Possible to draw from battery without engine turning on?

[veloverland]

Is it possible to disable the engine from turning on but still draw from the 1.5kwh battery?

The reason I ask is because I intend to install a wedge camper on the bed and sleep in it while at campgrounds or when boondocking. I want to keep my dometic fridge and some other small electronics plugged in overnight, but I don't want to risk carbon monoxide poisoning if the engine flips on while I'm asleep. I also don't want the engine to wake me up repeatedly throughout the night when it shakes on. Ideally I would be able to do this overnight then flip it on in the morning to turn on the engine and recharge the battery.

So - is it possible to draw from the battery but turn off generator mode?

And if not, how would you assess the risk of carbon monoxide poisoning? I'm guessing it's likely very low since it would be outside, and the engine would only flip on for a few minutes at a time, probably only every few hours at most. This could be comparable exposure to sitting around the bed of the truck while it's idling outside.

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[Toadkillerdog]

Is it possible to disable the engine from turning on but still draw from the 1.5kwh battery?

The reason I ask is because I intend to install a wedge camper on the bed and sleep in it while at campgrounds or when boondocking. I want to keep my dometic fridge and some other small electronics plugged in overnight, but I don't want to risk carbon monoxide poisoning if the engine flips on while I'm asleep. I also don't want the engine to wake me up repeatedly throughout the night when it shakes on. Ideally I would be able to do this overnight then flip it on in the morning to turn on the engine and recharge the battery.

So - is it possible to draw from the battery but turn off generator mode?

And if not, how would you assess the risk of carbon monoxide poisoning? I'm guessing it's likely very low since it would be outside, and the engine would only flip on for a few minutes at a time, probably only every few hours at most. This could be comparable exposure to sitting around the bed of the truck while it's idling outside.

The battery is so low capacity I’m afraid it won’t last all night even powering those appliances which includes a refrigerator without running the engine to charge it back up. I may be wrong…

 

[Ajzride]

The risk is really low outside, but I have seem some overly cautious people use some dryer vent like hose to slip over the exhaust tip and route it a dozen feet away.

 

[Orlando150]

I suggest a CO alarm for your camper. If you want to test it you can try it at home and check every so often to see if the alarm goes off.

 

[veloverland]

Good, but I believe the extra battery has 1.5kwh capacity. That's as much as this $2k goal zero 1500. Unless I'm missing something that's different in the constitution of both batteries, it should have more than enough capacity to run a 25w medium-capacity fridge and charge a phone overnight.

Appreciate all the comments on the riskiness of carbon monoxide, but the other question still stands: other things being equal, I'd like to be able to draw from the extra (large capacity) battery and prevent the engine from turning on while doing so.

Does anyone know if there's a way to do this?

 

[wayfarer556]

Good, but I believe the extra battery has 1.5kwh capacity. That's as much as this $2k goal zero 1500. Unless I'm missing something that's different in the constitution of both batteries, it should have more than enough capacity to run a 25w medium-capacity fridge and charge a phone overnight.

Appreciate all the comments on the riskiness of carbon monoxide, but the other question still stands: other things being equal, I'd like to be able to draw from the extra (large capacity) battery and prevent the engine from turning on while doing so.

Does anyone know if there's a way to do this?

The answer to your question is no, there's no known way of doing this. Drawing direct from the battery is very much locked out to us, even via Forscan. The way the truck manages battery power delivery and charging is likely very much designed to meet the 8 year warranty obligation for the battery.

To answer your other questions, if the overall draw of your equipment is small enough, you'll likely experience the truck to give you something like 20 - 30 minutes of battery power followed by roughly 60 seconds of ICE activation. The engine itself kicking on in generator mode is not as aggressive in generator mode compared to idling.

Other questions about CO2 have been answered. It's probably not a problem outside, it doesn't hurt to take precautions however.

 

[veloverland]

The answer to your question is no, there's no known way of doing this. Drawing direct from the battery is very much locked out to us, even via Forscan. The way the truck manages battery power delivery and charging is likely very much designed to meet the 8 year warranty obligation for the battery.

To answer your other questions, if the overall draw of your equipment is small enough, you'll likely experience the truck to give you something like 20 - 30 minutes of battery power followed by roughly 60 seconds of ICE activation. The engine itself kicking on in generator mode is not as aggressive in generator mode compared to idling.

