AC Outlets and Car Camping

[verdammte]

I'm getting into spending time semi-off-grid and car camping in and around national and state parks. Unfortunately, the MME doesn't have a dedicated camping mode and it lacks any AC outlets. The cigarette jacks are nice, I guess, but they aren't very secure, only support ~300w of power draw, and are usually wired with 22g wiring, so they aren't exactly safe. I want to change that.

My plan is to add 120v AC outlets to the car, but I'd like to gather input and advice on doing so. Ideally, I'd like these to draw from the HVB, but that adds a whole new level of complications to this. Fortunately, the LVB's BMS will charge the LVB off the HVB when it drops below whatever power level it thinks necessary (30-50% SoC if I recall). I'm also debating the merits of adding in another battery to the car. We have sufficient space in the Frunk area for another battery and a lithium lead acid replacement battery wouldn't be particularly heavy, not that weight matters much to me. I'm also open to adding a solar panel to the hood that could trickle charge the LVB, but that would be complicated by all the trees in national parks, the cloudy nature of the Pacific Northwest, the heat a panel produces that'd be forced into the hood, and the low output of a single solar panel. I'm open to outright removing the cigarette lighter jacks and replacing them with AC outlets.

Idea outcome capabilities:
-supporting up to 1500w continuous output (1000w continuous is also totally fine)
-stays powered 24/7 (if that has to be done by turning off auto-shutoff, that's an acceptable outcome)
-doesn't need to be charged separately from the car itself
-be able to run a heater or fan while sleeping
-power a heated blanket (my current one is a 120v AC blanked with a 150w max power draw)
-possibly operate a small cooler while camping for any perishable food or medications (I don't have any refrigerated meds, but I'm a nurse and some people I've dated so far do have that need)
-be able to power an air mattress pump (current one is on a car jack)
-possibly support an AC induction cooktop. (I do have a Jetboil system for cooking while camping, but I like to have backup options given my deadly food allergy)

Currently list of expected parts:
-at least 2 individual 120v outlets
-1500w pure-sine inverter
-12/14g wire
-fuse or breaker for the inverter
-possibly a second lead acid or lithium battery


I'd love to get input, suggestions, reminders on anything I've forgotten, warnings about potential complications I'll run into, or anything else y'all think is important. I currently have a 300w pure sine inverter that I run everything off of. Even outside of camping, I really need this car to have AC outlets and I don't remotely understand why EV manufacturers don't automatically include AC outlets when our cars boil down to just being battery banks on wheels. I have an Anker Solix F2000 rolling battery bank with 2kwh of capacity and a massively powerful inverter, but it takes up a lot of space and is heavy. It's fine to bring if I camp alone, but I f**king hate being single and don't wanna camp alone, so I can't rely on that option.

Side note, I formerly worked in tech and do have two electrical engineering degrees, but I've literally never used them at work and have done little more than designing and building 3D printers and CNC machines as far as my EE skills go. I'm quite confident in my ability to build this safely, but I still want, and probably need, input from others like y'all.

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[HOFMACHFE]

I suggest you buy this solution. It is certified and safe. I have one for my Mach-e and also use it as a back up generator for my home.

https://www.cargenerator.com/

 

[Zardoz]

Here's a thread that has some additional info. https://www.macheforum.com/site/threads/mach-e-housepower.10799/

 

[Mach-Lee]

I'm getting into spending time semi-off-grid and car camping in and around national and state parks. Unfortunately, the MME doesn't have a dedicated camping mode and it lacks any AC outlets. The cigarette jacks are nice, I guess, but they aren't very secure, only support ~300w of power draw, and are usually wired with 22g wiring, so they aren't exactly safe. I want to change that.

My plan is to add 120v AC outlets to the car, but I'd like to gather input and advice on doing so. Ideally, I'd like these to draw from the HVB, but that adds a whole new level of complications to this. Fortunately, the LVB's BMS will charge the LVB off the HVB when it drops below whatever power level it thinks necessary (30-50% SoC if I recall). I'm also debating the merits of adding in another battery to the car. We have sufficient space in the Frunk area for another battery and a lithium lead acid replacement battery wouldn't be particularly heavy, not that weight matters much to me. I'm also open to adding a solar panel to the hood that could trickle charge the LVB, but that would be complicated by all the trees in national parks, the cloudy nature of the Pacific Northwest, the heat a panel produces that'd be forced into the hood, and the low output of a single solar panel. I'm open to outright removing the cigarette lighter jacks and replacing them with AC outlets.

Idea outcome capabilities:
-supporting up to 1500w continuous output (1000w continuous is also totally fine)
-stays powered 24/7 (if that has to be done by turning off auto-shutoff, that's an acceptable outcome)
-doesn't need to be charged separately from the car itself
-be able to run a heater or fan while sleeping
-power a heated blanket (my current one is a 120v AC blanked with a 150w max power draw)
-possibly operate a small cooler while camping for any perishable food or medications (I don't have any refrigerated meds, but I'm a nurse and some people I've dated so far do have that need)
-be able to power an air mattress pump (current one is on a car jack)
-possibly support an AC induction cooktop. (I do have a Jetboil system for cooking while camping, but I like to have backup options given my deadly food allergy)

Currently list of expected parts:
-at least 2 individual 120v outlets
-1500w pure-sine inverter
-12/14g wire
-fuse or breaker for the inverter
-possibly a second lead acid or lithium battery


I'd love to get input, suggestions, reminders on anything I've forgotten, warnings about potential complications I'll run into, or anything else y'all think is important. I currently have a 300w pure sine inverter that I run everything off of. Even outside of camping, I really need this car to have AC outlets and I don't remotely understand why EV manufacturers don't automatically include AC outlets when our cars boil down to just being battery banks on wheels. I have an Anker Solix F2000 rolling battery bank with 2kwh of capacity and a massively powerful inverter, but it takes up a lot of space and is heavy. It's fine to bring if I camp alone, but I f**king hate being single and don't wanna camp alone, so I can't rely on that option.

