Where are my wiring/electrical nerds at? Overlanding setup question

Just kidding, we love our enginerds. But, I do have questions....

Background: I have a 2016 Trail Premium that I'm outfitting for extended trips into Baja for camping, fishing, overlanding. At most 2 weeks at a time potentially off grid where I need to have power. I'm not electrically inclined, and so have been researching here, YouTube, and using ChatGPT to try and figure out my setup.

Requirements: I'm looking to use a dual battery setup controlled by a Redarc Battery Controller, with options to charge by a solar array when in camp and the alternator when driving. These will be used mainly to power an IceCo 60L fridge for now as my main goal (but possibly other accessories in the future). I am also considering bringing along a portable powerpack likely EcoFlow to support moving the fridge out of the back of the 4runner and into camp when we're stationary which will also accept the solar array.

Likely Components: LiFePO4 12v 200ah auxiliary battery under hood, RedArc BCDC1225D, EcoFlow 220W solar array, EcoFlow Delta Max portable power pack and an IceCo 60L Fridge. Planning on a fuse block as well, just undecided on brand/model.

Questions: Wattage, amperage, amp hours, voltage, fuses, AWG etcetera all make me want to quadruple check the application. So, I've had ChatGPT suggest a wiring diagram with a fuse block, and I'm curious for your alls thoughts on what it came up with for AWG and Fuse suggestions. Do you all see any problems with the below diagram/application?

Any assistance is greatly appreciated!

 

alot here to unpack.....
first off, the redarc is the central hub of your charging, not the fuseblock/distribution panel. the redarc acts as the controller to top off your secondary battery from the main when the car is either driving, idling or connected to solar. next, i think the main question would be are you trying to prioritize charging capabilities for accessories in vehicle or away from vehicle? are actually car camping with RTT or tent near your rig, or are you just camping and driving to a site and then parking with a tent site a ways off? If its the latter, its honestly prob way easier and cheaper just to keep your fridge in the truck, powered by the secondary battery, and make the occasional walk over to it with a cooler to bring stuff to the campsite for immediate use. if its the former, ask yourself what you want to run everything off, your secondary battery or your portable power station. otherwise they are kinda redundant. gauges look fine, prob dont need an 8awg to your portable power station, thats gonna charge of a distribution panel just using a 12v cig socket unless you want to charge it off alternator while you drive using something like the ecoflow alternator charger or bluetti charger 1. honestly that wont be needed if you are running a lifepo as your secondary battery. just power everything off that with solar supplement. i could go into alot more but the diagram doesnt make much sense, so heres what i have done to maybe give you some ideas. this setup can easily power ya for weeks with everything in vehicle. let me know if ya have any questions

not pictured:
i use this solar blanket across the windshield or top of tent that plugs into my engine bay anderson input connected to the redarc as the solar controller. this provides plenty of power for to keep the aux battery topped off while parked for days to power the fridge and camp lighting.
https://www.overlandsolar.com/colle...nels/products/bugout-130-rugged-solar-charger

I use an anker solix c800 plus for my portable needs
anker solix c800 plus and anker solic c300 dc
https://www.ankersolix.com/C800-plus-c800-pps?ref=c_series
https://www.ankersolix.com/camping-battery-portable-power-station-a1726-a1722-pps?ref=c_series

the center is obv the main battery with the redarc bcdc1225, the redarc wires are already gauged to spec and one wire connects to the main with a 40a mrbf fuse, one to the aux batt, and the yellow wire to the anderson solar input. the blue sea 6 circuit fuseblock/bus bar is always hot and connected to the secondary battery. i also have the power leads connected here for the rear cargo power panels.
the safety hub 100 is more of a convenience thing as its ignition controlled and lets me power some high amperage things like the compressor or plug right into the DT connector.


secondary battery has the other wire from the redarc with a 40a littel zcase fuse, and the powers my switchpros 9100 so i can run all my accessories i have on switches off that.


solar input for the redarc i plug the overland solar bugout 130 blanket into


rear passanger power panel: on a 15a break with a fuseblock and busbar installed inside the cubby along the fender wall with magnets connected to fuseblock in engine bay powered by the secondary battery. this is where plug my fridge and will also charge my portable power bank


driver side power panel: 15a breaker with fuseblock and busbar in the tire jack cubby
I use this for plugging in aux lighting, or a long 20ft extension i carry that has anderson powerpole connector on 1 end and a split DT/Anderson/XT60 connector on other for various things i want to charge or bring away from the truck


Iceco fridge runs of 12v DC OR the portable magnetic battery from ICECO. this thing is plenty and can keep my fridge running for 2 days alone if i ever did need to bring the fridge out of the truck or as a backup

 

Wow, thank you @clt_ah4runner for the detailed response, super thought provoking and helpful! Your setup looks legit professional!

Regarding your question to me, honestly flexibility and practicality are most important, I don't have a RTT, I typically either set up a tent near by, or I would possibly
sleep in the rear depending on scenario, hence the desire for a portable power and fridge solution.

As for the wiring diagram redarc v fuseblock, I was under the impression basically everything should be fused if it has power traveling to/from, and as such, I was planning on putting all wires
through a fuseblock. Not to mention centralization and ease of power issues diagnosis. Sounds like maybe that's not a good idea?

As I read more, watch more youtubes, I feel like I'm chasing my tail a bit. I really want a LiFePO4 lithium battery for the fact I can pair it with solar and never have to worry
about not enough power, so long as it's sunny, which Baja usually is, not to mention I plan to run a redarc, which would provide additional alternator based power if sun was lacking.
I like the idea of my fridge power being self contained. If I decide to start adding lots of accessories, I can always add a second AGM battery under the hood.

So I'm zero'ing in on a powerbank like Anker (love their products) or Jackery or something like that, orrrrr, building my own power station like this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-nuIcROagaw

Either way, I plan on running a redarc and now just need to decide on a brand name powerbank or a DIY box. But I do have questions:

1. What size IceCo are you using? I'm looking at a tortuga slide as well, possibly paired with solidwoodworx drawer system, but want to make sure a 60L IceCo will fit with the rear seats up.
2. You seem to have a lot of mounting plates on top of your stock location battery. Do you have any recommendations for those? Places to mount fuseblocks, bus bars, switches etc.
3. If I eventually install a second under hood AGM "auxiliary" battery, can the redarc charge charge my starter, auxiliary and a powerbank? Or would I need a second dedicated redarc for that?
4. The braided/flexible colored wiring you have, where are you buying that? Looks super sturdy.
5. I'd like to mount a solar input plug somewhere in my front grill, any recommendations for solar input mounting? I don't want to have to open my hood to plug in, and also don't want to run the solar input
to the back of the vehicle.

 

still kinda confused.....you know you want a redarc but then you say you like the idea of having a lithium battery and if needed could eventually add a second AGM battery under the hood. so is the lithium battery just gonna be in a battery box inside the car hooked up to the redarc? why take up that space when ya could just put the secondary battery in the engine bay? battleborn/dakota/antigravity all have lithium batteries that can fit under hood in a secondary battery location like along the passenger firewall. if you want a fixed lithium battery box in the cargo area, whats its purpose? just to charge the portable power bank? if thats the case, it prob makes more sense to get an alternator charger like the bluetti charger 1 so you can fast charge the powerstation much quicker than it would hooked up to a 12v input off a secondary battery. and then just plug your solar right into the powerstation since they almost all come with solar charging controllers built in.

you are correct when you say everything should be fused, but theres really only one option if you want to run EVERYTHING through a central fuseblock and thats the blue sea safety hub 250. its the only fuseblock that can handle high amperage circuits for all the connections you would need. more often, and what recommended by redarc, is that the main and aux power cables are fused at the battery terminal themselves with either Blue Sea MRBF, Littelfuse Zcase, or inline Mega Fuses. you would then normally have a fuseblock off the secondary battery where you would connect all your accessories (including the leads for any charging ports like a 12v socket, usb, anderson receptacle, etc).

remember, the redarc ONLY charges your secondary battery when either the vehicle is running or solar is plugged in.


1. What size IceCo are you using? I'm looking at a tortuga slide as well, possibly paired with solidwoodworx drawer system, but want to make sure a 60L IceCo will fit with the rear seats up.
I have the apl55 and it fits fine with the rear seats up, not 100% sure the v60pro would but i imagine you'd be fine since i have seen 75l fridges fit with the seats up. the tortuga slide is awesome. just contact Mark and he will take care of ya and confirm what size slide ya need with your fridge. mine is the XL (20x32.5x1) and theres room to spare with the APL55

2. You seem to have a lot of mounting plates on top of your stock location battery. Do you have any recommendations for those? Places to mount fuseblocks, bus bars, switches etc.
I love Derek's mount trays (instagram @sdoffroadmt) but it may be more than ya need if not doing a compressor/swith pros setup. for basic fuseblock trays check out powertrays or rago fab power tray. for trays over the battery itself, KAON bracket for the FJ/PRado or the Bison Gear makes one

