Hi everyone -
As I've spent most of February plotting electrical upgrades to get my rig ready for camping with the kids for a few days at a time (up to a week) this summer and beyond. As part of the planning, I've been reading around on here all of different electrical aftermarket upgrades folks have made on their rigs ... and about some of the nightmares associated with, shall we call it, organic?, wiring decisions made as part of the process.
As a recovering electrical systems engineer, I wanted to step back and actually plan out, and post for everyone, what I would consider a "proper" approach to build a power distribution system across a rig to handle the majority of necesary loads that could be thrown at it, as well as some considerations for safety and failure points, smart wiring, etc. This is different than what @NLXTACY did for the "how to" ... that is also important, but I wanted to take one step even further back and look at ALL the loads to be considered across the vehicle first.
HUGE thanks already to everyone here whose posts I've been snooping on and taking notes. There are far too many individuals to thank off the bat, but if you've contributed to electrical "How-to" here in the 80s-tech forum over the last decade, there's a good chance I've read through your posts in-depth to start planning this out.
So ... based on the initial requirements I laid out above (safely camp for up to a week off-road with a couple of kids, me, maybe the wife and dog in a relative comfort),and all your feedback below, I've come up with the following aftermarket loads that should be planned for:
All-in, I'm estimating ~ +1500W peak load (excluding solar source) plus the winch ... not that it would all run at once, but those are the incremental accessories to plan across a rig.
Is there anything else I'm missing?
As I've spent most of February plotting electrical upgrades to get my rig ready for camping with the kids for a few days at a time (up to a week) this summer and beyond. As part of the planning, I've been reading around on here all of different electrical aftermarket upgrades folks have made on their rigs ... and about some of the nightmares associated with, shall we call it, organic?, wiring decisions made as part of the process.
As a recovering electrical systems engineer, I wanted to step back and actually plan out, and post for everyone, what I would consider a "proper" approach to build a power distribution system across a rig to handle the majority of necesary loads that could be thrown at it, as well as some considerations for safety and failure points, smart wiring, etc. This is different than what @NLXTACY did for the "how to" ... that is also important, but I wanted to take one step even further back and look at ALL the loads to be considered across the vehicle first.
HUGE thanks already to everyone here whose posts I've been snooping on and taking notes. There are far too many individuals to thank off the bat, but if you've contributed to electrical "How-to" here in the 80s-tech forum over the last decade, there's a good chance I've read through your posts in-depth to start planning this out.
So ... based on the initial requirements I laid out above (safely camp for up to a week off-road with a couple of kids, me, maybe the wife and dog in a relative comfort),and all your feedback below, I've come up with the following aftermarket loads that should be planned for:
- 2m Radio
- CB radio (easily removable / swappable)
- Fridge
- 1500W peak Inverter
- Camp Lights
- Front light bar
- Driving Lights
- Interior LED upgrades
- Rear Hatch Lights (inward / down)
- Air compressor (York OBA or portable)
- 10 x 10W USB outlets - 6 x front, 2 x middle, 2 xrear
- 12V power outlets - 1 x front / 2 x rear
- Winch
- 1 x battery tool charging port outlet or similar
- Nav / head unit
- Backup cam
- relevant charging for phone / tablet for OBD BLE
- Upgraded horn
All-in, I'm estimating ~ +1500W peak load (excluding solar source) plus the winch ... not that it would all run at once, but those are the incremental accessories to plan across a rig.
Is there anything else I'm missing?
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