My Ford F150 Power Bank

[Europa]

Since I tend to trade up travel trailers often I figured why not have my power setup in my truck. Fords version it cute. But i hate generators and a truck idling is no better to me personally, when I boondock I seek silence. This is what I threw together last summer. Have since swapped out the inverter for a 24/3000 Multiplus and added a Cerbo GX . Nothing special here ..its just works for me. Ran a Anderson connector under the truck which connects to another Anderson connecter that is wired to the trailer. After installing the Multiplus I just took a standard 30A RV power extension cord and put a female 6ft section to the output and the remainder of the cord ( Male end ) to the input of the Multiplus. I essentially plug my truck in to the pedestal and my RV to the female plug wired to the Inverter... I get many questions the few times I was at an RV park. Once at my destination I deploy another (2) 310 watt ground panels. All my electrical needs are met. My only regret is I need a bigger flush mounted tool box so I can fit the 2 additional battleborns my gal gifted me for my 60th.

 

[curiouscarbon]

looks awesome! great setup.

do the battery compartment get hot in all that?

really impressive build. looks super robust

 

[Europa]

It was keeping the battery compartment at 20-25 degrees over ambient in the winter with the box closed. When I open the top of the box about 1in during the Summer its averages about 5 degrees over ambient. That was on a 90 degree day. I will be keeping a close eye on the temps. I have a temperature data logger going now that the CerboGX is installed. I have high and low temp lockouts and alarms programmed in my BMV-712 and if high temperature becomes an issue I will simply wire the relay on the BMV to trigger a computer fan. The heat in the winter is a good thing as it aids in keeping the batteries above 32 degrees. Since I run electric heat at night the inverter which is in the pickups bed just under the panels and near the battery box helps provide some additional warmth during the colder evenings.

 

[curiouscarbon]

Awesome, thank you for your thoughts about temps and for sharing photos of the technical details. It really helps to understand the system better and inspiration for future build.