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mikeeshim

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On the battery pack I didn't care about the cost. For me it is about volatility, ease of recycling, better connections, no worries around cold (or hot) weather. But the volatility is huge for me. I had several lithium fires over the in various businesses I managed. So lead is a simple way to reduce the risk. No different than why we all buy insurance. Chance may be small of damages - but just not worth it for me.
Just FYI LiPo4 lithium is safe, and boasts 2000+ cycles, but who cares about that. You've got an awesome build!
I've been considering adding a secondary battery, and never thought to use that location for the housing.

I went with solar to charge my 2 300wh battery packs (both LiPO4, wondering if they'll fit in that spot now.
Ford Bronco Basesquatch overland build with dual battery setup 20230426_175032
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Oaklandoverland

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Your build looks awesome. If I had a flat tent I would probably run solar on the roof, but think it would look ghetto on the Autohome. I think I have to add risers n

re batteries, in theory you are correct. And in most cases they will work well. However I have seen a bunch of unrecoverable lithiums that have gone to protection mode. And had one fire caused by one that destroyed our office. Just keep in mind I also have been in the lead battery industry my whole life. :). So biased.

I am real happy with how it’s working. If running a fridge I highly recommend a second battery whatever you do. And I think that spot is the best place on the bronco to mount it. I wish someone would build a custom battery tray for around the ECU, I think there is space where people are mounting compressors. That would be my preference. But until thenthis works well.
 

Tex

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I wish someone would build a custom battery tray for around the ECU, I think there is space where people are mounting compressors. That would be my preference. But until thenthis works well.
I was looking at the interior rear side panels for battery storage, there seems to be enough space for the size batteries you're running and the space isn't being utilized for anything else except the sub enclosure. On the 2dr there's a lot of that space, not sure about the 4dr. Would have to make some racks, but the panels actually have plenty of spots to drill and mount supports. Add some kind of easily removable fasteners for the panel so you can pop it off and inspect things every now and then, I think it'd work great.
 

lakesinai

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List of what’s done so far


Valkyrie Rack
Autohome Columbus Variant tent
Valkyrie license plate holder
Cheap Amazon bullbar
Lasfit amber and white fog lights
Lasfit 42” light bar
Auxbeam 6 light controller
DV8 fog light mount
ARB fridge
Redarc 25 Amp DC DC charger
American adventure lab Blue sea switch mount
M.O.R.E. extinguisher mount.
Deltran 5 amp charger
Cobra 500W inverter and remote
3 x Full Throttle FT230 batteries
Solar SB50 plug, 110V plug, Noco charger plug, dometic fridge plug
Mabett door pockets
OEM Transfer skid
Mabett transmission skid
Barnes shock skids
RCI fuel tank skid
Zroadz rock sliders
JCR Table gate table
Window tint rear
Thor compressor mount
Viair 400P compressor
Mabett cargo mat set
Curtis hitc

I thought I would post a few notes for the build. I have spent a lot of time on the forum figuring out the build and there were a few things I worked through that I figured would help as people search the forum.

First, I forgot to add aux switches to my order, which really bummed me out. Went with a Auxbeam 6, was able to mount the control unit above the fuse box with some custom brackets. Looks clean. Ran switch on wire to the ignition coil fuse under hood.

Spent a lot of time figuring out how to run wires from the light bar down. Found a ford light bar wiring diagram and followed it. Essentially it wraps around and under the weather stripping. I caulked the wires in place on the inside edge return then down the A pillar. Lots of room in there and super clean. Way better than drilling or running down windshield. Mounted Auxbeam control where the bronco plate sits by gear shift. Super clean look.

Went with Valkyrie roof rack. They build some really nice stuff, but I wouldn’t do it again. First was something little -they shorted some bolts and wouldn’t ship them withoutme Paying for shipment as they only have a 30 day warranty. Literally sat unopened for months as I waited on my bronco. When I said sure to that, I got no response back. But my bigger issue was chasing down squeaks. Putting my tent on foam pads helped…but was getting a lot of squeaking up front. Finally isolated it to the front mounting plates. Looks like they punch them out and then bend the steel resulting in mid shaped holes in the front plate. I believe this is where the squeaking came from. Eventually made it better with silicone spray.

Also regardless of rack be very careful with the front mounting points above the windshield. One of mine was all messed up from the factory, I think too much paint. I would run thread cleaners on all of it before reinstalling and don’t over tighten. Eventually I got most of the squeaks out. And the rack looks great, there is clearance to remove both panels and it looks wicked with the light bar. If I had to do it over again I would have done the factory rack and added the single rear bar from a Valkyrie. Or gone with Zroads. There are fewer potential issues with rattles and their sliders are awesome.


