So I started a "little" project awhile back. Since I'd moved the spare tire out from the inside I had a big empty spot where the spare used to go. Figured I'd put an inverter there for AC power,,,and a place to store a floor jack,,, simple enough right.

Started out with this.



and well, scope creep took over,,, so I ended up with this.



First the floor jack storage,,,this silly thing holds a full size floor jack on heavy duty drawer slides



Have to remove the wheels for storage to make it fit in the space (because keeping the third row was a non-negotiable for me).

But its pretty easy to put the wheels on,,, just use this one ratcheting end wrench.


The sliders hold the jack at a good working height, so just remove the wheels from their storage spots and put-em on.



Lift the jack out, put it on the ground and the handles are stored underneath.


And bam,,,, full size floor jack at the ready.



Next the inverter.

Wanted to go reasonably big on the inverter, so 3k watt pure since wave Renogy seemed like it'd work.


But to power a big inverter, you need big batteries (truck already has a 200amp alternator). So a pair of 140amp hour LiFePo4 dual purpose batteries entered the chat (they're meant for the marine industry, but the battery doesn't know if its starting a boat outboard motor or assisting in starting a Excursion diesel engine, and yes, Redodo says these batteries are okay to be on their side).




This is kinda where the scope creep came in.

Figured if I'm gonna have auxiliary house batteries and an inverter, then I'll why not some solar to keep everything charged when not running the truck. Eventually I'm gonna build a roof rack so roof mounted solar is out,,,,so hood mounted solar it was.


Ran the wires through the cowl, you don't really notice them while driving.



Now more scope creep.
Figured why not be be able to self jump start the Excursion should the regular lead-acid AGM batteries under the hood die,,after all these are dual purpose marine LiFePo4 batteries.
And if I was going to have so much power in the back, why not have a means to transfer high amp DC both out (like to power the winch on my cargo trailer tongue) and high amp DC in (like to charge everything from an external source or jump start from an external source).

So I added three 500 amp relays, one for high amps DC in/out and two for self jump start and a regular automotive fuse/ relay box ( fuse/ relay box is in the upper left hand corner of the pic) to control everything. The blue thing in the lower left of the picture is the victron solar controller. Also took the opportunity to put down a bunch of sound deader material in the cargo area.

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To get LiFePo4 batteries and regular lead-acid batteries (be they flooded cell, AGM, Gel or whatever) to play nice together, I found an amzing little product called "Battery Bank Manger" (link below). Its another something borrowed from the marine industry, but an Excursion is basically a land Yacht, so ehhh, close enough , it won't know its not on a boat.

https://marinedcac.com/pages/bankmanager

These little gismos work pretty dang good. I've had a hybrid lead acid and LiFePo4 battery system in my RV travel trailer with one of these wiz-bang gadgets for about two years now, works flawless, so I ponied up the cash for another to put in the Excursion. I did custom mount it in the control panel, so I guess that's a good enough segway to start taking about the control panel


Crammed all the crap I could onto this one control panel area.


Ran out of room on the panel, so some stuff had to go to vertical part the left a bit (and yes that is an air chuck, there is also a full 200psi onboard air system with twin compressors, twin tanks and train horns that we'll get into in a bit).


For AC power outlets, there are four in total.

One on the upper right of the control panel (regular 15 amp AC).


Below that is a 30 amp RV style plug.


On the outside of the Excursion, by the fuel filler door, is another 15 amp AC plug (and a connection for an external /deployable solar panel).


AC plug is on the right.


The smaller plug on the left is for an external / deployable solar panel(s).



The last AC power outlet (another 15 amp) is up by the third row facing forward/ into the interior of the Excursion.



Because a big power inverter can, and does, generate some heat when in use, I mounted a set of variable speed fans to exhaust air from where its mounted.



The fans are variable speed manually controlled by a rotary **** mounted just under the Inverter on/off controller. They are only powered when the inverter is on


Since I wanted two sources of solar (hood mounted and external deployable) I needed a means of separating them when one wasn't in use , so there is a set of disconnects for each solar input on the rear control panel (the one in the pic that's on is the hood mounted solar disconnect).


