Always On Exterior Power Outlet

[woodsby]

Posting in case anyone wants to do the same.
Since I’ve had the awning light kit, it’s always bugged me to have to route the power cable through weatherstripping at the door/liftgate to plug it in. I set out to find a way to use the 7-pin trailer connection to power this. This is what I came up with.
I ordered a Pollak 11-896 7-pin to 12V power outlet. Unfortunately, the 12v aux/charge power at the 7-pin isn’t hot unless ignition is on. So, I pulled the brown Sub Batt relay in the small relay box towards the back of the engine bay, driver side. I made up a jumper using a couple inches of 10AWG wire and 3/8” blade style male quick disconnect connectors - I found them on Amazon - open barrel unfortunately. I plugged the jumper in, in place of the relay and now I have an exterior 12V power outlet available for the light, compressor or anything else we’d need to plug in while camping, tailgating, etc.
Total cost $30. But I had the wire and heat shrink laying around.

 

[bigdaddy2021]

Sounds interesting. Have any pictures of your setup? I'm trying visualize this setup.

Posting in case anyone wants to do the same.
Since I’ve had the awning light kit, it’s always bugged me to have to route the power cable through weatherstripping at the door/liftgate to plug it in. I set out to find a way to use the 7-pin trailer connection to power this. This is what I came up with.
I ordered a Pollak 11-896 7-pin to 12V power outlet. Unfortunately, the 12v aux/charge power at the 7-pin isn’t hot unless ignition is on. So, I pulled the brown Sub Batt relay in the small relay box towards the back of the engine bay, driver side. I made up a jumper using a couple inches of 10AWG wire and 3/8” blade style male quick disconnect connectors - I found them on Amazon - open barrel unfortunately. I plugged the jumper in, in place of the relay and now I have an exterior 12V power outlet available for the light, compressor or anything else we’d need to plug in while camping, tailgating, etc.
Total cost $30. But I had the wire and heat shrink laying around.

 

[grizzlypath]

I like the idea. Any concerns with having an always hot electrical plug semi-exposed to the elements? With your adapter unplugged the 7-pin cover flap is down, but water still gets in there. I'd be worried about shorting something, but maybe I'm just over-reacting. It'd be slick if there was a manual switch or something. Maybe the Relay could be modified to have an inline switch so you can override the relay with a different 12V source to flip the Relay on and send power to the outlet only when you want it.

 

[woodsby]

I like the idea. Any concerns with having an always hot electrical plug semi-exposed to the elements? With your adapter unplugged the 7-pin cover flap is down, but water still gets in there. I'd be worried about shorting something, but maybe I'm just over-reacting. It'd be slick if there was a manual switch or something. Maybe the Relay could be modified to have an inline switch so you can override the relay with a different 12V source to flip the Relay on and send power to the outlet only when you want it.

Funny you should say that. To address the concern, many vehicles have an always hot 12v on the 7-pin. In fact, my 7-pin on my camper is regularly exposed to moisture when camped, and stays hot off the camper battery, but never had an issue with a short. That thing would have to be submerged. To address your idea, that does exist and it appears to fit. Google IPA 9036 - it’s a relay bypass kit - 3 sizes with built in switches. Just didn’t feel like spending $45 on it to confirm the large size is the same size as the brown relay. I may in the future.