electronics helo in the van?

brycey2010 · Oct 14, 2010

electronics help in the van?

I pick up the van tomorrow, 2007 chevy express extended. Can anyone point me to a thread to help with this please? i need to have 20+ amps 12 volts to use near the drivers seat, to run, cb/ham, inverter, radio/xm/tv maybe microwave and fridge and extra lighting, anyway i could just run some heavy cable's from the existing battery, however i would prefer to have an extra battery, so i dont run the main battery flat, im sure there is a post on here, just have not found it yet. any help would be greatly appreciated, also i need 40ft etrack, any good vendors or local in florida.
Thanks in advance
Rich

LDB · Oct 14, 2010

Where are you going to put 40 feet of etrack in a van? I have 30 feet in mine and could get by with a little less although my carrier probably wouldn't approve it. If it could be the way I want I'd have a pair of 8 foot etrack in the floor as I have them now and a pair of 2 foot sections just inside the rear doors perpendicular to the two rows on the floor and making an inverted T. I'd add a couple of of 2 foot sections attached to the bows/spars/uprights/whatevers that go up and over to hold the roof and walls and probably almost never use them. There are many threads on batteries, inverters etc. but I am not techie enough to summarize and advise you on that.

stamp11127 · Oct 14, 2010

With all of that you can expect extra batteries instead of a single extra battery. Use a battery isolator for the accessory battery bank and branch circuits for each of the electronics. Each circuit would be fused for the individual piece. You wouldn't want a 20 amp fuse protecting a 5 amp device.

Brisco · Oct 14, 2010

You can always go to an RV Dealership that has a service department for help with installing an extra battery behind your front seat for powering accessories. What you're basically wanting to do is done in RV's and those guys know the ins and outs on how to do it right.

brycey2010 · Oct 15, 2010

Brisco said:
You can always go to an RV Dealership that has a service department for help with installing an extra battery behind your front seat for powering accessories. What you're basically wanting to do is done in RV's and those guys know the ins and outs on how to do it right.

Thats a good idea thanks,however im good with electronics, ill keep searching for a way to do it myself, not sure it would be a good idea to have the aux battery in the sleeper area, i have 35 inches of space behind the seats to make a sleeper area, that will leave 102 inches for cargo, i know other people will be looking to do a similar thing so i will post pics and a diy on here when im done, i will most likely take the passenger seat out for more room.

brycey2010 · Oct 15, 2010

here is what i have to do to the van, put a half inch plywood floor in, install etrack/fire extinguisher, install a bulkhead, build a bed/storage, install a tv/cb/ham radio/inverter, install tv/ham/cb antennas, install lighting, aux battery.
thats most of what i have to do, should be a fun project. I will be out otr for a month each time as i live in Florida, so i need a little comfort.

chefdennis · Oct 15, 2010

Buy 1 good battery isolator and good cable. buy 2 good batteries, i use 6 volt T-145 Trojan golf cart batteries. These power a 2500 watt inverter and a 325 watt inverter. Use a mimimum of #6 cable to wire everything...do NOT try and run your accessories off the starting battery...you will kill it in a few mouths, it is not designed to do what you will ask it to do...it can not handle the long draws of the accessories, it is designed for a hard quick short hit of the starter....I use golf cart batteries because if the way they are designed...and TROJAN BATTERY has now come out with a battery for what we do and how we use them, check their products out here:

http://www.trojanbattery.com/

No I don't work for them, but their product works and the customer service and tech support is great. Call them, tell them what you what to do, and they wll tell you the best product for your needs.

I power a frig, micro wave, 22 flat panel TV laptop clock radio, electric blanket, and fan. I do run the van when I use the micro wave.

One thing to keep in mind is that there is very little chance you will ever be using all of the accessories at the same time.

I pulled my pass seat and the batteries (in battery boxes) and isolator (on the kick panel) are mounted in what was the footwell in front of where the pass seat sat. The cabinet for the frig and micro wave sit where the seat was and my bunk is mounted across the van right behind the seats....The bunk folds to allow me to get 2 two 52 inch skids in.

And there are alot CV/Sprinters running around with the batteries mounted under the bunk.....

ebsprintin · Oct 15, 2010

Do a search for auxiliary+battery, and another search for "battery separator".

Sure Power makes a good battery separator.

http://surepower.com/separator.html

eb

Turtle · Oct 15, 2010

Interesting thread. It's a shame we don't have previous threads here on EO about batteries, battery types, isolators, separators, inverters, battery cables, fuses, amp requirements and maybe some pictures on how to do it all.

brycey2010 · Oct 16, 2010

Perfect, thank you all very much for the answers, i collected the van today, its a 2007 chevy 2500 extended, i have 132 inches in total from the back of the seats to the back doors in the closed position, i have to leave 102 inches for cargo, so my next job is to create a sleeper space in the remaining 30 inches, i am also thinking of removing the passenger seat, i calculated my mpg on the 150mile run back from the dealer, 15.6mpg, van was empty, i was doing about 70, (not so great) no cruise on the van, i have found an aftermarket one, which i will fit as well, anyway wont go into all the stuff i have to do, but actually, im looking forward to it.
many thanks......................