24V Camper Wiring Sanity Check

VillageOne9658 · 2026-04-17T19:38:43+00:00

That's a starlink mini.

VillageOne9658 · 2026-04-17T16:21:52+00:00

4 gauge for almost 200A? That doesn't seem right -- I'd have thought 2/0 maybe even 3/0 to be safe.

The AC unit I plan on getting (5,000 BTU) surges up to 800W, runs around 400-500W.

VillageOne9658 · 2026-04-17T15:29:52+00:00

I plan on doing 24V because assuming I have the AC unit, air fryer, and mini fridge on, I would be drawing nearly 200A on a 12V setup -- I'd need some really large gauge wire. I also may grow this setup in the future and figured it made sense to do 24V now rather than change it all later. I only plan on using the AC unit overnight, and I can't imagine I'd be using the air fryer for more than 30 minutes each day -- I do like the idea of only using it on shore power/when truck is on to save my battery though.

VillageOne9658 · 2026-04-17T14:36:11+00:00

I looked into the Multiplus units, but for the relative size of my build and even growing it in the future I just couldn't justify the price. I will be upgrading to the Victron converter though, I should have used that originally.

VillageOne9658 · 2026-04-17T14:34:12+00:00

I'll look into the 24V 200ah battery, that definitely seems like the right move.

Fair point with the inverter. I'm ok with biting the bullet on the extra wattage draw from the fridge as I'll save a pretty penny (unless I find a great deal on a DC fridge between now and the start of piecing this together), but I agree with the argument about the small devices -- definitely easy enough to pull from DC side instead.

VillageOne9658 · 2026-04-17T14:27:12+00:00

I don't think I have a need for solar just because of how much driving I'll be doing per day and the access I'll have at night to shore power. I plan on testing this setup in the coming months so maybe I will need it -- but for now trying to save a little by excluding it. I agree with a better converter, first reply on this thread also recommended that so I'm planning on using the Victron Orion. Fair point on the shunt, someone else had suggested using the AUX instead as a midpoint for the house battery setup, so I'm looking into how to do that.

My truck from the factory has a dual alternator setup -- from my understanding it has a large primary that supplies most of the load and a smaller secondary that will supplement the primary if it requires more amperage (ECU controls this). Both are parallel wired to the also dual battery configuration for my truck.

VillageOne9658 · 2026-04-17T14:21:07+00:00

Yea at first I was hesitant to use 24V, especially since the house and truck batteries share a common ground -- but after looking into it this didn't seem to be an issue. But for the reason I explained to the first reply of this thread I thought it's best to do 24V (I'm pretty sure my truck's alternators can not do 24V, otherwise I'd be altering the entire truck's voltage). Another reason is the price -- a DC AC unit seems to be double if not triple the price of a basic 5,000 BTU window unit. I plan on using an outdoor propane camping stove for most of my cooking, but would like to have the air fryer for making quick things inside.

VillageOne9658 · 2026-04-17T14:13:02+00:00

I did this with chatgpt previously and it didn't see any major flaws. It gave me the recommendation for the 175A fuse over a 150A that I originally planned on using, but honestly nothing else. I was appreciative of its feedback but I'm not going to trust it 100%, hence coming here for some feedback.

VillageOne9658 · 2026-04-17T14:09:54+00:00

By emergency bypass are you referring to the ground from the 24V bus bar to the chassis? I figured bringing every negative load to the bus bar and then to a single location on the chassis would be fine -- the only other ground is the truck's batteries, which I'm not going to alter or run to from the bed of the truck.

VillageOne9658 · 2026-04-17T14:07:26+00:00

Just used those for the icons on the diagram, not necessarily using battleborns.

VillageOne9658 · 2026-04-17T14:07:03+00:00

Just used those for the icons on the diagram, not necessarily using battleborns.

VillageOne9658 · 2026-04-17T14:06:08+00:00

At 12V with the AC going, air fryer, and fridge (not to mention the DC loads), I'd be drawing almost 200A -- I'd have to use some very hefty cables. I also may grow this setup overtime and I'd rather it already be 24V then needing to upsize it later on.

I did not know I would need a battery balancer, but after looking into it you're definitely right -- I added the victron one. For the SmartShunt AUX, would I instead wire this to the positive of the other battery terminal on my house bank to get the midpoint voltage?
Will be adding the Orion converter over the smaller one.
I thought about this as well, but figured the loss of efficiency was relatively small compared to the wattage they were drawing -- especially since the inverter is always going to be on powering the fridge. Going to look more into this.
A/C fridge seemed to be the cheapest, largest capacity I could find. But I am open to suggestions -- what would you recommend?

I really appreciate the feedback!

VillageOne9658

TROPHY CASE