Next, I spent a ton of time working through a dual battery set up. I am in the battery business. Don’t want lithium in the back. But wanted decent capacity. While having everything hidden. I ended up running a American adventure lab blue sea switch bracket up front. Ran 2 gauge wire to the rear, to a red arc dc to do charger mounted behind the driver side panel. Also mounted a Deltran charger behind same panel. And last installed a 500w inverter mounted to the roll bar. Rather than drilling used slip on nut brackets on outside edge. And a custom interior bracket. Hid bus bars and fuses. Then ran dometic fridge plug and a 110v plug on the removable panel. Drilled in a spot for the inverter remote. Ran wires under the rear cargo area to have a noco plug for the inbound line for charger and an sb50 connector for solar panel. And last and most important installed 3 x ft230 in the rear storage container. 20ah each for 60ah. Similar to a regular full sized battery and found the Full Throttle brand to be excellent. It required some trimming of the center area and rebuilding some plastic . Just formed a chunk of random plastic over the area I cut and glued in place. Turned out pretty good. One day I might have a new box fabricated for the area. Went back and forth on whether to run two batteries with no cutting or 3 and cut. I am overall happy and glad to have capacity without running a lithium bank.

As I ran power to the rear I figured I would mount my compressor in the rear. Thor compressor mount turned out great, and way less than ARB up front. I’m a little concerned about eye candy in the rear but with a cover and tinted windows looks great.

Done for now. Been really happy with the end result.

Ford Bronco Basesquatch overland build with dual battery setup 20230426_175032


Ford Bronco Basesquatch overland build with dual battery setup 20230426_175032


Ford Bronco Basesquatch overland build with dual battery setup 20230426_175032


Ford Bronco Basesquatch overland build with dual battery setup 20230426_175032


Ford Bronco Basesquatch overland build with dual battery setup 20230426_175032


Ford Bronco Basesquatch overland build with dual battery setup 20230426_175032


Ford Bronco Basesquatch overland build with dual battery setup 20230426_175032



Ford Bronco Basesquatch overland build with dual battery setup 20230426_175032


Ford Bronco Basesquatch overland build with dual battery setup 20230426_175032


Ford Bronco Basesquatch overland build with dual battery setup 20230426_175032


Ford Bronco Basesquatch overland build with dual battery setup 20230426_175032


Ford Bronco Basesquatch overland build with dual battery setup 20230426_175032


Ford Bronco Basesquatch overland build with dual battery setup 20230426_175032


Ford Bronco Basesquatch overland build with dual battery setup 20230426_175032


Ford Bronco Basesquatch overland build with dual battery setup 20230426_175032


Ford Bronco Basesquatch overland build with dual battery setup 20230426_175032


Ford Bronco Basesquatch overland build with dual battery setup 20230426_175032


Ford Bronco Basesquatch overland build with dual battery setup 20230426_175032


Ford Bronco Basesquatch overland build with dual battery setup 20230426_175032
Say more about your battery choices?! I went round and round about worries about buried, inaccessible lithium, either where you put yours or in the passenger rear panel area you have your connectors & chargers, etc? I didnt know there was a comparable AGM. Didnt know that AGM was safe to lay flat? I went with Dometic frig and PLB40, but the cube will wear out in a few years of daily use, I imagine. AGM vs Lithium wired together: plus/minus?

20230430_161344.jpg
 

lakesinai

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Great write up, thanks for posting. Just an FYI, not sure if it's needed, but the Bronco's with the mid-package and above (invertor), get a bigger alternator.
Nice to know!
I was looking at the interior rear side panels for battery storage, there seems to be enough space for the size batteries you're running and the space isn't being utilized for anything else except the sub enclosure. On the 2dr there's a lot of that space, not sure about the 4dr. Would have to make some racks, but the panels actually have plenty of spots to drill and mount supports. Add some kind of easily removable fasteners for the panel so you can pop it off and inspect things every now and then, I think it'd work great.
Fascinating discussion. I was also thinking that, but couldnt get over my worries about buried, inaccessible lithium and the remote possibility of fire.
 

