Hybrid F150 - best method to power 12V accessories in bed/canopy setup while camping/sleeping?

[PWRGEN]

I think I know what your wanting to accomplish. But to make my life easier for me I have the on board 7.2kw generator, not sure if you mentioned having this. Anyways, I went camping on Jekyll Island shortly after truck purchase March 2021. I found a tent that fitted the F150 bed for less than $200. It's water proof design worked perfectly. Keeps bugs out and let some breeze through. See my profile pic. I purchased a carpet matt bed liner protector off Amazon that velcro's down inside the bed to fit the truck bed grooves. This makes for a flat surface. I then cut some 2 inch memory foam to use as my mattress from a leftover bed topper we had to fit the truck bed. Threw in some bed sheets and I slept like a baby. To keep myself cool I plugged in an oscillating fan. Turned on the ignition in the truck and the generator and locked the truck doors and slept in the rear truck bed with plenty of space for two adults. Every once in awhile the engine would kick in to charge the battery up. I was sold on the truck after that experience. My wife and I have a small camper trailer for the majority of our trips and plug into our generator to poser fridge going down the road.
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[FrankThompson]

Great point. It's a 1500Wh battery so it should indeed handle the low voltage stuff overnight. Will have to test this.

Just note. I don't think you get all that capacity. The truck limits you to, I believe, 40-60% (others can confirm or correct me).

At least that is how it works when driving. I wonder if it's different on generator mode or if it's the same limitation of capacity.

I know I can run the truck and sit in it with full on ac and the truck cycles on for a minute about 3 times an hour. It might be less if you turned off everything in the cab (minus lights which can't be turn off) and ran really low power items in the bed.

 

[Snakebitten]

^^^^^ exactly

It's downright remarkable what Ford accomplished with using such a narrow range of battery state-of-charge, AND on such a small battery. I think we are sometimes difficult to impress with the overall engineering prowess that a Powerboost represents. In many ways it's a more impressive ensemble of engineering harmony than the Lightning or the ICE F150's.

 

[daemonic3]

I concur that I don't think the Propower will let you run without the ICE kicking in at least every hour, even with minimal draw from the outlets. I had mine just in the "ON" state with nothing on, but had a coffeemaker plugged in but not started yet. Even while just standing around the engine kicked on for 30 seconds or so a few times. I believe having the inverter "ON" has enough draw to trickle you down to the 40% watermark so the ICE kicks on.

At the time I did not have my Torque app to see the exact battery % but this is my theory and would like to know if anyone has lasted more than an hour without ICE running.

Personally I think the big powerbank is the best bet to power multiple things overnight, and you can recharge it during the day possibly.

 

[dad_w_truck]

I concur that I don't think the Propower will let you run without the ICE kicking in at least every hour, even with minimal draw from the outlets. I had mine just in the "ON" state with nothing on, but had a coffeemaker plugged in but not started yet. Even while just standing around the engine kicked on for 30 seconds or so a few times. I believe having the inverter "ON" has enough draw to trickle you down to the 40% watermark so the ICE kicks on.

At the time I did not have my Torque app to see the exact battery % but this is my theory and would like to know if anyone has lasted more than an hour without ICE running.

Personally I think the big powerbank is the best bet to power multiple things overnight, and you can recharge it during the day possibly.

Yeah - at night, this cycling, for a minimal draw, is what I'd like to avoid.

 

[FrankThompson]

That's a pretty good idea. You could get one of those ecoflow (or similar brand) large power banks (they call the generators sometimes). You can ever get solar panels to charge them during the day.

If you don't want the power boost to run the ice during the night I think that is your best bet (basically don't use the powerboost generator)

 

[mj1angier]

Yeah, I think if you don't want to have it cycle on and off you will just have to use an outside battery bank. But if you are driving around during the day you can charge it with the genny and have it full for the night!

 

[travisN000]

I thought I would post my experiences using my powerboost to power a 12v 50L cooler/fridge over the weekend while camping (using the 120v plug)..

