USB A/C port for rear passengers? Any solutions? (2 Viewers)

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.

Joined
Feb 28, 2019
Threads
33
Messages
169
Location
Duluth, GA
Any good options out there to add a port for rear passengers? I've watched GXBob's video and that's what got me wondering if there are any solutions that are more flush fit or "oem" in style? Anyone here installed something that looks close to factory?
 
You could do ‘20+ factory retrofit for second row

Post #70


3f646808_e10d_47fc_a405_3f18a5750962_032885fe8fdcd997fea66c56d56dd02a59f8b474.jpeg
3aa76a09_9d23_4f0d_a525_481f7c3adc22_f4e9e185d323bad29fdcae3e81587589402d950d.jpeg
 
Any good options out there to add a port for rear passengers? I've watched GXBob's video and that's what got me wondering if there are any solutions that are more flush fit or "oem" in style? Anyone here installed something that looks close to factory?
This is what I added, starting at Post #66: Builds - R²M 2013 GX 460 Overland Build - https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/r-m-2013-gx-460-overland-build.1104719/page-4
I have it hard wired (with a fuse) to my battery so when we're camping and needing to charge overnight or whenever I need to charge my phone or other device, I can just leave it plugged in without needing to have the ignition on.
You can do whatever combination you want, e.g. just USB's, USB and cig lighter, USB and USB-C, etc.
There's plenty of space behind that rear center console cover on the back for these plugs and associated wiring.
 
Agree, you all have lots of space on a 460. It's pretty cramped on a 470 and there are limited ways to install something that looks good.

IMO one of these would not look bad and would just involve a little bit of dremel work. Having the on/off switch is very nice - just wire it to a always-hot circuit with a fuse tap (as @r2m suggested), then turn it on and off when needed. I have one in the back of my 470 and it's super useful for charging devices when the rig is turned off.
 
Last edited:
Having the on/off switch is very nice
That is nice. It looks like they have a lot of the round ones with 65w PD and an on/off now on Amazon. I've got an always hot 12v socket for fridge and an ACC-triggered USB with a volt meter. I'll switch my USB out with the on / off style and move it to an always-on fuse.
 
You could do ‘20+ factory retrofit for second row

Post #70


3f646808_e10d_47fc_a405_3f18a5750962_032885fe8fdcd997fea66c56d56dd02a59f8b474.jpeg
3aa76a09_9d23_4f0d_a525_481f7c3adc22_f4e9e185d323bad29fdcae3e81587589402d950d.jpeg
Thank you for the post. I like the OEM look and this will be the next project on the ever growing list.
 
Agree, you all have lots of space on a 460. It's pretty cramped on a 470 and there are limited ways to install something that looks good.

IMO one of these would not look bad and would just involve a little bit of dremel work. Having the on/off switch is very nice - just wire it to a always-hot circuit with a fuse tap (as @r2m suggested), then turn it on and off when needed. I have one in the back of my 470 and it's super useful for charging devices when the rig is turned off.
That's what I put in the back of my truck, and ran a hot wire direct to the battery (along door trim and through firewall). So handy to have!

IMG_7752.jpg
 
That's what I put in the back of my truck, and ran a hot wire direct to the battery (along door trim and through firewall). So handy to have!

View attachment 3534579
That looks like a great spot for it. Any clearance issues with the wheel well? What gauge did you run? I'd like to go a little heavier in case I do dual battery someday. I might go with the wire under the truck and up through the floor since I've got my seats out anyway.

Did you just run positive and ground out in the back?
 
I posted about it here.

I used 12 gauge and connected directly to battery. The switch had a built in fuse but I added another fuse at the battery. There is plenty of room along the door trim to add a larger gauge wire if you choose. Also, plenty of room in that wheel well, I've even been thinking about adding an access port (e.g. via the cup holder) for additional storage space.

I now run my fridge directly off this outlet while driving on a trip (while my portable battery is getting charged from factory AC oulet) and when I'm parked, e.g. at the beach for a day, I'll switch the connection to my portable battery. I don't have to be concerned about my portable battery running out of juice on multi-day trips anymore.
 
