There's a quite bit of discussion in this section around battery setups to enhance one's touring and camping enjoyment. There's good reason for this as energy densities in LiFePo batteries are increasing and costs are plummeting. It's an exciting time to look at integrating more electrical camping accessories if that's of interest to you. My setup has been evolving over the past several years, and I think I've reached a point where the system is mature for my needs. It's more complex than most, and I wanted to share to give some inspiration for what's possible. You've likely heard of dual battery systems. I want to introduce you to a TRIPLE BATTERY system.
My Guiding Principles:
1) Don't run accessories on the starter battery. I'm going remote places and want to minimize the chance of running down the starter battery. I want to let the starter battery do the job Toyota designed it to do, and design a supplementary battery system to run electrical accessories. The exception is the winch, which I wanted to have direct access to the alternator charging node and unencumbered by a DC-DC charger. It should only be used when the engine is running.
2) Maximize trunk space, minimize clutter. If I can distribute items to other areas like under the hood, under seats, etc, do so to minimize the amount of stuff kicking around the back end and maximize the usable volume in the trunk. This could apply to batteries, wiring, DC-DC, or even cooking systems. Part of "minimizing clutter" has also meant that I don't have swing-outs and that drives some interesting design thinking for cooking...
3) Go easy on the alternator. LiFePo batteries are capable of being charged very quickly... but they're also capable of being charged slower. Be judicious in what charging rate is actually needed.
4) Set it and forget it. I want to eliminate any setup time. Energy saved on setting up is energy I can put toward something else I enjoy. This adds up on month-long trips.
5) Go modular. There's no harm in having different batteries for different purposes. Keep the setup serviceable and upgradeable down the road.
6) Make it look stock. Sure, there's a rooftop tent up there, and a snorkel, and a drawer system. But, can I hide wires and equipment and make everything look well-integrated?
Why TRIPLE battery?
It really comes down to cooking, for me. I've had a number of different stoves over the years. White gas, canister-toppers, fold-open propane camping stoves. They all have their advantages and disadvantages but have a few things in common.
-First, there's generally some setup/teardown involved to make them travel compact and safely.
-Second, they suffer from cold, altitude and wind (to varying degrees). On my trip to Newfoundland, I was frustrated by my propane camp stove's drop in performance in windy conditions and decided to look into induction cooking. Induction cooking heats the actual cookware itself, rather than heating the air beneath the cookware. This is said to make it a relatively great performer against propane stoves in wind.
-Third, these stoves run on fire and can be knocked over or pulled off of a table. We have a 1-year-old, so making things safer for grabbing hands has been on my mind.
BUT, induction takes a large amount of power to get the best performance. This leads to a few challenges implementing induction in a standard dual-battery system.
1) Running thicc cables through the cabin. Since most dual battery systems run at a relatively low 12V, the ~1800w that induction requires 150 amps! That's going to lead to very thick, potentially expensive power cables that are difficult to bend and hide.
2) Need more batteries, need a giant inverter. I miiight have been able to get by with my single 100ah battery under the hood. But to be comfortable, I really needed another battery to have the capacity to do induction cooking. Additionally, I would need a large inverter to convert the battery's DC power to AC.
3) In order to charge another battery in a timely manner, would I need to get a bigger single DC-DC charger, or run two DC-DC chargers in parallel?
Finding a tidy way to hide an additional battery, very thick cables, and an inverter to achieve guiding principles 2 and 6 was proving challenging.
The Savior
The EcoFlow Delta 2 has been the component that finally unlocked the potential to do induction cooking for me. It's not much bigger than the 100ah battery I would need to expand my capacity. It has a built-in inverter capable of 1800w continuous that's capable of running the induction burner. It has a built-in charger that's capable of charging several ways: 12v cig socket (150w), solar or DC-DC (600w), alternator accessory (800w) and AC outlet (1800w).
The Gamble
I had a short, 5-day trip through the Black Hills for the inaugural run. I initially thought I wanted the 800w alternator charging accessory, but it plugs into the side of the unit, and the charging accessory itself is a decent size, especially with the locking cable connectors. I didn't think I could hide it achieve guiding principles 2, 3 and 6. The DC-DC route would have the same challenges as the alternator charger. So, I gambled and just plugged the Delta 2 into one of my cig sockets that I had run from my existing Aux battery under the hood to the trunk. In this topology, the Delta 2 would charge 24 hours a day whether the truck was running or not. It could top off overnight after cooking dinner, and top off during the day after cooking breakfast. I gave it a go, and it worked great! The original aux battery can be charged via rooftop solar or alternator when the car is running.
Modular Battery Duties:
Starter battery - Runs the truck and nothing else. Charges directly from the alternator at umpteen watts.
Aux battery - Runs a myriad of accessories in the truck and tent. Charges at ~350w via a BCDC that sources power from solar, alternator or both.
