In-bed 12v outlet

[rafaelsmith]

400W/110v gets you roughly 3.6A. Things you can run on less than 4 amps include things like an ARB / Engel fridge, lights, stereo, laptop chargers, etc. Things you won’t want to plug in are most tools, compressors, shop vacs, portable heaters, and very long extension cords.

By way of reference, in a modern US home the smallest amp breaker you’ll see is a 15A one, so if you’ve ever tripped one of those this is much much smaller.

I have the bed outlet but it does seem pretty useless.

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[SKETCHY JEEP]

Back to the original question, yes, it has been done. I was not the first.

Here's the detail, picture was a few posts above.

https://www.jeepgladiatorforum.com/...our-gladiator-today.23705/page-58#post-391321

Did you run the wire inside the cab or external all the way to the battery

 

[Sespe]

Did you run the wire inside the cab or external all the way to the battery

I don't have the aux switches, so I went external all the way to the battery.

 

[cwieland]

Does anyone know a way to use the 120v outlet without the truck being in aux/on?

 

[steelponycowboy]

I need a 60 amp outlet for a flat iron, hair dryer, space heater, and Keurig. Then, just maybe, I’d be able to get my wife and 3 girls to go camping.

Get a 1500 to 2000 watt inverter, mount it under the rear seat and you should be good to go. You could do like me and leave the wife and 3 girls home and have a more peaceful camping trip

 

[steelponycowboy]

Not so certain about that. I called a guy from Jeep about this very same issue as I also would like to get the trail rail system on a base Soort model. And the build site does not show that it is available for a Sport model. And we had some emails back and forth about this. Long story short he told me in 2 separate emails that the trail rail system would be available on “all” trim levels. See the attached email.

I wanted this for a couple of reasons. I like the idea of being able to lock things underneath the rear seats. And I would like to have the 4 tie down points in the truck bed. This should be a standard thing in any pick up bed. Don’t really need or care about the bed power outlet.

But I also was trying to find a if I would have to have that trail rail system in order to also then get the Mopar hard trifold tonneau cover. It’s more than difficult to get anyone at Jeep or at Mopar to say if that will be required. And I’ve never seen a picture of that hard trifold tonneau cover. But hey the guy says I can get a trail rail system on all models, includes the Sport. So hopefully he has given me some correct info. I will ask my dealer to order both trail rail system plus that hard tonneau cover when I get them to order one for me.

Like everyone else in the world I am waiting for confirmation of pricing before I order.

Hope this info from the Jeep guy helps you & I hope it’s correct.

If you don't need the power outlet or if the wattage is too low for what you might want it for why pay $1000 for the factory option for the trail rail system? You can buy just the rails from Mopar Parts for about $350. Save that $650 and get a real inverter.

 

[Canyon State Overland]

Does anyone know a way to use the 120v outlet without the truck being in aux/on?

I would love to find an answer to this one!

 

[cwieland]

I would love to find an answer to this one!

ditto....

 

[steelponycowboy]

I would love to find an answer to this one!

I think that is a "safety" measure because inverter use can leave you with a dead battery. It's not a big inverter but it still draws power faster than any other device in your Jeep.

 

[Deleted member 28696]

So for real. I have an actual post related questions for people who actually have used a plug like this in the field in actual weather conditions etc:

What can be plugged into and run from the oem outlet?

What can be plugged into and run from the after market outlet?

And, they made such strides in tech that 24 volt systems were overtaken by twelve volt systems. Why does my new JT have two batteries? And why did they hide one? Thanks in advance.

The Second Hidden Battery is for the Start Stop functionality I heard this on a youtube video from a guy who replaced one and it was probably hidden to make more room, I would assume. Kind of a nightmare to replace honestly.

 

[Deleted member 28696]

I have the bed outlet but it does seem pretty useless.

A company build for SEMA had a Trager Grill swing out attached to the bed and I assume they plugged the Trager into the 120v bed plug so that's kind of cool if you tailgate or camp. I use the plug in the Cab to recharge my camera batteries. I'm putting a 115v plug in the JTR bed this weekend but I'm not sure how much I'll use it.

 

[869 KPH]

But will it power a margarita machine? (My wife wants to know - This is how i sold her...)

Can I get an update on this? lol. I need to know if anyone has tried seeing if it doesn't actually pull down 450w.

 

[dcmdon]

Anyone else prefer to have a 12v outlet in the bed rather than the 110v one? Most stuff I’d want to plug in on my trucks either draws way too many amps to work with that 400w inverter, or is already 12v.

Maybe someone will come up with a nice kit to mount a 12v outlet or two...

