Cascadia 4x4 VSS System

[Wraith]

Hey everyone, I have looked through the threads here and haven't been able to find a specific answer to my question regarding the Cascadia 4x4 VSS setup. I have a 2021 Rubicon and they offer a 30 watt solar panel kit to keep the main battery topped off. I just replaced my dead factory battery with an H7 Odyssey (I have the tow package and AUX group) and was looking at ways to keep the battery in good health with my setup.

I run an ARB 37qt fridge in the back of the Jeep and used to use it regularly but the factory battery just wasn't up to the task of keeping it going over the past six months. Generally, the only items I run off the battery with the Jeep off would be the fridge in a situation where we are out and need to keep out lunch cool. I have never just ran the fridge to run it and always on days when we are driving then parked so the battery has been charged with the alternator. With that said, will the 30 watt solar panel in the VSS kit offset the draw of the fridge and keep the battery topped off in ideal conditions? Meaning fridge is already at target temp before being on battery power, ideal sunlight, etc.?

On a side note, I do have a Sport hood from a previous JL of mine that I could have painted and swap out the Rubicon hood so I could use their 85 watt panel if the 30 watt isn't going to be worth doing.

Looking for input from those running this setup. I have had zero luck souring info for this exact setup. Thanks in advance.

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[shindleria235]

Haven't done this exactly, the MPPT charge controller that Cascadia (optionally) supplies with the VSS has ACC leads built in. Presumably you could bus or otherwise connect those to your fridge power.
Cascadia says about those ACC connections in this install manual (the one I used for my 85W JL VSS; last page):
"The “ACC” black/red wires are for powering up to a 10A accessory and are optional to use. The advantage of using these “ACC” wires to power an accessory is that they provide a low voltage cut-off when the battery reaches 11.4V, and will begin providing current again once the battery reaches 12.0V. This is a safe way to power an accessory without the fear of your starter battery voltage dropping too low to start the vehicle."
Hopefully that helps! I love my system, have had no battery issues in a year+ with both AGM & Lithium.

 

[Wraith]

Haven't done this exactly, the MPPT charge controller that Cascadia (optionally) supplies with the VSS has ACC leads built in. Presumably you could bus or otherwise connect those to your fridge power.
Cascadia says about those ACC connections in this install manual (the one I used for my 85W JL VSS; last page):
"The “ACC” black/red wires are for powering up to a 10A accessory and are optional to use. The advantage of using these “ACC” wires to power an accessory is that they provide a low voltage cut-off when the battery reaches 11.4V, and will begin providing current again once the battery reaches 12.0V. This is a safe way to power an accessory without the fear of your starter battery voltage dropping too low to start the vehicle."
Hopefully that helps! I love my system, have had no battery issues in a year+ with both AGM & Lithium.

Great info! The 37 qt fridge from what I can tell draws 0.85 amps/hr at 37 degrees but the benefit of having it directly wired to the main battery is the fridge has its own disconnect to save the battery and three settings to choose from for battery protection. So I likely wouldn't need to go this route and just use the solar panel to charge the main battery and supply the fridge from there. I just don't know if the 30 watt panel for the Rubicon hood is going to be enough to keep the fridge running and the battery charged. Rarely will it be sitting and the fridge running for days on end but it would be nice knowing itll handle it.

I am curious about the 85 watt panel and might consider getting this extra hood paint matched and go that route if the 30 watt isn't enough.

 

[GATORB8]

For the cost, I'd consider a solar generator (portable power station).

3.5 x the panel rating is the average day charge IIRC, so with 30 watts, that's 105 WH/ ~8 AH, so 10 hours of fridge per day.

A tiny portable will get you a couple days of fridge and the ability to recharge from the Jeep or 120V, add portable solar, and will have on board inversion for other items.

