Dual battery set-up

[tmanto02]

Hi guys,

Keen to get a dual battery set up for camping and have no idea where to start! Hopefully you can help?

Want it to run a 50L waeco fridge, camping lights and to charge my gadgets. Ideally with the ability to use solar to recharge the batteries for longer trips. Being able to jump start the main battery would be a plus too.

Don’t want to mount it under the hood, so keen to hear your thoughts on the best mounting locations also. I will be putting the fridge on a slide out the tailgate.

It’s worth noting that I’ve got a 2017 JKU with in-floor subwoofer which I don’t want to remove

What would I need to buy and how much could I be up for?

Cheers


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[Hoasco]

Top of the rear arch is a nice spot for mounting. Mine is currently sitting on the top of my draws, but prior to building the draws it just sat on a aluminum platform. Platform is now hiding under the false floor, still supporting the battery. I have a Projecta solenoid that was fitted when I purchased it, has jump start button on the unit itself.

Spend a bit more and you can get something with a remote jump start switch + better power handling + pretty gauges.

[Big Dave]

We have a Waeco CF50 that we power with a Thumper 75ah battery pack & 120w folding solar panels. I also had the Waeco charging kit in my old XJ to charge the thumper while driving. Haven't yet installed a charging kit in the JK Unlimited but will soon. The beauty of the the Thumper is you can remove it from the car easily and place it wherever you want your fridge, connect up your solar panel and you are good to go. Our set up will run the fridge continuously as well us charge up phones and the like with just a few hours of direct sun a day. Ran this set up through the Kimberley for 8 weeks with no probs as well as many other shorter trips. Check them out here. They also have a new isolator charging kit. http://www.home12volt.com.au/the-thu...tery-pack.html Oh our thumper came with Jumper leads as well so can be used to jump any car.

[Turismo07]

I have my 2nd batt on a bracket over the rear left wheel arch too. Love it there. Was a waste of space before.

Batt sits in a batt box with power outlets all over it too so very easy to plug in my fridge or anything else that needs charging. Even run a small 12v fan from it that keeps my toddler cool on the hot summer days and the AC vents aren't keeping him cool in the back.

[FatherT]

Can you guys link to your battery box? I'm thinking of getting a 2nd battery for my 2 door JK for a fridge and some lights. Just not sure where to actually search for these things

[JusyApples]

I opted for an Arkpak instead of wiring up the dual battery that way can save space when I'm not camping

[Hayesio]

If you want to start the vehicle from the rear battery you'll need to run a decent size cable from the main battery - i think mine was AWG1 from memory. You will need to calculate this based on petrol/diesel. Mine is diesel, pulls about 1000amp on the first rotation. Earth the Aux battery directly to the transfer case as the earth straps between the chassis and engine will be over burdened with the starting current. You wont be able to fuse the cable either (because no one makes fuses that big) so protect the cable well.

Other than that, you'll need a VSR (or high current switch relay connected to your ignition switch) placed close as possible to the main battery. Then you'll need to install a bypass switch in cabin so you can bypass the VSR if the front battery goes dead.

To install solar, simply purchase a solar controller (12V), and a solar array, connect the controller to the battery and the array to the controller. Multi point tracking controllers are much more efficient than pulse width modulation controllers, so I'd recommend spending the extra money up front because you'll pay long term anyway. You'll need to select all these components based on the size system you want. Mine is a 30amp controller ($120 on ebay) and the panel is 250W flexible ($180 on ebay). 250W/12.6V = 19amp, so I have 11amp for future expansion (but the max current I've ever got is about 16amp).