I noticed that there are were no 12V outlets in my A-frame. This concerned me because I use a CPAP, and if I ever go boondocking, I will need a 12V outlet to power the CPAP. Furthermore, it would be nice to have USB charger ports and and a voltmeter to check the charging and discharge states of my battery.
I found this power panel for $48 on Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B06XFNKZQM
There seems to be quite a number of these on Amazon in all sorts of configurations. They all seem to be somewhat universal, mix and match.
One of my main goals was to lower the parasitic 12V load as much as possible to extend the length of boondocking on battery power. I used my multimeter and made these determinations by pulling the DC fuses in the converter box and taking mA readings at the battery:
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A-frame parasitic total 150mA
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Converter 20mA
Water heater 0mA
Furnace controls 8mA
Lights 0mA
Pump / gas/CO detector 60mA
Radio 45mA all wires connected
Radio 10mA dimmer wire disconnected
Radio 0mA ACC wire disconnected
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Purchased 12V power panel parasitic loads
It could be as much as 56mA if everything is on
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12V outlet 0mA
USB charger 9mA
Voltmeter 7mA
6 lower dash lights 21mA total
1 upper switch light 3.5mA each
Everything on 56mA
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I decided to use the switches on the power panel to switch off some devices to reduce parasitic load.
Switch 1 - Radio. Putting this on a switch saves 45mA. With only the radio power wire connected, a negligible amount of power is needed for the clock and station memory. So little, it actually measured 0mA.
Switch 2 - 12V outlet. Some 12V outlets have a LED in them to light them up. This one does not, but I decided to put the 12V outlet on a switch anyway.
Switch 3 - Voltmeter. Putting this on a switch saves 7mA.
Switch 4 - USB charger. Putting this on a switch saves 9mA.
Switch 5 - spare
Switch 6 - spare
I decided to not hook power up to the 6 lower dash lights to show that the switches are in the off position. This saves 21mA.
So with the 12V power panel in place and all switches off, I am reducing the total parasitic load 45mA (radio) from the stock camper. From originally 150mA down to 105mA.
Pictures to follow showing installation.