FINALLY !, the RIGHT way to do it, "Just put a bigger fuse in it" is beyond stupid advice and a good way to start a fire. Thank you for taking the time to video this.
Excellent video, the only thing I did different in my 4Runner was I just grounded the negative in the back so I didn't have to run two large 8 awg cables the entire vehicle. Saved some money in the long run.
Nice work. The only thing, is that since vehicles are negative ground, you didn't need to route the negative wire all the way to the battery. You could have connected a short negative lead anywhere on the frame, close to the DC plugs. Only the positive wire needed to go into the engine compartment.
Very nice done. It looks so clean. One of the best DIY 12 volt projects I've seen. I actually bookmarked this video for a 12 volt project I want to do.
Nice and simple installation. Just what I was looking for. On my 2019 base Colorado the factory installed a coil of wires that was zip-tied to the rear frame for future trailer electrical plug. Nice of GM! Anyway, one of those wires is an always-hot for, I think, trailer electrical brakes. So that wire can serve as my hot feed for copying your installation. Thanks for the tutorial.
Nice set up, only thing I would've done differently is put the fuse box under the hood but yea definitely taking ideas from this for my 2nd gen 4runner
Fuse box in the bed was intentional. Otherwise anything else you want to wire into the bed has to be ran all the way from under the hood to the back of the truck, which costs more and is more of a hassle and you’d need to use higher gauge wiring due to the length of the run. It allowed me to have a fuse box location back there for the eventual house battery, lighting and powering a diesel heater.
Awesome attention to detail 😀. In case you weren't aware, this kind of set-up works best with an accessory battery - a deep cycle / marine battery - that handles charge/discharge much better than a regular car battery. You can hook it up to the same alternator with a battery isolater so your car battery doesn't get run down. There's tons of stuff on the web about it...just hate to see you get stuck anywhere 👍. A 12V fridge will probably kill your regular battery in a couple hours (with the engine off) 😕. OR, get yourself a Jackery, and run everything off that - easiest way IMHO.
Thanks for the info. I did my research prior and actually have an X2 Power deep cycle/starter AGM battery that I upgraded to prior to doing this. A fridge doesn’t draw that much power and you can run one on a single battery like this (lots do). I have calculated out the hours of run time with the fridge and will be able to safely get over 24 hours of run time with the truck off (plenty of time as we usually are on the road the next day). The fridge has a low voltage shutoff as well. I keep a jump box in my truck too. Dual battery will come in the future as I am looking to add a diesel heater.
@@PaulSchortemeyer should be! One night so far with fridge and lights. But it was cold so I’m not even sure if the fridge turned on. Need some warmer weather! Yeah the low voltage cutoff is key! Adjustable too.
Nice Job! I did the same a while back. I frenched in a aux battery as well. Tons of room in the dead space between the inner and outer panels of the bed. I used the spade connectors and silicone caulk to water proof them. My switch recently started to fail so will replace. This would a pia if soldered so I hope yours holds up.
About to put the amazon order in shortly for the fuse panel, breaker, probably more wire to do this. How is the breaker doing. Mixed, in away, reviews on it. Not enough to steal me away though. Nice, straight to the put stuff you do with your videos, clear easy to understand. Thank You! Was just lookin at the solar vid, nice. You do clean work man. ✌️
Breaker is great. It’s all been flawless so far for running the fridge, lights and charging a phone and camera. Super happy with it. Thanks man, I appreciate it! Hopefully you find my video’s helpful!
I've ordered every piece of you showed, minus the 10g wire. I'm planning on stealing your set up lol, thank you for the great vid! Think only thing I'll change is the placement of panel so I can use connectors. I think if I put panel on diagonal portion of aluminum and put longer pieces away from bed liner I might ne able to avoid clearance issues... hopefully. Thank you again.
It is not necessary to run a negative wire from the battery to the remote outlet. You can use the vehicle frame as a common ground and double the positive wire size to the remote outlet. I've done it and it is safe!
Tip, tie the additional cable so it cant wobble around causing chaffing, especially around sharper areas like sheet metal edges or bolt heads or threads. There is a reason your stock harness is secured so well in most areas, even flat runs against smooth metal. Great guide though.
Very good instructions, question, I'm thinking of doing this in my F 150 and putting a switch in the cab of the truck, don't need the power in the back all the time
Nice setup!!!!!!! Definitely going to do this in my truck! Question: are you sure the switch of the panel is rated for the amperage that all the sockets will pull from it when running at the same time? I think a safer way could be to have wired the switch to a relay that cuts power from the sockets when you switch it off
Very nice installation and detailed instructions. Your selected location won't work for me because my haphazard approach to throwing things in the bed will likely damage the fuse block. Regardless, I'm using your approach but mounting the fuse block and breaker in under the hood. I will then cut a hole (gasp) in the bed to flush mount the outlets.
Nice video. Can I tap to the red 8 gauge wire with a 14 gauge and use it as a bed light power source? or should I just run another wire from the battery? Thank you
Most excellent my friend! I feel like you nailed it. Great attention to detail. I’m so glad I found this since I’m at this stage in my build. Lots of good information here. Thank you!
