Added 12v outlet to R1T bed.

[alenen]

Basically, there's a female plug on the truck harness that is (from the factory) going into a male plug on the utility panel unit. That plug has +12V, -12V, and a signal wire for the gear guard lock which is also integrated to the unit. What we're doing is unplugging the truck harness and then plugging in a new middle-man harness that passes the gear guard locking signal straight through but splits the 12V into two leads - one that goes to a new female plug for the utility panel connector and a second lead that goes to the 12V outlet we're installing. The 12V outlet I bought from Amazon came with an in-line fuse so I left it in when I shortened the cable.

But yes it all just clicks together and is easily removable, no splicing needed on the truck side so you can take it back out again and leave no trace if you want.

If you give me a couple days I'll make another one and video it for you.



The tankless tire inflator pump in the utility panel (that we're tapping off of) is totally separate from the compressor and air tank for the suspension, so no risk there. The only time the utility panel gets used is when you're actively using it to inflate tires or whatever.



The 12V bus is separate from the "outlets" control. The outlets control is just for the 120V. The 12V bus is always active when the truck is on, so all you need to do is go into the Camp Mode screen and set "Manage Energy" to "Stay On" and it should stay on indefinitely (until the main battery gets low I think, but several days at least.) Since "stay on" mode keeps the screens and climate running, you might also want to manually set the HVAC to "off" and hit the "turn off screens" button if you're not going to be inside the vehicle. This keeps the power draw as low as possible while still running the 12V bus which will keep your fridge and other 12V accessories powered up.

Your thought in the second sentence about the battery drain is correct, that's the whole point of this mod. On top of wasting a lot of battery power the inverter heats up the cabin to like 90 degrees if you leave the windows closed and the HVAC off since it's located under the passenger seat, which is both stupid and inconvenient. I try to only use it briefly when necessary and not leave it running for too long.

This is awesome - you’ve answered each of my concerns perfectly I think. I really appreciate this.
And just to make sure I’m not barking up the wrong tree here - if I do this mod you’ve listed out, and I put the truck in stay on but then turn off hvac and screens, the power draw will be significantly lower?

My use case is this: we do lots of car camping at state parks and such. We are usually parked 20 ft or so from our camp site. My current plan is to plug my dc/ac fridge cooler in in the truck Bed for 3 days at a time and not really run anything else. At night close the tonneau cover so critters don’t get in

The current “solution” is to leave outlets on which seems to drain 6-7% from the battery per day but will “work”.

if I do this mod like you’re describing, I’m under the impression that A) it’s fine and safe to leave the truck “stay on” mode for days at a time with the screen and hvac off B) power consumption probably drops to 2% or so per day?

Do I have all of this correct?

and thank you again for your help.

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[srkz]

My use case is this: we do lots of car camping at state parks and such. We are usually parked 20 ft or so from our camp site. My current plan is to plug my dc/ac fridge cooler in in the truck Bed for 3 days at a time and not really run anything else. At night close the tonneau cover so critters don’t get in

The current “solution” is to leave outlets on which seems to drain 6-7% from the battery per day but will “work”.

if I do this mod like you’re describing, I’m under the impression that A) it’s fine and safe to leave the truck “stay on” mode for days at a time with the screen and hvac off B) power consumption probably drops to 2% or so per day?

Correct on all counts. That's exactly what I do as well, put my fridge in the back under the tonneau connected to this port, strap it to the side so it doesn't slide around, and leave it there for the duration of the trip. The "stay on" setting means the HV contactors stay closed and the 12V bus is mostly powered by the DC-DC converters which are rated for 1800W each, so I can't imagine that a small fridge within the normal 12V outlet spec is taxing them very much at all. And the truck staying awake means all of its BMS and thermal management is active anyway so it can take care of itself as needed. I don't have exact numbers but it is a significant reduction in drain to leave the inverter off. The bigger thing for me was not having the cabin baking at 90 degrees or leaving the HVAC running constantly to counteract the heat coming off the inverter.