3. If I eventually install a second under hood AGM "auxiliary" battery, can the redarc charge charge my starter, auxiliary and a powerbank? Or would I need a second dedicated redarc for that?
again, your powerbank (assuming you mean portable powerstation like an anker or jackery) is going to charge OFF your secondary battery (whether thats an AGM or lifepo4 lithium), not from your redarc. if you want the power station to be your main power source, again, you are off better getting a faster charging alternator charger to run off your main battery and plugging solar directly into that to supplement when you arent driving or have the car running.
for example, lets say you have a jackery and plug your fridge into the jackery as well as charge your phones etc. once that jackery dies (even if its being supplemented with solar power), bringing it to a full charge off the 12v output from a secondary battery (agm or lifepo4 hooked up to the redarc) takes FOREVER since they usually only charge at around 40-80 watts. if you were to instead plug it into an alternator charger like the bluetti charger 1 which charges at 550 watts and run your car for an hour or 45 mins, you'd have a full jackery to last another few days.
OR
If you connect your fridge to your secondary battery (AGM or LifePo connected to the redarc), then connect the redarc solar input, as you draw down the secondary battery you would then start up the car and the redarc handles the recharging of the secondary battery. the redarc cant be hooked up to a something like a jackery directly.


4. The braided/flexible colored wiring you have, where are you buying that? Looks super sturdy.
i use sleeving from MDPC-X which you can buy Titan Rig and Mainframe design Telios sleeving


5. I'd like to mount a solar input plug somewhere in my front grill, any recommendations for solar input mounting? I don't want to have to open my hood to plug in, and also don't want to run the solar input
to the back of the vehicle.
I just have mine under the hood and route it up the windshield cowel and I can still close my hood fine once its plugged in. otherwise, you would just need to find a spot for an anderson input somewhere external. maybe on the roof rack? and then run the input wire down the side of the windshield using a KC wire hider or something?

 

LI Power banks have made dual battery systems obsolete.

Why carry around all the weight of an extra battery system when you aren't using it? And why go through all the work and expense to install the second battery when you can just pick up your power bank, secure it in the Runner and have all the power you need and the ability to solar charge?

To each their own, but my power bank powers loads in the Runner when I need it. But it also allows me to sleep in my own bed with internet, a medical device, a light and a fan when I have a power outage at home. (In TX that's very often, thanks gov. abbutt...)

Otherwise, with a 2nd battery I'd have to sleep in the Runner, which is what convinced me to go LI Power...

 

I wouldnt say obsolete at all.....there are pros and cons to both. if ya cant have both, then go for what yoru usage needs are primarily. I have the dual batt and a power station and while I use both, if i could only have 1 i'd do the dual battery for sure. The dual battery allows me way more customization, ability to hardwire what i know stays in my rig, ability to feed all my switchable lighting, faster charging, ability to power higher amperage, and less work lugging a powerstation back and forth and taking up space. i love my powerstation, dont get me wrong, but its limited in what it can do compared to a well built integrated electral system

 

I didn’t read all the posts yet, but I did see your looking for portable “fridge”

I have a plug in cooler like this, https://www.bougerv.com/collections/dual-zone-fridge , an ecoflow power pack/battery and solar panel. Using the “cig” outlet in the rear to keep it charging when driving, then solar panel when we are at camp. I have added the battery that Bougerv sells and that seems to work great when we are adventuring.

I went this way because we have been ground tenters for decades while raising our kids and before, but knew we were heading towards more us traveling and not the family.

 

You could also keep it REAL simple and get the EcoFlow 2 which is 2 kilowatts for $1k right now. It can use up to 1,000 watts of solar. You can buy multiple folding solar panels and run just about anything.....blender....hair dryer...kureg...etc.

And charge at 65 watts while you drive from the rear cigarette lighter.

And when you dont need it you simply leave it in the garage.

I know you said maybe you would do an eco flow to support moving the fridge outside the car but it can also more than support the fridge in the car. And everything else. Like people have pointed out theres very little need now to run a dual battery setup. There's just no need and it's a lot of work.

 

This

 

Again, thanks for all the detailed responses @clt_ah4runner ! Likely my lack of knowledge on electrical causing some confusion.

The redarc was something I targeted as I was thinking I'd need it for charging my starter battery, auxiliary (under hood AGM or portable powerbank), and could take solar. After watching a few more videos, it seems (like you said) that the redarc won't be able to charge something like an EcoFlow powerbank. It could however charge a LiFePO4 type battery if I built my own box, which I'm still torn around. Building my own box would allow me to swap out components as needed, but it still seems like a lot of work/trial and error I'd likely be going through that makes just buying a powerbank attractive.

