USB charge points

boybach

boybach

Well-known member
Dec 9, 2020
1,033
195
63
Thinking of fitting some USB connections to charge my devices etc.

At the moment, doing it from the cig lighter with an adapter but it's getting pretty crowded/messy with loose cables. Plan is to install a group of
outlets near the salon table or close to kitchen on opposite side, maybe both.

Would it be best to use the starting battery or the house system for the power source? Right now, using the cig lighter on the dash, I believe the
starting battery is powering the adapter.

Larry
--
Larry - Victoria BC -

1977 Palm Beach 40,000 miles, PO said everything working but forgot the word NOT. New Atwood fridge, water heater & furnace. New SS exhaust system,
6000w Onan, Iota Converter, R134A A/C, New fuel lines & heat exchange hoses
 
I find it best to use the Living area battery as it has the Deep Cycle
battery and less effected by drain.

> Thinking of fitting some USB connections to charge my devices etc.
>
> At the moment, doing it from the cig lighter with an adapter but it's
> getting pretty crowded/messy with loose cables. Plan is to install a group
> of
> outlets near the salon table or close to kitchen on opposite side, maybe
> both.
>
> Would it be best to use the starting battery or the house system for the
> power source? Right now, using the cig lighter on the dash, I believe the
> starting battery is powering the adapter.
>
> Larry
> --
> Larry - Victoria BC -
>
> 1977 Palm Beach 40,000 miles, PO said everything working but forgot the
> word NOT. New Atwood fridge, water heater & furnace. New SS exhaust system,
> 6000w Onan, Iota Converter, R134A A/C, New fuel lines & heat exchange hoses
> _______________________________________________
> GMCnet mailing list
> Unsubscribe or Change List Options:
>

--
Jim Kanomata ASE
Applied/GMC, Newark,CA
jimk
http://www.gmcrvparts.com
1-800-752-7502
 
Thanks Jim, will go thataway.

Larry
--
Larry - Victoria BC -

1977 Palm Beach 40,000 miles, PO said everything working but forgot the word NOT. New Atwood fridge, water heater & furnace. New SS exhaust system,
6000w Onan, Iota Converter, R134A A/C, New fuel lines & heat exchange hoses
 
I use ones *like* these (I the ones I bought don't appear to be available any longer):

https://www.amazon.ca/Electop-Charger-Cigarette-Function-Motorcycle/dp/B077MC3L3B/

The one in the back powers my 12V DC TV and Raspberry Pi Kodi video player! I have another near the kitchen counter for overnight charging duties.

Mine are connected to the coach system - I'd personally avoid any long term drain on the chassis battery...

Rob
76 Royale Twin Beds, Dry Bath
Victoria, BC

>
> Thinking of fitting some USB connections to charge my devices etc.
>
> At the moment, doing it from the cig lighter with an adapter but it's getting pretty crowded/messy with loose cables. Plan is to install a group of
> outlets near the salon table or close to kitchen on opposite side, maybe both.
>
> Would it be best to use the starting battery or the house system for the power source? Right now, using the cig lighter on the dash, I believe the
> starting battery is powering the adapter.
>
> Larry
> --
> Larry - Victoria BC -
>
> 1977 Palm Beach 40,000 miles, PO said everything working but forgot the word NOT. New Atwood fridge, water heater & furnace. New SS exhaust system,
> 6000w Onan, Iota Converter, R134A A/C, New fuel lines & heat exchange hoses
> _______________________________________________
 
Hey thanks Rob, I'm looking at a similar unit on Amazon USB 3 though. Don't know if necessary ATM but may as well..... I figure for a couple of bucks
extra, why not eh?

Larry
--
Larry - Victoria BC -

1977 Palm Beach 40,000 miles, PO said everything working but forgot the word NOT. New Atwood fridge, water heater & furnace. New SS exhaust system,
6000w Onan, Iota Converter, R134A A/C, New fuel lines & heat exchange hoses
 
The current spec for USB 3 is *only* 900mA - considerably lower than the one I sent the link for.

More than likely - you are looking at 3.0A USB chargers (not to be confused with USB3)!

I've also seen some with digital voltmeter displays - kind of neat, but just another slow drain of power!

YMMV!

