Aux power questions

Kirkwood1

Kirkwood1

New member
Hey everybody!

I’m looking for some of the more experienced guys to help for what works and what doesn’t for aux power in the cargo area!

I have a 2016 JKU sport which doesn’t have power to the cargo. I’d like to have a 12v and a few USB ports but also a 110 plug so the wife can charge her cameras.

Any suggestions or photos of how you set up the plugs would be awesome!

I’ll provide some photos of what I think I want and where but I’m not set in stone on anything.


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Thanks in advance.



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On my WJ, I ran a full 4 gauge power wire to the rear of the Jeep. I run my fridge on it as well as a 1000 watt inverter. While camping, I can run a small coffee pot on it. The inverter has at least one USB, but it wouldn't be hard to add more elsewhere.

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I've run dedicated 12 volt and usb to the back in several different places on a few different Jeeps. The first thing you should do is plan out how you will be using/packing your space which will help you determine where exactly you want to place outlets and of what variety.

There is a big difference between just wanting the ability to use 110 on occasion versus permanently powering something. If all you want is the former, I would seriously consider just putting a nice inverter under the passenger front seat. The run from the battery is much shorter and you can use a high grade outdoor extension cord from the inverter to whatever you need to power at camp.
 
jorgelrod said:
I dropped a circuit from the batteries to with a 100A for my fridge and an eventual inverter for AC support. I also put a 12V plug where you want to put that. Depending on how much wattage you want on the AC connector, an inverter might or might not be feasible behind that plastic cover.

This is my build thread, you can see a bit of what I have on this page.

https://wayalife.com/showthread.php/13815-Jorge-s-Spartan-Build-Thread/page2?highlight=Spartan
Click to expand...

Love the build!!! And thanks for the advice!! Our goal is to have a solid camping overland rig.


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WJCO said:
On my WJ, I ran a full 4 gauge power wire to the rear of the Jeep. I run my fridge on it as well as a 1000 watt inverter. While camping, I can run a small coffee pot on it. The inverter has at least one USB, but it wouldn't be hard to add more elsewhere.

View attachment 317310

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Click to expand...

Man this is perfect! Thank you for the photos! Did you ever have any problems with the fridge draining the battery??


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Sharkey said:
I've run dedicated 12 volt and usb to the back in several different places on a few different Jeeps. The first thing you should do is plan out how you will be using/packing your space which will help you determine where exactly you want to place outlets and of what variety.

There is a big difference between just wanting the ability to use 110 on occasion versus permanently powering something. If all you want is the former, I would seriously consider just putting a nice inverter under the passenger front seat. The run from the battery is much shorter and you can use a high grade outdoor extension cord from the inverter to whatever you need to power at camp.
Click to expand...

So my thought is to have a “Jeep kitchen” like setup minus the stove. I’d rather the smell of our food stay out than stain the inside of the Jeep haha.
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So I’d want a switch to power the fridge on and off so it doesn’t constantly have power and capable to drain the battery. And I’d like to have USB ports and 110 outlets so the wife can charge her camera equipment when we’re at camp or driving. And I’ve had one of the cheap inverters that you plug into the cigarette lighter but it’s a mess up front and it’s cheap and gets hot. Which is annoying.


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Kirkwood1 said:
So my thought is to have a “Jeep kitchen” like setup minus the stove. I’d rather the smell of our food stay out than stain the inside of the Jeep haha.
View attachment 317421
So I’d want a switch to power the fridge on and off so it doesn’t constantly have power and capable to drain the battery. And I’d like to have USB ports and 110 outlets so the wife can charge her camera equipment when we’re at camp or driving. And I’ve had one of the cheap inverters that you plug into the cigarette lighter but it’s a mess up front and it’s cheap and gets hot. Which is annoying.


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Click to expand...

Most modern fridges have battery protection settings so an on/off switch is not really necessary unless you just want peace of mind. The Arb has three settings for this purpose alone.

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Kirkwood1 said:
Man this is perfect! Thank you for the photos! Did you ever have any problems with the fridge draining the battery??


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Click to expand...

No issues with battery drain. Just to be clear though, I don't use the inverter for the fridge, I use that for other things.

For the fridge, I disconnected the factory wires from my rear 12v receptacle. I then ran new wires from it to my 4 gauge rear power cable using 8AWG. The fridge plugs into that 12v receptacle. So the rear port looks factory but has beefier wiring. No issues so far.
 
WJCO said:
No issues with battery drain. Just to be clear though, I don't use the inverter for the fridge, I use that for other things.

For the fridge, I disconnected the factory wires from my rear 12v receptacle. I then ran new wires from it to my 4 gauge rear power cable using 8AWG. The fridge plugs into that 12v receptacle. So the rear port looks factory but has beefier wiring. No issues so far.
Click to expand...

Yeah I’d want the fridge to be all by it’s self when wired. With the sport it doesn’t come with the 12v plug in. But the way you did it sounds like the way I’d like to! Hidden but looks factory!


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WJCO said:
No issues with battery drain. Just to be clear though, I don't use the inverter for the fridge, I use that for other things.

For the fridge, I disconnected the factory wires from my rear 12v receptacle. I then ran new wires from it to my 4 gauge rear power cable using 8AWG. The fridge plugs into that 12v receptacle. So the rear port looks factory but has beefier wiring. No issues so far.
Click to expand...

By the way Merry Christmas to you and your family!


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Here’s a few pictures of my setup. I put a small battery in the back to power the fridge at night and a plug in the license plate holder to connect 120vac or a 100w foldable solar panel. Works awesome!
 

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JK_BUB said:
Here’s a few pictures of my setup. I put a small battery in the back to power the fridge at night and a plug in the license plate holder to connect 120vac or a 100w foldable solar panel. Works awesome!
Click to expand...

That is a very clean and functional install, nice job. Which battery did you run in the back?


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JK_BUB said:
Here’s a few pictures of my setup. I put a small battery in the back to power the fridge at night and a plug in the license plate holder to connect 120vac or a 100w foldable solar panel. Works awesome!
Click to expand...

I love your cargo area!! That’s bad ass!! I also have a panel that I’m going to set up here soon


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Kirkwood1 said:
Yeah for sure! I’ve actually been thinking I want to build some sort of board to keep the inverter and my amp off the floor and alittle more organized. But not 100% sure on how I want to do it.


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Click to expand...

If you decide to mount under the seat, this is a really cool bracket you can use. It works for amps, inverters, compressors, etc. I run my 5 channel amp mounted to it and it works great.

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https://www.ebay.com/ulk/itm/323601236502


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wjtstudios said:
That is a very clean and functional install, nice job. Which battery did you run in the back?

I just went with a small 35AH AGM to keep weight and size down. It runs the fridge through the night and the solar runs during the day. I have camped for quite a few days like this without any issues.
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Kirkwood1 said:
And I’d like to have USB ports and 110 outlets so the wife can charge her camera equipment when we’re at camp or driving. WAYALIFE mobile app
Click to expand...


Most camera equipment can be charged off a 12V cigarette lighter with the correct charger, this would be cheaper and more energy efficient than adding an inverter.

Think about it, the Jeep makes 12v DC power for the battery, you want to run an inverter to turn DC to AC, then the 110V charger for her camera equipment is going to take AC back to DC to charge the camera batteries... If that is all you need the inverter for there is def a better way.


I bought a DC charger for my cordless tools so as to not have to run them off the inverter as well.

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