Tow question…Where did you mount your Anderson plug (1 Viewer)

[82SC]

Just looking for a good place to mount my 50 amp Anderson plug at the rear bumper.

No rear armor yet. OEM rear. Just trying to find a good place to mount that has good access and low risk of getting damaged on the trails and rocks.

 

[Fisher23]

I'm watching this thread as it's going to be my next project ... dc 2 dc charger in the trailer.

I have been thinking of just bumping up the wire gauge size on the #4 blade "if needed" so it can handle 30 amps.

Does anyone know how many amps the trailer plug wire #4 blade on the LC200 can handle?

 

[TeCKis300]

If I were to add a plug on an OEM rear, I'd probably make a bracket to cluster the Anderson plug alongside the existing 7-pin.

I've been back and forth on installing an Anderson. It's a great idea. With 400W on the trailer these days, it's been like a perpetual machine that never needs power so I haven't had a need. Perhaps in the future when I build another off-road trailer without its own generation capabilities, I might justify one.

 

[CharlieS]

Wit's End has some nice Anderson plug brackets.

 

[TrekboxX]

We also make a panel mount clamp that works with the weatherproof boot:

SB50 clamps — TrekboxX Expedition Systems

www.trekboxx.com

 

[82SC]

I put it near the 7 pin
There is a screw and clip holding the bumper to a nonstructural crossmember.

I took the clip out and put a rivnut in that hole that took an M6 bolt. Then drilled 3 holes and used sheet metal screws. Screw orientation is where there is some meat of the sheet metal behind the screw. Front and back on the side in the picture. Middle and rear on the other side.

 

[CharlieS]

Very clean install. I like it. Cool enclosure too.

I'm nervous with the way I use mine that I'd end up ripping that off when offroading. I've scraped the bumper and even the hitch part of the frame dropping off big rocks, so I think for my use, I'll need to do a more tucked install.

 

[82SC]

yup...I worry about that too.

But I don't go as hard as you....yet

Maiden Voyage with the X3 in November. I think eventually I will have a rear bumper and it will get installed in there. I just couldn't find another good place for now. And alot of the Ozzie and US made brackets are there so I figure for most it works.

Not I gotta solve the Rear Air Quick Connect...

 

[TeCKis300]

You can't casually drop "X3" without showing us a picture!!

A rear quick disconnect would be great as that'll help you reach the offroad trailer. Just got back from a trip, and airing down the trailer makes such a huge difference. Handling and safety from rollover.

My buddies XOC was bucking around, even with it's high end suspension, until we lowered the tire pressure. He thought it was a pretty mild track that he didn't need to air down and it was a bucking bronco threatening to kick itself over. Even tore the propane tank mount off.

I had my other buddy running the trailer I built him earlier this year (you can just make it out at the lead of this pack) at lowered pressure and it rode like butter, even with standard leaf springs.

 

[82SC]

Haha. It’s sitting in a container in Houston. Hopefully heads up to Dallas and then OK soon so they can get it ready.

Flying out in November to drive it back to CA.

Planned a mostly civilized campground route back. Want to familiarize myself and my family with it and outfit it before really hitting the trails.

Super excited!

Your Pic looks rad. Looks like fun.

 

[DesmoPilot]

Haha. It’s sitting in a container in Houston. Hopefully heads up to Dallas and then OK soon so they can get it ready.

Flying out in November to drive it back to CA.

Planned a mostly civilized campground route back. Want to familiarize myself and my family with it and outfit it before really hitting the trails.

Super excited!

Your Pic looks rad. Looks like fun.

Our Patriots must be super close to each other!! Looking at the tracking for my X1-H, the ship is currently docked in Charleston. It is supposed to be unloaded in Dallas on on 10/26. Can't wait to pick it up soon.

 

[82SC]

Our Patriots must be super close to each other!! Looking at the tracking for my X1-H, the ship is currently docked in Charleston. It is supposed to be unloaded in Dallas on on 10/26. Can't wait to pick it up soon.

mines been sitting in houston since 9/30....so its gonna be slow. I'm headed there in a month to pick up and then drive back to CA.
Ray and I are hoping it will be at EO by then.....