Note that without the "stay on" setting the 12V outlets will all turn off when the truck sleeps, which is just a few minutes after you close the doors.

 

[alenen]

Correct on all counts. That's exactly what I do as well, put my fridge in the back under the tonneau connected to this port, strap it to the side so it doesn't slide around, and leave it there for the duration of the trip. The "stay on" setting means the HV contactors stay closed and the 12V bus is mostly powered by the DC-DC converters which are rated for 1800W each, so I can't imagine that a small fridge within the normal 12V outlet spec is taxing them very much at all. And the truck staying awake means all of its BMS and thermal management is active anyway so it can take care of itself as needed. I don't have exact numbers but it is a significant reduction in drain to leave the inverter off. The bigger thing for me was not having the cabin baking at 90 degrees or leaving the HVAC running constantly to counteract the heat coming off the inverter.

Note that without the "stay on" setting the 12V outlets will all turn off when the truck sleeps, which is just a few minutes after you close the doors.

This is awesome!

im buying your recommended parts earlier and gonna attempt this. Is there a specific wire you would use in the red and black ? I think I see how everything comes together but don’t already have the wire

 

[KeeganBuilds]

Okay so you basically just need a Deutsch DT 3-pin plug and receptacle, plus the pins and wedge locks. I was going to make a list of all the part numbers but essentially you just need these three things off of Amazon:

Deutsch connectors and pins:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DJSL8YHH

12V socket with inline 10A fuse and wire:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07H1MGWFN

Crimp tool if you don't have one already:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0D1FR76Q7

The harness coming from the truck to the utility panel has a +12V (red wire with blue stripe on mine), -12V (black wire), and a white control wire for the gear guard lock. The side coming from the truck is the male DT plug that has the female pins in it.

To make the harness, start by making three male pins. One should have a short red wire (couple inches) and the longer red wire from the 12V socket that has the fuse in line. Strip the ends and twist both together, then crimp them in a single male pin. Do the same with the black wires - one short passthrough wire the exact same length as the red one, plus the longer black wire that will go to the 12V socket. Twist those together and crimp into a single male pin. Finally make a third pass through wire for the data pin the same length as the other short ones and crimp one end into a male pin. Insert the three male pins and their wires through the rubber waterproofing boot and into the female receptacle until they click satisfyingly into place. Clip a wedge lock on top to hold the pins in place.

Next, strip and crimp the ends of the short pass through wires into female pins and insert them into a male DT plug taking care to line them up in the same position as the original connector. Insert a wedge lock to hold those in place as well.

Bonus: Hold the harness up to the truck and measure the length you need to get to the 12V socket, then trim the longer 12V wires to the appropriate length, strip the ends, and crimp on new female spade connectors so there's no extra wire to deal with.

Plug it all back in and re-assemble everything and you're good to go.

Sorry if i missed this, but this is always powered up 12v correct? not a keyed 12v source

 

[srkz]

Is there a specific wire you would use in the red and black ?

The wire that came with the 12V socket was a couple feet longer than needed so I cut it to an appropriate length and then just used the off cut piece for the harness. But they also sell spools of red and black low voltage wire for cheap if you want extra, something like this would work:

https://a.co/d/0dqVEODc

Sorry if i missed this, but this is always powered up 12v correct? not a keyed 12v source

No, it’s a “keyed” source meaning it turns off when the truck sleeps. That’s on purpose though. The 12V battery in the R1 is tiny and can’t be relied on to run anything long term. You need the vehicle awake so the DC-DC converter continuously powers the 12V bus from the high voltage pack. The solution is to use the “stay on” option to keep the truck awake and just manually turn off the screens and HVAC if needed.

 

[alenen]

The wire that came with the 12V socket was a couple feet longer than needed so I cut it to an appropriate length and then just used the off cut piece for the harness. But they also sell spools of red and black low voltage wire for cheap if you want extra, something like this would work:

https://a.co/d/0dqVEODc


No, it’s a “keyed” source meaning it turns off when the truck sleeps. That’s on purpose though. The 12V battery in the R1 is tiny and can’t be relied on to run anything long term. You need the vehicle awake so the DC-DC converter continuously powers the 12V bus from the high voltage pack. The solution is to use the “stay on” option to keep the truck awake and just manually turn off the screens and HVAC if needed.