Rob
76 Royale Twin Beds, Dry Bath
Victoria, BC

>
> Hey thanks Rob, I'm looking at a similar unit on Amazon USB 3 though. Don't know if necessary ATM but may as well..... I figure for a couple of bucks
> extra, why not eh?
>
> Larry
> --
> Larry - Victoria BC -
>
> 1977 Palm Beach 40,000 miles, PO said everything working but forgot the word NOT. New Atwood fridge, water heater & furnace. New SS exhaust system,
> 6000w Onan, Iota Converter, R134A A/C, New fuel lines & heat exchange hoses
 
I looked at those but finally decided I need 110 also, So I now have 2 outlets and 2, 2.1A USB ports on my dash ( just below the glove box )
I have a 400w inverter with a remote power switch that this plug into.
This allows me to run my tablet for the WUD AND charge everything I want

https://www.ebay.com/itm/353333019755
[https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/NxMAAOSwFE5f6Gfb/s-l400.jpg]https://www.ebay.com/itm/353333019755
Furniture Recessed Power Strip, Recessed Desk Outlet with USB, In Conference 652054916112 | eBayhttps://www.ebay.com/itm/353333019755
Click here to see description.
www.ebay.com

________________________________
From: Rob
Sent: Tuesday, July 13, 2021 1:02 PM
To: gmclist
Subject: [GMCnet] Re: USB charge points

The current spec for USB 3 is *only* 900mA - considerably lower than the one I sent the link for.

More than likely - you are looking at 3.0A USB chargers (not to be confused with USB3)!

I've also seen some with digital voltmeter displays - kind of neat, but just another slow drain of power!

YMMV!

Rob
76 Royale Twin Beds, Dry Bath
Victoria, BC

>
> Hey thanks Rob, I'm looking at a similar unit on Amazon USB 3 though. Don't know if necessary ATM but may as well..... I figure for a couple of bucks
> extra, why not eh?
>
> Larry
> --
> Larry - Victoria BC -
>
> 1977 Palm Beach 40,000 miles, PO said everything working but forgot the word NOT. New Atwood fridge, water heater & furnace. New SS exhaust system,
> 6000w Onan, Iota Converter, R134A A/C, New fuel lines & heat exchange hoses
_______________________________________________
GMCnet mailing list
Unsubscribe or Change List Options:
 
I had a great little Windows 10 tablet that ran off of 5V for WUD. But a MS Windows update killed it and I've never been able to get it running properly again...

So - I'll probably start looking for AC up front as well (right now I have a small 75W cigarette lighter inverter for occasional laptop/WUD use and larger 500W that I keep meaning to install, but really have very little requirement for).

Rob
76 Royale Twin Beds, Dry Bath
Victoria, BC

>
> I looked at those but finally decided I need 110 also, So I now have 2 outlets and 2, 2.1A USB ports on my dash ( just below the glove box )
> I have a 400w inverter with a remote power switch that this plug into.
> This allows me to run my tablet for the WUD AND charge everything I want
>
> https://www.ebay.com/itm/353333019755
> [https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/NxMAAOSwFE5f6Gfb/s-l400.jpg]https://www.ebay.com/itm/353333019755
> Furniture Recessed Power Strip, Recessed Desk Outlet with USB, In Conference 652054916112 | eBayhttps://www.ebay.com/itm/353333019755
> Click here to see description.
> www.ebay.com
 
The biggest issue I had was this Dell Tablet required 20v from the USB 3 port. Hard to find that just lying around. So I have to use their 120v adapter
Otherwise I probably would have just used a normal 2 amp USB adapter
________________________________
From: Rob
Sent: Tuesday, July 13, 2021 1:39 PM
To: gmclist
Subject: [GMCnet] Re: USB charge points

I had a great little Windows 10 tablet that ran off of 5V for WUD. But a MS Windows update killed it and I've never been able to get it running properly again...

So - I'll probably start looking for AC up front as well (right now I have a small 75W cigarette lighter inverter for occasional laptop/WUD use and larger 500W that I keep meaning to install, but really have very little requirement for).