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Tex

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Fascinating discussion. I was also thinking that, but couldnt get over my worries about buried, inaccessible lithium and the remote possibility of fire.
For sure, part of the idea is to figure out an easy way to fasten the panels so I could pop them off in short order, or to cut out a removable access panel without taking the entire side panel off. Maybe even make the tray QD, so I could quickly unplug and pull the batteries out, but a fire would likely happen too fast regardless of whether they're accessible or not, and once they catch, you don't want to be handling them or even be close to them. By the time you realize they're smoking, it's pretty much too late. Maybe a fireproof enclosure with stainless tubing venting outside through the wheelwell might be an option, just depends on how much you trust lithium and the components you install I suppose.
 

lakesinai

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For sure, part of the idea is to figure out an easy way to fasten the panels so I could pop them off in short order, or to cut out a removable access panel without taking the entire side panel off. Maybe even make the tray QD, so I could quickly unplug and pull the batteries out, but a fire would likely happen too fast regardless of whether they're accessible or not, and once they catch, you don't want to be handling them or even be close to them. By the time you realize they're smoking, it's pretty much too late. Maybe a fireproof enclosure with stainless tubing venting outside through the wheelwell might be an option, just depends on how much you trust lithium and the components you install I suppose.
I ended up buying a Dometic PLB40 so if it burns, its on them! And I assume they've wired it right! But the OP'S AGM solution is intriguing.
 
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Oaklandoverland

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I was looking at the interior rear side panels for battery storage, there seems to be enough space for the size batteries you're running and the space isn't being utilized for anything else except the sub enclosure. On the 2dr there's a lot of that space, not sure about the 4dr. Would have to make some racks, but the panels actually have plenty of spots to drill and mount supports. Add some kind of easily removable fasteners for the panel so you can pop it off and inspect things every now and then, I think it'd work great.
If no sub that makes a lot of sense so depends on model and year. In my case there was zero room in the passenger side. My guess is you could squeeze up to 50ah on that side…but wasn’t an option on mine so don’t know.
Say more about your battery choices?! I went round and round about worries about buried, inaccessible lithium, either where you put yours or in the passenger rear panel area you have your connectors & chargers, etc? I didnt know there was a comparable AGM. Didnt know that AGM was safe to lay flat? I went with Dometic frig and PLB40, but the cube will wear out in a few years of daily use, I imagine. AGM vs Lithium wired together: plus/minus?

Ford Bronco Basesquatch overland build with dual battery setup 20230430_161344
AGMs ok to lie flat, just not upside down. I over fused it both for ease of connection and safety. Have a fuse at the battery, which is also where I connected my solar charge connection. I needed a fuse between the SB50 plug and battery anyways. Also fused under hood because it was convenient with the adventure lab switch mount. Fused on the other end of that cable under the rear cargo panel. Again as I needed a good way to connect the red arc main connection and it also served as a point to hook up my compressor. Compressor runs off the main battery, not second pack.

As batteries are sitting in a plastic tray and very secure - with careful consideration of how the batteries are placed and wired to avoid short circuit - I’m sure I could roll the truck and not start a battery fire.

Wish ford gave space for battery options but this was best I could come up with.

re what can fit back there - two standard 18ah agm batteries can fit back there without modifying the tray. Think ft230 full throttle or pc680 odyssey. Would also leave room for a dc to dc charger which would have been cleaner than what I did. Three fit with modification. Lithium options are available in the same size - but if you go lithium the American adventure lab option is super clean.
 

Tex

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If no sub that makes a lot of sense so depends on model and year. In my case there was zero room in the passenger side. My guess is you could squeeze up to 50ah on that side…but wasn’t an option on mine so don’t know.

re what can fit back there - two standard 18ah agm batteries can fit back there without modifying the tray. Think ft230 full throttle or pc680 odyssey. Would also leave room for a dc to dc charger which would have been cleaner than what I did. Three fit with modification. Lithium options are available in the same size - but if you go lithium the American adventure lab option is super clean.
It's been a while since I had the panels off but even with the sub, it looks like there'd be enough room to stack a few batteries in there forward of the wheel well, at least two but possibly three depending on their dimensions. I was kind of shocked when I first took the panel off because it contrasts so much with how space limited the 2dr is, and I've been thinking of things I could do to utilize it for over a year now. I bet I could probably fit at least two batteries on each side plus a DC-DC charger and maybe an AC-DC or inverter on either side, but then the issue would be neatly routing heavy cables between them.

Have you looked at that spot with that plastic tub removed? Think there's much of any space to be gained for anything else? Doubt much could be added battery-wise but maybe a good spot to tuck away some of the electronics anyway. Be nice if Ford put that huge honking muffler underneath the cab and put a bigger storage compartment there instead.

Either way, thanks for posting up this thread, I like seeing how others are wiring up their rigs and getting ideas for mine đź‘Ś
 

Kai

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I'm in Oakland too. We should get together for a trip.
 

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Bro I love the battery setup. I've been searching a lot for a dual battery clean install so I can add a fridge and outlets for recharging drone/phones/cameras, etc. This is the first clean/hidden install I've come across. I'd pay you to do mine if I wasn't on the other side of the country 🤦‍♂️
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