Running 12V fridge/etc (1 Viewer)

[BigMF]

My understanding is that it's always off until you turn the car on and then click the AC button in the dash. You would presumably need to do that every time you start the car.

The outlet is dead if the car is off. You'd need to leave the car "on" to keep that outlet live at camp.

That's my understanding, at least.

Gotcha. Understood about having to leave the car on if you want the inverter on. However, I don’t need it on while the truck is off. That’s the point of the Jackery, to provide power when the truck is off. Just don’t want to have to push the button every time I start the truck so the Jackery is recharged while I’m driving between campsites. Apologies if I’m not explaining myself very well.

 

[suprarx7nut]

Gotcha. Understood about having to leave the car on if you want the inverter on. However, I don’t need it on while the truck is off. That’s the point of the Jackery, to provide power when the truck is off. Just don’t want to have to push the button every time I start the truck so the Jackery is recharged while I’m driving between campsites. Apologies if I’m not explaining myself very well.

Yeah, I follow.

You don't need the inverter on when the car is off, but if you have to manually remember to click it on for charging while you drive that's going to inevitably lead to you pulling up to camp after a multi-hour drive only to realize your jackery is at 10% because you forgot to click that AC-on button when you set off. At least for me, anyways, haha.

The beauty of the old-school dual battery is that the house battery is effectively zero maintenance. If you're driving, or if it's sunny, you're charging. Pull up to camp, 100% battery, nearly every time. Zero effort or awareness required.

I wonder if there's a simple-ish wiring trick to get that AC outlet always on. Or to program the switch to click on after 10 seconds of the car being on or something. All the pieces to the puzzle are present, just not set-up for "overland" kind of uses.

Or... if we're dreaming real big here... Toyota will offer a retrofit for "camp mode" or something. A menu option to keep battery fully charged and then to keep AC outlet on with car off. The Jeep 4xE's all have something like this. It's not a new-fangled concept. Not sure why Toyota seems to have ignored the idea.

 

[BigMF]

Yeah, I follow.

You don't need the inverter on when the car is off, but if you have to manually remember to click it on for charging while you drive that's going to inevitably lead to you pulling up to camp after a multi-hour drive only to realize your jackery is at 10% because you forgot to click that AC-on button when you set off. At least for me, anyways, haha.

The beauty of the old-school dual battery is that the house battery is effectively zero maintenance. If you're driving, or if it's sunny, you're charging. Pull up to camp, 100% battery, nearly every time. Zero effort or awareness required.

I wonder if there's a simple-ish wiring trick to get that AC outlet always on. Or to program the switch to click on after 10 seconds of the car being on or something. All the pieces to the puzzle are present, just not set-up for "overland" kind of uses.

Or... if we're dreaming real big here... Toyota will offer a retrofit for "camp mode" or something. A menu option to keep battery fully charged and then to keep AC outlet on with car off. The Jeep 4xE's all have something like this. It's not a new-fangled concept. Not sure why Toyota seems to have ignored the idea.

Yes, you have it exactly. Even worse is if you forget and go all day and everything drains the Jackery and now all the food in the fridge has gone bad and you're left eating Cheezits for dinner with a warm beer. Does that sound specific, like it really happened?

Definitely looking for long term solutions that are "elegant" but will need a bandaid solution in a couple of months for a trip. Mid-term solution, if I have time, is to find a circuit that is only on when the truck is on (power windows, seat heaters, etc) and tap into it to run a relay and hook up a 12V aux outlet tied into the 12V battery in the back. That way, when the truck is on, the 12V outlet will be on and off when it's off.

Does that make sense? Is it crazy?

 

[ryanjl]

I'm guessing the rear outlet functions off a relay, and relay sockets can be jumped to be in the "on" position full time. But that could invite a host of new problems.

 

[TWILLY]

So, there is no setting to power the rear outlet while the truck is turned off?

 

[suprarx7nut]

So, there is no setting to power the rear outlet while the truck is turned off?

According to the manual, that is correct. People have been leaving the car "on" overnight without issue though. Specifically in Houston dealing with the recent hurricanes.

Perhaps this all comes down to size, though.

The LC250 battery is 1.8 kwh.
The 4xe and Rav4 Prime batteries are 18 kwh.
The Rivian/Cybertruck batteries are 120 kwh.

You can do a LOT with 100+ kwh. You can do a lot with 18 kwh. 1.8 kwh is kind of like a buffer battery for a gasoline generator. Maybe that explains the lack of overland-oriented function from Toyota.

Being able to run it overnight with the engine auto-cycling is still pretty cool, so can't knock it too much I guess.

 

[TWILLY]

According to the manual, that is correct. People have been leaving the car "on" overnight without issue though. Specifically in Houston dealing with the recent hurricanes.

