I've got a 1000W/2000W peak inverter. Now that I've got a canopy, I'd like to have a set up where it stays back there. I also want to get another deep cycle battery with a battery isolator switch. So my questions are, how do I go about setting this up?

I'm thinking, get a battery isolator switch(where do I get one?) then running a certain guage wire (size? 2 maybe? will I need a fuse?) back to about the rear of my bed, then connecting it to a deep cycle battery (what kind? dual batteries possibly?) and then to the inverter with 4 guage wire (do I need a fuse? if so, what size?)

Basically, I want it set up like an RV would be. If I were to go camping, I could plug in pretty much any thing I want, and if I drain the battery/batteries, the starting battery would not be drained.

I know there are a number of you that have inverters but not too many have them this size, or a similar setup. Any advice/help will be much appriciated.

 

The inverter manual should tell you the answers to most of your questions. YES, you need to fuse EVERYTHING. The wire size will be indicated by the inverter mfr, but for that size unit it will be big - probably 0 gauge and you need probably about a 150 amp fuse on it. You'll need to fuse the line running from the engine compt back to the second battery (put this fuse in the engine compt to protect that wire,) and fuse the line from the 2nd batt to the inverter too.

A nice way to keep both batteries charged is to use a battery isolator rather than a switch. Hey, it's only money. Be sure all the components are up to the proper amp ratings.

All the stuff you need will be found at any RV dealers parts department.

 

You do not need 0 gauge to charge a battery in the back

 

No, you can put a 30 amp thermal breaker in and run a 10 ga wire if you want. But if you want to do it right, you'll size the wire for the potential load rather than cheat with a breaker.

 

Any one else?

 

Anyway, I didn't say you needed 0 gauge wire to charge a second battery, but if the inverter can draw up to 2000 watts peak, that's 166 amps at 12 volts, and you need 0 gauge wire from the second battery to the inverter to safely pass that many amps. At 1000 watts it's 83 amps, and that's still enough to need 4 gauge wire. Now, when the second battery is low and you connect your parallel switch, the low battery will accept all the juice the good battery has to give it, all at once. A common way to do this is with small wire (like 8 or 10 gauge) and a thermal breaker. (This is how the charge wire to most travel trailers is hooked up.) The breaker trips and resets and trips and resets,prtecting the wire until eventually batt #2 gets charged up enough it's drawing less than the breaker limit. Common problem of course is short breaker life. Another common problem is someone connecting the breaker backward and when it fails, it shorts to its metal case which is mounted to your metal firewall, it burns up the wire, maybe the battery, and maybe lots worse.

There's a book called Living on 12volts with Ample Power, from Ample Power Products. Google for it. Get a copy of that and it will explain everything you ever wanted to know about wiring battery and inverter systems, all in plain english. Well worth having.

 

Ok, so I know what to run from the battery to the inverter. But what about the isolator to the 2nd battery? What size of wire and fuse would I need to charge a battery? It's going from the engine bay to the back of the truck, so we'll say 15 ft. to be on the safe side.

 

First of all you would need to make sure the isolator was able to handle the max current your alternator can put out.

But lets say your alternator has an output of 65 Amps. You would need to spec the isolator to 65 amps and the wire running from the isolator to the battery would need to be able to handle the 65 amps and also needs to be large enough so that you do not loose a large amount of voltage over the line.

My spec sheet shows for 65amps traveling 15 feet it is recommended to use at least a 2guage wire. The closer you can get the battery to the charging source, the smaller wire you can use.

I hope this helps. Let me know if you have more questions.

 

Great thanks, I assume that I'd need a 65 amp fuse as well. Correct? Also, where is a good place to get an isolator that I'd need?

 

Ya, a fuse is recommended.

The best place to find the isolator would be a RV or Marine distributor. To be honest you may want to check out West Marine as they use these regularly in the Marine market.

 

Ok, so I found that the stock alternator is 80 amps, I think. I found an isolator here. I'm currious if I could put the 130 amp isolator in and not hurt anything. I'm guessing I can, but it never hurts to ask.

Also, how would I go about wiring the isolator? Would I run a wire right from the alternator to the isolator and leave the starting battery how it is, with that still connected to the alternator? I'm just a little confused about how the whole isolator wiring goes. So, let's say that I have all the wire layed out, all the correct size fuses, etc, etc, what kind of cutting/splicing am I going to have to do?

 

Using a larger isolator is not a problem.

The isolator should have one input and 2 outputs. The point of the isolator is so that you can discharge one battery bank and not the other.

You will probably need to rewire the charge wire for the main battery so that it flows through the isolator. I am not sure if you can just leave the current system as is. You may want to speak with the West Marine Associate prior to purchasing this unit.

As for cutting and splicing, you will need to cut the 4 gauge and use ring connectors to connect to the isolator and battery.

 

Here we go. I found this website. It tells you EXACTLY how to hook up a isolator to a toyota. http://www.surepower.com/pdf/180012p.pdf It even tells you what kind you need. SWEET!!!