Side note, I formerly worked in tech and do have two electrical engineering degrees, but I've literally never used them at work and have done little more than designing and building 3D printers and CNC machines as far as my EE skills go. I'm quite confident in my ability to build this safely, but I still want, and probably need, input from others like y'all.

I think you should have bought a F-150 Lightning instead if you wanted all the 120V outlets. The Mach-E electrical system is not designed for large accessory loads.

Almost all of the stuff you want inside the car can be powered by 12V instead of 120V. You can get a 12V heated blanket, refrigerator, air mattress pump, laptop charger, etc.

If you want heat, you'll need to turn the car on. It's a foolish waste to run a heater through the 12V system when a high power option is available. You'll need to leave the car on and cover the screens.

If you decide to go with an inverter, the maximum load is 1200W and you'll need to connect it to the jump terminals under the hood with large gauge wire. The car must be ON while using it or the battery will die quickly. I would recommend only using the inverter for short duration high power loads like cooking, then unhooking it for the rest of the night. It might be better for you to carry a small battery powered inverter for in-car overnight use.

 

[dabois89]

You're better off getting a jackery battery off of amazon, and like someone said prior just use the cars heating system to maintain a comfortable cabin temperature.

 

[music_cities]

I suggest you buy this solution. It is certified and safe. I have one for my Mach-e and also use it as a back up generator for my home.

https://www.cargenerator.com/

Thanks for the link. Did you buy the "DRY" one, and you can keep it in the frunk during use? Or the All Weather one? Did you cut access points in your beauty cover? Did you buy the quick-connect kit?

 

[music_cities]

Almost all of the stuff you want inside the car can be powered by 12V instead of 120V. You can get a 12V heated blanket, refrigerator, air mattress pump, laptop charger, etc.

Absolutely. 12V is the best.

If you want heat, you'll need to turn the car on. It's a foolish waste to run a heater through the 12V system when a high power option is available. You'll need to leave the car on and cover the screens.

Absolutely. Also you should leave the car on while you're using your inverter. In theory the car is supposed to kick in the DC-DC converter when the 12V battery goes low, but if you just leave the car on, it's already kicked in.

If you decide to go with an inverter, the maximum load is 1200W

Hmm, I think the DC to DC converter is 150Amps, which times 12V is 1800W. Sure, there will be losses, maybe 1200W is a good guideline for continuous draw. But, surely for short periods of time (making toast or coffee) one should be able to go to 1500W at least, given the capacity of the 12V battery itself, and the size of the DC to DC converter?

and you'll need to connect it to the jump terminals under the hood with large gauge wire. The car must be ON while using it or the battery will die quickly.

Absolutely

I would recommend only using the inverter for short duration high power loads like cooking then unhooking it for the rest of the night. It might be better for you to carry a small battery powered inverter for in-car overnight use.

What's your rational for this, Mach-Lee? Based on other posts, I don't see a downside to leaving the car on overnight and the inverter plugged in overnight.

 

[Mach-Lee]

Hmm, I think the DC to DC converter is 150Amps, which times 12V is 1800W. Sure, there will be losses, maybe 1200W is a good guideline for continuous draw. But, surely for short periods of time (making toast or coffee) one should be able to go to 1500W at least, given the capacity of the 12V battery itself, and the size of the DC to DC converter?

What's your rational for this, Mach-Lee? Based on other posts, I don't see a downside to leaving the car on overnight and the inverter plugged in overnight.

I think the reason not to go above 1200W continuous is covered in this post: #9
In summary, inverters are only 80-90% efficient so they draw more wattage than they output. You also need to leave about 20 amps to run the car. And running at full DC/DC output will overheat the output wire that goes from the DC/DC to the battery, it was not sized for 160A continuous. Just like EV charging I would stick to 80% or less of max output, which means the maximum inverter draw amps should be kept below 130A.

You could leave the inverter plugged in and ON all night, but that's sort of a waste of energy IMO. If I was going to use my inverter for camping I'd only have it on for part of the day to conserve energy and not drain the 12V battery excessively. Mainly for cooking. You're burring like 300W just to keep everything on with the inverter powered up. At night or when I'm gone I'd pack it up.

Again, I would primarily try to run everything I can off 12V and use the inverter exclusively for high power stuff.

 

[YeOldeTraveller]

I'd be tempted to just add an Anderson PowerPole connection under the cargo power point, and connect to that with a portable power station. I like the EcoFlow devices.

Option 2 is very similar. I would use the EcoFlow adapter for alternators to provide a higher power connection to the power station. I would use a dedicated cable for the connection.

V2L is one of the biggest misses in the Mach-E. My 2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid had 120 VAC available.

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