Perhaps this all comes down to size, though.

The LC250 battery is 1.8 kwh.
The 4xe and Rav4 Prime batteries are 18 kwh.
The Rivian/Cybertruck batteries are 120 kwh.

You can do a LOT with 100+ kwh. You can do a lot with 18 kwh. 1.8 kwh is kind of like a buffer battery for a gasoline generator. Maybe that explains the lack of overland-oriented function from Toyota.

Being able to run it overnight with the engine auto-cycling is still pretty cool, so can't knock it too much I guess.

Interesting. Thanks. Yeah, I could power my house for a week on the Rivian battery. Even the LC would be useful for powering a fridge at camp for a few days.

 

[TOBOATA]

An EcoFlow Delta 2 or River Pro 2 would run a 12v fridge really well without any need for solar. Quick charge with the inverter as needed.
Keep it on 12V charge when running as back up.

I also keep a 12v plug to clamp setup to serve as back up to “wake” the 12v battery so the hybrid system can charge it.

 

[TOBOATA]

Yes, you have it exactly. Even worse is if you forget and go all day and everything drains the Jackery and now all the food in the fridge has gone bad and you're left eating Cheezits for dinner with a warm beer. Does that sound specific, like it really happened?

Definitely looking for long term solutions that are "elegant" but will need a bandaid solution in a couple of months for a trip. Mid-term solution, if I have time, is to find a circuit that is only on when the truck is on (power windows, seat heaters, etc) and tap into it to run a relay and hook up a 12V aux outlet tied into the 12V battery in the back. That way, when the truck is on, the 12V outlet will be on and off when it's off.

Does that make sense? Is it crazy?

I think it’s a lot of work when you have a 2.4kw inverter able to fully quick charge a battery station

 

[BigMF]

I think it’s a lot of work when you have a 2.4kw inverter able to fully quick charge a battery station

True to some degree. I do have some additional needs like an e-bike battery that holds more watt-hours than my battery station and drains it quicker than it could be charged. However, that was using a traditional 12V plug and not the 2400W inverter.

I'm also something of a worrier and am the type to use five nails and eight 2" screws to attach a shelf that will hold a single piece of paper. I definitely overengineer, overprepare, and overpack. You never know, I just MIGHT need my thesaurus while in the middle of the Rockies and trying to come up with a good synonym.

More seriously, I don't want to be on a road trip and find out the hard way that my fridge turned off because I was charging my ebike battery between trails. I'm sure it will be fine but until I have my hands on my 250 (hopefully early next week), I won't be able to test it out. Once I get that chance to test it, I'll report back what I find.

 

[TOBOATA]

True to some degree. I do have some additional needs like an e-bike battery that holds more watt-hours than my battery station and drains it quicker than it could be charged. However, that was using a traditional 12V plug and not the 2400W inverter.

I'm also something of a worrier and am the type to use five nails and eight 2" screws to attach a shelf that will hold a single piece of paper. I definitely overengineer, overprepare, and overpack. You never know, I just MIGHT need my thesaurus while in the middle of the Rockies and trying to come up with a good synonym.

More seriously, I don't want to be on a road trip and find out the hard way that my fridge turned off because I was charging my ebike battery between trails. I'm sure it will be fine but until I have my hands on my 250 (hopefully early next week), I won't be able to test it out. Once I get that chance to test it, I'll report back what I find.

I too have over engineered, two is one, one is none mindset. Which is why I prefer a quality off the shelf unit vs modifying the OEM system. This is coming from someone that has done dual batteries, and made portable generators before they were commercially available. Maybe it’s me getting old and leaving as much things OEM as possible for warranty and resale

You can go as big as you need, and have 24/7 wifi monitoring capabilities, along with other high power usb c ports for charging laptops, gear, etc.

I just bought a turn key EcoFlow Delta 2 for $450. There’s no way I can make a 1kw system for that much with the same capabilities, AND fit in the same form factor. Even if money wasn’t an issue it would take up at least twice the space.

 

[suprarx7nut]

I too have over engineered, two is one, one is none mindset. Which is why I prefer a quality off the shelf unit vs modifying the OEM system. This is coming from someone that has done dual batteries, and made portable generators before they were commercially available. Maybe it’s me getting old and leaving as much things OEM as possible for warranty and resale

You can go as big as you need, and have 24/7 wifi monitoring capabilities, along with other high power usb c ports for charging laptops, gear, etc.

I just bought a turn key EcoFlow Delta 2 for $450. There’s no way I can make a 1kw system for that much with the same capabilities, AND fit in the same form factor. Even if money wasn’t an issue it would take up at least twice the space.

We've been eyeing the Deltas for a long time. Especially with their crazy sales and that alternator charger option, it's real tempting.

