I’d like to add a power port to the bed of my truck. At this point mainly to run my compressor. It is a pain to have to run it through the back window of the truck to fill the bike tires in the bed. Also for the Toyota power ports in the cab to work the truck has to be running which is annoying at times.
I want to flush mount one of these in the bed.


There is a hole in the bed I plan on expanding presuming I can get my arm up there enough to be able to tighten down the lock nut on the rear. If that is not doable I’ll drill a new hole above the tie down point as I can reach that by removing the tail light I believe.


Wiring of any sort is not my wheelhouse at all. I want to use high quality components and not just Amazon stuff but have no clue where to look.

I guess I will need quality wire (what gauge would be best) and terminals.
A fuse block to connect to the battery and the power port.

Eventually I will likely get an ARB onboard compressor and mount it in the bed so will need a decent fuse block that I can add on to later.

I have an aluminum trifold topper so water should not be a huge issue but want it to be safe.

I'd recommend starting your surfing over at delcity.net.

Would love to help you with the wiring... I'm thinking you're a pretty fair drive away, though.

You might take a look at CARID.COM

Simple project. How many amps do you think? Assuming not too bad 14g wire. Add a simple fuse in the circuit. Use crimp connectors with built in adhesive and shrink wrap, zip tie along the frame to your choice of supply likely the battery given you don’t want ignition switched.

just a bit more help. The crimp connectors I use are ancor. This is marine stuff I have used for decades and its mint. Same for wire, exactly what you need, but honestly anything you source will be fine in that regard provided its the right size and copper for automotive use. I happen to like the dual connector wire for this as it makes it easy. You need some way to crimp and some source of heat to shrink. If you actually want to add a fuse block then there are a zillion choices but I have used painless wiring since time began and its perfect. In the end the ARB will likely draw enough to go to serious wiring, but until I see amps I can't really say the extent of the wiring problem. A quick look at their site shows loads from minor to get the f*** out. AT the max loads you are looking at 6-8g wire and not some silly powerport connector, so some more detail on that and I can help sort that out. In addition for actual serious advice we need to know the length of the run and the amps. The wiring on that powerport looks to be 14g so that's the limitation on that, but you can double check as photo's aren't always the best. There is no reason to get more amps to it than its designed for, the ones I normally use are rated for 15 amps and at that I would use 12g versus the 14 I said above, but if you can give me the amps and run we can tell the specifics.

Back when I rode motorcycles, I used a company called powerlet to acquire a neat spring-loaded flip top 12V socket. I just did a search, and can find some items listed as "powerlet" items (sockets, etc.), but apparently the original site I ordered from (powerlet.net) doesn't exist anymore. Back 7-8 years ago they offered complete socket & wiring packages for specific applications. Maybe with a little more searching you can find more information.

(This reminds me that I need to sell two motorcycles that have been sitting for a few years).

I'm going to add a couple comments, building on hrcjon's post:

You'll want to mount the outlet on the same side of the truck as your battery, above the tiedown, so that the plug, when inserted, runs fore and aft, rather than side to side. That'll offer more protection, especially if someone climbs in or slides something in and snags the cord. (Ask me how I know this.)

I'd run a single (red) wire from the battery area down to the frame and straight back to the tailgate, securing it along the way with plenty of tywraps.

Use a minimum of 14 gauge wire. Thicker gauge won't hurt, but skinny wire will heat up with prolonged current draw.

Rather than run a ground wire all the way back to the battery, run a short jumper from the outlet down to the frame. Make sure you scrape down to shiny bare metal and make a solid mechanical connection to the frame where you attach the ground, and then spot paint & undercoat over it to prevent corrosion.

Under the hood, splice a waterproof inline fuse holder to the end of your red wire, and use a ring connector to attach it to the positive terminal. Size the fuse holder to match the wire you used, and (pro tip) get one that uses the same size & style fuses your truck already uses. Make sure the under hood wiring is secured as well.

Use insulated and weatherproofed crimp connectors as previously stated. You'll need a couple ring connectors, a butt connector and a couple of spade connectors. Or, get fancy and use flag connectors to connect to the outlet. You could go all out and use shrink tubing over the connectors.

And explore your outlet options. You can get them with a 2 screw plate, so it's easy to mount even if the taillight doesn't provide access.

Outlet

Note: the picture you posted looks like the weather cover fits unto the dual usb adapter. Probably not what you want. Compare it to the one I linked.

Fuse Holder

Not going to post a link to the crimp connectors, unless you want me to. Just make sure that all the connectors are properly sized for the wire you use.

Easy afternoon project for you.

Lots of good suggestions thus far, but if your bed is open to rain / snow, I would opt for a marine grade, fully waterproof power port. West marine has a good selection.

