Old video of my BushTracker bouncing / spinning/ slowly hauling up an old decommissioned logging road
New front springs as well now......just bloody excellent !!! Been having power issues for my fridge....already upgraded the cable (from socket to fridge) but they persisted intermittently and annoyed me greatly on a trip a couple of weeks ago. Pulled the socket (has it was as hot as all get out ..... And it's actually melted.... Replacing all the points from the car to the fridge (car panel, cable end, fridge end of the cable and fridge socket) with Anderson plugs... Will knock it over next weekend once the 3D printed cover for the car panel plug arrived to tidy it all up, protect the joined plugs and make it look as handsome as me..!!
As the post didn't cooperate for the plug cover to arrive so I could finish this I had to satisfy myself yesterday with doing up the car end of the fridge cable - added some insulation tape to it after the pic to tidy it a little further..... And the post did cooperate and the cover was waiting for me today (but it will be next weekend to get it dome... Cover (you can see the wiring ready for it in the background).... Underside shows how the Anderson Plug is retained....
Well with a little time to myself this afternoon I decided to try and knock over the last of the power plug work as I will need it in a few weeks and wanted some time to start again if my plan failed…. Plug on…. Assembled and screwed down….. …..that makes it sound easier than it was….had to thread my monkey arms up from under the deck inside the quarter panel (laying on my chest under the deck) and fingertip on the washers and nuts, I am sure my forearm will heal eventually .. ! Cable connected…. ….hooked up the other end to the fridge and powered it up. No flash, bang or blown fuse. An inexpert opinion is that the fridge is starting to cool (as I can feel the heating element giving off heat at the vent). Now have to put all that crap back in behind the panel… !!
Sunday update - power outlet seems to be working well. Fridge is cooling and running better than it ever has in this truck !!!
Nice, I'm wrapping up a 30% seat delete to move my fridge into the truck cab. It's all DIY since most premade kits are intended for a full delete. I have an extra ARB plug outlet, and I'm considering running it back there versus using the factory plug.
The consensus sees to be if you can get away from cigarette lighter type plus (including the Merit plug that I had tried here) you should. They will lack the capacity for more amp hungry products but for those of us that travel, especially on unsealed roads, the connection is not secure enough so the power is alternating with connected/not connected which does not support good function, creates resistance which creates heat and then you have the issues I did. I am toying with removing the back seat from mine and doing an extension of the false floor in the back to right behind the front seats (or close). I don't often carry more than one passenger but once done it is not practical to reverse it readily. I look forward to seeing a pic of your fridge setup !
Yeah, I've always used an aftermarket outlet in the bed up until now. I picked up a little 35 liter Dometic that has a cool lid that can open along either long side. It allows me to access it from inside the cab, or from the back passenger door. Once I get it wrapped up I'll post up a thread.
@Andy the Aussie You good with electrical inverters in cars?! I have always wired my cars and trucks and have never had a problem sound systems lights compressors all that fun stuff. but when it comes to inverters ……..I’m not that smart and can never figure it out googling it. It’s also a costly trial and error. So I have a spod setup in my 2022 ram promaster city it’s my plumbing van. I have a 6 pack rapid battery charger m12 and m18 I’m looking to do an inverter so I can charge on the go. I’ll post some pics of my setup. Here is the info for the inverter I can hardwire it to the battery and maybe do the power on/off threw the spod?
You have probably gone past my level of technical knowledge mate, honestly if it requires much more than hitt'n with a big hammer I am lost !! @Jeff Randall seems quite knowledgeable on such things as he often extols the virtues of Li-Ion products to me as well as his like of the Aussie made Redarc gear !
Just got the kit for my roof rack that is designed to let you secure a square box/crate etc to the rack, basically for metal corners that you can adjust along rack tracks as well as width..... You then use one or two ratchet straps to the eyes to secure your cargo. Basically to limit movement under speed etc more than you would with just the eye bolts. In my case I am using it first for a trip to secure the cased saw. As the end of the saw case has a taper I have turned then 45 degs to match that taper....
@Andy the Aussie Is that the rhino rack. I had that on the jeep I miss the heck out of that rack. I use to be able to strap so much up here. I like the stoppers that slide in the track.
No this one is the Eezi-awn K9 rack. Very similar concept to the Rhino Rack but better executed I think. Many more accessories for the Rhino Rack though.
If I'm reading this right the max draw on the Milwaukee charging system is 6 amps @ 120V, which would equal 720 watts of power required to fully power it. So, most likely a 1000 watt inverter is all you need to do this. Edited: The Redarc and Renogy 1000 watt inverter (I own one of the Renogy units) cables are not going to fit on your switch pod without a relay (unless it's a huge disconnect - I'm not familiar with your switch pod). Not sure if this is a concern. Shouldn't be since both units have their own switching. Simply turn them on with their own switch when you want to charge.
As far as I'm concerned Redarc is the best in the business. It's a shame they don't speak good English when you call down there to talk to them. I always have to hire an English to Aussie translator.
This is the unit I bought for our SAR trailer. It’s an inverter/charger. Puts out 1000 watts pure sine wave AC on the output side. It also doubles as a battery charger, so when you’re parked and have commercial AC available (or a generator in our case) then simply plug it in on the commercial power input side and it charges the main battery (will not over-charge since it quits charging when battery is full) in your vehicle while plugged into commercial power, as well as continuing to supply AC out of its AC ports (so no need to unplug your stuff and re-plug it into commercial AC). Once unplugged from commercial power it automatically reverts back to supply power from you vehicle battery with no AC output interruptions. Real simple unit to install and provides good power. https://www.renogy.com/1000w-pure-sine-wave-inverter-charger/
okay I’ll give that a try. I do understand about the switch. I’m going to take the power right from battery. But then I thought they had like an on/off switch low voltage that I want to wire into the s-pod I’ll tell you how it ends up.
Some systems will have a sense lead that wires back to your ignition switch. Basically just a relay that closes the input circuit once the ignition switch is on. You will see this a lot in DC to DC charging units for RVs, etc. Do not have ours setup that way since we want to be able to use the system without having a secondary power source on, so just using the switch on the system works for us.
