Dual Battery set up, Offgrid-engineering, Adventure Ready or ???

Can you mark the fuse you tied into on this diagram please so I will be sure?

 

It's possible, but I didn't want to touch the factory wiring/harness/ connectors. Throughout my whole build I've done my best to not touch or alter any OEM wiring.

I drilled a small hole in the fuse box. Then put woven wire loom on the wires, then at the end of the loom put some heat shrink. I then jammed that heat shrink in the hole which wedges it in place. Siliconed the hole from the inside of the fuse box. It's honestly better sealed and secured than the OEM harness.

 

I didn’t want to drill the fuse box hence why I went with the incab fuse box. More than one way to skin a cat.

 

This is how I wired my Switch pros.
Color on the fuse is the color wire I tapped into that fuse

 

I had my red arc pre-wired by off-grid engineering so I'm not sure about the blue wire on the red arc.

But the blue wire I have running is where I tapped ignition power for my switch bros

 

I found this video which shows which fuse to use in the interior fuse box. Which fuse did you tap into on the in cab fuse box? https://youtu.be/1JkH8sH_uK0

 

Hey Op YOTA,

So nice to come across this thread as I’m currently thinking about future power needs and trying to design for the future rather than going back and re-doing things. At fist I was going to go dual AGM battery under the hood, but the newer technology and light weight LiIon/LiFePo4 are very attractive options. I’m leaning towards Jackery, Inergy and PLB40 as options; and since I want to keep my bed clutter-free I’m thinking I’d put one of these choices under our dog platform (behind the seats of our 2018 ACLB). Would love to be able to charge off of cigarette lighter while driving and solar while stationary (and have the truck “know” which to do in each scenario so I don’t have to remember to turn something on or off).

I know your truck build is totally different than when this thread was started, but Is there any reason why you initially chose the PLB40 over the Inergy? Seems like cost is the major deciding factor here (one is twice the price as the other), but with the Inergy you get AC options which would be really nice for charging laptops or even running our house fridge when power goes out due to SPSCs (or is there another way of doing this I’m not thinking of?)

Thanks!

 

Hey man, so i certainly think battery technology has advanced past old heavy lead acid batteries, at least for use in mobile applications like lights and a fridge.

I chose the plb-40 due to size and weight and simplicity of use. While my setup with the AluCab Khaya is different I still have and use the PLB with an ARB fridge in a Rav4 adventure for softroading trips. And it’s still amazing.

you could definitely use both solar and 12V to charge the PLB, the trick is to ensure the PLB is plugged into an outlet only powered when your ignition is on. Than when it’s off it’ll pick up another charging source. To be honest I don’t think you’ll ever need much more than the 12V unless you park for a couple days and it’s hot where the fridge runs non-Stop.

So the Inergy…. Truth is I have a goal zero Yeti 3000x with 4 expansion tanks…. So i don’t need it, but the idea is solid! If you’re looking for a do all system the Inergy (or even goal zero) are an awesome option just WAY more expensive and much heavier. The PLB is an amazing device for its weight and size but it will not work for 120V, the Inergy and Goal Zero allow for both.

Only other cool thing the PLB has a threaded socket to lock the fridge too (if your fridge has that) to keep it from coming loose.

hit me up with any other questions but it sounds like no matter what you chose you’ll be happy.

 

This was a good thread. Thanks for the revive. I re-read it and while I did have questions back then I figured it out and have a very nice dual AGM battery setup (split underhood) with a Redarc BCDC. I use both Solar and normal driving to charge the batteries and keep them topped off. I also added a voltage booster (from HKG Electronics) to keep my primary battery topped off vs routing back to the primary with an isolator.

I had debated that so when the secondary was topped off it would charge back to my primary and allow me to jump (if needed from the secondary). It was just more wiring and complexity I decided was too much to want to bother with for now although I did leave the isolator and the breaker in place so who knows maybe I will do it later.


I also ran wiring back to the bed of the truck to a relay box for all the accessories that were planned for later. In all I am pretty happy with it. (I think the relay diagram is v3 and I am on to v4 now, but couldn't find the digital version. You can't see the switch panel other than the monitoring light but it has 6 switches and a couple of outlets. It runs all my lights in the rear, charging for electrical stuff, and my fridge nicely.



If I were to do it over, I'd do the run to the back and put the battery bcdc and relays in the bed to simplify things under the hood. I would still do a dual battery setup, but with current prices on the lightweight battery boxes like Jackery, it is very tempting and with my relay box and shut off switch under the hood I could route power into my relay box from a light weight battery box and still get the benefit of using my rear switch panel.