Ultimate Bed Build and Custom Dual Battery System

[Jason Krakauer]

I hear ya, man. I know you're not knocking my work. So I've got way more than $1k in this. Just the battery box I can rough out at
$60 Milwaukee tool box
$300 Odyssey AGM 94R Battery
$250 Redarc BCDC1225D
$30 Blue Sea Fuse Block
Min $70 in heavy duty Deutsch connectors
That's $710 and I haven't even looked at the cost of the cabling inside it, the wiring harness materials, the Blue Sea switch panel, or the insane amount of time I put into it. Plus I already had the Ford Boxlink stowable ramp brackets. Lord only knows what Ford wants for one or if you can even buy just one.

Can you show me an example of a solar generator like you're talking about? I'm interested in their capability. That little 100W suitcase Renogy solar panel works well with my setup. Gives quite a noticeable voltage increase in even partial sunlight. (I know voltage increase isn't the way to measure charging, but it's the only visible way I have access to while using the solar setup).

Yeah - so just in the 1000 WH set ups ... Jackery Explorer 1000, you can get it for like $900. Add a 100W solar panel for off-grid charging or just connect to a 12v outlet in the truck while running.

Jackery Explorer 1000 Portable Power Station

Jackery Explorer 1000, 1002Wh & rating 1000W portable power station is Jackery's biggest Explorer, a solar generator with MPPT built-in and 3 AC outlets.

www.jackery.com

I'm guessing the WH rating on your setup is higher, but w/ that solar panel and 12v charging while running - I'd think you're safe unless you park for 4-5 days w/ no sun/heavily overacast. With my wife and daughter in-tow, I'm 3-4 days offgrid at a clip - max.

 

[DINOZR]

Yeah - so just in the 1000 WH set ups ... Jackery Explorer 1000, you can get it for like $900. Add a 100W solar panel for off-grid charging or just connect to a 12v outlet in the truck while running.

Jackery Explorer 1000 Portable Power Station

Jackery Explorer 1000, 1002Wh & rating 1000W portable power station is Jackery's biggest Explorer, a solar generator with MPPT built-in and 3 AC outlets.

www.jackery.com

I'm guessing the WH rating on your setup is higher, but w/ that solar panel and 12v charging while running - I'd think you're safe unless you park for 4-5 days w/ no sun/heavily overacast. With my wife and daughter in-tow, I'm 3-4 days offgrid at a clip - max.

That's a pretty capable little setup. It doesn't have the capacity of my setup (80 AH) but it offers 110V outlets, which I don't have. It's also very portable. My aux battery box weighs over 80 pounds!

So for just camping, a solar generator like that is probably the way to go. It would run a frig and basic electronics and the solar panels would keep it full. I don't think it would handle heavier duty tasks well like running an ARB dual compressor. But that's an acceptable limitation for something pre-packaged and convenient. Thanks for pointing these out!

 

[Jason Krakauer]

That's a pretty capable little setup. It doesn't have the capacity of my setup (80 AH) but it offers 110V outlets, which I don't have. It's also very portable. My aux battery box weighs over 80 pounds!

So for just camping, a solar generator like that is probably the way to go. It would run a frig and basic electronics and the solar panels would keep it full. I don't think it would handle heavier duty tasks well like running an ARB dual compressor. But that's an acceptable limitation for something pre-packaged and convenient. Thanks for pointing these out!

Yeah - I've been hemming/hawing over building something like what you've got there - but for portability and cost I'm kinda leaning this way. I'm also worried about digging too far into the Raptors electronics (though the RedArc stuff is solid and trustworthy enough). I've already got a cheap 350 WH battery that runs my fridge while were off shore power, looking at the Bluetti 70 (which is LiFePO4 - much better duty life) ... that takes up to 200 W charging, so you can fill it in like 3/4 hours of sun or off the 12v in similar time.

Still, your setup is pretty.

