Bed 12v power supply question

[Kopfyeager]

So I’ve read pretty much all the posts on this topic but find my “non-electrical skills” disability clouding my ability to cypher the answers to my issue.

I’m wanting to run power (12v) to the bed aperture provided to power a Jackery while driving which in turn will run my Amazon 48 qt fridge freezer. On stopping for the day I will rely on the fully charged Jackery to power the fridge.
I understand and will fuse the circuit at the battery (through an auxiliary switch (Auxbeam).
I plan on using an SAE connector to securely connect the circuit to the Jackery but my main confusion lies in the following two questions:

1. What gauge wire do I use From the battery to the power terminal feeding the jackery?

2. What size fuse to use on the circuit at the aux switch wiring module?

I do not plan to keep this as a hot circuit, only while driving to power the fridge through the jackery while the jackery is charging. Once at camp the jackery will take over without the jeeps power to run the fridge.

im hoping this is clear enough to garner any words of advice and hopefully will resolve my confusion with your words of wisdom.

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[ShadowsPapa]

So I’ve read pretty much all the posts on this topic but find my “non-electrical skills” disability clouding my ability to cypher the answers to my issue.

I’m wanting to run power (12v) to the bed aperture provided to power a Jackery while driving which in turn will run my Amazon 48 qt fridge freezer. On stopping for the day I will rely on the fully charged Jackery to power the fridge.
I understand and will fuse the circuit at the battery (through an auxiliary switch (Auxbeam).
I plan on using an SAE connector to securely connect the circuit to the Jackery but my main confusion lies in the following two questions:

1. What gauge wire do I use From the battery to the power terminal feeding the jackery?

2. What size fuse to use on the circuit at the aux switch wiring module?

I do not plan to keep this as a hot circuit, only while driving to power the fridge through the jackery while the jackery is charging. Once at camp the jackery will take over without the jeeps power to run the fridge.

im hoping this is clear enough to garner any words of advice and hopefully will resolve my confusion with your words of wisdom.

If you plan on NOT using a 12v outlet that looks like a lighter socket, you are less limited - that being said, you will be limited by the connectors you want to use, and the needs of the device you wish to run on this circuit.
What can your connectors handle? Will your unit take less than the connectors can handle?
If the device ("Jackery") needs 20 amps and the connectors will handle 20+ then run wire that will handle at least 20 amps - like 25 amps, for example.

you FUSE to protect the wire -
If your wire can handle 25 amps, do not use a fuse larger than 25 amps. I'd go 20 amp fuse for wire that can handle 25, just for example.
If the wire can handle 30 amps easily, then fuse for LESS than 30 amps.
The connectors will be "part of the wire" so if the connectors handle 25 amps, fuse for less than 25 amps.

 

[Kajo]

I want to do the same thing but have an idea to go at it a different way. This is my plan but have not tested any of it yet but should work.

Step 1 - Make the 30 amp hitch fuses (36 and/or 37??) , "Switched" similar to the USB switched writeup here: center console USB switched
This step is actually optional if I wanted the 12V in the bed hot at all times.

Step 2 - buy and install a 7 pin wiring harness extension such as:
7 pin adapter

Step 3 - Run the 12V power up to where the JEEP 120 volt panel goes to a panel similar to this:
12V Panel

This way no additional wire is run and it will utilize a 30 amp fuse and wiring that is already installed in the Gladiator but for me is currently never used.

Anyone with more electrical skill than me feel free to critique this plan.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

I want to do the same thing but have an idea to go at it a different way. This is my plan but have not tested any of it yet but should work.

Step 1 - Make the 30 amp hitch fuses (36 and/or 37??) , "Switched" similar to the USB switched writeup here: center console USB switched
This step is actually optional if I wanted the 12V in the bed hot at all times.

Step 2 - buy and install a 7 pin wiring harness extension such as:
7 pin adapter

Step 3 - Run the 12V power up to where the JEEP 120 volt panel goes to a panel similar to this:
12V Panel

This way no additional wire is run and it will utilize a 30 amp fuse and wiring that is already installed in the Gladiator but for me is currently never used.

Anyone with more electrical skill than me feel free to critique this plan.

Two reasons I'd not do it that way -

1 - nope, I TOW. You want that 12v at the trailer plug hot all of the time. That charges the emergency braking battery, among doing other things.
Don't even THINK of touching F36! You are getting into dangerous territory there now. Best not to mess with what you don't know about - or the future of the truck of someone mindlessly thinks that's a trailer plug with 12v and brakes (what the heck would they be thinking! LOL) and connects to it - and bang, troubles............
Best to leave SAFETY things alone.
You can use that 12v power - but to think about changing it in any way is not wise.

Now, other reasons I'd not use that UNswitched connections -

A. It's hot all the time meaning you could get up to a DEAD battery if what you power back there has constant draw of any type at all, even just a small draw.
I made mine switched and ran new wires because I didn't want to go out to, or wake up to, a truck that wouldn't start after a night out somewhere and my devices killed the battery. (I also wired mine with a volt meter so I could watch what was going on back there)

B. It's so bloody simple to run wires back there from the aux switch to the right side of the bed panel, it's just silly. I fed heavy wires for both ground and hot feed through the frame. The wires enter the frame up front, through a hole and protected by a wire grommet.
It didn't take long at all - I bet I have 30 minutes in my wire runs.
Another run I made for lower amp feed follows the factory wiring harness along the TOP of the right frame rail.
This way - if I'm in an accident, those wires not only are not hot because I have not turned on the AUX switch, but even if they were, they are protected at least as well as the factory wiring on top of the frame, and those I ran inside the frame are protected even better. My truck would have to be crushed and me dead before those wires are at risk. And at that point, I likely wouldn't give a damn. Everything is hot where I'm likely to go.