 

[Wraith]

I also stumbled across Lensun? Looks similar to the VSS system but offers a 50 watt version for the Rubicon hood?

https://www.lensunsolar.com/Products/Hood-Solar-Panel/Jeep-Hood-Solar?product_id=484

 

[Wraith]

For the cost, I'd consider a solar generator (portable power station).

3.5 x the panel rating is the average day charge IIRC, so with 30 watts, that's 105 WH/ ~8 AH, so 10 hours of fridge per day.

A tiny portable will get you a couple days of fridge and the ability to recharge from the Jeep or 120V, add portable solar, and will have on board inversion for other items.

Good to know! I am new to anything solar related so I appreciate the input!

 

[GATORB8]

Good to know! I am new to anything solar related so I appreciate the input!

There's definitely a ton of info out there. I have a pretty significant setup in my off road camper, but these packaged units are hard to beat for your use case.

You'll see the option I'm talking about called a solar generator or a portable power station. They combine a lot of what you would want in a solar system. They combine a LifePO4 battery, DC-DC charge controller, a solar charge controller, and an inverter all in one package.

There's a few value options on the scene I've seen advertised, https://www.bluettipower.com/ is the one that sticks out. The higher end mainstays include Goal Zero, Jackery, and EcoFlow. Renogy is a reliable value option that I used for some of my equipment, looks like they've got some options in the portable space now, too.

You'd likely get better performance out of a portable suitcase solar panel that you could plug into any of these. You can point it at the sun and upsize the panel. With the hood mounted unit connected to the Jeep's battery, you aren't gaining anything with the Jeep running anyway.

The standard use for these in your situation would be to top off at home, plug the station into the cargo 12v socket, and plug your fridge into the station. The Jeep would recharge it when you're on the road to keep it topped off.

 

[Wraith]

There's definitely a ton of info out there. I have a pretty significant setup in my off road camper, but these packaged units are hard to beat for your use case.

You'll see the option I'm talking about called a solar generator or a portable power station. They combine a lot of what you would want in a solar system. They combine a LifePO4 battery, DC-DC charge controller, a solar charge controller, and an inverter all in one package.

There's a few value options on the scene I've seen advertised, https://www.bluettipower.com/ is the one that sticks out. The higher end mainstays include Goal Zero, Jackery, and EcoFlow.

You'd likely get better performance out of a portable suitcase solar panel that you could plug into any of these. You can point it at the sun and upsize the panel. With the hood mounted unit connected to the Jeep's battery, you aren't gaining anything with the Jeep running anyway.

The standard use for these in your situation would be to top off at home, plug the station into the cargo 12v socket, and plug your fridge into the station. The Jeep would recharge it when you're on the road to keep it topped off.

Sounds exactly what I am looking for. Biggest issue for my JL is limited space but I will look into this. I appreciate the info!

 

[GATORB8]

Sounds exactly what I am looking for. Biggest issue for my JL is limited space but I will look into this. I appreciate the info!

They can get pretty small.

Another option would be something like a Genesis dual battery kit, but $$$, and not sure your new H7 would work size wise.

 

[Wraith]

They can get pretty small.

Another option would be something like a Genesis dual battery kit, but $$$, and not sure your new H7 would work size wise.

I was considering the Genesis setup but needed a battery desperately so found the Odyssey H7 locally and went with that. I appreciate the input and ill start looking into this later.

 

[bonniejf]

I have been looking at the Cascadia solar panels as well. I have an H7 battery plus a Dometic PLB40 wired into my AUX switch that charges when the jeep is running. My dometic 35 fridge is plugged into that and will run 36-40 hours usually before needing a charge. I have been making sure to drive to recharge it all but I would like the option of solar as it takes about 5 hrs of driving to fully charge the PLB40. The lensun solar and cascadia products look identical and I'm wondering if they are both from the same Chinese supplier...

 

[Wraith]

There's definitely a ton of info out there. I have a pretty significant setup in my off road camper, but these packaged units are hard to beat for your use case.