 

[ntsqd]

Since real Anderson connectors are not sealed and are designed to drain dirt and water I prefer to orient them vertically. I know that there various seals etc. made for them, but to my thinking that is a mistake. They weren't designed from the beginning to be sealed so after the fact sealing efforts are band-aids. Let them breathe and condensation won't build up in them. I bolt them flat to vertical surfaces like the front face of the bumper's beam structure. That totally hides them when not in use. I tend to put trailer light sockets in the same location, for the same reason.

 

[CharlieS]

Then why does Anderson sell environmental boots that are IP64 rated?

"The durable boots shield the connectors from water and dirt to IP64 in both the mated and unmated condition."

Here are a few examples, but they have source and load versions for each size SB connector.

SB®175 Boot with Cover- Source

SB® Environmental Boots provide water, dirt, chemical and UV protection for SB®175 connectors. The durable boots shield the connectors from water and dirt to IP64 in both the mated and unmated condition. Also found in: /SB 175/SB Boots

www.andersonpower.com

SB®120 Boot with Cover- Load

SB® Environmental Boots provide water, dirt, chemical and UV protection for SB®120 connectors. The durable boots shield the connectors from water and dirt to IP64 in both the mated and unmated condition. Also found in: /SB 120/SB Boots

www.andersonpower.com

SB®50 Boot, With Cover, Load

SB® Environmental Boots provide water, dirt, chemical and UV protection for SB®50 connectors. The durable boots shield the connectors from water and dirt to IP64 in both the mated and unmated condition. Also found in: /SB 50/SB Boots

www.andersonpower.com

I got mine at Wit's End:

Anderson SB175 Environmental Boot- Source Side

Anderson SB175 Environmental Boot- Source Side (AEB-175S)

absolute-wits-end.com

Anderson SB175 Environmental Boot- Load Side

Anderson SB175 Environmental Boot- Load Side (AEB-175L)

absolute-wits-end.com

And he makes well thought out brackets too:

Air Coupler and SB50 Bracket

Air Coupler and SB50 Bracket (ACB-4) for On Board Air and Mounting the Anderson SB50 connector

absolute-wits-end.com

 

[ntsqd]

They are still after the fact designs, not integrated into the design from the beginning. Versus, say, a Weatherpack, MetriPack, Deutsch or a 38999 connector.

As to why they sell them, do you really need to ask? Since you did, they sell them because people who don't understand the original design ask for them. In their shoes I'd bemoan that lack of understanding and them sell them too.

 

[Artie]

Scraping caked up and dried Georgia red clay out of my SB50 anderson prompted an install of one of those environmental boot things. I don’t run it capped up all the time but it’s nice to be able to close it up when I know mud or salted snow roads are en route.

 

[82SC]

I think the design for draining does make sense. And mounting vertical is probably ideal. But hooking up to a trailer you can imagine now you are trading off water drainage for a hard bend on the wiring or a loop in the wiring heading towards the floor and could get caught or worn. And the above mentioned dirt snow and debris which probably isn’t ideal either.

That’s a cool fact that I didn’t know about and when able I’ll probably mount vertically (like my under the hood solar panel connector) but for my trailer mount pointing straight out towards the trailer probably works best for my application. And having a cover to keep out the nasties is beneficial.

Plus with probably 100’s of thousand miles and years of use in the camping offroad and over landing communities, I haven’t heard a huge downside to using covers.

 

[TrekboxX]

Yes, the standard connectors will drain water. But they will get super funky over time. We used to run them with the regular plastic caps on patrol cars. The contacts got funky and needed cleaning occasionally. The big problem is mud and ice. They will get frozen solid in a freezing rain. The rubber boots will freeze up on the outside, but are a bit easier to free from the ice.

 

[ntsqd]

That is the main reason why I orient them vertically when at all possible, so that they can't collect moisture, dirt, or debris.

The contacts have a huge wiping action and a high contact force by design. You're in a pretty corrosive environment if that isn't enough to establish continuity. Silver plating doesn't resist corrosion like gold does, but it is better for conduction.

I've yet to have a bend radius problem with the cables, but I'm not using these connectors for a TR to trailer connection either. We took the batteries off the trailer as they were dead from lack of use.
EDIT: I do use one in the bed of our CTD to connect the pop-top camper to the truck. The 6 ga. cables have no trouble snaking their way up thru some of the bed's structure to reach the inside bed panel where the truck side is mounted. I make a point of using Carolprene welding cable for all of this type of use because it is very flexible and is rated such that it can be used under the hood if need be.