As for why build my own box to take up space, it's because an AGM battery under the hood likely wouldn't power my fridge consistently for up to 2 weeks at a time off grid as most are <100Ah. For my set up, I'm targeting 200Ah going with something like a Renogy LiFePO4, or if I buy a powerbank, I'd likely go with 2KwH through something like the Delta 2 Max, or the new Delta 3. I do not want to put a LiFePO4 or any other lithium battery under the hood for safety/longevity concerns with the heat in an engine compartment. But, there are both Bluetti and EcoFlow alternator chargers that I could install to handle fast charging an EcoFlow battery. Seems like plugging a powerbank into the cigarette lighter to charge at 65watts is just not going to cut it.

I have an appointment with Solidwoodworx, through Mark, for this Friday to go to his shop since I'm in San Diego. Looking forward to seeing the options they have in person.

Also, thanks for the mounting plates and braided wiring vendor suggestions!

 

Can you tell us more about the use case? What are you doing? you said 2 weeks of boon docking? are you really staying in one spot for 2 weeks?

 

I currently run a Tesota APDS distribution hub to simplify my wiring needs especially since you need to wire common ground on the load side so your shunt can accurately monitoring power usage and inputs.

You can see redarc in my photo but I have move on to using pure Victron DCDC charger + solar charger just due to Redarc's charging logic was not great for lithium and the max bulk time limits, I found my battery would be on the alternator all day but not fully charged. Firmware has been updated but it cost more than it was worth for me to do it. Not shown but my 100ah is built into my drawers as well strapped to the 80/20 you see there. Also to note on the redarc BCDC classics does not back charge the starter battery so keep that in mind, you will have to look at the newer alpha.

I do see you are trying to go 2 weeks, with 200ah (no other charging) I dont see that possible, a vl75 with other accessories lights / charging electronics will get you about 4 days, if you have other high power items like starlink or diesel heater that goes down significantly. Luckily lifepo volts stay pretty consistent but if you are firing up a diesel heater at 30-40amps at startup you may encounter voltage drop at lower battery levels that causes them to error out.

 

Yea, 2 weeks would be the absolute maximum and it's for camping and fishing exclusively. We don't do any hardcore offroading/trail running. Last summer we did 2 weeks in Baja, with roughly 5-6 days being the longest stint I personally did without any driving. We being a group of 6 dudes who all brought their own vehicles, which meant if we needed to hop in to a local town, we weren't caravaning there. I'm also trying to build in some margin here, so keep that in mind.

I am planning on 400W of solar, which by the calculations I've seen, assuming sun in Baja, which is highly likely for Jun-Aug timeframe, the battery/fridge will run indefinitely without having to drive the truck to charge off the alternator. And then I don't really have any other accessories I'm currently trying to run, like a diesel heater or lights or really anything. Right now it's just for the fridge (beer, food, freezing caught fish).

I did see the victron DCDC charger option in some of the videos I watched. Interesting to hear that could be a better option than redarc or the alternator chargers offered by EcoFlow/Bluetti.

 

I think putting the math down on paper would be good. How much does the fridge need? With 400 watts you could probably run 2 or 3 fridges and be just fine and have a lot left over.


This famous Toyota youtuber did a DC to DC charger, a lot like the Ecoflow "alternator"
https://youtu.be/s_-9vj-hF1M?si=aikPf9Csx0CafkiV

65 watts cigarette charging was working just fine for me because I mostly "overland" style where I'm driving down dirt roads every day but I do have a 160 watt solar panel that is way more than enough to keep a fridge going, and as I said it actually came out to a little over 170 watts on a sunny day. Plenty of sun on Baja for sure.

Sounds like you're setting up a camp. and if you do that then it's great to have something like an ecoflow that you can move around outside the vehicle for most convenience. I carry a small electric kettle and most of my ecoflow's power goes to making instant coffee in the morning. It's just really fast and convenient and we all quickly get our coffee.

I also upgraded my 4Runner's inverter to a Victron 500 watt inverter while maintaining factory plug location and completely hiding the inverter behind the rear plastics in the stock inverter location. Also upgraded the alternator. The factory inverter is not pure sign and so it cant charge an Ecoflow but I'm pretty sure it can charge some other battery stations so maybe look into which ones can use the 4Runner stock inverter.

Or, in a pinch, pop your hood and grab 600 watts or something from your battery for 30 minutes of idling, and make sure you're checking your battery voltage.

I think most of these solutions are easier, more convenient and more practical than a dual battery solution. The dual battery solution is a LOT of work, but maybe that's the point. Some people like the project more than anything. There's been some REALLY cool builds posted on this thread alone and I respect the heck out of them.