You'll see the option I'm talking about called a solar generator or a portable power station. They combine a lot of what you would want in a solar system. They combine a LifePO4 battery, DC-DC charge controller, a solar charge controller, and an inverter all in one package.

There's a few value options on the scene I've seen advertised, https://www.bluettipower.com/ is the one that sticks out. The higher end mainstays include Goal Zero, Jackery, and EcoFlow. Renogy is a reliable value option that I used for some of my equipment, looks like they've got some options in the portable space now, too.

You'd likely get better performance out of a portable suitcase solar panel that you could plug into any of these. You can point it at the sun and upsize the panel. With the hood mounted unit connected to the Jeep's battery, you aren't gaining anything with the Jeep running anyway.

The standard use for these in your situation would be to top off at home, plug the station into the cargo 12v socket, and plug your fridge into the station. The Jeep would recharge it when you're on the road to keep it topped off.

So the solar panel in this setup would be redundant, right? Or would it still be ideal to have it to keep the main battery topped off should the Jeep be sitting for several days? How do you go about using only the power station to run the fridge with the Jeep off? Are you plugged into the 12v socket in the back and have it set to keyed power?

I really like the idea of this because as you said, I can use a solar panel to top off the power station and itll be charging while the Jeep is running. I am just unsure if there is fiddling that needs to be done to swap things over once you stop traveling.

Ideally it would be a seamless process as in the Jeep charges the power station while running and powering the fridge, then when shutting it off the power station keeps powering the fridge on its own with no input from the Jeep. I guess then if sitting for several days in one spot the solar panel wouldn't be a terrible idea to keep the main battery topped off, but probably not needed if these two systems are essentially isolated from one another when the vehicle is off. Or would a better way be to have the power station using the 12v from the battery with the solar to trickle charge the main battery to keep the power station topped off while sitting? Am I thinking correctly?

What size power station is ideal for running the fridge for a minimum of three days without input from solar or the vehicle?

 

[GATORB8]

So the solar panel in this setup would be redundant, right? Or would it still be ideal to have it to keep the main battery topped off should the Jeep be sitting for several days? How do you go about using only the power station to run the fridge with the Jeep off? Are you plugged into the 12v socket in the back and have it set to keyed power?

I really like the idea of this because as you said, I can use a solar panel to top off the power station and itll be charging while the Jeep is running. I am just unsure if there is fiddling that needs to be done to swap things over once you stop traveling.

Ideally it would be a seamless process as in the Jeep charges the power station while running and powering the fridge, then when shutting it off the power station keeps powering the fridge on its own with no input from the Jeep. I guess then if sitting for several days in one spot the solar panel wouldn't be a terrible idea to keep the main battery topped off, but probably not needed if these two systems are essentially isolated from one another when the vehicle is off. Or would a better way be to have the power station using the 12v from the battery with the solar to trickle charge the main battery to keep the power station topped off while sitting? Am I thinking correctly?

What size power station is ideal for running the fridge for a minimum of three days without input from solar or the vehicle?

Yep, I think you got it. Any solar would just be extra, and if you sized the station to your needs, likely would be unecessary.

Setting the Jeep's outlet to key only would just charge the battery with it running, then it would just power the fridge with the battery when the Jeep was off.

I'd just keep your starting battery for the Jeep and use the power station for all your off grid stuff.

 

[Wraith]

Yep, I think you got it. Any solar would just be extra, and if you sized the station to your needs, likely would be unecessary.

Setting the Jeep's outlet to key only would just charge the battery with it running, then it would just power the fridge with the battery when the Jeep was off.

I'd just keep your starting battery for the Jeep and use the power station for all your off grid stuff.

Really appreciate the guidance here. I think I have a direction now. Thanks a ton!

 

[Wraith]

For those curious, I just heard back from Tom at Cascadia 4x4 regarding their current JL Rubicon unit.

We do in fact have plans for a larger unit in the future at 40W. I'd expect it to be available within 6 months.

Cheers,

Tom

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