The problem is that to provide 400 watts using 12v, you would need to draw 33 amps!!!

This would require HUUGGEEE wiring. (10 AWG vs 20 AWG).

So if you want to maximize the power you can bring to the bed without running a dedicated line off the battery, then you are better off with 120v.

 

[dcmdon]

If you want to creat a high power system for the bed, you should run the inverter up close to the battery.

That will allow you to run thinner wire to the back of the truck since the higher voltage means that amperage will be reduced. (you don't size wire based on power or voltage, you size it based on amperage or current).

As an extreme example. To make 400 watts at 1 volt, you would need 400 amps. Which would require wire as thick as your thumb. To make 400 watts at 400 volts would require 1 amp. Which could be carried by a wire as thick as a strand of spaghetti.

So better to convert to 120v as close to the battery as possible.

 

[KX L]

But will it power a margarita machine? (My wife wants to know - This is how i sold her...)

No it will not.

I spent 2018-2020 crisscrossing the country living in a 45 foot Renegade RV that had an internal 16' garage for my Harley, motorcycle lift, and 3 large tool boxes. For power I had 6 large permanently mounted 180V solar panels and a GoPower Industrial 3000W pure sine wave Invertor. Unless I was running my 12,000 Watt Onan Diesel Generator my 115V outlets wouldn't run hair dryers, blenders etc.

The Jeep outlet in the bed, as stated by many on this thread, is only for charging small stuff. You definitely cannot run a blender without running a very high risk of it just not working due to overload. The good news is that supposedly it just won't work if an overload---so theoretically you can test your blender. I'm definitely not going to do so because I'm not willing to risk causing an electrical issue.

If you're using the 12V plug on the dash and overload---you'll blow a fuse and then have to deal with that crap.

Bottomline from my perspective----buy a small gas generator so you can run your refrigerator, blender etc without worry.

From the Owners Manual:

WARNING!

To avoid serious injury or death: • Do not insert any objects into the receptacles. • Do not touch with wet hands. • Close the lid when not in use. • If this outlet is mishandled, it may cause an electric shock and failure.

CAUTION! (Continued)

After the use of high power draw accessories, or long periods of the vehicle not being started (with accessories still plugged in), the vehicle must be driven a suffi- cient length of time to allow the alternator to recharge the vehicle's battery. Power outlets are designed for accessory plugs only. Do not hang any type of accessory or accessory bracket from the plug. Improper use of the power outlet can cause damage.

CAUTION!

Many accessories that can be plugged in draw power from the vehicle's battery, even when not in use (i.e., cellular phones, etc.). Eventually, if plugged in long enough, the vehicle's battery will discharge sufficiently to degrade battery life and/or prevent the engine from starting. Accessories that draw higher power (i.e., coolers, vacuum cleaners, lights, etc.), will degrade the battery even more quickly. Only use these intermittently and with greater caution.

Power Inverters — If Equipped

There is a 115 V (400 W) maximum inverter outlet located on the back of the center console to convert Direct Current (DC) current to Alternating Current (AC).

This outlet can power cellular phones, electronics and other low power devices requiring power up to 400 W. Certain high-end video game consoles exceed this power limit, as will most power tools.

There may also be a second 115 V (400 W) maximum exterior power inverter located on the rear right side of the truck bed near the tailgate. This inverter can be turned on by the Instrument Panel Power Inverter switch located to the left of the steering wheel. This inverter can power cellular phones, electronics and other low power devices requiring power up to 400 W. Certain high-end video game consoles exceed this limit, as will most power tools.

NOTE:
400 W is the maximum for the inverter, not each outlet. If two outlets are in use, 400 W is shared amongst the devices plugged in.

The power inverter is designed with built-in overload protection. If the power rating of 400 W is exceeded, the power inverter automatically shuts down. Once the electrical device has been removed from the outlet, the inverter should automatically reset.

NOTE:
The Power Inverter will only turn on if the ignition is in the ACC or ON/RUN position.

Due to built-in overload protection, the power inverter will turn off if the power rating is exceeded.

Auxiliary Switches — If Equipped
Four auxiliary switches are located in the lower switch bank of the instrument panel and can be used to power various electrical devices.

The functionality of the auxiliary switches can be changed via the Uconnect settings. All switches can be configured for setting the switch type operation to latching or momentary, power source of either battery or ignition, and ability to hold last state across key cycles.

Auxiliary Switches

WARNING!
To avoid serious injury or death:
• Do not insert any objects into the receptacles.
• Do not touch with wet hands.
• Close the lid when not in use.
• If this outlet is mishandled, it may cause an electric shock and failure.

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