 

[rightway]

DINOZR Really nice work, great to see the quality, your design and the time it must have taken to build. Thanks for sharing and posting your work.​

 

[amREADY]

I hear ya, man. I know you're not knocking my work. So I've got way more than $1k in this. Just the battery box I can rough out at
$60 Milwaukee tool box
$300 Odyssey AGM 94R Battery
$250 Redarc BCDC1225D
$30 Blue Sea Fuse Block
Min $70 in heavy duty Deutsch connectors
That's $710 and I haven't even looked at the cost of the cabling inside it, the wiring harness materials, the Blue Sea switch panel, or the insane amount of time I put into it. Plus I already had the Ford Boxlink stowable ramp brackets. Lord only knows what Ford wants for one or if you can even buy just one.

Can you show me an example of a solar generator like you're talking about? I'm interested in their capability. That little 100W suitcase Renogy solar panel works well with my setup. Gives quite a noticeable voltage increase in even partial sunlight. (I know voltage increase isn't the way to measure charging, but it's the only visible way I have access to while using the solar setup).

I had my AGM battery already, but will use mine until it starts to fail. My goal is to replace it with about an 80Ah or 100Ah heated lithium. They heat themselves for the first 30 mins or hour in below freezing temps to allow them to take a charge. But at 100Ah - I am getting about 4x the capacity - double the AGM and double AGM over lithum since you can take it down to 10 or 20% vs. only 50% for an AGM.

I didn't do the ultra pro mounting like you did. I kept mine modular and moveable.

I used good connectors, but not Deutsch. Blue sea, Anderson power poles etc.

And yes, a lot of time. It would go WAAY faster the second time which I am in no hurry to do.

100-200 cable, connectors
300 - BCDC redarc
200 battery (free for me)
100 trolling battery case (includes its own fuses and outlets)
100 misc supplies
Probably around 850 if I were to add it up.

Coming up on running it for a year, and literally no thoughts about it, always works well, has been a no brainer. Value, priceless.

That gives me a 55Ah blue top - providing 25Ah of capacity with a 55lb battery. If I go 100Ah lithium, for less weight I'd have 80Ah of capacity, same form factor (can just drop it in trolling battery box).

A Jackery 500 (about 20Ah of useable power) is 500, so it is cheaper, but for me being upward compatible with a larger battery was more important to me. A Jackery 1000 is a 1000 bucks for 40Ah of power. The problem with them is they take 8-10h to recharge while driving and a BCDC charger hammers in 20-25Amps of charging, or recharges in 1-4 hours depending on battery size/temp etc. A big difference if solar isn't reliable and you aren't driving for full days.

 

[gstahl]

Hey, quick question, what are the parts you used for the drain tubes?

 

[DINOZR]

Hey, quick question, what are the parts you used for the drain tubes?

From Home Depot

 

[Jason Krakauer]

I had my AGM battery already, but will use mine until it starts to fail. My goal is to replace it with about an 80Ah or 100Ah heated lithium. They heat themselves for the first 30 mins or hour in below freezing temps to allow them to take a charge. But at 100Ah - I am getting about 4x the capacity - double the AGM and double AGM over lithum since you can take it down to 10 or 20% vs. only 50% for an AGM.

I didn't do the ultra pro mounting like you did. I kept mine modular and moveable.

I used good connectors, but not Deutsch. Blue sea, Anderson power poles etc.

And yes, a lot of time. It would go WAAY faster the second time which I am in no hurry to do.

100-200 cable, connectors
300 - BCDC redarc
200 battery (free for me)
100 trolling battery case (includes its own fuses and outlets)
100 misc supplies
Probably around 850 if I were to add it up.

Coming up on running it for a year, and literally no thoughts about it, always works well, has been a no brainer. Value, priceless.

That gives me a 55Ah blue top - providing 25Ah of capacity with a 55lb battery. If I go 100Ah lithium, for less weight I'd have 80Ah of capacity, same form factor (can just drop it in trolling battery box).

A Jackery 500 (about 20Ah of useable power) is 500, so it is cheaper, but for me being upward compatible with a larger battery was more important to me. A Jackery 1000 is a 1000 bucks for 40Ah of power. The problem with them is they take 8-10h to recharge while driving and a BCDC charger hammers in 20-25Amps of charging, or recharges in 1-4 hours depending on battery size/temp etc. A big difference if solar isn't reliable and you aren't driving for full days.

Understood - I think yours and OP setups are probably the most "hands-off" once you're set up and running. I'm guessing you've got years before you need to worry about batt. degradation or any parts of the system failing.

