don’t remember the amp draw. This weekend has been the warmest I’ve used it in, 70 degrees and over night it drops the battery to 92%.

 

I am having an issue with my battery keeping my fridge power over about 10 hours of sitting in 80 deg+ temps, so looking at a second battery and some solar.
I was looking at the hood kits, I know they are more expensive, but I dont want to put a rack on my roof or shell.

I would like to know more about the fan on your shell

 

How does your wiring get from your cab to the bed? Any pics or tips you could give on that?

 

Wow, that's nice! Awesome work.

 

I was in 75-80 degree temps and didn’t drop below 80% on battery over night. Added a few pictures of the maxxair fan I installed, I like that it’s low profile and you can’t even see it up there because of my roof rack rails.

 

There is a rubber knockout in the center of truck about 8-10 inches from the end of the cab under truck. I ran the solar and bed wire through that than sealed it up.

 

Fantastic work! I've thought about installing a similar system in the same area, glad to see it fits.

 

Obviously you guys know a looooot more than I do. I just got and battery box from Amazon and i was planning to Connect it directly from my main battery so it will charge while i am driving. The battery box (all- top) i found it super convenient because it already have the 12v and usb ports incorporate it plus the voltemeter.

my question is. I thought it was only getting some cable and connect it directly from the main battery to the battery box. But i see here in your guys set up and they all have a DC to DC charger between the main battery and the auxiliary one.

do I have yo get a dc to dc charger in order to be able to get my set up ?? It is really necessary? I have the battery box in my bed its a 2021 tacoma sr5

 

You’ll need at minimum a battery isolator, but if you’re using a lithium secondary battery you’ll need a DC to DC charger. I’d recommend the DC to DC charger regardless because a good one will have a solar controller built in, so it’s one less thing to worry about in the future.

 

Damn that is a very clean setup. Nice job, this is basically what I have been planning. Did you buy a kit of some sort or did you piece it together yourself? Redarc etc sells kind of all in one kits but I am debating whether or not its easier or cheaper in the long run to just buy it in parts.