I used 16 ga for mine but 12 ga would be preferable, particularly if you are running a fridge. I usually just use mine to charge phones, two-way radios, headlamps, etc.

You can also pull power from a fuse tap somewhere. Things like the power seat heater fuses are usually 20A and always-hot. I used to have this circuit on a fuse tap, but now built a more comprehensive aux power system and have a interior always-hot fuse panel that is fed directly from the battery.
 
Oh yeah, I forgot I have @THEOZMAN 's power leads to tap into those seats. That's probably what I'll do next since it's so easy and clean.

I was thinking more like 4 gauge run under the truck so I could do something crazy like @r2m did and run a big inverter and a chainsaw. But I'll probably never pony up for a dual battery since jump starters are so reliable, and then I'd have two really expensive batteries aging out in the AZ heat. Also, I don't really see having the room for a chainsaw until the last kid has her license and ditches us.
 
M18 (or DeWalt, Makita, etc equivalent) sawzall will do most things that a chainsaw will, and is easier to pack. I carry 9" pruning blades for mine, it can cut around 7-10 ~6-9" trees down before the battery runs out. And that's our Midwestern hardwood and cedar; I'm guessing it would rip right through western softwoods.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: r2m
Oh yeah, I forgot I have @THEOZMAN 's power leads to tap into those seats. That's probably what I'll do next since it's so easy and clean.



Unfortunately that is only an option for the 'luxury' models, which is why I went with the wiring route that I did
 
That looks like a great spot for it. Any clearance issues with the wheel well? What gauge did you run? I'd like to go a little heavier in case I do dual battery someday. I might go with the wire under the truck and up through the floor since I've got my seats out anyway.

Did you just run positive and ground out in the back?
FWIW, I ran 8 ga from the battery, through the firewall, then in split loom with the factory wiring under the door sill plates all the way to the back where the jack is. There's certainly room for that. 4 ga might create some issues. I grounded in the rear - there are plenty of places to make a good ground connection back there.
 
M18 (or DeWalt, Makita, etc equivalent) sawzall will do most things that a chainsaw will, and is easier to pack. I carry 9" pruning blades for mine, it can cut around 7-10 ~6-9" trees down before the battery runs out. And that's our Midwestern hardwood and cedar; I'm guessing it would rip right through western softwoods.
Since I'm not a contractor and don't use power tools that often, I've come to avoid them. Every time I've needed one, the battery was dead from sitting so long.
All my engineering stuff is small tabletop size so I just prefer getting corded tools. Have a really nice set of DeWalt cordless that I bought about 20 years ago and have only used a few times and now the batteries are beyond dead. I'm working an attachment to replace the battery with a cord that'll plug into the battery socket, then I can use them again as needed and not worry about battery anxiety.
With the inverter and 50' of cord I know I'll always have power and I'll never cut wood further than 50' from my rig.
 
We have 4 M18 batteries I think, if I'm gonna take the Sawzall somewhere I usually charge it up before I leave. Also battery technology is way better than it used to be - patricianly with the name brands. I do keep my M18 mid-torque impact in the rig at all times, it will sit months and still work pretty good when I take it out to use it on other projects. I used my smaller M18 impact this past weekend when it was around 20F in my shop, and it worked pretty well too. I don't think it had been charged in 2-3 months. But if you pick it up once a year....yeah they'll be totally dead :).

In the future I want to invest in a 12V M18 charger instead of the AC chargers I currently have. Once you switch to modern name-brand cordless stuff....again I've obviously drank the M18 red kool-aid....it's hard to go back to anything else :).
 
Last edited:
I'm planning on using an old laptop power pack that puts out about 19 VDC (I forget the amps, but I remember it's enough) so I just need to ditch the batteries in the DeWalt battery case and run a power cord up to it and use that laptop power pack.
 
Last edited:

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top Bottom