Retro dual battery setup – will this work?

[John in the Woods]

I headed out this year for some travel, a mix of highway and couches broken up by extended dirt trails and tent sites. For power I brought an EcoFlow River Pro 720Wh power station, connected to the truck DC power plug while I drive and to a set of 110W EcoFlow portable solar panels when I camp. I do some light recharging of lights, a fan, a phone and a laptop, but nothing too monstrous. No video editing, no drone, no elaborate camp lights. The main thing this setup powers is an IceCo VL60 dual zone fridge.

I definitely faced some challenges with that setup on site stays beyond a day or so, especially if it was either hot (triggering the fridge a lot) or cloudy (limiting the solar panels). More than once I had to add in a day of driving around the campsite just to try and get ahead of the charge/drain game. I've got a little more detail on that here.

My first thought was to improve the factors in the same equation by adding storage capacity with an EcoFlow expansion battery (adds 720Wh to the same unit for about $350) and another 110W solar panel with some added cable (about $350 more) to chase the sun better. It should work, since the truck could charge the batteries to twice the capacity during long drives, giving me longer operation time to bridge cloudy and hot days until I can more productively chase the sun.

While doing some research here, I ran into a great thread from @Mr._Bill about his dual battery set up, as well as some great insight from multiple member on a thread about the Genesis system.

That got me thinking ... for a previous build that I retired 5 or so years ago, I had purchased a dual battery setup from a Swiss company called Intelligent Battery System (IBS for short, and not to be confused with the Jeep IBS system we all already have). It comes with a 200A relay/isolator, a control module for the cab, 10 feet of #4 Flex-A-Prene welding cable in red and black, a plug-and-play wiring harness for it all and all the basic hardware. When I unpacked the old box with this stuff, I also found a Blue Sea power panel (4363), 100A circuit breaker, a DC subpanel/fuse block and a bunch of wire and odd power outlets. This stuff was the real deal 8 years or so ago when I got into this, but I never found the time back them to install it.

The first, big question for the many folks here who are way smarter than me is: Can this setup work on the Gladiator?

From what I can tell from @Mr._Bill and friends, if I get the right battery I should have a viable "house power" system onboard. With the addition of an MPPT solar controller, a 200A breaker at the main battery for safety, and a little more #4 wire, I should be able to add a battery box to the front of the bed that can not only power my fridge and minimal gear, but also have the capacity and safety to add camp lights, power into a RTT if I add one, and be available as a backup to jump the main battery or link for added winch support if ever needed in a pinch. I save the cost of the added EcoFlow battery and a portable jump starter (about $500), and pick up the cost of an AGM battery, solar controller and added wire (I'm guessing between $500-$600). Seems like pretty near a wash, and I get a much more capability.

Am I nuts?

I know late fall always brings fever dreams up truck upgrades, but this one actually seems to make sense. (Also, I'd still have the existing EcoFlow portable station, which can charge from House while I drive, to fill in any gaps or take into a ground tent if I bring some company)

I'm very much eager to know what you think. For added background, here's the dual battery system I found tucked in my old-stuff box:

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[Mr._Bill]

I don't see any reason why it would not work. It's a bit fancier kit form of what I pieced together. Where the diagram shows the 200 Amp relay is where I have the Smart Isolator, which includes a big relay also rated for 200 amps. My setup does not include the solar portion, but it would be nice to have.

 

[John in the Woods]

I don't see any reason why it would not work. It's a bit fancier kit form of what I pieced together. Where the diagram shows the 200 Amp relay is where I have the Smart Isolator, which includes a big relay also rated for 200 amps. My setup does not include the solar portion, but it would be nice to have.

Thanks. What do you recommend for the house battery?

 

[Mr._Bill]

I would get a deep-cycle AGM battery. I used a 34M from Sam's Club.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

I had to sort of laugh to myself, though, when I saw the voltages and at the bottom was "low battery".
Seriously, when you get down to 12 volts that's REALLY low on an AGM.

I would get a deep-cycle AGM battery. I used a 34M from Sam's Club.

Yeah - what he said.

 

[John in the Woods]

I would get a deep-cycle AGM battery. I used a 34M from Sam's Club.

Thank you again, my friend. I think I'm going to try an Optima Blue Top D34M. I had luck with Optima on my old rig, and I can get this at the local AutoZone where I've got an unused $150 gift card. So half price!

I had to sort of laugh to myself, though, when I saw the voltages and at the bottom was "low battery".
Seriously, when you get down to 12 volts that's REALLY low on an AGM.

Excellent point. I'll add few dots of red paint to that monitor display to remind me that if voltages drift south of 12.0, I'm into the danger zone and it's time to figure out why.

My thanks to you both. I'll add a few pics and notes when I put this all together, and keep posted on how it performs.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

Thank you again, my friend. I think I'm going to try an Optima Blue Top D34M. I had luck with Optima on my old rig, and I can get this at the local AutoZone where I've got an unused $150 gift card. So half price!


Excellent point. I'll add few dots of red paint to that monitor display to remind me that if voltages drift south of 12.0, I'm into the danger zone and it's time to figure out why.

My thanks to you both. I'll add a few pics and notes when I put this all together, and keep posted on how it performs.

I'll temper my comments with - I see Mr._Bill said deep cycle. The numbers for that may be different but generally speaking - do be wary of taking typical batteries down too low.
It's amazing the number of "cycles" that fall off a battery that's taken too low even if charged fully, and it's worse if they are taken low and never 100% fully charged.
Your project will be interesting. I have an interest in the old-school methods that have worked for decades, and how people get creative instead of spending $1,200 bucks on something for peer approval they didn't even design (LOL - that'll ruffle 2 or 3 more feathers. )

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