I have a 12v light in my roof top tent that plugs into the back of the FJs dual 12v outlets I have back there.
The other outlet is used for the ARB fridge.
I really do not like running the tents cord into the rear door and pinching it, so an idea came to be to try and build a setup just for the tent.
Plus I just added the 12v heating pad for the mattress for some winter camping, and I may want to plug in a reading light too.
Running all three of the above plus the ARB fridge would overwhelm the wiring that is used for the FJ Cruisers dual 12v outlets.
This means I could use a total of three new 12v outlets inside the tent for the above items, and run a box inside the tent with the outlets, and a 20' power cord with battery clamps on the end to hook up to my auxiliary battery under the hood.

A guy that goes by Jacket on Expeditionportal.com suggested a Radio Shack "project box."
He did a similar setup for his Jeep.
I went to Radio Shacks site and sure enough, they have these cool boxes available in many sizes.
My local Shack had some in stock, and I went with the 6"x4"x2" one.

I ended up using the marine 12v plugs as I liked the way they mount better than the Radio Shack ones.
With the former ones you insert the plug and secure it from behind with a threaded plastic nut that threads onto the shank of the 12v plug.
With the Radio Shack ones like I used for my dual 12v plugs in the FJ Cruiser, you push them into the hole and tangs pop out and secure it from behind.
If I have to remove a plug for any reason, the marine ones will be much easier to remove.
I did end up using the wires though from the Radio Shack outlets.
I did not use their fuses though, as I have a 30 amp mini fuse connected inline by the positive wire that clips to the battery terminal.

No time to open up the tent today and try it out, but I will update this thread with photos when I do.

I hope this info here can be of help to others wanting to do the same.
It turned out pretty good, and I am happy with it.

If I end up storing this in the tent, I may use some Velcro and attach the heating pads controller to the 12v box.

(1) Parts all laid out.
(2) I used the 1 1/8" hole saw to cut three holes into the side of the box.
(3) Yeah, I slipped while doing the middle hole, marred up the box a tad.



(4) 12v sockets all in place.
(5) Used a step drill to enlarge a hole big enough for the rubber grommet.
(6) Pulled the 12 gauge wire through the grommet and tied a knot in the end to prevent it from pulling back out.
All three red power wires from the sockets are twisted together along with the stripped end (I made this the positive wire) of the 12 gauge wire, and connected all to each other with the yellow wire caps.
Ditto on all of the black ground wires and the 12 gauge wire.
(7) Installed the two battery clamps, and buttoned up the box using both lids.
The black lid is on first along with the aluminum lid hanging off the bottom with the two lower screws that hold the black lid on.
My working theory here is I can slide the aluminum one down next to the tents mattress to help hold the box in place, that is if I mount it that way.
I may find another way to mount the box in the tent next time I open it up.



Here is a breakdown on my parts:
6"x4"x2" project box
20' 12 gauge low wattage underground outdoor lighting wire (bought 20' at Lowes)
Radio Shack 12v outlets
Marine Grade 12v outlets (I bought both to try out, I think I like the marine ones better)
In-Line Fuseholder with Protective Cap (I will throw a 15 amp mini fuse in it)
Lenox 1-1/8" Non-Arbored Hole Saw Drill Bit
Arbor for hole saw (no link at Lowes, but mine is a Lenox like the hole saw)
Radio Shack 12v car battery alligator clamps (do not see them on the website at this time)
Rubber grommet for 12 gauge wire to pass into the box

Great idea, thanks for the info & write up.

One suggestion I'd make is to put some smaller mini fuses in the project box as well so that if one item shorts out it doesn't take the entire plug down.  Then you have to trudge out of the tent, to the front of the car to replace the fuse in the middle of the rainy night.

Of course if you know exactly what you'll be plugging in and how much current each item draws you'll probably never have to worry about it.  Though you just never know where all those pennies that roam around a vehicle will end up!

Thanks Jay

I had the inline fuses on from the Radio Shack wires I transfered over to the marine plugs, but I cut them off.I am running a 30 amp fuse on the cable, and I will never exceed over 10 amps at the most, so it should be fine.

The heating pad at high draws about 7.5 amps I think, and the only other thing that will be plugged in will be the tents stock light and perhaps a reading light too.

Thanks Andy, I was debating that over a crimp tube.
But since I had three wires each from the positive/negative of the sockets, this was easier.

I may change some things around on it including quick discos for the aux battery, like electric forklifts use to unplug the battery instead of using the present clamps.

If I were building it, I would solder and heat-shrink. That way you know the connection won't come apart.

