Pretty quiet in here... what are you working on? (12 Viewers)

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Warning: Geeky post

Situation: The cigarette receptacle/power outlet in the back cargo area of the 4R has a significant voltage drop under full load. The gauge of the OEM wires is too small to handle the current of a significant (under 10A) load. Shame on you Toyota. Works OK if all you are doing is charging your phone and powering your GPS display. The five outlets are powered by one 15 Amp fuse. The typical max current for an outlet is 10 Amps or 120 Watts (10A x 12V = 120W). So, full load on all 5 outlets would be 50 Amps.

Experience: While trying to run the fridge and charge the fridge's battery (total current about 8 Amps) the voltage dropped to the point the fridge (set on the lowest cutout voltage) shut down. Disappointing.

Fix: Added a separate power wire, a relay and a switch. The relay coil is powered by the OEM outlet circuit. Key on = relay on. The relay contacts (switch) are wired to the battery and the rear outlet. Relay on = outlet powered. I also added a switch (with a NASA style guard) to power the outlet with the key off.

Result: Outlet under full load, minimal voltage drop.

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Relay behind outlet panel, next to inverter. Replaced the wires to the outlet with larger gauge wires.
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Manual "on" switch.
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Awesome work here!

I “tested” the outlet in my GX with a hairdryer. It worked for a moment and then never again.

This seems like a necessary mod. I might take this on. The NASA switch is cool but I think I’d want to use an OEM switch. Edit: if I’m reading your post correctly, it sounds like the switch is optional?
 
Yes. Switch is optional. I wanted the switch to keep the cig plug powered when the ign key switch is off so the fridge will continue to run during short stops (lunch, grocery shopping, etc.). Once the fridge is cold it runs intermittently and does draw that much current so it can run off of the 4R’s battery for a while. Plus, I set the fridge to the highest shut down voltage. Yes. I have a jump start battery.

If the engine is going to be off for a long time, I have a small, medium and large battery pack (OCD? 🤓) to use depending on the length of engine off time, the fridge temperature and the outside weather conditions.
 
I picked up another vehicle, so that I could work on my other vehicles in peace and quiet. Something that can just be driven reliably, and can save the LX470 for the fun trips. Of course it can’t be that easy, the vehicle isn’t completely perfect (178,000 miles), so I’ll have to start working out the quirks. It’s certainly roadworthy, as you’d expect of any LS (picked it up in Naples, FL on Friday).

I present to you a 2005 LS430. I like to think that it’s the Land Cruiser equivalent of sedans.
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I picked up another vehicle, so that I could work on my other vehicles in peace and quiet. Something that can just be driven reliably, and can save the LX470 for the fun trips. Of course it can’t be that easy, the vehicle isn’t completely perfect (178,000 miles), so I’ll have to start working out the quirks. It’s certainly roadworthy, as you’d expect of any LS (picked it up in Naples, FL on Friday).

I present to you a 2005 LS430. I like to think that it’s the Land Cruiser equivalent of sedans.
View attachment 2791023View attachment 2791022View attachment 2791021
Definitely the best color combo out there
 
Dometic fridge and a home made battery pack.
more info on home made battery pack? you mean similar to a jackery/bluetti?

i was having the same issues charging the portable battery from the rear outlet. I ended up with this goal zero charger to get it to work. it works for now but i am thinking i may need a solar panel or something to have the fridge run for a longer time.
 
Anyone on here have one of those unlimited Carfax accounts and can save me $40? I'm looking at a 3/4 ton Suburban and want to run the VIN.
 
more info on home made battery pack? you mean similar to a jackery/bluetti?

i was having the same issues charging the portable battery from the rear outlet. I ended up with this goal zero charger to get it to work. it works for now but i am thinking i may need a solar panel or something to have the fridge run for a longer time.
These batteries were made just for the fridge, so no misc extras and much less expensive than the commercially available battery packs. I have a 50A Anderson connector in the back of the 4R to power stuff. I use that to power the fridge and charge the large battery. I also have a power cable for the fridge with an Anderson connector instead of the cig plug. I kept the cig plugs so I could use the fridge and batts in someone else's (wife's) SUV.

Small battery for day trips. 24Ahr (3 x 8Ah batteries), internal charger (black heat sink fins), cig plug for vehicle's cig outlet, banana plugs connected to internal battery and charger input, Volt meter and switch (input V - off - battery V), 15A circuit breaker, cig power outlet for fridge, internal relay to power fridge and charge the battery separately from the vehicle's cig power outlet. Otherwise, the fridge would be running off of the battery while it is trying to be charged.

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Large battery for camping trips. 135Ah, LCD Volt and Amp (charge & discharge) meter (current draw is so small no on/off switch required), 2 cig power outlets , 4 Anderson connectors (hidden inside vents), banana plugs, fuses and circuit breakers, 9A external charger (power from vehicle's cig outlet or Anderson connector), Velcro style strips to hold the charger and 300W inverter.

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Solar panel, 100W. Charge controller has banana plugs to plug into the batteries.

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That solar panel mount is awesome! Got more details on it? I guess you just need to make sure you park facing East? :grinpimp:

Where's the wiring pass through to get in the truck?
 
Or west :cool:
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No pass thru........ yet. If I'm parked and tailgating the cable goes wherever. If I'm parked and locked up, the fridge runs off of the battery box, solar panel disconnected and cable removed. Cruising down the road the alternator is charging the batt box and running the fridge.
Future: I may try to figure out a way to put a connector under the fin above the back window, where the wiper is hiding, and fish the wire down to where the battery box lives. I'm sure you can understand my reluctance to drill a hole in the roof. ;)
Stay tuned.
 
A Ford Bronco Sport rolled down Black Bear Pass in Colorado. Apparently, it was wasn’t “trail rated”.

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Looks like it's fairly well down the switchbacks, maybe he was going up instead of down. Wonder if he came all the way over from the top of Red Mountain pass.
 
Somehow, I doubt a Jeep (or Toyota) would have faired much better... And depending on the driver, could have happened just as easily.
 
How does this happen? Just got too close to the edge of the road?

My wife and I stayed in Telluride, CO last year on our honeymoon after getting married in Moab. The week prior a Jeep rolled down the mountain. The story was that the driver stopped on one of the turns on the switchback, set the e-brake, and got out to check out the road on foot, leaving his girlfriend and two dogs in the vehicle. The e-brake didn’t hold and the vehicle rolled and went off the edge ejecting the girlfriend and dogs, and the Jeep tumbled to its destruction. There’s a vid on YouTube showing the Jeep flying in front of another vehicle.
 
How does this happen? Just got too close to the edge of the road?
Usually things like this happen when a driver is not paying attention to the road. Believe me, the scenery out in CO is so dramatic it's easy to let your mind wander from the most important task at hand. When we were out there a few years ago a guy from the northwest drove off the Cumberland pass road in an 80, demoed the truck and I think one person was killed. We had driven over that pass a few days earlier. Not dangerous if you're paying attention to your driving!

Apparently the Bronco was mistakenly (Black Bear is one way from the top of Red Mt Pass into Telluride except for one weekend a year) driving up the switchbacks and decided to turn around at one of them. The passenger was out of the Bronco when ity went over and the female drive and a dog were in the vehicle. The driver was ejected.


 

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