What do you think about LiPO4 setups? They're not "new" but the Bluetti EB70 (which is new) runs about $500 for 700 Wh ... takes up to 200W input charging (AC, DC, Solar, etc). So if you run it off the AC outlet in the truck using their charge block - about 3-4hrs to recharge, fully. You'd have to spend for a 200W solar panel, but if you went that route it's roughly same that way ...

Just playing devils advocate on that front, because I'm still planning a purchase here... leaning heavy on that LiPO4 option at current, portability/speed of recharge and outright cost are kind of in that sweet spot for me right now.

 

[DINOZR]

Understood - I think yours and OP setups are probably the most "hands-off" once you're set up and running. I'm guessing you've got years before you need to worry about batt. degradation or any parts of the system failing.

What do you think about LiPO4 setups? They're not "new" but the Bluetti EB70 (which is new) runs about $500 for 700 Wh ... takes up to 200W input charging (AC, DC, Solar, etc). So if you run it off the AC outlet in the truck using their charge block - about 3-4hrs to recharge, fully. You'd have to spend for a 200W solar panel, but if you went that route it's roughly same that way ...

Just playing devils advocate on that front, because I'm still planning a purchase here... leaning heavy on that LiPO4 option at current, portability/speed of recharge and outright cost are kind of in that sweet spot for me right now.

What are the requirements for your system to run? If it's just a fridge, mine pulls a max of 4A and more like 1A most commonly. I'm sure that LiPO4 system plus solar would keep a frig running quite a long time. But if you have more requirements, then you may start draining more than you can recharge quickly.

I'm guessing connecting the LiPO4 system to the truck's 12V will be more efficient than plugging into the 110V inverter. Whichever source you go with, are you just going to plug it into one of the truck's interior powerpoints? You'll have some decisions to make about wire routing and powerpoint timeouts.

 

[amREADY]

Understood - I think yours and OP setups are probably the most "hands-off" once you're set up and running. I'm guessing you've got years before you need to worry about batt. degradation or any parts of the system failing.

What do you think about LiPO4 setups? They're not "new" but the Bluetti EB70 (which is new) runs about $500 for 700 Wh ... takes up to 200W input charging (AC, DC, Solar, etc). So if you run it off the AC outlet in the truck using their charge block - about 3-4hrs to recharge, fully. You'd have to spend for a 200W solar panel, but if you went that route it's roughly same that way ...

Just playing devils advocate on that front, because I'm still planning a purchase here... leaning heavy on that LiPO4 option at current, portability/speed of recharge and outright cost are kind of in that sweet spot for me right now.

The reason I mentioned I wanted to be able to swap out my AGM in the system instead of 'hard installing it' in is because I used it for 4 years on my offroad camping trailer. It still tests well, so I figured I'd run it for another year, maybe 2 before retiring it.

Lithium is good. I have one in my adventure bike - it holds a charge crazy well, starts faster, and is much lighter. Since I don't use the bike in freezing temps, I don't need to worry about trying to push a charge into it under freezing temps. My truck however, is in freezing temps so if I go Lithium, I know I can draw it down when it's freezing, but I can't push a charge into it without hurting it. The 'cold weather' lithiums have a BMS that senses temp and it will shunt the input power into a warming circuit until it reaches the minimum battery temp, then switch over to accepting charge. This delays the recharge of the battery, but protects it.


When I am travelling in the winter, I am not using much, if any cooler power. But I am using more lighting since it gets dark earlier. I could have little solar input due to cloud/rain, then if only driving an hour from place to place, all the alternator battery power would go into warming the Aux battery but not be long enough to actually recharge it. I don't think it is a huge issue because lights and cell etc. don't take much power compared to the fridge cooler.

The Bluetti looks great. The long charge time plugged into the truck is a consideration. The solar charge time is always an idealized situation. Maybe if you live in an area with reliable sun, closer to reality. Often reality is about half. Check to see if it can be charged in freezing temsps if that is part of your needs. I made a conscious decision to go with no AC --- all DC in my system. No conversion loss. If I need to plug something small in, I can use the trucks AC outlet. I do have a 2000W inverter I can bring and easily hook up, but that's more of an emergency use case run my fridge or freeze in the house in a power outtage.

Hope this helps.