Delta 2 - mostly cooking and some accessory charging. Charges downstream of the Aux battery. Will charge at 100w from the BCDC or the Aux battery.
I could keep going on various other aspects, but maybe should just open it up for discussion here. Let me know if you want photos of things or have questions. Cheers.
My Guiding Principles:
1) Don't run accessories on the starter battery. I'm going remote places and want to minimize the chance of running down the starter battery. I want to let the starter battery do the job Toyota designed it to do, and design a supplementary battery system to run electrical accessories. The exception is the winch, which I wanted to have direct access to the alternator charging node and unencumbered by a DC-DC charger. It should only be used when the engine is running.
2) Maximize trunk space, minimize clutter. If I can distribute items to other areas like under the hood, under seats, etc, do so to minimize the amount of stuff kicking around the back end and maximize the usable volume in the trunk. This could apply to batteries, wiring, DC-DC, or even cooking systems. Part of "minimizing clutter" has also meant that I don't have swing-outs and that drives some interesting design thinking for cooking...
3) Go easy on the alternator. LiFePo batteries are capable of being charged very quickly... but they're also capable of being charged slower. Be judicious in what charging rate is actually needed.
4) Set it and forget it. I want to eliminate any setup time. Energy saved on setting up is energy I can put toward something else I enjoy. This adds up on month-long trips.
5) Go modular. There's no harm in having different batteries for different purposes. Keep the setup serviceable and upgradeable down the road.
6) Make it look stock. Sure, there's a rooftop tent up there, and a snorkel, and a drawer system. But, can I hide wires and equipment and make everything look well-integrated?
Why TRIPLE battery?
It really comes down to cooking, for me. I've had a number of different stoves over the years. White gas, canister-toppers, fold-open propane camping stoves. They all have their advantages and disadvantages but have a few things in common.
-First, there's generally some setup/teardown involved to make them travel compact and safely.
-Second, they suffer from cold, altitude and wind (to varying degrees). On my trip to Newfoundland, I was frustrated by my propane camp stove's drop in performance in windy conditions and decided to look into induction cooking. Induction cooking heats the actual cookware itself, rather than heating the air beneath the cookware. This is said to make it a relatively great performer against propane stoves in wind.
-Third, these stoves run on fire and can be knocked over or pulled off of a table. We have a 1-year-old, so making things safer for grabbing hands has been on my mind.
BUT, induction takes a large amount of power to get the best performance. This leads to a few challenges implementing induction in a standard dual-battery system.
1) Running thicc cables through the cabin. Since most dual battery systems run at a relatively low 12V, the ~1800w that induction requires 150 amps! That's going to lead to very thick, potentially expensive power cables that are difficult to bend and hide.
2) Need more batteries, need a giant inverter. I miiight have been able to get by with my single 100ah battery under the hood. But to be comfortable, I really needed another battery to have the capacity to do induction cooking. Additionally, I would need a large inverter to convert the battery's DC power to AC.
3) In order to charge another battery in a timely manner, would I need to get a bigger single DC-DC charger, or run two DC-DC chargers in parallel?
Finding a tidy way to hide an additional battery, very thick cables, and an inverter to achieve guiding principles 2 and 6 was proving challenging.
The Savior
The EcoFlow Delta 2 has been the component that finally unlocked the potential to do induction cooking for me. It's not much bigger than the 100ah battery I would need to expand my capacity. It has a built-in inverter capable of 1800w continuous that's capable of running the induction burner. It has a built-in charger that's capable of charging several ways: 12v cig socket (150w), solar or DC-DC (600w), alternator accessory (800w) and AC outlet (1800w).
The Gamble
I had a short, 5-day trip through the Black Hills for the inaugural run. I initially thought I wanted the 800w alternator charging accessory, but it plugs into the side of the unit, and the charging accessory itself is a decent size, especially with the locking cable connectors. I didn't think I could hide it achieve guiding principles 2, 3 and 6. The DC-DC route would have the same challenges as the alternator charger. So, I gambled and just plugged the Delta 2 into one of my cig sockets that I had run from my existing Aux battery under the hood to the trunk. In this topology, the Delta 2 would charge 24 hours a day whether the truck was running or not. It could top off overnight after cooking dinner, and top off during the day after cooking breakfast. I gave it a go, and it worked great! The original aux battery can be charged via rooftop solar or alternator when the car is running.
Modular Battery Duties:
Starter battery - Runs the truck and nothing else. Charges directly from the alternator at umpteen watts.
Aux battery - Runs a myriad of accessories in the truck and tent. Charges at ~350w via a BCDC that sources power from solar, alternator or both.
Delta 2 - mostly cooking and some accessory charging. Charges downstream of the Aux battery. Will charge at 100w from the BCDC or the Aux battery.
I could keep going on various other aspects, but maybe should just open it up for discussion here. Let me know if you want photos of things or have questions. Cheers.
True story!
