Wiring for new fridge

[Nitroexpress]

- You don't want to power the fridge via the onboard 115v plug. It only runs when the ignition is on.
- An auxiliary battery of some type is a good recommendation. Then charge that battery via the onboard 115v outlet. You can look at anything from a sophisticated dual battery setup (look at Genesis) to a Jackery type device (500 watt is pretty good for 1-2 days without charging) or just simply a battery with a charger. I use a Dakota 54ah battery with their included charger plugged into the 115v outlet in the bed.
- You can run direct to your main jeep battery, but you run the risk of draining it or degrading it's useful life by using it as a 'deep cycle' battery. If you only plan to use the fridge on infrequent occasions and will have the engine running each day, this does work fine, my cousin did his this way.
- The switch for the power inverter on the jeep does stay in the last position it was left when you turn off the Jeep. i.e. - when you turn the Jeep on, it will power the inverter if you left it in the on position when you turned it off.

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[LaRock]

I wired up a 12v socket straight from the battery to the bed for the fridge. No issues running it that way, I would unplug the fridge if I knew I wasn't going to be driving anywhere for a few days (I do have a 80 mile round trip commute most days so that helps I'm sure). Later I added a 100watt solar panel to the top of my RSI SmartCap also connected to the battery, have let it run like that for weeks at a time.

 

[hjdca]

NICE! I like that setup for sure, I'm looking for something removable, too as I don't want to take away the purpose of buying the Gladiator in the first place lol. How has that power station been treating you? What made you decide on that particular model over other brands?

Thanks ! I wanted a LiFePo4 Battery station - 2500 cycles vs 500 for a Lithium. At the time Bluetti was the only game in town. My brother bought me the Engel 35 for my birthday. It is fantastic, bullet-proof and only uses 35 watts on the Bluetti and the Engel has auto switching between AC and DC. It switches to DC when AC turns off. He bought the Engel 35 because it was the only one that fit under my hard tonneau cover. For my girlfriend and I, it is plenty big. I have been running it full time about 5 months now. No issues whatsoever. It burns much more juice in the summer -- as you can imagine. Personally, if I did it over again, I would not do anything different.

 

[Free2roam]

My .02 Two 100ah renogy LiFePo4 batteries with 4 100w Mono solar panels. Could power you almost indefinitely off grid. Ebay is a great source for most of that stuff.

 

[mx5red]

Thanks ! I wanted a LiFePo4 Battery station - 2500 cycles vs 500 for a Lithium. At the time Bluetti was the only game in town. My brother bought me the Engel 35 for my birthday. It is fantastic, bullet-proof and only uses 35 watts on the Bluetti and the Engel has auto switching between AC and DC. It switches to DC when AC turns off. He bought the Engel 35 because it was the only one that fit under my hard tonneau cover. For my girlfriend and I, it is plenty big. I have been running it full time about 5 months now. No issues whatsoever. It burns much more juice in the summer -- as you can imagine. Personally, if I did it over again, I would not do anything different.

This is great, I was looking at Engel as top notch fridge that would fit under my rolling tonneau. I have the back seat plug but not the bed plug, so I’d either have to run the bed wiring from the inverter as others have done on the forum, or do something like a dedicated 12V line running from the engine to the bed.

So, how exactly does this hook up? You have the Bluetti just plugged in to the DC fridge (bluetti is not connected to anything charging it), and the fridge plugged into the 110v bed outlet?
As opposed to having the battery plugged into the 110v outlet, then the battery plugged into DC on the fridge (like mentioned with a Jackery)?

I don’t think I really need to set up solar panels and all that, as cool as it would be. A free-standing battery is probably fine for my use case

 

[Free2roam]

This is great, I was looking at Engel as top notch fridge that would fit under my rolling tonneau. I have the back seat plug but not the bed plug, so I’d either have to run the bed wiring from the inverter as others have done on the forum, or do something like a dedicated 12V line running from the engine to the bed.

So, how exactly does this hook up? You have the Bluetti just plugged in to the DC fridge (bluetti is not connected to anything charging it), and the fridge plugged into the 110v bed outlet?
As opposed to having the battery plugged into the 110v outlet, then the battery plugged into DC on the fridge (like mentioned with a Jackery)?

I don’t think I really need to set up solar panels and all that, as cool as it would be. A free-standing battery is probably fine for my use case

Snomaster has a low profile fridge freezer setup. Pricey but nice. Also check out
https://kickassproducts.com/
https://www.snomasterusa.com/product-category/fridges/low-profile-series/

 

[hjdca]

This is great, I was looking at Engel as top notch fridge that would fit under my rolling tonneau. I have the back seat plug but not the bed plug, so I’d either have to run the bed wiring from the inverter as others have done on the forum, or do something like a dedicated 12V line running from the engine to the bed.

So, how exactly does this hook up? You have the Bluetti just plugged in to the DC fridge (bluetti is not connected to anything charging it), and the fridge plugged into the 110v bed outlet?
As opposed to having the battery plugged into the 110v outlet, then the battery plugged into DC on the fridge (like mentioned with a Jackery)?

I don’t think I really need to set up solar panels and all that, as cool as it would be. A free-standing battery is probably fine for my use case

Hook up is straight forward. The Engel is hooked up to both 115 volt AC coming from the Truck and 12V DC coming from the Bluetti. The Bluetti is also plugged into the AC coming from the Truck, and as I said, it's DC output is hooked up to the Bluetti. I have a 3 plug Octopus that I use at the Truck AC output. This AC Octopus has both the Bluetti and the Engel hooked up to it. So when the truck is running and the AC 115V is on, it is pulling 230 watts. 200 watts to charge the Bluetti and 35 watts to run the Engel. When the Truck is off and the AC 115V stops flowing, the Engel pulls 35 watts DC automatically from the Bluetti. This happens automatically and if you switch on the cargo 115 volt button on the truck, it has a memory, so, it switches on every time you turn on the truck. The Octopus is also handy in the summer time. If the truck is parked outside for days in the driveway, then, I have an extension I have run, to plug in the Octopus and charge the bluetti and run the Engel. The key to success is that you DO NOT want the Bluetti to be charging and discharging at the same time. It is very inefficient when doing that... So, this hookup does not allow that to happen.

 

[mx5red]

Hook up is straight forward. The Engel is hooked up to both 115 volt AC coming from the Truck and 12V DC coming from the Bluetti. The Bluetti is also plugged into the AC coming from the Truck, and as I said, it's DC output is hooked up to the Bluetti. I have a 3 plug Octopus that I use at the Truck AC output. This AC Octopus has both the Bluetti and the Engel hooked up to it. So when the truck is running and the AC 115V is on, it is pulling 230 watts. 200 watts to charge the Bluetti and 35 watts to run the Engel. When the Truck is off and the AC 115V stops flowing, the Engel pulls 35 watts DC automatically from the Bluetti. This happens automatically and if you switch on the cargo 115 volt button on the truck, it has a memory, so, it switches on every time you turn on the truck. The Octopus is also handy in the summer time. If the truck is parked outside for days in the driveway, then, I have an extension I have run, to plug in the Octopus and charge the bluetti and run the Engel. The key to success is that you DO NOT want the Bluetti to be charging and discharging at the same time. It is very inefficient when doing that... So, this hookup does not allow that to happen.

Ahh I see. Thanks. Cool that the Engel preferentially pulls from A/C so it doesn’t discharge the bluetti while charging.

 

[ecidiego]

run the bed wiring from the inverter

I could be wrong but I don't think there is much wiring to run, not from the inverter at least. There is just a pigtail to existing wiring in the harness near the bed outlet position. This of course assumes you have the rear seat outlet.

 

[hjdca]

Ahh I see. Thanks. Cool that the Engel preferentially pulls from A/C so it doesn’t discharge the bluetti while charging.

Exactly ! Probably other portable fridges have the same function, but, I am not sure, you have to check. For me, this is the key to automation with the Gladiator 115V AC bed outlet.

 

[mx5red]

I could be wrong but I don't think there is much wiring to run, not from the inverter at least. There is just a pigtail to existing wiring in the harness near the bed outlet position. This of course assumes you have the rear seat outlet.

I haven’t looked in a while but don’t you have to take the rear console off or something? Not that bad a job, just aggravating.
I almost feel like if I’m gonna do that project, then I might as well run wire to the battery and install a bigger inverter for the bed since the stock one is only 400W.
First world problems…

 

[ecidiego]

I haven’t looked in a while but don’t you have to take the rear console off or something? Not that bad a job, just aggravating.
I almost feel like if I’m gonna do that project, then I might as well run wire to the battery and install a bigger inverter for the bed since the stock one is only 400W.
First world problems…

https://www.jeepgladiatorforum.com/forum/threads/question-about-adding-outlet-to-bed.17684/

Console doesn't need to come off. Only interior work is the driver kick panel switch. Most of the wiring is already there if you have the rear console outlet.

 

[Mac Attack]

My .02 Two 100ah renogy LiFePo4 batteries with 4 100w Mono solar panels. Could power you almost indefinitely off grid. Ebay is a great source for most of that stuff.

How are those solar panels...mounted? Dismounted?

 

[Free2roam]

How are those solar panels...mounted? Dismounted?

So if I had a camper with the rooftop set up on it. They would stay on full time. I was talking to a guy the other day who has his set up on tilt stands so they are moveable with the sun. Then packed up and moved.

 

[Mac Attack]

So if I had a camper with the rooftop set up on it. They would stay on full time. I was talking to a guy the other day who has his set up on tilt stands so they are moveable with the sun. Then packed up and moved.

"My .02 Two 100ah renogy LiFePo4 batteries with 4 100w Mono solar panels." So, you don't actually have this set-up?

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