Standalone 12V Power for my Rivian Rego Battery + VHF Radio Build

[starbux]

It has been a little quiet around here because I have been in the garage tinkering. One project I wanted to figure out was how to power my Search and Rescue radio in the Rivian without touching the factory 12V system. In a normal truck you would use a dual battery setup tied to an alternator, but since the Rivian does not have one, I had to get creative.

The goal was simple: reliable power for my VHF radio and later for lights during missions, fully independent of the Rivian. I went with the Renogy Rego Super Slim lithium battery, a 12.8V, 104Ah pack with 1,331Wh of capacity. It is slim enough to fit under the rear seat, strong enough not to overheat, and paired with my AnyTone VHF radio, my lifeline during searches.

I slid the Rego into an unused spot under the seat, then ran 10-gauge wire with 5/16 inch ring terminals, proper fuses, and a dedicated line for the radio. Wiring and crimping are not my strong suit, but with help from friends and the Rivian community I got it done. When I powered it up for the first time, the radio came alive instantly with no voltage drop and no drama.

A battery is only good if you can recharge it, so for now I am using a Victron Blue Smart IP22 AC charger. It plugs into the wall at home or the Rivian bed outlet in the field, and the Victron app makes tracking simple. In a couple of hours it can take the Rego from low to full.

The radio is temporarily mounted under the seat with the antenna routed through a makeshift mount, but it works. After leaving the Rego fully charged for a week, it only dropped to 99.5 percent, which I am pretty sure was just the Bluetooth connection to the app.

The radio will be programmed and tested tomorrow so I will check back in with any interferance problems.

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[JamboF4]

Great project Starbucks. Do you think a smaller version of this could be adapted to power an amp for a pair of subwoofers, under the seats? Where do you have the charge plug exiting the car? I’ve been waiting for a project like yours to come along.

 

[BigSkies]

Great project!

I've also been looking at options for 12V power for a variety of things. I'll look at this again when I'm ready to get to work.

Are you still happy with the SuperPacific? I greatly appreciated your review of it. I'm personally leaning towards GoFast or Dirtbox because of the improved aero, but it's hard to know the difference without experiencing it.

 

[Mathme]

You could also charge "on the go" with the 120v outlet in the gear tunnel. Flip up the rear seat to expose the battery, connect the charger to the battery then run the power cable through the little access hole to the gear tunnel that's behind the center arm rest.

 

[JamboF4]

Sorry, it auto-filled starbux.

 

[starbux]

You could also charge "on the go" with the 120v outlet in the gear tunnel. Flip up the rear seat to expose the battery, connect the charger to the battery then run the power cable through the little access hole to the gear tunnel that's behind the center arm rest.

We have a plug in right below the rear screen that I am using.

 

[starbux]

Great project!

I've also been looking at options for 12V power for a variety of things. I'll look at this again when I'm ready to get to work.

Are you still happy with the SuperPacific? I greatly appreciated your review of it. I'm personally leaning towards GoFast or Dirtbox because of the improved aero, but it's hard to know the difference without experiencing it.

Ya I love this thing. Got about 25 nights in it this year and it has been amazing. Now I am starting to modify it out.

 

[starbux]

Great project Starbucks. Do you think a smaller version of this could be adapted to power an amp for a pair of subwoofers, under the seats? Where do you have the charge plug exiting the car? I’ve been waiting for a project like yours to come along.

There is another post in here that did the exact thing but put the battery in the gear tunnel.

 

[starbux]

I was a military cop before and broke myself too many times for the military to keep me. It is nice to be able to give back again to the community.

 

[NovemberBravo]

Awesome work!
Can you add a picture of the under-bench area so I can see the clearance on the side(s)? I'm considering doing something similar, but I'm wondering if a Whelen Core C399 emergency vehicle control system will be compatible in the same spot.

 

[kylealden]

Exciting stuff! I've mentioned this elsewhere but I plan to copy this setup, I think this is roughly my plan -

1. Same REGO battery under the seat
2. DC-DC charger with MPPT also under the seat (I think there's room?) - looking at the RENOGY 12V/24V IP67 50A DC-DC Battery Charger with MPPT
3. ~300W of CIGs solar on the roof of my camper (3x BougeRV 100 watt CIGS or similar)

TBD -

• I suppose I could run wiring from the gear tunnel 12V outlet to the DC-DC charger without much trouble, which would guarantee the REGO is also being topped off. Any reason this wouldn't work?

I'll run the solar cables through the tonneau compartment to the MPPT, MPPT to REGO via ring connectors, and then a 12V (barrel connector) back out the tonneau compartment to the bed, where I'll have a splitter. I'm comfortable running some cables here since that's where I tapped the truck's CHMSL for the camper.

My use case is pretty narrow -

1. Always-available 12V for my camper lights (low/infrequent draw), and occasionally a fridge. These should be fully independent from the truck's 12V. Solar should be more than enough to keep this topped off for my uses.
2. When I need inverted power, I'll add an EcoFlow Delta 3 Plus and connect it via the barrel port. This isn't much bigger than a dedicated inverter and means I don't have to dedicate space to it when I'm not camping. This will give me something to run my induction stove, charge devices, etc. without leaving the truck on.

I am very much not an electrician Would love anyone to call BS on the above.

 

[starbux]

Exciting stuff! I've mentioned this elsewhere but I plan to copy this setup, I think this is roughly my plan -

1. Same REGO battery under the seat
2. DC-DC charger with MPPT also under the seat (I think there's room?) - looking at the RENOGY 12V/24V IP67 50A DC-DC Battery Charger with MPPT
3. ~300W of CIGs solar on the roof of my camper (3x BougeRV 100 watt CIGS or similar)

TBD -

• I suppose I could run wiring from the gear tunnel 12V outlet to the DC-DC charger without much trouble, which would guarantee the REGO is also being topped off. Any reason this wouldn't work?

I'll run the solar cables through the tonneau compartment to the MPPT, MPPT to REGO via ring connectors, and then a 12V (barrel connector) back out the tonneau compartment to the bed, where I'll have a splitter. I'm comfortable running some cables here since that's where I tapped the truck's CHMSL for the camper.

My use case is pretty narrow -

1. Always-available 12V for my camper lights (low/infrequent draw), and occasionally a fridge. These should be fully independent from the truck's 12V. Solar should be more than enough to keep this topped off for my uses.
2. When I need inverted power, I'll add an EcoFlow Delta 3 Plus and connect it via the barrel port. This isn't much bigger than a dedicated inverter and means I don't have to dedicate space to it when I'm not camping. This will give me something to run my induction stove, charge devices, etc. without leaving the truck on.

I am very much not an electrician Would love anyone to call BS on the above.

WE DOIN ALL THE THINGS!

 

[marcesq]

Does the renogy app allow you to “turn off” the battery / turn off discharging? I’m curious about using a similar setup as a backup 12v solution with simple Bluetooth control.

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