On Board Trickle charger

[irishkpo]

So unfortunately my Bronco sits for weeks on end at times. I travel a lot for work and only get to drive it on the weekends basically. Sometimes if we take my wife's bronco (HLE) for a weekend road trip, then mine might sit for two-three weeks at a time. Raptor only gets used if we're heading off-road that weekend. Two years old and only 10k miles. Hers on the other hand is a pavement princess and get driven daily.

Anyway, The other weekend I got hit hard by the deep sleep issue. Went out the the truck and it wouldn't even unlock. Tried to jump it with the other bronco and it still wouldn't start. Sat on a charger for about three hours and then I was finally able to get it to turnover.

So to prevent this from happening in the future I went out and bought a small trickle charger that I plan to mount under the hood.

NOCO 2D - Went with it because it had ring terminals.

Amazon.com

Considered looking for a spot for one of these on the front bumper also. Then thought better of it since I don't think I really want to knock a 2" hole in the bumper. Actually, could use two of them since I could run a second one for the engine block heater.... Why they hid that up under the hood and not down by the gap in the bumper is beyond me.

Amazon.com

Before I do this, thought I'd ask quick if anyone else has done it. Was hoping that someone had a good idea on where to mount it. Otherwise, if no one has done something similar then when I install it next weekend I'll post some pics.

 

[Bschurr]

I use several of these Battery Tender units. I then attach this pigtail to each battery & run the end to an accessible location so the actual charger is on the outside for ease of use.

 

[irishkpo]

I use several of these Battery Tender units. I then attach this pigtail to each battery & run the end to an accessible location so the actual charger is on the outside for ease of use.

Similar idea. I just wanted the tender permanently mounted in the truck. Don't know why..... I just did. Probably because I have them mounted that way in both my boats with a shore power outlet like I posted earlier. Then I can just park them in the garage and run a extension cord when I leave the cabin and that way if I can't get up to the cabin for a couple of weeks/months they are ready to go. For the Raptor I plan to just put the standard 110V plug where I can have it easily accessible.

 

[TurboS]

I use several of these Battery Tender units. I then attach this pigtail to each battery & run the end to an accessible location so the actual charger is on the outside for ease of use.

Perfect, I have half dozen hooked up the same method and on at all times except for when the vehicle or boat is in use.

Similar idea. I just wanted the tender permanently mounted in the truck. Don't know why..... I just did. Probably because I have them mounted that way in both my boats with a shore power outlet like I posted earlier. Then I can just park them in the garage and run a extension cord when I leave the cabin and that way if I can't get up to the cabin for a couple of weeks/months they are ready to go. For the Raptor I plan to just put the standard 110V plug where I can have it easily accessible.

I don't recommend installing the charger itself in or on the vehicle, use the pigtail for ease of hookup, the chargers do get warm and need adequate ventilation along with a clean environment. I also use these 25' extensions from Amazon on a few of the vehicles allowing the chargers to be placed in a location for quick glance to check status. Note there are various lengths available.

Photo below shown hooked up to charger that's outside of Raptor. I always use wire loom for wiring protection.

 

[Bschurr]

Similar idea. I just wanted the tender permanently mounted in the truck. Don't know why..... I just did. Probably because I have them mounted that way in both my boats with a shore power outlet like I posted earlier. Then I can just park them in the garage and run a extension cord when I leave the cabin and that way if I can't get up to the cabin for a couple of weeks/months they are ready to go. For the Raptor I plan to just put the standard 110V plug where I can have it easily accessible.

Understood however, if you wheel your rig, I wouldn’t suggest mounting it in the engine bay unless you have a VERY secure method to ensure it doesn’t become a pinball/projectile in there and damage stuff. YMMV

 

[klennop]

I run a Battery Tender with the permanent pigtail to the battery on my motorcycle, S2000, and will be doing the same on the Raptor. I don't drive them enough to keep them charged on their own.

 

[irishkpo]

Well I installed it this morning. I went with that particular NOCO 2D unit since it specifically says it was designed to be permanently hooked up and installed in an engine bay. I did add wire loom to the wires to give them some vibration protection. Decided to just install it on the fuse box cover like I did with my rocklight controller which is the box behind the charger in the picture.

The unit clips into a bracket that I bolted through the fuse box cover. That backet clips in hard and then there is a velcro strap on top of that to hold the unit into the clip. I'm not worried about it going anywhere.