I can't tell if that's a Taco or Tundra. If you have a 7-pin round trailer connector, you can use it for power. It will have a +12v pin and a ground pin to charge the battery of a travel trailer while towing. I just bought a 7-pin round trailer connector and extended the wires of my portable air compressor and put a 7-round plug on the end. Now when I need to air up a tire, I just plug into the bumper as opposed to the cigarette lighter socket in the cab (which got extremely hot when running the compressor.)

quote:

Originally posted by dkjbama:
I can't tell if that's a Taco or Tundra. If you have a 7-pin round trailer connector, you can use it for power. It will have a +12v pin and a ground pin to charge the battery of a travel trailer while towing. I just bought a 7-pin round trailer connector and extended the wires of my portable air compressor and put a 7-round plug on the end. Now when I need to air up a tire, I just plug into the bumper as opposed to the cigarette lighter socket in the cab (which got extremely hot when running the compressor.)

Easy Peasy plug n play....

https://www.etrailer.com/Wirin...aEAQYASABEgII4fD_BwE

quote:

Easy Peasy plug n play....

https://www.etrailer.com/Wirin...aEAQYASABEgII4fD_BwE

That is very cool. Unless I was just itching for a project this is definitely what I'd do. I'd never even have thought of that!

Make sure your fuse is close to wherever you tap in and not just back at the port. That way if the wire shorts along the frame it is protected and doesn't smoke.

Sorry, my initial post was not clear.
Currently I run a small plug in compressor (and likely will for awhile). I have no clue what the amps are for it but every factory vehicle cigarette lighter port has functioned it with no issue if that tells one anything.

Down the road I will be adding the ARB compressor separately from the power port (this was not very clear in my original post). So I am wanting to make sure I get a fuse block that will be able to handle that.
When it comes to electric stuff I know volts, amps, watts all mean something but don’t know what.
The specs on the compressor say the 12V compressor is up to 28 amps. Don’t have a clue if that is much.
https://www.arb.com.au/air-com...ies/air-compressors/

Pretty sure the compressor I am looking at comes with a wiring kit and just needs to be attached to the fuse block.

The fuse block will be mounted in the engine bay right near the batter and the power port will be in the back of the cab so approximately a 12’ run to the fuse block.

That trailer plug port looks awful nifty but not sure how Toyota wires their trailer plug and if the truck has to be running for it to have power. I am trying to avoid this.

Found this video which is what I was thinking my setup would look like. I like the low voltage disconnect. Did not realize that was a thing.
I just don’t know what the quality of the parts he has linked.




Link to original video: https://youtu.be/iSQGJRzGDu0

So if that ARB (the one in your link, the dual compressor) is the one you are thinking of, it pulls a LOT of current. I have the same compressor, except mounted under the hood. It has two separate heavy gauge power wires that are connected directly to the battery (both fused @ 25A). I'm guessing the harness for that suitcase compressor connects directly to the battery.

Typical power ports (AKA cigarette lighter ports) are fused at not more than 5A. Enough for a cheap compressor, but not the ARB.

I also had a Viair compressor that required direct connection as well.

OK a couple of further points. The trailer hitch things completely miss your stated requirements. But I would add its completely possible toyota has some source of non ignition switched power in the rear of the truck that you could tap rather than running a wire to the front. you can check a wiring schematic to see if that's true. It is also nearly 100% that they have a ground you can use back there so if you run a wire you only have to run one. These powerports for USB use like the small adapter you show take 5 amps. But its unlikely that is what your compressor needs. So I would run the 15a that the plug likely supports (12g) and be happy. If you really want to know without my guessing look at the fusing of the factory port you are currently using and then you will know exactly what you need in terms of amperage. Get a powerport rated for that and fusing to match. I would not see any advantage to a common fuse block for this and the compressor connection. I would run this with a simple fuse inline and be done. For the compressor you will either get fusing in the install kit, or if you have to do it, you absolutely want a circuit breaker and not a fuse. Trust me on this. The low voltage cutouts I use a lot when there are loads that could be left on, but are you really going to leave a serious load on in your bed? No. The blue sea systems one I can say I have used extensively, but its overkill on this. And you need to make sure if you use it that it has enough capacity for the compressor. hope that helps. Easy project.

Wiring intimidates the crap out of me. Wiring schematics make my head hurt usually and I dislike tapping into factory wiring.
I found a preassembled kit when looking at a dual battery kit for the Tundra.
Probably a little expensive in reality but all I have to do is run the wire.
https://www.genesisoffroad.com/12v-power-outlet

Might try an RV dealer. They likely know what you’re wanting and what works.