[dcmeagle]

Wranglers are built for off-roading and camping. These are activities where people may want use to bring along a fridge, a heater, play some music, or many other activities. Why the heck didn't Jeep add in an outlet that can access this MASSIVE battery to use when camping? It seems like such a huge selling point but I can't fathom why it wasn't done. I'm sure someone here may have an answer or maybe I'm missing it and there is a way. I'm curious as to what it is! Running off the 12v battery and then running the engine to charge up the 12v battery risks accidentally draining it and having a dead Jeep. What are your thoughts?

 

[Letitcook]

Because that would risk the battery going totally flat

 

[dcmeagle]

Because that would risk the battery going totally flat

The 4XE maintains about 15-20% for hybrid operation already from my understanding, even when it says < 1%. This ensures it can still operate. The same parameters could be used and shut off power to the outlet if power dropped below a certain level that would prevent the ICE from functioning.

 

[Shakes]

There’s barely enough to drive around with, how the heck are you gonna then power appliances with it?? Not nearly big enough for any extracurriculars…

 

[dcmeagle]

You run off the ICE when you go camping and leave it in battery save mode (since it's going to run out of juice the first 20 minutes into the drive anyways, it's useless). 17.3kwH doesn't let you drive far but it's a hell of a lot of juice for running a few appliances.

 

[chiefkaiser]

Aye, this is frustrating if it's not possible. The power it takes to move a 2.5 ton vehicle for 20min at 60mph should be plenty of power to run some appliances.

On a similar note, I'm really looking forward to testing how long the climate control systems last on battery alone

 

[Shaka]

It would be cool to see us have access to the “big battery” — but that is pretty rare anywhere. Actually the first mass produced car I’ve seen with V2G/H capabilities will be the forthcoming Hyundai Ioniq5. That car will offer an adapter (presumably at a cost) that will allow up to 3.6kW charging OFF the car’s big battery, Keep in mind though that the big battery on that car is over 400% larger, and could therefore last 20 hours running 3.6kW of power.

Our car could benefit from at least having a 110v 15a output, or 1.65kW load. That would give us 8-9 hours of load capabilities, which would be great. It really wouldn’t be hard to Jeep to add this down the road with an adapter, and a software update. Perhaps the 2nd version 4XE will include such a feature.

 

[FL4xe]

Wranglers are built for off-roading and camping. These are activities where people may want use to bring along a fridge, a heater, play some music, or many other activities. Why the heck didn't Jeep add in an outlet that can access this MASSIVE battery to use when camping? It seems like such a huge selling point but I can't fathom why it wasn't done. I'm sure someone here may have an answer or maybe I'm missing it and there is a way. I'm curious as to what it is! Running off the 12v battery and then running the engine to charge up the 12v battery risks accidentally draining it and having a dead Jeep. What are your thoughts?

 

[dcmeagle]

Yeah I've watched this video and the trick of pulling the door sensor and leaving the Jeep in ACC or Run is definitely a possibility, though I wouldn't want to go on a hike and leave the key in the Jeep to keep the fridge running. He definitely shows that it's possible though to keep the 12V battery charged from the hybrid battery while pulling a huge load on it.

 

[Grimmjpr]

The 12 volt battery would probably run a fridge for 2 days before it would be an issue, I regularly ran my ARB 50 fridge in various Jeeps over the years with just the starting battery from a Friday night to Sunday afternoon without running the Jeep, the starting battery would have no problem running a fridge while you go on a hike. If your going to pull more watts/amps then just the fridge, you may need additional power from another battery or solar.

 

[dcmeagle]

The 12 volt battery would probably run a fridge for 2 days before it would be an issue, I regularly ran my ARB 50 fridge in various Jeeps over the years with just the starting battery from a Friday night to Sunday afternoon without running the Jeep, the starting battery would have no problem running a fridge while you go on a hike. If your going to pull more watts/amps then just the fridge, you may need additional power from another battery or solar.

I'm look at adding a 160W solar to the top of my RTT as it has a spot for one. I haven't found a good way to get the cord into the Jeep yet to a Jackery or to the 12V that looks clean.

 

[Grimmjpr]

I'm look at adding a 160W solar to the top of my RTT as it has a spot for one. I haven't found a good way to get the cord into the Jeep yet to a Jackery or to the 12V that looks clean.

I have a portable 200 watt panel I can use if needed. I have a Bluetti EB240 so for most weekends I won't need the additional solar input, unless I run the heater and it's really cold. In chilly temps I can run the fridge and heater and charge a few things with a little power left over. The EB240 has huge capacity.

 

[michail]

There has been talk of people replacing the 12V with a deep cycle battery. We don't need the CCA.

 

[One Eyed Mack]

I replaced my 12v battery with a Group 94 Optima Yellow top and have been happy with it. It runs my Dometic fridge for several days without any issue. I have found that when the voltage begins to drop, I can place the Jeep in ACC or RUN mode without starting it and it appears that the battery pack quickly recharges the 12v one.

 

[dcmeagle]

I replaced my 12v battery with a Group 94 Optima Yellow top and have been happy with it. It runs my Dometic fridge for several days without any issue. I have found that when the voltage begins to drop, I can place the Jeep in ACC or RUN mode without starting it and it appears that the battery pack quickly recharges the 12v one.

Good to know. How big of a difference did you have before and after upgrading to the Group 94 Optima?

 

[One Eyed Mack]

I can’t tell you how much longer it lasts than the stock battery for running my fridge but my winch does seem to function better. I believe it has about 30 more minutes of reserve capacity but almost 200 more CCA which explains the winch function.

Good to know. How big of a difference did you have before and after upgrading to the Group 94 Optima?