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Is there a good kit I could buy? I also want to be able to use the 2nd battery to jump the main if it dies , not sure if that changes the setup
The kits I saw were too expensive, but you can make your own kit: battery box, battery isolator ("Battery Doctor" 100Amp), 20ft of 4AWG wire, lugs, a grommet, 150A Anderson plug, 120A inline circuit breaker, 20-40A fuses with holder (for the outlets), battery terminals (all ebay). I got the battery for free.
The battery isolator allows to parallel both batteries per bush button. It helps if the main battery is low, but not of it's quite dead. But you can use this battery like a jumper battery or just change the batteries, as I said in my earlier post.
I have the same wiring as in greisinb's post, except that I left out the fuse next to the battery isolator, because my battery isolator has a built in fuse already.
Battery box in the trunk, secured with steel cables. 4 USB ports on the right side (optional).
View from the other side with Anderson connector and 12V outlet (blue plug).
Hole behind the left tail light for the 12V connection between battery isolator and 2nd battery (the second hole is not required, I use it as for an external 12V plug powered by the 2nd battery). The cable runs along the frame on the passenger side.
Battery isolator in the jack compartment.
12V connected at the main battery (there is already a bolt + thread for it).
Also, if you are really budget concerned and want to “work your way up” so to speak you can wire up your battery with an isolator as myself and others have done, then just put a 12V socket on the battery, they often have integrated fuses and you can pick them up at any auto parts store or even Walmart.
I don't follow this logic. What does it matter that you have a brand new battery just installed? If I were to do this I'd want to go with a dual-battery tray setup instead of running cable to the rear of the truck.
A company called Columbia Overland made a dual battery tray for the DII that looked pretty nice. Unfortunately it looks like Columbia Overland is no longer in business.
You should be able to find writeups on this and other forums with a little searching that show the Columbia Overland setup and others, and using that info you may be able to fabricate your own version or have one fabricated for you. Good luck.
i drove the truck to work and the battery died and was shot and I work at a dealer so I bought another battery to get home and had no intention on dual battery till now, sucks I know I should have thought but I didn稚
Discorama, how did you do your external 12V port? I want to do the same, I have some ideas but any more are welcome.
I run just a cable outside through the second hole. One end is plugged into my box. The other end has a coupler laying around in the rear bumper. I use Neutrik Speakon 4 pole for plugs and sockets. They are lockable and contacts are rated up to 40 Amp. I parallel two contacts (that's why the 4-pole) to increase reliability and amperage. Original Neutrik are expensive, but better quality. On ebay/amazon you find compatible clones from China, they are very cheap and work well (what I am using). I have them all around my truck, so far 8 outlets installed.
Is there a good kit I could buy? I also want to be able to use the 2nd battery to jump the main if it dies , not sure if that changes the setup
The kit I used was Keyline 140 amp dual battery isolater, $115 from amazon.
Wanting to be able to "jump" is something I missed in your post earlier. If you want to do that 2 main things are important in the setup:
1) Your second battery will have to be under the hood. It's the only way you'll get short, large gauge wires to handle the current you'll need to run the starter motor.
2) You will most likely need a manual isolator instead of an automatic one. This is just a big switch that connects and disconnects your secondary battery from your main one. On the plus side, it's way cheaper and you can jump from the secondary battery, on the minus side you have to remember to manually turn the switch "OFF" when you set up camp and start to draw power otherwise you'll wake up with a dead starter battery and that's the whole thing you want to avoid! You also then have to remember to turn it "ON" when you want to charge the secondary battery once you're on the move again.
A third, super budget option is to do what I did for a while, just bring a battery with you and forget the charging. Plug whatever you need to plug in to the rear factory outlet while you're on your way, once you stop that outlet shuts off and plug in to your stand alone battery. Run off that as needed and put it on a charger when you get home. Now, that worked OK for me when I was doing single night trips with the family but for something extended you really want to be able to charge it. I did an Oregon coast road trip from Washington to the California Redwoods and all the state park campsites in Oregon have electricity, so I just brought the charger with and plugged it in every chance I got, worked great even with my tiny 17Ah battery at the time!
05-13-2020, 01:42 PM