Now to control everything. I wanted a master on/off for everything and a means to see battery voltage individually on both the LiFePo4 bank and the lead-acid bank. And I really didn't want to do electronics because troubleshooting/ repairing electronics on the trail is a pain, so I wanted it all analog using relay logic.

Came up with this. And this is mostly the way its installed, made a few minor "pen and ink" changes during install, but I folded up the paper and put it inside the fuse/relay box when I was done, so I'll at least know what's going on whenever I do have to troubleshoot something.

Basically, nothing turns on or works without the "master" on and relay #1 is switched via LiFePo4 voltage, but the main contacts of that relay carry power from the lead-acid bank.

This allows for these two USB chargers that have voltage indication to be powered off the different batteries, thus giving a sperate voltage indication of each battery bank.

Battery banks connected here, both at 13.3 volts


Battery banks separated here (the "Bank Manger" device i talked about earlier automatically separates the two battery banks when needed to prevent damage or you can disconnect them manually).
Here's the voltages with the battery banks separated and the headlights turned on (truck not running). The lead bank (left) showing 12.6 volts and the LiFePo4 unchanged at 13.3.

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Of course the two big post (usually covered by insulating caps) are the high amps DC transfer connections. The positive connection is dead unless the high amp transfer relay is energized (which can be done two ways, but it would be hard to do by accident).
The high amps "out" closes the transfer relay from internal power, but if all the batteries on the Excursion were dead, the high amps "in" allows the transfer relay to shut if you put external power on to those connections (like from a jump box or battery charger).


The "jump start" switch just connects both of the two battery banks with two 500 amp relays (and overrides any & all safety features or Ralph Nader nanny's in the process). So a lot of power can be moved quickly from the LiFePo4 batteries to lead and vice versa. Not something that should really be used a lot, but it gives me the option to connect the two banks, regardless of what the "bank manger" device wants.

Now for the air system.
The air system consists of two 100% duty cycle 12 volt air compressors, two 3 gallon air tanks, a pair of three trumpet air horns and air connections in the cargo area and up on the front bumper.

The compressors.


The major components of the air system are mounted under the truck, inside the frame rail, between the transfer case and rear end (kinda where the fuel tank is on the pickups, but the Excursion has the tank mounted aft of the rear axle, so this area is just open).

Air tanks


Compressors


The drains of the two air tanks are tied together under the little cover (right side red arrow) and plumbed up to a 12 volt solenoid valve (left side red arrow). This way the tanks can be "drained" of water via a switch without every actually crawling under the truck.


The switch that activates the air blowdown or tank "drain " solenoid is up by the air connection in the rear hatch. I'm gonna store the air hoses/ air chucks, pressure gauges in the back anyway, so I gotta be in this general area if I'm using the air system anyhow.



But since I didn't want to be dragging air hoses all around the Excursion (not like its a small truck), I put another swivel air chuck in the front bumper.





The train horns are mounted outside the frame rails basically just passed the running boars on the driver side.



Switches for the compressors, train horns and another switch to close the rear "jump start" solenoids are mounted on the front of the center console (along with a few other switches).





There is also a decent bit of additional storage built into this silly thing.

Main storage area (above the floor jack), lid removed.


And there was some room above the batteries, so figured why not make a little more storage.




I left as much of the stock plastics and I could, but of course a lot got trimmed away. Nothing really left to clip this plastic to , so I just bolted it down next to the rear glass..


And since storage is always a good thing,,, and modular storage that allows you to change and re-configure at will is just awesome, figured a big Molle panel in front of that side rear glass would be pretty useful.

Dropped the headliner a bit and bolted some brackets into the roof bracing (brackets are long here, they got trimmed to fit better later on)



and the Molle panel installed



They make every kind of pouch, bag, holster, kit, or whatever you can think of that attaches to Molle.

I just put a first aid kit and my tire deflation tools up there for now, but as I live with it , I'm sure stuff will get added, removed, and changed, which is the great thing about Molle.