Other questions about CO2 have been answered. It's probably not a problem outside, it doesn't hurt to take precautions however.

Thank you. Going to just go with a spare portable battery then that can power things overnight and then recharge in the AM. The thought of being woken up of even having my sleep disrupted by the engine every 30minutes is unbearable.

 

[F-150 Prius]

Thank you. Going to just go with a spare portable battery then that can power things overnight and then recharge in the AM. The thought of being woken up of even having my sleep disrupted by the engine every 30minutes is unbearable.

I don't know about unbearable – I've camped in the cabin just twice and the engine didn't wake me even though it does rock the vehicle – but the benefit of heating the cabin while snow is falling was an easy decision.
For the fridge freezer, as others suggest, I have a 2kWh "solar generator" type battery/inverter sitting in the bed (note that both the freezer and the battery generate quite a bit of heat, so they need air circulation to keep themselves cool.)
There's also "Eco Idle" which will run the engine at a higher rpm for a shorter period of time – noticeably louder, but the less run time probably means less fuel burned.

 

[veloverland]

I don't know about unbearable – I've camped in the cabin just twice and the engine didn't wake me even though it does rock the vehicle – but the benefit of heating the cabin while snow is falling was an easy decision.
For the fridge freezer, as others suggest, I have a 2kWh "solar generator" type battery/inverter sitting in the bed (note that both the freezer and the battery generate quite a bit of heat, so they need air circulation to keep themselves cool.)
There's also "Eco Idle" which will run the engine at a higher rpm for a shorter period of time – noticeably louder, but the less run time probably means less fuel burned.

Good call - probably best to actually test it to see if it wakes me up before buying a spare battery to power things overnight.

Did you camp in the cabin or in the cab? I'm looking for a good heating solution, probably will need to be a propane heater or something.

 

[F-150 Prius]

Good call - probably best to actually test it to see if it wakes me up before buying a spare battery to power things overnight.

Did you camp in the cabin or in the cab? I'm looking for a good heating solution, probably will need to be a propane heater or something.

Slept in the cab (lay-flat seats.) I'm 6'1" 220lbs and found it as comfortable as need be. I brought a blanket and a cushion/pillow, folded down some clothes to fill in the gap between the headrest and the rear seat cushion, the dog got the other half of the rear seat with plenty of space on the floor for a water dish.
Problems:
1) the instrument panel lights don't have an "off"
2) the touchscreen has an off
3) the steering wheel never really gets out of the way
4) with the engine on, if you nudge the 4WD button, it engages 4WD
5) nowhere near enough airflow to the rear seat area

With a little more thought put into these incredibly elaborate front seats, they could have had a real queen-sized bed space (by making the center console lower or fold over backward to fill in the gap between the back of the console and the front of the rear seat cushion.

The rear seats don't know if they're Arthur or Martha – they don't fold up and out of the way (much too thick) and they don't fold down or forward and flat (which would also make for a better "bed" surface or just a wider horizontal surface (for cargo or doggo.) I'd really like to just remove the rear seats – they're dead weight – and have the extra volume of rear space in the cabin.

I'd really like the 360º cameras to have a "sentry" mode to detect motion (using the vehicle sensors and with AI "watching" through the cameras) then record movement (a few seconds before and after motion is detected.) FWIW, one thing I do is park in view of a security camera (bank, ATM, etc.)

I'd like a "camping" mode to turn off all the interior lights and have the car in sentry mode which could turn on the appropriate zone of exterior lights and alert my phone that there's a bear outside the cabin before the dog wakes me up barking and I have a heart attack and sh!t myself. (there was no bear, but my imagination wasn't sleeping while I was asleep.)

Anyway, camping in the cabin is my preferred overnight now, especially with covid and the cost of hotels and the scarcity of decent dog friendly hotels that aren't a bigger health risk than going a night without a shower and using Starbucks (America's restroom.)

In my opinion, having the freezer on the solar battery means the truck can be off and the food won't spoil. The truck "nags" a bit about any of the onboard power outlet weather cover flaps being open, so I prefer to leave everything unplugged, and just remember to charge the solar battery every few days when using the freezer.

I originally bought one of these batteries:
http://allpowers.com/index.php?ac=article&at=read&did=190
as a "gas can in the trunk" for my Tesla Model 3 with the idea of running the Tesla down to nearly zero before reaching a Supercharger, but have the "oh f- me" contingency of sitting on the side of the road for an our while this little battery trickle charges the Tesla to have another couple of miles in reserve. Of course, that never happened, though I did test it out just as an experiment and it works fine (a Tesla can sometimes detect a portable power source with a floating neutral and refuse to charge.)
I leave it in the bed because there's a lot of fan noise while it charges or while it operates its AC output. Not that you'd hear it while driving, just when you want that as-advertised peace and quiet, it actually makes a noise (DC only output for the freezer doesn't make noise, but the fridge itself makes noise … so those both go in the bed.) It also has a bluetooth app so you can check that it's working without digging in to look at its display. I'm not really "endorsing" this as best on the market or cheapest (prices are usually improving and I've had this for months) just to say it works and isn't junk. : )

 

[diesel97]

1) the instrument panel lights don't have an "off"

Can't you turn the cluster dimmer switch all the way down?

 

[F-150 Prius]

Can't you turn the cluster dimmer switch all the way down?

yep, there's a button in front of the driver's left knee, but the lowest setting (visible in the instrument panel as a row of blocks) is still quite bright (there's more light in the cabin than outside, so you're in a fishbowl.) I'd like to have the "off" button or for it to time out or somehow otherwise go dark.)

 

[Twg1]

@F-150 Prius, super helpful writeup. Sentry mode is too clever - Ford should do this!. To OP, I think you're on to something, would be nice if there was an ICE lockout. I too would be concerned about CO poisoning. I presently sleep/camp in my 5.5’ bed (06 Supercrew). I’m looking at the Powerboost 6.5’ bed for this exact purpose, but also concerned about safety. I think the CO alarm and dryer tube is a good idea.

 

[F-150 Prius]

@F-150 Prius, super helpful writeup. Sentry mode is too clever - Ford should do this!. To OP, I think you're on to something, would be nice if there was an ICE lockout. I too would be concerned about CO poisoning. I presently sleep/camp in my 5.5’ bed (06 Supercrew). I’m looking at the Powerboost 6.5’ bed for this exact purpose, but also concerned about safety. I think the CO alarm and dryer tube is a good idea.

Glad I helped! : )
I'm sure you could work around sleeping in the cab or the bed. I have a 6.5 bed and it's a pretty big space. Sometimes I wish I had the 5.5 bed for easier parking and maneuvering, but the 6.5 is the real deal and the longer wheel base is more stable for towing (and I bought this PowerBoost mostly as a tow vehicle with built-in generator and long distance hauler, not to park in the city … : )
I'm deciding of getting either an ARE Z2 and the RSI SmartCap with TopperEZLift.

sidenote on car camping: While I'm not worried about CO ingress, a combined smoke/CO sensor is a smart addition. I was skiing at Squaw Valley years ago when girls on a ski weekend – no money for overpriced hotels – sleeping in their car parked against a snow bank with the engine running for warmth, died. This was three kids from three families. Imagine the tragedy for those families. News came word of mouth around the lift lines. It was one of those things that stays with you.​

https://www.tahoedailytribune.com/news/carbon-monoxide-is-suspect-in-deaths-of-three-women​

 

[ptricky]

Good, but I believe the extra battery has 1.5kwh capacity. That's as much as this $2k goal zero 1500. Unless I'm missing something that's different in the constitution of both batteries, it should have more than enough capacity to run a 25w medium-capacity fridge and charge a phone overnight.

I don't recall the exact thread (and am too lazy to search), but others have discovered that the vehicle does not charge up the HEV battery to 100%. Even if you could tap into the big battery, you won't get the full 1.5kwh capacity like you would with the goal zero.

Also, a workaround to consider is changing the timeout on the PowerPoint (AKA, cigarette lighter). You can bump the timeout up to 18 hours with FORScan. If you are running the Dometic or other 12vdc goodies that could get you through the night. I have a CFX3 cooler and it has a battery protection feature to make sure you don't kill the 12vdc system.

Don't bet on this for sure, but I also *think* the truck can recharge the 12vdc system from the HEV battery. So maxing out the cigarette lighter might be a roundabout way to tap into the HEV battery.

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