Switched 12v power for EverFrost Cooler

[Scuba6]

I'm looking for some suggestions to power my 12v cooler using my 2011 Limited. Unfortunately the obvious answers and searches in old posts don't seem to apply to my situation.

The cooler has a standard 12v plug, but does not draw enough power on any of the 3 cigarette lighter plugs (front, glove box, cargo area). I understand that the wire gauge, especially to the cargo area, allows for a lot of power loss, but I've even tried tapping into the cabin fuse box directly to wire in another 12v, but again, not enough power. The only place that the cooler seems satisfied is when I tap directly to the battery. I don't mind running wires directly from the battery back to the cargo area, but in my case, I really prefer the outlet to be switched and only hot when the truck is on.

(I know....that's exactly opposite of how most owners want their outlets set up and I remember all the threads in 2010 / 2011 when we were all first figuring out how to bypass the switch in the 5th gens. I guess it now comes full circle.)

Any ideas on a switched option that may have higher power output? I'm about to explore the engine bay fuse box more, but nothing in there was immediately obvious at first glance.

Thanks all. I feel like the answer must be much easier than I'm seeing.

 

[Bmnorm2]

Not the most elegant solution… Wire directly to the battery with an in-line switch in the cabin.

Just don’t forget to turn it off.

Here’s to hoping someone chimes in with a better solution.

 

[beedo34]

I use an ecoflow battery in between the car and the fridge. The fridge runs off of the separate battery all of the time, and charging the battery can be done by the vehicle, shore power, solar, hamster wheel, etc.

This lets me not alter the vehicle electrical system at all. My 4r is pretty much a weekend vehicle now so I just plug the battery in to an extension cord in the garage if it gets low. Plus I have an entire separate battery at all times for charging electronics, air mattresses, or anything else that needs power.

 

[JaspertheMechanic]

Relay

What you're looking to do is just what relays are meant for; using a low power source to switch a larger power source. In this case, you'd run a dedicated line from the battery to power the cooler, and put a relay in the hot/feed wire that's triggered by one of the lower power sources. So you could tap one of the cigarette lighter circuits which is switched to be the low side input to the relay which allows the high side current across. This is essentially like the in-line switch that Bmnorm2 suggested, but the switch is controlled automatically by one of the lower power switched circuits.

 

[Bmnorm2]

What you're looking to do is just what relays are meant for; using a low power source to switch a larger power source. In this case, you'd run a dedicated line from the battery to power the cooler, and put a relay in the hot/feed wire that's triggered by one of the lower power sources. So you could tap one of the cigarette lighter circuits which is switched to be the low side input to the relay which allows the high side current across. This is essentially like the in-line switch that Bmnorm2 suggested, but the switch is controlled automatically by one of the lower power switched circuits.

So would a relay from the power line to a “tap a fuse” on the radio fuse or similar be the ticket?

 

[BobsTrail]

12V for Cooler

Not enough power from the 12V outlet and I did not want to run a wire from the front and did not like the $$$ of a Jackery unit.

Not as convenient as a Jackery or EcoFlow all in one unit, but less than $100 and works well.

I run the charger from the 120V outlet and it charges the battery and runs the cooler when the engine is running. With engine off, the battery continues to power the cooler. I had to use a charger that takes less than 100 watts.

In our Sienna the 120V outlet automatically turns on with the engine. In the 4Runner I have to remember to turn on the inverter.

Sometimes on a trip, I leave the cooler running overnight from the small blue battery, take in what we want and not have to carry in the cooler.

 

[El Dusty]

I use an ecoflow battery in between the car and the fridge. The fridge runs off of the separate battery all of the time, and charging the battery can be done by the vehicle, shore power, solar, hamster wheel, etc.

This lets me not alter the vehicle electrical system at all. My 4r is pretty much a weekend vehicle now so I just plug the battery in to an extension cord in the garage if it gets low. Plus I have an entire separate battery at all times for charging electronics, air mattresses, or anything else that needs power.

I would second a battery unit, specifically an EcoFlow. You can monitor and turn the battery / fridge On and Off from the App. Its the best upgrade (outside of adding the fridge) that I have added in a long time.