Who's Been Camping in Their Hybrid Tacomas? Let's see your cooking / kitchen / camping setups

[trailhunger]

I plan on picking up some 12 gauge extension cord and running my frig next time I lose power for 40 hours.

exactly.

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[brentbba]

uh...so couple things. What the wattage that your fridge pulls? The hybrid battery on the iForceMax Tacos is just under 1.9 kWh, say real world you're driving and shut down the engine, the battery is somewhere at 85% and you leave the inverter running and just supplying power to the fridge which could pull ~185 watts on a hot day in the cab or bed....with the hybrid battery at 85% capacity and the fridge pulling 185 watts, you can run the fridge for approximately 8.73 hours (theoretically) before the engine kicks back on (+/- some time here for other systems to run power, etc).

While driving you're getting pure sine, no gripes, all good there. But you should be getting pure sine regardless. Using the battery pack at night a great option. An even better option is a standalone power station that charges while driving, and doubles your kWh output while at camp. This also reduces the overall cycles on your hybrid battery, thus extending its life.

Since you have a Trailhunter, can you test if your AC Inverter works correctly with the engine off? Basically, power-on your settings and test something like an induction plate or plug in a space heater and see if it works until the engine kicks on/off. Specifically test these appliances from the bed power plug.

My understanding is that when driving, the inverter is not on, so no charge to the fridge. I have a work light I can plug in and bring up to the cab and test all this. I get your numbers, as today's fridges have very low draw.

 

[trailhunger]

My understanding is that when driving, the inverter is not on, so no charge to the fridge. I have a work light I can plug in and bring up to the cab and test all this. I get your numbers, as today's fridges have very low draw.

I'll have a good look at the manual soon enough.... that said, the head engineer did a walk around with a halo earlier this year explaining the exact opposite: running power to the fridge while driving on the trail all day / get to camp / use a battery pack to run the fridge overnight. Time Stamp 17:50

If you can't power a measly freezer/fridge while driving an iForceMax all day on trail, probably grounds to get it in for service!

 

[brentbba]

Well, I hear what he said, and hadn't thought about bring able to plug in the battery backup at the rear of the center console!! I'll test this all for sure. All I can say is that the manual contradicts what he says.

 

[trailhunger]

Well, I hear what he said, and hadn't thought about bring able to plug in the battery backup at the rear of the center console!! I'll test this all for sure. All I can say is that the manual contradicts what he says.

I'm assuming peak wattage is reduced while in drive for safety reasons - and to supply majority power to the electric motor -but even the standard iForce Tacoma inverters deliver some outboard power while in drive. Running that ARB fridge while long-hauling across the desert shouldn't be an issue, and if it was, a total embarrassment for an overlanding spec vehicle.

 

[brentbba]

I'm assuming peak wattage is reduced while in drive for safety reasons - and to supply majority power to the electric motor -but even the standard iForce Tacoma inverters deliver some outboard power while in drive. Running that ARB fridge while long-hauling across the desert shouldn't be an issue, and if it was, a total embarrassment for an overlanding spec vehicle.

Exactly. Why put power in the bed if it's useless while driving. I'll test this with my work light and let you know!!!

 

[trailhunger]

Exactly. Why put power in the bed if it's useless while driving. I'll test this with my work light and let you know!!!

Great idea. Yea a power station with a live readout on wattage really does help. Soon enough I’ll be about to do that w/my power station. Sends me a readout on my phone, can sit shotgun and see what the outlet powers in real-time / in drive / park / neutral / coasting / engine off

 

[TalkingTaco444]

I’d love to say I already have, but work is beating my butt as of late

planning some big trips in fall. Hopefully the Smokey mountains

 

[grizzlyoutlaw]

Non hybrid but I just tested this. I have a fridge plugged into the 120V plug in the back seat/center console. There is an AC 120V button that had to be pressed for the system to be active. It works with the truck running and the truck one button push past ACC that says POWER ON. It will not work with the truck off. Ironically I am putting a large battery bank under the rear seats that will be plugged into 120 and charging while driving with all my accesories plugged into that for when the truck is off.

 

[trailhunger]

Non hybrid but I just tested this. I have a fridge plugged into the 120V plug in the back seat/center console. There is an AC 120V button that had to be pressed for the system to be active. It works with the truck running and the truck one button push past ACC that says POWER ON. It will not work with the truck off. Ironically I am putting a large battery bank under the rear seats that will be plugged into 120 and charging while driving with all my accesories plugged into that for when the truck is off.

Nice do a build thread on this, interested in how much equipment you can build out under your iForce seats. I haven’t verified this myself, but based on other hybrid owners they’re only getting ~1kWh of energy reserve with the engine off before generator mode kicks back in. If you exceed this you’re in good shape. What does your manual say you’re wattage is when in park engine running vs when in drive? The potential issue of charging while driving is that they (gen 3 w/inverters) used to only generate 100w. So say you have 1.2kWh pack under the seats, it would take ~12 hrs of driving to top off that pack!

 

[grizzlyoutlaw]

Nice do a build thread on this, interested in how much equipment you can build out under your iForce seats. I haven’t verified this myself, but based on other hybrid owners they’re only getting ~1kWh of energy reserve with the engine off before generator mode kicks back in. If you exceed this you’re in good shape. What does your manual say you’re wattage is when in park engine running vs when in drive? The potential issue of charging while driving is that they (gen 3 w/inverters) used to only generate 100w. So say you have 1.2kWh pack under the seats, it would take ~12 hrs of driving to top off that pack!

Thanks for the heads up. This is all stuff that should have been looked at before purchase lol. The manual says Iforce is limited to 100W when not in park. If Max gets more that's a huge benefit.

 

[trailhunger]

Thanks for the heads up. This is all stuff that should have been looked at before purchase lol. The manual says Iforce is limited to 100W when not in park. If Max gets more that's a huge benefit.

yup...it's 2400w on the hybrids in drive or park, even engine off 2400w until you deplete your portion of the NiMH reserves before it kicks the engine back on.

I held off on buying a 6' bed OR premium package when I saw the inverter specs. Might be able to do something aftermarket but will require a bigger alternator perhaps.

You get 5x energy production in park, so some silver lining there

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