My biggest remaining issue is charging that thing. For most cars, it works great if you remove it from the car and plug it into the wall (or run an extension cord into your car overnight to charge). But what happens when you forget that in your pre-trip planning and you've got a battery at 20% that charges 1% per hour via the 100W DC socket in the car?

The 250 has that awesome AC port, but same question applies: how often are you going to forget that you should have clicked that AC button on when you departed? Or maybe you remembered when you left your driveway, but got gas 5 miles in and forgot to click it again when you left the gas station?

If we can get the all in one banks to be very nearly as care-free as the dual battery setups, they'll take over the space immediately. We'll be watching this very closely as it seems we (collectively) are so close to having this sorted out - but we're not there yet.

 

[iridescence]

Anyone know if there's an easily accessible body gromet that would allow passing a cable (such as from an EcoFlow Alternator Charger) from the cabin to the engine bay? I'd also like to power a 12V fridge via a battery pack and it looks like an Alternator Charger might be a good option on a GX 550.

 

[Oakleyguy]

Anyone know if there's an easily accessible body gromet that would allow passing a cable (such as from an EcoFlow Alternator Charger) from the cabin to the engine bay? I'd also like to power a 12V fridge via a battery pack and it looks like an Alternator Charger might be a good option on a GX 550.

You could use the tire inflator circuit to power a fridge. It's rated for 50amps.

LC 250 & GX550 Picture Thread

Went and picked up our 250. It really is basically the same proportions as the 80. The belt line is pretty much exactly the same. Nice job Toyota

forum.ih8mud.com

 

[Jetboy]

IMO the benefit of the hybrid inverter is that you don't have to also carry around another battery. It should fully replace the need for the auxiliary generators or batteries. Sounds like an aftermarket fix is going to need to happen if Toyota won't come through with a camp mode. It's really surprising Toyota didn't include this type of feature as a factory option on this type of vehicle. The Powerboost ford trucks auto-detect if something is plugged into the inverter in the bed and if there is something plugged in on start up it asks if you want it turned on or not. But I think they still don't have a camper option either.

 

[LCWestCoast]

At 15 minute mark they talk about the inverter setup on the Tacoma Trailhunter, I know its not a LC but it is the same system. They state the engine turns on/off so the battery doesn't deplete. Running it fully open for one hour only costs you 3/4 gallon of fuel. BTW is the 2400W inverter pure sine wave?

 

[shadowsixniner]

According to the manual, that is correct. People have been leaving the car "on" overnight without issue though. Specifically in Houston dealing with the recent hurricanes.

Perhaps this all comes down to size, though.

The LC250 battery is 1.8 kwh.
The 4xe and Rav4 Prime batteries are 18 kwh.
The Rivian/Cybertruck batteries are 120 kwh.

You can do a LOT with 100+ kwh. You can do a lot with 18 kwh. 1.8 kwh is kind of like a buffer battery for a gasoline generator. Maybe that explains the lack of overland-oriented function from Toyota.

Being able to run it overnight with the engine auto-cycling is still pretty cool, so can't knock it too much I guess.

Doing the maths on the 1.8 kwh battery, at 12 volts it works out to 150 Ah. This is better than a standard AGM battery. If you calculate the conversion @ 110v, you get 16 Ah. So although not ideal, for the average person, you might be able to utilize the system as effectively as a dual battery set up?

 

[suprarx7nut]

Doing the maths on the 1.8 kwh battery, at 12 volts it works out to 150 Ah. This is better than a standard AGM battery. If you calculate the conversion @ 110v, you get 16 Ah. So although not ideal, for the average person, you might be able to utilize the system as effectively as a dual battery set up?

Except, you're unlikely to arrive at camp with 100% charge since it's just a mild hybrid. Probably more like 50%, so maybe 900 wh or 75Ah and only A/C. Throw in a DC inverter if you want to run automotive lights or fridges and you're well below the typical dual battery setups and way below the bigger portable power banks. The Delta 2 Max from EcoFlow is ~166 Ah with an 800w charge rate.

At least... that's my understanding. If the 250 allows you to monitor charge, I'd love to know what that does after a day of trails.

 

[Phillyd2]

At 15 minute mark they talk about the inverter setup on the Tacoma Trailhunter, I know its not a LC but it is the same system. They state the engine turns on/off so the battery doesn't deplete. Running it fully open for one hour only costs you 3/4 gallon of fuel. BTW is the 2400W inverter pure sine wave?

Their cringe level only increases as time goes on to now being insufferable but they wouldn’t have added that if they didn’t get a positive nod from Toyota.

 

[Mrtwooooo]

I somewhat doubt the car would have an auto start feature. Imagine leaving your fridge on and it’s draining your hybrid battery, then the engine starts but you’re parked in the garage at home.

How does the F-150 get by this issue to recharge its battery?