You could also build small jumper wires... let me draw this, I can't use words to explain.

I like your idea of using the forklift style connector to connect the box to the battery, those connectors are strong and not prone to melting/arcing.

 Just some thoughts, I really like this idea, I may borrow it!

Edit:

Jumper wire idea, you can use blue or red female crimp connectors, and jumper them together like in the photo I drew on.  Please excuse the crude drawing, I have limited art skills.  Electrically this is the same as what you have done, but it is, in my opinion, a cleaner and more reliable install.

I will have to look for some big crimp on ones.
Maybe dribble some solder on the three twisted wires first, then cram them into the end of the tube, then crimp.

If I change out the alligator clips at the battery end, this may be what I go with.
www.powerwerx.com/anderson-powerpoles-accessories/
Not sure which size to go with, I would have to do some research on that.
It would be nice to run the battery end long enough to stick outside of my front bumper, then connect the 12v box from there without having to open the hood.

Corey,

First off, this is a great project.  I'm not saying you have, but just in case, please don't take anyone's comments as criticism.  It's winter, we're bored, and are inspired enough by your project to really think about the details.  That is, take it as a complement that people are looking hard at your idea.  It means they like it, and are considering replicating it.

Soldering motherboards is hard, but soldering wire is really simple. There are a couple of tutorials on the internet that are quite good. The keys are:

- Slip some shrink tube over the wire (sometimes you can't do this once the wires are soldered), but don't shrnk it.
- Join the wires together. Two intertwined loops where each wire wraps back on and around itself is much stronger than twisting two wires together.
- Put some resin flux on the wire at the connection.
- Don't drip solder onto the connection. Instead, Heat the wire from below, feed the solder from the top. Once the wire is hot enough to melt the solder being fed, the resin flux will cause the solder to fully penetrate the wire and joint. You'll be amazed at how much solder is absorbed by the wire with this technique.
- Slide the shrink tube into place, heat it up and watch it shrink.

No problem Craig, I welcome the comments.
I use to solder years ago, but I am out of practice.
A few electriians here at work said it would be best to solder too, and use the crimp tubes.

I bought some resin core solder last year for my ham radio project which is not complete yet (the two ends of the coax need to be done), but the soldering gun I have is an old Weller that was my dad's that I use to use back in the 70s.
It has seen its day.

I would like to pick up a nice butane one if I can locate one.
The guy who helped me wire in the Bluesea aux. fusebox and my dual 12v outlets in the rear of my rig soldered all connections with resinflux core solder and a butane soldering iron.

Alos if Saturday is nice enough, I may crack the tent open and try the box out, and see if there is room to mount that heating pad controller on with Velcro.
Weather outlook so far is not looking good for the weekend.

Corey, if you come up with a good outdoors butane soldering iron, please let us know.  I purchased a small Weller butane one several years ago for working on coax connectors for my ham gear.  I found it to be minimally useful; the big deal is that it is very badly impacted by even the slightest breeze.  The model I have is C1CFB.  It supposedly is a 35 watter that can run up to 700 deg. F. In shop, it works O.K. on smaller wire, 22-16 gauge stuff.

For my typical applications using 14-12 gauge insulated copper stranded wire I have gone back to a plug-in 75 watt Weller.  It certainly is not very flexible versus the butane, but delivers a lot more heat to where it is needed.  In a still-air environment it even does a pretty good job on PL-259's and SO-238 coaxial connectors.  For those you need a high heat source that will quickly heat up the wire and solder without melting the insulator surrounding the feed of the coax and on the braided shield.

Not sure Dale what type he had, but it worked OK as the day was not windy.

Which Weller do you prefer, a pencil type or gun?
I could use a new model, but I want to get a good one.

Corey,

What I would recommend is for you to go to your local Lowe's, Home Depot, Ace hardware store and take a took at what is available.  Most of my work in now on ham radio coax and stuff like that. So I like a HOT iron.  If I could find a good 100 watt model I would probably get it.  A the wattage goes up the size also starts increasing to the point where you need a lot of space to operate it. Shape is a personal thing.  My is a gun.

but my original request still stands; if you find a nice HOT butane pencil please let me know.  I am going to be replacing a multiple fuxe box under the back seat in the Taco and a butane pencil really shines in that type of environment.

I will more than likely stick with a gun.

Lowes site is not the best to surf, they list only one iron, a battery one

http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=productDetail&productId=102784-273-BP645MP

I will go there this weekend if I get time, as there is one a few miles from me.

Or hot solder!