Best routing for heavy gauge wire to bring 70 amps to the hitch

[6716]

Hey all,

I have a 70 amp 12v DC-DC charger on order for my camper. It is roughly 50 feet from the battery post to where I need to put the charger, so the heavier gauge wire I run the less voltage drop I'll get. I have the upgraded alternator and pulling 70 amps should be ok as far as I have read.

Anyway, I'm looking to run the wire to about the hitch, where I plan to use Anderson connectors to plug into the lines from the camper.

Is there an optimal routing? Considerations? Probably don't strap it to the exhaust system is what I have so far.

 

[Mooseman]

The driveshaft is also not a good spot to attach it to . I've watched a ton of videos from "Just rolled in" and people have attached wiring to the exhaust and driveshaft, as well as other moving parts.

Only thing I can suggest is that the wire be protected by wire loom to avoid any rub through and winding up on Just rolled in.

 

[movietvet]

Yea, like @Mooseman said, get convoluted tubing to protect and run inside the frame and crossmembers where it is feasible. If needed, do some other quick connects/disconnects, to allow for best routing and least exposure. Gonna run an AWG 4 gauge cable?

 

[6716]

I'm kinda thinking 4/0 actually. I used 4/0 between my LiFePo batteries and the busbar in my camper electrical build-out. It's a lot of copper but it will limit voltage drop. For the batteries I needed it for current, but here I'm just trying to limit drop.

One of the biggest issues I am finding with my camper electrical is heat management. The inverter/charger produces heat when it runs, the solar charge controller produces heat when it runs, the batteries generate internal heat they struggle to dissipate both when they charge and discharge. The less voltage drop to the DC-DC charger, the less work/less heat involved in boosting the voltage back up to where it needs to be. All of the components de-rate at temperature, and the electrical cabinet I have runs hot. I can work on better ventilation but on a 105-degree heat dome day like we had this last weekend it just runs hot. Pulling in 105 degree ambient is better than nothing but the less heat I can generate the better my system will do.

Ideally I would be able to run the a/c keep the camper cool on hot road/travel days just running solar and the DC-DC charger. That keeps the stress off the batteries and saves them for overnight if I'm driving into dry camping. Between the solar and the DC-DC charger I should realistically make about 1600 watts -- 1200 watts of solar (flat on the roof, so realistically I make about 75% of that most of the day) plus 70 amps times however many volts I am left with after the drop from the battery post to the back of the camper. On the low fan setting the a/c pulls 1350 watts. Fridge pulls about 100 watts when the compressor is running. Electric water heater I haven't been able to gauge but once the water is hot already it doesn't seem like much to keep it hot.

 

[Mooseman]

I had just watched a very à propos video that might be of interest to you: