Adding auxiliary battery for a fridge

[Dakota Houligans]

The wife bought a fridge for our wandering. And since my bronco is still in the building stage I decided to add an auxiliary battery to the bed of my truck. I wanted it to be simple and quickly removable in case I needed it out of the way. Also I stole the battery and box from our camper so it may need to be put back from time to time.

First I chose mounting locations close to the battery for the circuit breaker and the isolater.
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Then it was time to make some cables.

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A ring terminal and solder slug ready to go together.

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Some heat and we have a connection.

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Then some protection.

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And you have a nice clean cable.

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After making a few more. It was time to add the battery.

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May not be the fanciest but it's simple and will work.

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I used Anderson plugs to make it quick to remove and install. There is the big red connection for the power and ground to main batteries. Then the Gray goes to the fridge. The smaller red is for solar input. And the 2 tiny wires go into the cab for battery monitoring.

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I ran the wires for the solar and fridge connector up under the bed rail to the back of the truck bed.

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I want to make a panel to mount them to and maybe a charge port too. But not today.

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Worked out pretty good. I can plug the portable solar panel in right at the back of the truck along with the fridge.

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Inside I mounted a duel battery gauge. There was already a spot here for the option adjustable pedals. Since I don't have those in went the cheepy batter voltmeter.

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We've used it on 2 short weekend trips now and it has worked out great. The wife is very happy with her fridge/freezer.

 

[MikeMunz]

Those cables look very clean it looks good!

 

[Sherwood]

I agree, very nice install!

 

[Dakota Houligans]

Thanks. Takes a little time but it turned out good.

 

[Dakota Houligans]

I decided to clean up the wiring a little bit and add a fuse panel in the back. I picked up a blue sea fuse panel with negative bar as well. I wanted less connections on the battery so it would be quicker to remove if the space is needed for normal use. I used the panel as a template to drill holes and install some riv-nuts.





Now time to change some wiring to go to panel instead of battery. I got a 6 circuit but, only need a 4 at the moment figured a little room to grow would be good.



The small black wires on the positive and negative are for the battery voltage monitor in the cab.





Now there are only 2 Anderson plugs to disconnect to remove the battery.





Fairly simple and easy and quick to remove if I need to extra space in the bed for day-to-day use.