12 v power in rear compartment

[aldive]

Would any of you who have installed a 12 v outlet in the rear compartment please share the details?

Thanks in advance....

 

[aldive]

I tried a search and got nothing. I used "12 volt outlet" as the phrase to search.

 

[aldive]

Thanks Gimp, I am watching the Dawgs game and am distracted.

 

[aldive]

.....and unfortunately, getting the crap beat out of them by them damn wildkitties.
Bow Wii

 

[JDraper]

I put one in my '01. I got one that is designed to be used in a pickup bed, but it works great. It has a spring loaded cover over it. It's mounted in the storage pocket in the right rear of the truck. I mounted it so that it faces the rear. I ran a 10 gauge wire from my power distribution box across the engine compartment along the firewall, down the framerail, and up through the rubber grommet that the tail light wiring goes through into truck. I pulled out the pocket (In my '01, the trim ring snaps off and the pocket just pulls out), drilled a hole in it, and mounted the outlet in it. I used a screw through one of the sheet metal tabs beind the pocket for the ground.

 

[aldive]

I finally decided where to mount my 12 v outlet. I chose the top part of the drivers side rear compartment "wall" ( for lack of a better word ), right next to the lock unlock switch.

I purchased the outlet at West Marine. It is black plastic with a rubber/plastic cover.

The mounting required a 1 1/16" hole. After drilling this hole and cleaning up the edges, I slid in the outlet and market the two small screw holes and installed them. It looks factory.

Now I have to wire it. I would like to simply tie into an existing 12 v wire in the compartment.

What do you guys think of using the 12v power lead to the lock/unlock switch? It is 12 v with/without the ignition on. This will vastly simplify the install.

 

[aldive]

Thanks, my friend, thats kinda wht I thought too.

I have a 12 v power block under the drivers side rear seat that runs to the battery ( fused ) with 8 g wire. I think I shall tap into this source.

How do you get a wire from that rear compartment out of it?

Thanks in advance....

 

[leebo]

The best way is to run a fused wire from the battery or the box under the hood itself. I myself would chose the battery. Many of the boxes inside the truck only get power with the truck on. Don't wana have to turn on the truck to use the plug. I've got my lights and the QuickAir compressor running of the battery. Safer that way by a long shot. You'll also need to pull up the carpet to get the wire from the front to the rear. Just do it along the sides. Not to hard. The only part that's really held down is by the doors, and that's just held on by a few screws.

 

[aldive]

After pondering the power question more, I decided to pull the top off of the front part of the center console and see what size wires feed the 12 v outlet on the passenger side of the console. I was suprised to see it is 16 g wire. Interesting.....

 

[Bill Kemp]

I just ran a wire from the battery to the rear under the veh. Brought the wire in through the tail light area. Put in a fuse and.......

 

[dbarale]

Originally posted by aldive
I was suprised to see it is 16 g wire. Interesting.....

The wire size you need to run run depends on how many amps you're gonna draw but also on the length of the run.
In that case #16 is OK because the run is only a couple feet long from the fuse block.
If you need some help w/ that just send me a mail. That's my job (actually it's marine electronics) and I'm in Sarasota at least two days a week...

 

[aldive]

Help still needed/

How do I run a wire ( and what size do you recommend ) through the jack compartment and out under the rear drivers side seat?

Help.....

 

[leebo]

Look up about five posts, there's your answer.

Pull up the carpet and run the wire under the carpet. You'll just need to pull up the edges, enough to tuck it under. Run it as far back as you can, then take off the rear panal by the hatch. There will be some room you can run a 10 gauge wire behind there no problem. That's how I've wired my reverse lights and haven't had a problem yet.

 

[aldive]

I am not sure to get inder the carpet it is attached under the jack compartment.

 

[leebo]

It's not really held under that much. There's a small "pinch" that holds it in. Can be tucked back under with a screwdriver no problem.

I can email you some pics if you want. Since I put my tool box in the rear mine has always been slipping out, so it's easy to get to.

 

[aldive]

I shall give that a try, thank you so much.

 

[aldive]

FOLLOW UO

Lee, your carpet suggestion will indeed work. I just went out and lifted it.

This will make running the wire an easy task.

What size wire should I run? The run is about 6 feet of wire.

Thanks....

 

[dbarale]

I'm gonna give you the same amswer I gave to mdrut.
According to the American Boating and Yachting Council recomendations (and everybody here who already answered that question....) .
For a 15 feet run (back and forth), 10/15 amps load, w/ 3% voltage drop you should run #10 wire.
Don't forget to fuse. An in-line fuse from an auto parts or west marine will be just fine. It has to be as close as possible to the power source.
Once again I'll be happy to help you next time I'n in Sarasota if you want.

 

[tac0meat]

i mounted some outlets in the back of my ex too, 3 12volt and 2 110 volt, just got a digicam so ill put pics up tommorrow

 

[aldive]

Well, its almost finished.

To recap.... I ran power wire (10 g red wire from the power distribution block under the drivers side rear sear that is fed directly from the battery with 6 g wire) under the carpet as Lee suggested and hooked it to the power outlet. The ground wire, also 10 g ( black ), was attached to body metal in the jack compartment.

All connectors were heat shrink marine fittings. Overkill, but, it never hurts to go first class.

My next, and hopefully last, question on this topic is.... What size fuse do you guys recommend using?

Thanks in advance......