Rob
76 Royale Twin Beds, Dry Bath
Victoria, BC

>
> I looked at those but finally decided I need 110 also, So I now have 2 outlets and 2, 2.1A USB ports on my dash ( just below the glove box )
> I have a 400w inverter with a remote power switch that this plug into.
> This allows me to run my tablet for the WUD AND charge everything I want
>
> https://www.ebay.com/itm/353333019755
> [https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/NxMAAOSwFE5f6Gfb/s-l400.jpg]https://www.ebay.com/itm/353333019755
> Furniture Recessed Power Strip, Recessed Desk Outlet with USB, In Conference 652054916112 | eBayhttps://www.ebay.com/itm/353333019755
> Click here to see description.
> www.ebay.comhttp://www.ebay.com
_______________________________________________
GMCnet mailing list
Unsubscribe or Change List Options:
 
Well my windows 10 machine runs on a USB connection and it's also a dual boot android unit so I don't need anything more than 12v. It's a techlast
Tbook 11 from 2017, picked it up at the fleamarket for $40. Works well.
The USB socket I was looking at was this one:

https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B07VT81PDX/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_glt_i_KYC4MGW0WVTASTXR54R2?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

Is it any good?
--
Larry - Victoria BC -

1977 Palm Beach 40,000 miles, PO said everything working but forgot the word NOT. New Atwood fridge, water heater & furnace. New SS exhaust system,
6000w Onan, Iota Converter, R134A A/C, New fuel lines & heat exchange hoses
 
Your Teclast Tbook 11 looks like it runs from 5V - 2.5A, according to Amazon. That would make a great monitor for the fuel injection!

The charger in your link was the one I saw earlier - I do like the little voltage display! I may replace my rear one with one of these. My volt meters are all up front...

Rob
76 Royale Twin Beds, Dry Bath
Victoria, BC

>
> Well my windows 10 machine runs on a USB connection and it's also a dual boot android unit so I don't need anything more than 12v. It's a techlast
> Tbook 11 from 2017, picked it up at the fleamarket for $40. Works well.
> The USB socket I was looking at was this one:
>
> https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B07VT81PDX/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_glt_i_KYC4MGW0WVTASTXR54R2?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1
>
> Is it any good?
> --
> Larry - Victoria BC -
>
> 1977 Palm Beach 40,000 miles, PO said everything working but forgot the word NOT. New Atwood fridge, water heater & furnace. New SS exhaust system,
> 6000w Onan, Iota Converter, R134A A/C, New fuel lines & heat exchange hoses
 
> Well my windows 10 machine runs on a USB connection and it's also a dual boot android unit so I don't need anything more than 12v. It's a techlast
> Tbook 11 from 2017, picked it up at the fleamarket for $40. Works well.
> The USB socket I was looking at was this one:
>
> https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B07VT81PDX/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_glt_i_KYC4MGW0WVTASTXR54R2?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1
>
> Is it any good?

While I haven't really used it yet, that's basically what I installed in mine when I was doing the furnace work. You can see it in there above the
receptacle.

--
Burl Vibert
Kingston, Ontario
1976 GMC 26 foot, Sheridan reno, don't know original model but we call her Roxie
 
Looks good!

I ordered a couple of them, should be here Friday. Haven't decided WHERE to install them as yet ...

Where did you tap into the 12v line?

Larry
--
Larry - Victoria BC -

1977 Palm Beach 40,000 miles, PO said everything working but forgot the word NOT. New Atwood fridge, water heater & furnace. New SS exhaust system,
6000w Onan, Iota Converter, R134A A/C, New fuel lines & heat exchange hoses
 
Mine's a Royale - so different than yours. But I had existing 12V cigarette lighter sockets in both of my desired locations.

Rob
76 Royale Twin Beds, Dry Bath
Victoria, BC

>
> Looks good!
>
> I ordered a couple of them, should be here Friday. Haven't decided WHERE to install them as yet ...
>
> Where did you tap into the 12v line?
>
> Larry
> --
> Larry - Victoria BC -
>
> 1977 Palm Beach 40,000 miles, PO said everything working but forgot the word NOT. New Atwood fridge, water heater & furnace. New SS exhaust system,
> 6000w Onan, Iota Converter, R134A A/C, New fuel lines & heat exchange hoses
 
> Looks good!
>
> I ordered a couple of them, should be here Friday. Haven't decided WHERE to install them as yet ...
>
> Where did you tap into the 12v line?
>
> Larry