I also put m6 nutserts (same nutserts the whole project is held together with) in every hole of the molle panel so I can also bolt crap directly to the panel if I want shelves, or just want something to be really , really attached.



But after all done, the third row seat still fits and functions just like stock.

The next project is second row bucket seats, so I really didn't want to eliminate the third row and have a huge SUV that only had four seats.





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Fab-tastic craftsmanship once again, bro. I've been thinking about picking up one of those jacks from HF. I've got the old-style aluminum 3-ton in my ex, and I love it, but those wheels. Is the off-road version worth it?
I want to do something similar in mine with aux batteries, but I need to keep it tight to the walls or locate it elsewhere to preserve flexible cargo space. I have done away with my 3rd row seat and deleted the rear HVAC, but I haven't settled on an arrangement that works.

 

This is awesome. Obviously you've put a ton of thought and work into this project. Thanks for sharing.

I would like to know what panels you used on the hood, how they mount and what your expected life span is for them. Sorry if I missed those details in the write up.

 

This is absolutely insane and I love it. Incredible work.

 

I like the HF Badlands offroad jack. I have another one I use around the shop but its pretty beat up now, so I bought another to mount/ leave in the Excursion. If you want to keep your current aluminum jack, a company called "911 motorsports" (link below) makes off-road jack conversion for regular floor jacks.

https://www.911motorsports.net/Off-Road-Floor-Jack_c_25.html?srsltid=AfmBOooUUV49ZX0eHWcKEClTEAN HByQQTnlFqnopH4pM9NwR61UkYL1c

Since I'm not a real overlander (I call myself a Day-lander, I pull my 34 foot travel trailer to the camp site with full hookups , a flushing toilet, and high speed internet, then just venture out into the wild during the day and return to my luxury RV to "camp" at night), so flexible storage/ sleeping accommodations in the Excursion isn't as big a deal for me.

And I live in south Texas where its gets dangerously hot in the summer, no freaking way am I getting rid of the rear air conditioning. If the rear HVAC stops working, the Excursion gets parked until its fixed (well, for at least 8 months of the year anyway)
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I used "lensun solar" panels meant for 99-07 superdutys (the excursion hood is either the exact same for similar enough), link to the product I used below.

https://lensunsolar.com/products/sup...489b4dfd&_ss=r

I did buy the "+ vinyl decal" option and followed their instructions really closely.

Basically you put two big azz vinyl decals on the hood (after cleaning and prepping the hood with a clay bar of course), then use heavy duty two sided 3M tape to hold the solar panels to the decals. In the instructions was an optional silicone sealant to go around the edges (to keep rain water from getting under the edge and to the tape). I bought the exact name brand stuff they recommended in the instructions and sealed around the edges with that.

As for longevity, IDK, they seem to have a decent reputation with the weird people that live in Vans in Europe, guess time will tell.
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me too.
it is FULL hookups with the Toy Hauler for my scooter....
much easier to prowl around with a small scooter, than a 30 ft long Excursion, well, it feels like it is 30 feet long

and a real bed with HVAC in the camper, ah... love it.

 

Beautiful work! I sure wish I had the spare time to tinker on mine like this.

 

Spare time,,, what’s that’s? Never heard of it.

The vast majority of people ( myself included) have plenty of time to accomplish what they want to, they just choose to fill up that time by watching TV, or playing video games, or doom scrolling through various forms social media.

Events of recent history show this to be true. How many people say “ I don’t have time to exercise/ stay in shape” yet when we all got locked down for covid, and all of those people suddenly had lots of “ free time”, strangely, not very many actually started exercising or got in shape. IMHO, there is no such thing as “ spare time” it’s all just time, what we do with it is our choice.

If you want to tinker, then choose to tinker over doing something else. I could probably spend another 10 to 15 hours a week tinkering if I chose to stop watching silly car videos on YouTube and got my rear off the couch and back out in the garage after dinner.
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They have both the gen 1 super duty and the excursion listed. Both seem to be the same set up.

Will these charge a battery/ies and supply power to an inverter at the same time or does it stop charging during usage?

Looks like two battery outputs on the controller. You can run one to a back up set and one the the main carriage battery?