 

I gotcha yeah with freezer mode going, you are gonna suck a ton of power but I think with 400watts in non-shaded conditions you should be okay. Its so variant because when you start out you prob will have not much fish in freezer so it takes more energy to keep cold vs later on. I think you are heading on the right direction, obviously you can also run the alternator as necessary if you go critically low.

Keep in mind how you want to run those panels (series vs parallel) along with your solar charger (or the Redarc if you go that route) not to max out those open circuit limits.

I see you are in San Diego (also here), happy to walk you thru my setup as well as recommend basil's garage if you want a turn key solution. Basil is great and can definitely help you with q about power/solar in Baja.

 

@Thacrow - yea I had seen that video during my research. Very interesting, but then I also came across this video which was really where my head was at originally:

https://youtu.be/bbK_RgEHu-8?si=mb3vHFE8UeyDLWEA

I'm very curious to see him splice in the anderson plugs. One of my main questions now is around whether I should upgrade my alternator to work with the EcoFlow 800w DCDC charger. Endless rabit holes on this subject it seems.

@aesthetics - ok cool I'll let you know, thx for the offer. Yea I stopped by Solid Wood Worx today in Miramar and got a run down on their drawer system that I'm going to pair with the fridge and power. Excited to get that going. May stop up to the Costa Mesa Overland Expo as well which is next weekend.

 

@Tacoma2TRX yeah that Anderson plug is where its at so you can remove this thing when not in use. Would be very easy.

That thing charges 800 watts. Divided by 13.5 volts = 59.25 amps. Stock alternator is rated at 130 amps. 80-90 at idle so says Google's AI summary. On the low end of 80, you're left with about 30 amps at idle or 70 amps when driving of excess amperage. Google AI further says it takes roughly 65 amps to operate the vehicle, so you'd really only wants to run this thing while you're driving, and then then you're now only left with approximately 5 amps so you'd better not have an aftermarket stereo or a lot of accessories charging or off road lights.

The really high dude (no problem with that and power to him I just thought it was funny) in the video is talking about tow vehicles, a lot of which have 2 alternators. He even mentioned that you can upgrade alternators.

I only upgraded my alternator (and battery) because I have 1600 watts worth of stereo amps, and that 500 watt upgraded inverter. Granted the amps will typically be on the very low end of this spectrum, I want to be able to run both those and the inverter and never have to worry about anything.

The DC Power alternator does 200 amps at idle claimed but this chart from their website says more like 127 at 1,600 RPM which is the lowest the chart goes, and according to AI the 4runner idles at 600 to 900 RPM. So it's probably fairly close to the stock alternator at idle and therefore a bigger battery is probably a good idea if you're going to get into this sort of thing just to be safe and idiot proof.

Just something to think about. Good thing is that thing can reverse charge your car batter back up so it would be difficult to strand yourself by emptying your car's battery.



Yeah even with this DC Power alternator I'm still not getting a lot of power in normal driving RPM's and saying this is 270 for a 4Runner doesnt feel truthful.

 

Completely agree on the "never have to worry about anything" approach. Having said that, what alternator and bigger starter battery did you go with and how is it performing for you? I've heard the alternator swap on these is challenging....

 

Lots of ingenious and creative ideas in the many posts here.
I am personally not tied to refrigeration for a few days outing. I guess backpacking and Army tour simplified my food needs. I believe portable power supplies/ generators with portable solar panels, alternator, or115 VAC charging can go a long way to provide supplemental power for protection of starting battery, without the complexity and costs of these incredible systems.

 

hey sorry for the delayed reply. I've done a lot of work on my 4runner. swapping the alternator was maybe not the most difficult thing per se but i think it was the most pain the in the ass and least fun. not fun at all. Couldn't see bolts to get to and luckily I have a stupid amount of extensions and elbows so I could get to everything. It was tricky though. And every video starts telling you how to do it, then cuts and it's done. I know they all took so long and just stopped filming as they got frustrated.

I went with an Optima Yellow Top. They don't have as much peak output like a red top but I don't need it. I was more concerned about having the most total watt hours or total capacity in case I put myself in a deficiency over what the alternator could handle.

From what I've read optima might not have the quality it used to and there's plenty others people recommend but if I got a yellow top again - instead of going with the one recommended there's larger capacity ones with terminals on the top AND side which would be cool and I would prefer.

But that created an issue for me. I was getting a low voltage warning after start up. After changing to the DC Power alternator I was charging at about 14.2 and still getting low voltage warning. I then installed one of these voltage boosters and never had the issue again. I'm charging at like 14.5 or 14.6.
https://voltageboosterpro.com/product/og/

Lot of work, but pretty fool proof system now.

Issue I ran into on the DC Power install was mounting wasn't flush and had to sand down a washer to use as a spacer which was annoying.