I tapped into the furnace circuit, it's not much power and the wiring was right there being rerouted and reconnected.
--
Burl Vibert
Kingston, Ontario
1976 GMC 26 foot, Sheridan reno, don't know original model but we call her Roxie
 
I did pretty much the same thing, but we ended up tapping in directly to the 12V feed back at the fuse panel in the electrical cabinet, and ran all
new 10/2 marine grade wire to each 12V cigarette outlet that we installed. One at the front dash, one at the kitchen counter, and one in the very
back near the rear 110 outlet. A ton of work, but the GMC was designed well to allow access to feed the wire behind the cabinets, etc. I wanted to
also install one at the dinette but it would have been quite difficult to get the wire run over to that one so we figured we could just plug in an 12V
extension cord over from the dash one if needed. I also picked up 12V adapters for our laptop, and other devices so that we don't have to rely on 110
as much (very handy when dry camping, or heading down the road!).

For what it's worth.

Chris
--
Chris S. -
77 Kingsley, 3.70 FD, mostly OEM -
S.E. Michigan
 
> I find it best to use the Living area battery as it has the Deep Cycle battery and less effected by drain.
> --
> Jim Kanomata ASE

To encourage paying attention to what JimK wrote.
When doing any mod to you coach, always think about what will happen if this goes bad.....

Story if you care...
An enraged client called me long distance one time because they had to be towed to a dock because they could not start the engine. The battery was
dead and he had paid me to re-wire this boat so that could not happen. So, as I did not have a fast boat available, I drove half way around the lake
to get to where he was. When doing the initial diagnosis, I found a connection I had not made. When someone installed a new entertainment radio, he
had tapped into the main engine electrics for power.

They had been a week cruising and enjoying the comforts of their "Performance Cruiser" (this is a retired racing boat that now has comfort features)
and they had been four days sailing off the anchor and never running the engine with the new high powered stereo going the whole time. When he tried
to fire up, the music quit. (That was my big hint.) The glow plugs for the little diesel finished the battery off. I am still not sure if he was
angrier about loosing his tunes or the lack of an engine.

I moved the connections to the new big house bank and promised to mail him the bill.

So. Leave the chassis power (in RVish) alone. If you need power for something, get it from the house bank. As long as you can start the engine, you
can power up that house bank, but unless you have a combiner or manual version there of, if you loose the engine battery, you are stuck.

Matt
--
Matt & Mary Colie - Chaumière -'73 Glacier 23 - Members GMCMI, GMCGL, GMCES
Electronically Controlled Quiet Engine Cooling Fan with OE Rear Drum Brakes with Applied Control Arms
SE Michigan - Near DTW - Twixt A2 and Detroit
 
> So, as I did not have a fast boat available, I drove half way around the lake to get to where he was.
> Matt

I hope you charged him for your travel time and gas. 🙂

Richard
--
'77 Birchaven TZE...777;
'76 Palm Beach with 18,477 verified miles;
‘76 Edgemonte
 
Ideally, I'd like to install one device in the dinette area, option 1 is to mount the unit in the bottom of the cabinet and drop the charge cords
vertically, tapping into the interior lighting harness or running back to the switch pack at the door. Easiest for sure, but a bit amateurish IMO.

Option 2, which I fancy a bit more, is to install in the dinette wall. Not exactly sure how to get the power there without taking the wall out (and
I'm not going to do that again).
I may be able to route the wiring beside and under the window and just remove the table support so I can see/get to the wires and then mount the unit
on a plate just above the table support.
I'll have a look today, units arrive tomorrow.
--
Larry - Victoria BC -

1977 Palm Beach 40,000 miles, PO said everything working but forgot the word NOT. New Atwood fridge, water heater & furnace. New SS exhaust system,
6000w Onan, Iota Converter, R134A A/C, New fuel lines & heat exchange hoses
 
> > So, as I did not have a fast boat available, I drove half way around the lake to get to where he was.
> > Matt
>
> I hope you charged him for your travel time and gas. 🙂
> Richard

Richard,

I did and he paid it promptly.
He was also a good reference for other work.

Matt
--
Matt & Mary Colie - Chaumière -'73 Glacier 23 - Members GMCMI, GMCGL, GMCES
Electronically Controlled Quiet Engine Cooling Fan with OE Rear Drum Brakes with Applied Control Arms
SE Michigan - Near DTW - Twixt A2 and Detroit
 
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