It's frankly as easy and as cheap to run wires back from the aux switch feeds as it is to buy a harness adapter and run wires across from the left side over to the right.
And from the aux switches, they are already protected by a fuse and relay. The aux switch fuse will blow. No need for changing any wiring around that shouldn't be changed around because normal people expect that to act like a trailer connection, no need for extra fuses, no need to buy an adapter, and your aux switch is made to handle such things and much more.
It's fused, it's protected, it's programmable, and if your truck's voltage drops to a level where the truck won't start - the aux switch will cut off power!
There's another plus - I did program my aux switch to run even with ign off - but because they cut off below 11.x volts, even if I forget and leave something plugged in, my truck will likely still start in the morning.

No reason to mess with factory stuff, or over-think things. Just use your aux switches as intended, run wires back on top of or inside the frame rail. About 30 minutes. If you are slow and clumsy and really bad at thinking things through or running wires, 60 minutes tops.
So in the end, just as cheap if not cheaper, and just as fast if not faster than your ideas.

Do what you wish and how you wish - it's your truck. That would "work" but isn't ideal. And definitely don't change the way the wires there are controlled. And don't mess with F36!
(But please send me the VIN of your truck so I know never to buy it in the future as I won't be able to trust the wiring for towing my tailer. J/K - sort of........... )

 

[Kajo]

Two reasons I'd not do it that way -

1 - nope, I TOW. You want that 12v at the trailer plug hot all of the time. That charges the emergency braking battery, among doing other things.
Don't even THINK of touching F36! You are getting into dangerous territory there now. Best not to mess with what you don't know about - or the future of the truck of someone mindlessly thinks that's a trailer plug with 12v and brakes (what the heck would they be thinking! LOL) and connects to it - and bang, troubles............
Best to leave SAFETY things alone.
You can use that 12v power - but to think about changing it in any way is not wise.

Now, other reasons I'd not use that UNswitched connections -

A. It's hot all the time meaning you could get up to a DEAD battery if what you power back there has constant draw of any type at all, even just a small draw.
I made mine switched and ran new wires because I didn't want to go out to, or wake up to, a truck that wouldn't start after a night out somewhere and my devices killed the battery. (I also wired mine with a volt meter so I could watch what was going on back there)

B. It's so bloody simple to run wires back there from the aux switch to the right side of the bed panel, it's just silly. I fed heavy wires for both ground and hot feed through the frame. The wires enter the frame up front, through a hole and protected by a wire grommet.
It didn't take long at all - I bet I have 30 minutes in my wire runs.
Another run I made for lower amp feed follows the factory wiring harness along the TOP of the right frame rail.
This way - if I'm in an accident, those wires not only are not hot because I have not turned on the AUX switch, but even if they were, they are protected at least as well as the factory wiring on top of the frame, and those I ran inside the frame are protected even better. My truck would have to be crushed and me dead before those wires are at risk. And at that point, I likely wouldn't give a damn. Everything is hot where I'm likely to go.

It's frankly as easy and as cheap to run wires back from the aux switch feeds as it is to buy a harness adapter and run wires across from the left side over to the right.
And from the aux switches, they are already protected by a fuse and relay. The aux switch fuse will blow. No need for changing any wiring around that shouldn't be changed around because normal people expect that to act like a trailer connection, no need for extra fuses, no need to buy an adapter, and your aux switch is made to handle such things and much more.
It's fused, it's protected, it's programmable, and if your truck's voltage drops to a level where the truck won't start - the aux switch will cut off power!
There's another plus - I did program my aux switch to run even with ign off - but because they cut off below 11.x volts, even if I forget and leave something plugged in, my truck will likely still start in the morning.

No reason to mess with factory stuff, or over-think things. Just use your aux switches as intended, run wires back on top of or inside the frame rail. About 30 minutes. If you are slow and clumsy and really bad at thinking things through or running wires, 60 minutes tops.
So in the end, just as cheap if not cheaper, and just as fast if not faster than your ideas.

Do what you wish and how you wish - it's your truck. That would "work" but isn't ideal. And definitely don't change the way the wires there are controlled. And don't mess with F36!
(But please send me the VIN of your truck so I know never to buy it in the future as I won't be able to trust the wiring for towing my tailer. J/K - sort of........... )

I can see and respect your point of view here which is why I was open to critiquing my idea. Any respectable owner would disclose or remove a modification that changed the trailer 12V from constant to switched before they sold it. In my case I moved to the Gladiator from a full size pickup because I do not plan to tow with my Gladiator which has replaced my tow rig and off-road only Toy.

Using an unused 30 amp rated circuit makes sense to me if done properly, the system is there so why let it go to waste if not being used. To be honest, I already have run 10 gauge wire to my bed, passenger side right behind the cab, to power an air compressor hooked up to an Auxbeam 8 gang switch panel and you are 100% correct it is a 30 minute job to run the wires that way.

 

[Jeepasaurus_Rex]

So, I'm using this kit provided by Rebel Off Road. I ran it to the bed, and I run my fridge directly off of it. I then installed a Cascadia 4x4 hood solar panel to charge the battery during the day.

I've had this setup since about May of this year, and I leave the fridge back there and on almost all of the time, and haven't had any charging issues or had the fridge turn off but just a few times in the middle of summer. I've also got a huuuuge fridge.

Just figured i'd come in here and provide another solution, or give you an idea for something different.

Link to the kit:
https://rebeloffroad.com/dometic-dc-hard-wire-kit-hwk-dc/

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