I was camping in a walk-in campsite but parked near two drive up camp sites and left generator mode on with all other interior and exterior accessories turned off (AC/heat, lights, seats, etc; cannot turn of the main dash / speedometer lcd). The next morning I went to check on the truck and grab a few items from the cooler and was immediately stopped by a nearby camper that asked me to move my truck before evening as it was a disruption to their sleep. I asked if ti was OK to leave it for the day, as temps were expected to be near 90F (50's overnight).. they said no problem. Throughout the day I checked on the truck and the cooler, but as the day heated up I began to notice almost constant running of the truck, even when the cooler was not actively cooling. At one point I walked up to the truck to find the cooling fan running loudly and the engine off (the engine started up shortly after). It seems to me that the truck was burning alot of battery running the cooling system, most likely for the battery and the inverters, and this made the use of powerboots very inefficient.

I think I might add a 12v outlet directly to the battery under the rear seat and try using that for my next trip.. that would allow me to leave powerboost / generator off. The fridge has a built in low voltage cut off and should prevent draining of the battery (the stock 12v outlet shuts off with the truck).

 

[Oxford_Powerboost]

I would love to have this confirmed... in the event the starter battery is low, if it will start off the hybrid battery?

For the record, it’s the other way around. The ICE always starts via the high voltage battery unless some condition there isn’t met (usually high voltage battery state of charge too low). I’ve only heard my truck use the 12V starting system 4 times in 19,000 miles.

 

[scuba]

@dad_w_truck I'm trying to do the same thing, and had the same (sad) realization that while I hoped my (Powerboost) truck would be a constant source of electrical power that would open-up revolutionary possibilities (cold drinks whenever, 100% charged tools whenever, fans while (quietly) camping whenever), the reality is limited and a lot closer to having a regular ICE truck.

I wanted to run my 12v freezer/refrigerator while on errands in Florida (i.e. buy frozen / refrigerated things at a grocery store in another town, but eat dinner or otherwise not rush right back home). I even put an always-on 12v source in my bed for this. (I had this dreamy impression that the truck would automatically start and recharge the under-hood 12v battery if needed, or at least have a low voltage cut-off).

Based on what I've learned so far, there isn't a great way to tap into the trucks power without the ICE cycling on, as @daemonic3 pointed out. (I've tried turning everything off I can think of-- stereo, climate, lights, 12" display lights, inverter, etc.-- and the ICE still starts up after ~18 minutes).

Sooo, surprisingly, I found myself resorting to an alternate solution to the 12v cooler problem, which was using a 12v power source powered by Ryobi batteries. However, it seems even the largest capacity Ryobi battery (9ah) wouldn't last all night, and the runtime is highly affected by ambient temps (Obviously, I guess) (4ah= 1.3 - 2.3 hours. LMK if I should start another thread on my tests) .

Let me know if you come up with any ideas. As much as I like the truck ( @Snakebitten ), 1/3 of the possibilities of Powerboost electricity are a "Fail" for me:
A. 7.2kW for RV ("Check" / Revolutionary),
B. Air Conditioned comfort in truck-as-mobile-office with minimal fuel consumption ("Check"),
C. Convenient source for low/medium draw mobile electricity (Fail) .... and specifically for quiet overnight camping (Double Fail)

 

[Snakebitten]

@dad_w_truck

Let me know if you come up with any ideas. As much as I like the truck ( @Snakebitten ), 1/3 of the possibilities of Powerboost electricity are a "Fail" for me:
A. 7.2kW for RV ("Check" / Revolutionary),
B. Air Conditioned comfort in truck-as-mobile-office with minimal fuel consumption ("Check"),
C. Convenient source for low/medium draw mobile electricity (Fail) .... and specifically for quiet overnight camping (Double Fail)

I hope you don't think your post would draw any wrath from Snakebitten.

Point C is absolutely valid!
That teeny tiny High Voltage battery that Ford deployed in the Powerboost, although VERY cleverly leveraged in many ways, (point A&B) is completely inadequate for the specific use-case that you describe.

I'm guessing that if I needed a point C solution, it would require a standalone DC storage device with enough KW Hours to get through the night. Considering the draw, is there a simple math formula that would get someone close?

What we need someone to invent is a superduper strap on exhaust silencer for the Powerboost.

 

[scuba]

Yeah @Snakebitten --I just wanted to get out in front of the fact that I'm not a hater of the thing, given all your positivity.

You make a good point zeroing-in on the noise being the issue (leaving aside the battery and the usable percentage). If you're truly remote or in a noisy environment, point "C" still works, e.g. if I can get comfortable locking the truck in generator mode when I'm hiking or at the mall.

I posted mainly to double check I'm not missing anything. If I'm not, the next step is just to get more comfortable locking the truck in generator mode and walking away and letting it cycle.

 

[travisN000]

I'll repost my experiences / solutions here from another thread:


On hot summer and cold weather campouts I've had mine run way more than expected, and my assumption was the Hi-volt cooling/heating demands way out pace the electric demands of a fridge. On modest weather days fuel consumption can be minimal, but with more extreme temps fuel consumption goes way up. The constant cycling of the motor disturbed other nearby campers and I got multiple requests not to leave the truck running. I found I was able to power the fridge overnight by adding an always on plug to the accessory battery under the rear seat without over draining the battery, and not disturb other campers. More recently I picked up a 100 aH lithium for the trips where I am parked longer:

https://drprepare.com/powermax-12v-100ah-lifepo4-battery-and-hub/

..I've used the DrPrepare battery quite a bit in recent months and have powered my fridge for up to 5 days and only used half of the battery capacity; the only issue with it, is the battery has an auto-off function that will occasionally shut off the battery if the fridge isn't drawing enough power (usually at night when its cooler out, but sometimes in the day as well). My fridge stays cold enough that it doesn't hurt anything; if I notice it is off I just hit the power button on the battery before I open the fridge and check its temp. The temps typically only increase a couple of degrees inside the cooler when this happens, and cools rapidly when power is restored.



.
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Using the built in batteries:
https://www.f150gen14.com/forum/thr...er-for-my-fridge-and-other-accessories.12825/

I saw a YouTube video a while back describing the function of accessory battery under the passenger rear seat in our F150s, and it gave me the idea to use it for always-on power, as the factory outlets time out and turn off if my PowerBoost is not in generator mode. I wanted these to charge / power items while camping, including my fridge. My fridge has a battery protection feature to prevent over draining the battery; of note, according to the video I watched, this accessory battery has a direct non-switched connection to the main starter battery, so using this could kill the starter battery if not careful.


The mod was pretty simple:

Ordered pre-wired automotive power strip from amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09YDQLZ7H

I chose this one as it had a switch, higher output 45w USB-C / PD and 18w USB-A, a voltmeter, and 12v outlets; there are many other configurations available, but this met my needs / goals.

The finished install:

 

[turbopilot]

I'm guessing that if I needed a point C solution, it would require a standalone DC storage device with enough KW Hours to get through the night. Considering the draw, is there a simple math formula that would get someone close?

Really no different than those of us that power an RV using PPoB. In my case I just provisioned the trailer with enough battery storage to get through the night, with no loss of functionality. PPoB is an electricity producing device, just like any other stand alone generator. The only difference is that the electricity is buffered in up to 30 minute chucks by a small hybrid battery in the truck.

So your use case is no different in stand alone camping with PPoB out of the truck than it is towing a trailer. All you need is to supply your own storage equal to what you need during the night, then top it off in the morning with PPoB. I would guess 100 or 200 ah of lithium batteries and AD - DC converter would be all you need. 100 ah lithium battery and lithium specific AC to DC converter would probably cost around $1,200.

 

[HammaMan]

Really no different than those of us that power an RV using PPoB. In my case I just provisioned the trailer with enough battery storage to get through the night, with no loss of functionality. PPoB is an electricity producing device, just like any other stand alone generator. The only difference is that the electricity is buffered in up to 30 minute chucks by a small hybrid battery in the truck.

So your use case is no different in stand alone camping with PPoB out of the truck than it is towing a trailer. All you need is to supply your own storage equal to what you need during the night, then top it off in the morning with PPoB. I would guess 100 or 200 ah of lithium batteries and AD - DC converter would be all you need. 100 ah lithium battery and lithium specific AC to DC converter would probably cost around $1,200.

Did you add additional chargers to up your bank? Without a charger that can really feed juice to the batt you're leaving a little bit of efficiency out. In a perfect world you could crank it up and charge at 7kW and shut if back off. We really need remote / phone control of the generator.

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