12V Wiring - Design Help

[Potsie]

I’m currently about half way through rebuilding my bed drawers. I’ve got a cubby at the front that is perfect for my chainsaw, a hi-lift, some tools, winch accessories, and someday an inverter/accessory battery.

Wiring and electrical work has never been my forte, I’ll just put that out there right off. Anybody put a system like this together themselves?

Ultimately I’d like to be able to wire some led lights for around camp, in the topper, charge cells phones, and run my on-board air compressor. This is my hunting rig/family overlander/work on the house truck, so no room for bigger electrical equipment like a fridge. Would be nice to have some room for expansion though.

I’d rather keep away from both batteries under the hood, I need to keep all amps there for starting a warm blooded diesel on a cold morning, but with an in-cab switch I could divert some amps from the alternator to recharge the third battery. Anything else an absolute necessity? I plan on rigging up a relay box to have switches in multiple places - switch for reading lights in the topper, switch for camp/kitchen lights at the tailgate, etc.

Any 12V experts out there willing to do some design consultation for a sixer of your favorite brew? Wiring diagram and parts list for a bottle of Mr. Jameson’s finest?

 

[CoffeeGoat]

This would be a better question over on an overland forum. The guys that do #vanlife have it pretty well figured out and you can often find wiring diagrams premade. The big things are safety - no burning down your rig - and isolation - no draining the battery accidentally so you get stranded. To do it right it's going to be more complicated than just a switch, figure at least a few relays, a battery monitor and some isolation switches.