You ran your two back up batteries in parallel?

How big is your inverter?

Do you need a 1/2/both switch at the controller to tell it which to charge?

Thanks for any additional info. I have done some calcs. I pretty know which products I need. But would like to know more about the operation from your first hand installation and knowledge.

 

Last thing for this project (hopefully),,hacked up my WeatherTech rear floor cover to make it fit with the new rear storage compartment/ electrical system thing.

Used basic shop scissors to cut ,and a soldering iron to punch holes in it for the bolts (lining up the holes scientifically by eyeball).




To glue the corner together, I used some of this (because it was the only thing I had handy that was black to match the color of the floor liner).



Added a little extra material at the corner, glued it all together with the RTV, and holding it in place with magnets and tape until it dries.



Besides, filling up the storage locations and Molle panel with whatever parts / gear, this project should be done.





and on to the next Excursion interior project.



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The panels put out a DC current, they don't know what that DC current is being used for. But in reality, you can't run a power inverter off these little solar panels anyway.

The equation for power (either DC or single phase AC) is "Watts= Amps x Volts"

These little hood mounted panels are 140 watts. So assuming you're were getting the max wattage out of the panels (which rarely happens) and you had a 100% efficient power inverter (which is technically impossible currently) ,then best case scenario is you would get a grand total of 1.16 amps AC (at 120 volts). Not sure what you could actually power of 1.16 amps, but that's the best you could hope for with powering an inverter directly off these panels.

So long explanation to say, the solar panels just charge the batteries, and you run the inverter off the batteries not directly off the solar panels.



I'm not sure what you're asking here. The Victron solar controller does have two outputs, one for the battery charge and another called "load". The load connection is usually used to run small LED lights (like on the interior of a camper type lights). I don't have anything hooked up to the load terminals in my setup.


Yes, I ran them in parallel,,,,if you ran 12 volt batteries in series you would get 24 volts. Nothing on the truck needs, or is even rated to handle, 24 volts.


3000 watt.


No, the solar charger is connected to the Lead-Acid side of the system (and has a charging profile programmed in it for lead-acid batteries). The battery "Bank Manger" device is what interfaces with the lead side and controls the LiFePo4 charging profile. All is done automatically, no manual switching of what's charging.

I did put in some solenoids that allow me to manually connect the lead and LiFePo4 batteries (the two 500 amp "jump start" solenoids) , but in normal operation those are off and the Bank Manger device controls the charging of the LiFePo4 batteries automatically.

Below is a link to the Bank Manger device in case you missed it above. I'm not associated with them in any way, just a customer. And while the device is intended for the Marine industry/ Sailboats, it doesn't know the batteries its working with are not on a boat. I've had one in my RV travel trailer for a couple years now, works great.

https://marinedcac.com/pages/bankmanager?srsltid=AfmBOoo6m5IqSOzypIAilDp_867KBo l1LZ34XJtlTE1xE9nkmXqitckx
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Some of the larger 200w and above panels have what's called pass through power. Where they will use whatever they are outputting into the load first and charging second. If the load is too much they go directly to charging. Maybe these don't have that capability.

I understand. I've had electric vehicles and was curious if you were using them in parallel or in series for a different usage.


My thought process is also similar to what's on my boat where I have several batteries in parallel. But I have the option to use one or more batteries for load and to also charge or I can choose to run and charge them all at the same time. Thus the switch 1/2/3/4/all.
My thinking is that I would like to run one set of leads from the controller to my carriage battery to keep it topped off. And one set to the Aux battery/ies to run an inverter. I wanted to be able to switch between them so if my carriage battery is full I could switch all the power to the aux battery/ies.
Hopefully that makes sense.


Thanks for the response.

I'm looking at 200 watt panels. 1-200ah battery. And a 2000 watt inverter. There are other companies that make flexible/stick-on panels. I like the brand you are using even though they are only 140 watts (2x70) it might be enough.

I'm not doing nearly the project you have done. I want super basic. Just enough for a few power tools, small cooler/fridge, fan, small stuff like that which doesn't have a ton of draw and hopefully the panels can keep up.