Setting up accessories? Fridge, exterior rack lights, air?

[Gladiatorwolves]

Hello,
I’m sure this has been a popular topic but how is everyone setting up their fridges, exterior lights, on board air? I have a gladiator rubicon unfortunately it doesn’t have the bed outlet. So question:
-Do people just add this in bed outlet in?
-Can you post pics of your setup?
-Thinking of using genesis off-road dual battery setup, anybody using this? Is it dope?
-Anyone using jackery or any other system?
-Anybody have solar added to their gladiator??
Thank you everyone for the reply and info!

Sponsored

 

[Mr._Bill]

Search the forums, there are a lot of threads on these topics.

You cannot just add the bed outlet. There are items that need to be in place, including the interior outlet, before considering attempting it. Also, it only works with the engine running.

 

[HooliganActual]

If you don't have the bed outlet, it can be added; but as Mr Bill was saying there is a lot of "extra" that has to be done to replicate the factory install.

I did not have the factory bed outlet but created my own setup:

Instead of doing something like the Genesis setup, I installed solar with a 100aH battery and 30A DC-DC MPPT. This provides all the power I could want in the bed for my fridge, lighting, USB chargers, water pump, etc.

Now that may be more than you want to do but there is no reason that you couldn't run wiring from your battery back to fuse block in the bed. In fact, in the top right of the above picture is a Trigger Controller (grey with two little antennas) that you could use. On my JKUR, I have one mounted under the hood, which runs all of my accessories via either an RF remote that comes with it or via Bluetooth and an App on my phone.

You could simply mount one of these under your hood and run wiring to whatever you need. Mine are 4 switch units but they make a 6 switch as well. What I like about this unit is the Bluetooth/RF remote aspect. Mount it on your dash to run things from the cab and then pop it off it's mount and carry it back to the bed...

 

[chorky]

Hello,
I’m sure this has been a popular topic but how is everyone setting up their fridges, exterior lights, on board air? I have a gladiator rubicon unfortunately it doesn’t have the bed outlet. So question:
-Do people just add this in bed outlet in?
-Can you post pics of your setup?
-Thinking of using genesis off-road dual battery setup, anybody using this? Is it dope?
-Anyone using jackery or any other system?
-Anybody have solar added to their gladiator??
Thank you everyone for the reply and info!

It sounds like you don't have any electrical knowledge or know-how so I would strongly suggest reading up and understanding that before attempting to wire up accessories. Doing electrical wrong can cause big problems.

Lots of folks here have fridges, lights, and a variety of other accessories. A few of us have the genesis system, others have lithium batteries with a DC/DC charger. Some run solar, others don't. Theres a lot of knowledge here, and on expedition portal.com as well as other jeep sites. It also depends on your vehicle, if you have aux switches or want to use them, where you want items to go. Theres a lot of reading ahead to see all the variety of options so that you can choose the right setup for you.

Looking into and reading build threads can also be very helpful and expose you to a variety of options.

 

[TroutFishingInAmerica]

I use a Bluetti Eb55 and 200 watts of portable solar panels. This is not sophisticated by any means, it's pretty simple, I don't have a need for big power. Driving plugged into the factory inverter takes 3-4 hours to full charge, the 200 watts solar takes at least that and longer depending on the sun. It's a good size for me, I'm a little bit of a minimalist and at 537 watt hours I wouldn't go any smaller. Figure out your electrical needs first then go a little bigger. Mine is simplistic and basic, there's so many options available it's nuts.

 

[GladLad]

I use a Bluetti Eb55 and 200 watts of portable solar panels. This is not sophisticated by any means, it's pretty simple, I don't have a need for big power. Driving plugged into the factory inverter takes 3-4 hours to full charge, the 200 watts solar takes at least that and longer depending on the sun. It's a good size for me, I'm a little bit of a minimalist and at 537 watt hours I wouldn't go any smaller. Figure out your electrical needs first then go a little bigger. Mine is simplistic and basic, there's so many options available it's nuts.

You have the bed outlet, or battery in the cab for internal outlet? Was wondering about even putting cord through back window, but then have to consider breaking tonneau seal.

 

[TroutFishingInAmerica]

You have the bed outlet, or battery in the cab for internal outlet? Was wondering about even putting cord through back window, but then have to consider breaking tonneau seal.

I don't have a bed outlet, I have the 110 AC in the cab. I thought about running 12 DC to the bed, several here have done it, pretty simple installation it looks like. I don't think (for me) running AC to the bed would have any advantage, the only thing I use my AC for is charging batteries, so I would run DC to the bed. I'll probably do it eventually, tap into a AUX switch and put DC in the bed, just hasn't been a priority yet, would be convenient though. My Bluetti charges fairly fast, I can plug it in to my AC sucking 200 watts and simultaneously plug in the solar at up to 200 watts and it rocks. It has pass through so I can use it when it is charging. There's definitely more convenient and sophisticated systems out there, this is a humble system. Maybe down the road I'll need something else, so far it's covered all my bases.

 

[Blade1668]

Robert

Quite a few of us have added auxiliary power in bed, lights, ect ect.
I added 12v where the factory 120 ac outlet is. With "cigar lighter" and SAE plug, then Anderson 50 amp plug in front of bed plus multiple other outlets, LED lights on and on. 2 separate solar systems the Cascadia system to starting batteries. 200 w solar system for house battery. I've got a thread on this subject somewhere. For last few weeks I've been busy with my project and not been online much. But if you have any questions please msg me, I can try to look up the thread or post some pictures.

 

[ttn333]

You should figure out if you want a permanently mounted on board system or a more portable one. For running accessories like fridges, water pumps, lights and diesel heater, I would prefer a lifepo4 system rather than an agm system like genesis for longer run time. But then you can't do things like self jump start. If you are running an open bed rack, then a portable solar generator from Jackery, Bluetti or Ecoflow will work nicely. Just don't get one that is too small. You'll want at least 500wh to run the fridge for a couple of days. Add a decent solar panel and you can run it indefinitely as long as there's sun light.

Sponsored