Ok getting ready to attempt this. 2 more questions:
1. How did you cut the truck bed panel for the 12v port?
2. Do I need to disconnect power anywhere in the truck before doing this? At home I always turn off the breaker before electrical work, what’s the equivalent here?

 

[srkz]

Ok getting ready to attempt this. 2 more questions:
1. How did you cut the truck bed panel for the 12v port?
2. Do I need to disconnect power anywhere in the truck before doing this? At home I always turn off the breaker before electrical work, what’s the equivalent here?

To cut the hole I just measured the socket, eyeballed where to put the hole (based on OP's pictures) and drilled through the bed liner side wall with a 1" hole saw. My 12V socket was almost exactly 1" in diameter at the threads but measure yours before you cut anything just to be sure. I used a generic hole saw bit but I think any drill bit would work, it went through the material like butter. You may want to wear a mask and work gloves because the bed liner material is either carbon fiber or some kind of fiberglass and the dust from drilling definitely looked like something you would not want to get in your lungs. Or just don't put your face too close.

Power-wise, I did not personally disconnect the 12V before unplugging and re-plugging the utility panel, I just left the doors closed and the truck asleep. I don't think there's any risk of shorting because you're just connecting and disconnecting harness plugs that keep the pins safely apart, and there were no sparks or error codes or theatrics when I did it. If you want to be triple extra safe there is a somewhat complicated process to completely shut the truck down to make sure 12V has no power detailed in this other post on the forum:

https://www.rivianforums.com/forum/...ct-the-12v-battery-w-o-throwing-errors.40308/

 

[alenen]

Ok thank you for the write up. I think my harness is ready for install.
I believe I have it wired up and hope this helps others. Also Srkz - did I get the red and black lines correct?

 

[srkz]

Srkz - did I get the red and black lines correct?

Looks good to me!

 

[cubwhite]

If you give me a couple days I'll make another one and video it for you.

would love a video if you’re still willing to make it!

I have a RTT that has an anderson plug to a 12 volt to power lights, and right now I’m running a cable into the gear tunnel. Splicing in a 12 volt outlet to the truck bed seems way more reasonable, but even after rereading the thread a few times, I’m only 95% confident I’d wiring the harness correctly lol

 

[alenen]

would love a video if you’re still willing to make it!

I have a RTT that has an anderson plug to a 12 volt to power lights, and right now I’m running a cable into the gear tunnel. Splicing in a 12 volt outlet to the truck bed seems way more reasonable, but even after rereading the thread a few times, I’m only 95% confident I’d wiring the harness correctly lol

Just a quick update - the harness I made with Srkz guidance worked perfectly. For the hole I used a 1” drill saw but I think 1 1/8 or maybe even 1 1/4 would have been better - I had to kind of work the 1” saw a bit.
Currently testing 24 hours of dc cooling with stay on and hvac / screens off

thanks Srkz! Couldn’t have done it without you!

 

[dustycairn]

Just a quick update - the harness I made with Srkz guidance worked perfectly. For the hole I used a 1” drill saw but I think 1 1/8 or maybe even 1 1/4 would have been better - I had to kind of work the 1” saw a bit.
Currently testing 24 hours of dc cooling with stay on and hvac / screens off

thanks Srkz! Couldn’t have done it without you!

Any updates on the % used over those 24 hrs?

 

[alenen]

Any updates on the % used over those 24 hrs?

Any updates on the % used over those 24 hrs?

I don't have exact numbers, but it was 7 or 8 % with the inverter running the whole time and 1 or 2 % with leaving the truck on, but not powering the plugs and using this DC method.

I didn't do a control of leaving the truck on but not powering the fridge, 1-2% is low enough for me that I don't really have to plan for charging on long camping trips.

Hope that helps

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