[Photo] Camping with induction cooktops and mini-fridge using ProPower

[GregBC]

Tough crowd. Hard to impress.

Been looking for other Hybrid vehicles with these features and a 10 speed tranny. Come up with zilch so far.

When we're talking upwards of ~$70k (Cdn) pre-tax for a new truck at the trim/options I'd like, heck yeah I'll be tough, lol!

Don't get me wrong, I love the concept and the ProPower's capabilities. Just wish it was a cheaper option overall to make the economic decision easier. For every post I see discussing great mileage gains with the PB, I also see posts showing poor mileage, which would be mighty frustrating when the expectation is higher. From what I gather, the PB seemed to be geared more towards "power": initial torque & acceleration, and less towards mileage (vs many hybrids on the market that see 25-50% improvement on mileage, albeit with much smaller vehicles).

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[Snakebitten]

If you already have history with the mighty F150 3.5 Ecoboost, especially if you have had a couple of them over the 11 years, then you are perhaps better equipped, historically speaking, to compare the fuel efficiency between the two Ecoboost versions.

In my personal experience over the first year of owning a Powerboost, for non-towing use the Powerboost is basically a 4-5mpg increase.
It would take YEARS for that increase to be a purely economic return on investment considering the true co$t up acquisition. (trading in my 2018 and purchasing the 2021) But owning and driving trucks is far more than a dry economic experience. I am a passionate truck owner because it supports a passionate lifestyle. That lifestyle being in complete harmony with the original purpose of this thread!

My F150 is a rolling power-grid and that changes so many things for me.

 

[nkgreen7]

Here is my powerboost camp setup!!

 

[jofo]

Nice! What tent is that and how is it mounted?

 

[nkgreen7]

Nice! What tent is that and how is it mounted?

It's a tuff stuff alpha. It's mounted on a ruff stuff specialties rack. It's 120 wall dom tube with custom mounts.

 

[mflynndelta]

I didn't mean to imply that Ford hasn't been building Hybrids. (My wife enjoyed her 2013 Cmax and it's still in the family)

But the Powerboost is very different than traditional Hybrid cars Ford built in the past. And I don't think that's any kind of bold claim.

Or put another way, you can spec out your dream truck with a 3.5 Ecoboost, and then add all the Powerboost features and advantages for about the cost of a high quality generator. Yet never load or unload the generator, nor carry the gas cans, or listen to it under load for hours at a time.

Gaining 4 or 5 mpg is just a way to recoup the co$t of the option during ownership.

I 100% agree with you ! We have a 2013 CMAX my wife drives and we love the 38.2 MPG it gets. I also love my 2021 F150 powerboost for camping !! We have a 20 foot Rockwood Geopro we pull. What type of camper do you have. Wow full time RV this is my dream !

 

[Yves]

What make look like the PB is really more expensive is if you compare it with the Ecoboost 2.7 with 300A option. As soon as you select the PB, it will give you the 3.5 and the 302A. So this is not the same truck. If you built your truck with a 3.5 with 302A selected then the PB is roughly 2K more (7.2K not selected). I love my PB with the 7.2K

 

[nkgreen7]

Here is my powerboost camp setup!!

So question about my setup pictured above should I be concerned with carbon monoxide while sleeping? I leave pro power on and thought maybe I should run a dryer exhaust vent away from the truck at night while sleeping? Thoughts?

 

[Snakebitten]

So question about my setup pictured above should I be concerned with carbon monoxide while sleeping? I leave pro power on and thought maybe I should run a dryer exhaust vent away from the truck at night while sleeping? Thoughts?

I would think that with even the slightest of breeze it would be impossible for the short run of the motor to be concentrated enough to be a health risk. And from the look of the tent, it's not exactly trapping and holding what whisps you might get either.

Still, it's not a terrible idea to route the exhaust even a few feet away from the tent directly above?

 

[thudnblunder]

Put a CO monitor in your tent and run the engine to see. CO is heavier than air and comes out of the tailpipe with some velocity so I doubt it will pool up enough around the truck to get to the tent. Longer term, CO monitors in the truck bed below the tent and in the tent near your head would be a good investment.

 

[Calson]

All you needed for the fridge is a 50Ah battery at best. Even a full size RV fridge and freezer only draws 8Ah. The smaller ones are less efficient but most still draw only 5 amps or less.

What is important is to realize that a lead acid battery will be damaged if drawn down by more than 50% of its SOC. A lithium phosphate battery can be drawn down 100% (most will shut off at 95% to protect the battery cells). More available power from a 50Ah lithium than from a 100Ah conventional battery and the lithium will be half the weight.

 

[petemill]

All you needed for the fridge is a 50Ah battery at best. Even a full size RV fridge and freezer only draws 8Ah. The smaller ones are less efficient but most still draw only 5 amps or less.

What is important is to realize that a lead acid battery will be damaged if drawn down by more than 50% of its SOC. A lithium phosphate battery can be drawn down 100% (most will shut off at 95% to protect the battery cells). More available power from a 50Ah lithium than from a 100Ah conventional battery and the lithium will be half the weight.

You’re describing Ah for a battery but not being specific about voltage. I do in fact use a 536Wh LiFePO4 battery (this one) for a 110V fridge, so effectively 4.5Ah of which less than half is used to power the fridge for the night when ProPower isn’t running. The battery happens to be a 22.4V/24Ah one.

 

[Calson]

Most batteries that are Group 30 or smaller are either 6-volt for golf carts or 12v for cars and boats. An AC fridge wastes a lot of energy from a battery bank and the only gain is in their being cheaper to buy than a DC version.

The plug-in camping fridges are 12VDC powered which was the point of this post. If someone has a travel trailer or a motorhome then the situation changes. My Class C motorhome came from the factory with two 100Ah Group 30 batteries and I replaced them with lithium phosphate that were Group 30 in size and were 125Ah. I went from 100Ah usable to 250Ah usable for the motorhome.

Charging times with the use of a charger with a lithium charging profile also cut the time required to get to 100% SOC by half. That made the roof top solar panels more effective. Even running the Onan generator the run time was cut in half and so I save on diesel fuel costs.

 

[mflynndelta]

Most batteries that are Group 30 or smaller are either 6-volt for golf carts or 12v for cars and boats. An AC fridge wastes a lot of energy from a battery bank and the only gain is in their being cheaper to buy than a DC version.

The plug-in camping fridges are 12VDC powered which was the point of this post. If someone has a travel trailer or a motorhome then the situation changes. My Class C motorhome came from the factory with two 100Ah Group 30 batteries and I replaced them with lithium phosphate that were Group 30 in size and were 125Ah. I went from 100Ah usable to 250Ah usable for the motorhome.

Charging times with the use of a charger with a lithium charging profile also cut the time required to get to 100% SOC by half. That made the roof top solar panels more effective. Even running the Onan generator the run time was cut in half and so I save on diesel fuel costs.

would you mind to give details of the 125 ah lithium battery and the cost and where to buy ?

 

[petemill]

which was the point of this post

I made this post Point of which was to power a fridge from ProPower AC and overnight by a lithium battery. Which has worked very well for me.

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