Disappointed in the hot glue to protect the terminals. You can just bend terminal on the socket so they lay flat. I would mount the fuse box with an undermount on a second layer (inset but facing out for servicing) so the wires can stay under the main mount and be more protected. Mounting panel looks nice overall.
Awesome job man! I was wondering how you split the negative up front to ground? I couldn’t see it that well. I wanna do the exact same thing but don’t understand wiring that well. Thanks!
I love it man! I'm gonna do this for my overland 2011 ford ranger fx4 off road. But my question to you is? Is it waterproof and can you use it with the vehicle off or better running?
Awesome video! Why do you need oxygen free copper? Also is the 40 Amp cutoff switch a little small for potential amperage from the battery ( I saw below you talked about future proofing with the 8 gauge)? Maybe it's not because 40 Amp would be the continuous draw and not the surge amperage? I'm just curious because I'm trying to pick a similar switch for a DIY project I'm working on!
OFC is going to be more efficient, which means less electricity lost to heat and resistance. This is more important for the wires that will feed a distribution point. Minimal voltage drop. It becomes more important with long runs like this which is like 15ft. 40 amps will never be the continuous draw, just enough room for any spikes from more than one item kicking on. That amperage is also likely the max you could run on 8awg at this length. You can use Blue Sea Systems circuit calculator to sort this out too. They recommended 10awg for the length of run I had if I just wanted to draw 15 amps continuously, so I would probably be fine with that. But also who knows what I might power back there in the future.
@@pnwxplore Awesome, that makes sense. I sense an Electrical Engineering background? You're speaking my language when I hear voltage drops, current loss, and line impedance.
Haha definitely no electrical background, but I have slept at a Holiday Inn Express before. I just did some digging on the web and this was the direction I was pointed and I didn’t even know about OFC until this project. But when battery capacity is limited, you don’t really want to lose any to impedance and heat.
Most excellent my friend! I feel like you nailed it. Great attention to detail. I’m so glad I found this since I’m at this stage in my build. Lots of good information here. Thank you!
I was wondering did your Toyota not have enough room to mount the panel directly to the inside wall? I was wanting to do the same thing in the back of my Dodge Ram 2500. It looks though that there is enough room in my Dodge to just mount it directly to the inside wall of the bed. Clean looking install. Thanks for taking the time to share your idea. Peace
Looking at doing something very similar with my 2010 Toyota Hilux (Australia). Good video on how the wire was run from the battery to the tub.... How much clearance did you have from the ground to the chassis rail?
It’s also about length and voltage drop and 8 gauge allows future proofing for diesel heater and anything else I add. Figure if I was gonna take the time to wire it up, might as well future proof it.
good video. Is there any way to run electric heat specifically 1500w,120v in a work van? keep in mind it would only be on when the van is running.Thank you
Thanks for the clear install! I’m thinking to do something similar. Wondered if there is a reason you ran the wire from the fuse box out of the cab side of the bed rather than through the rear taillight hole and under the frame from the back of the truck?
Glad it was helpful! I wired it that way as I knew I would do a house battery later (which you can see in my newer video) that way the wire run would be closer to it.
I just installed something similar with close to the same kit, however mine sockets came with pre-cut cable that’s much higher gauge, so I’m worried they’ll overheat under higher loads from eg a fridge or other 12v stuff. What gauge is your wire on the sockets?
Breaker is there to control the overall power being transmitted to the back of the truck. Fuses are there for protecting and isolating individual circuits. I don’t want a problem with my fridge or diesel heater interrupting all the power to the back of the truck, which would happen if you only used one fuse/breaker
@@pnwxplore so I think ebikes chargers pull roughly 200w so if I did 2 that puts me at 400w which on 12v is roughly 34 amps. That should be fine with 8 gauge wire and 40mm circuit breaker I think?
Can always be added later if needed. I always disconnect the breaker when nothing is in use, plus the fridge has its own low voltage cutoff which I keep at the highest setting.
^^^ this guy knows what going on. Those soldered connections will eventually break off from vibration. Just how it is in a vehicle. Great looking install otherwise.
Hello Again, I am using this video to install your exact set up into mu F-250 (thanks for doing this video). the only thing I am unsure about it the wiring sequence on the back of the 12v socket and USB port piece. Could you kindly tell me the proper sequence? I really appreciate it......Jim
@@pnwxplore Thanks for the reply. I was referring to the wires you soldered at 10:00 that go from the 12v socket/USB port switch to the fuse block, but on second look it looks like those are probably 14 or 16 gauge.
I ran a negative all the way from the battery with the power. But you can ground to the frame too. I did full power and neg from battery for future solar add
I know it’s 3 years old, but those two wires (white and red) on the bracket in the back, top left corner. Need to be insulated. Over time they will rub and short out. I hope you don’t do this type of work professionally.
Man you had a good thing going for you in the first part until you decided to be a condescending ass with your last sentence. Hopefully you speak nicer to other strangers you don’t know. Unless you just like to make yourself feel better than others? Oh and over 3 years, no issues. In the off chance it did short that’s why there is a fuse and that specific wiring only powered the LEDs. Thanks for the concern.
