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I get it. With home base of Houston or Tampa you guys have different needs. We will never come to visit you during the summer months!

I use mine to run the a/c at nights, as needed, which is often as we make our way to and from a far destination. In doing so, my house batteries get a boost, as well, with no solar. Although I can run the a/c on inverter for several hours, I like knowing we can stay comfortable in the event of a lengthy unplanned holdover. Happy wife, happy ‘travel’ life!

Personally, I won't go anywhere without my little Honda generator. Haven't had to use it yet but it's nice to know it's there in case of emergency. Can run the AC on it for 6-8 hours on just a gallon of gas. Not having solar installed yet is another reason I carry it, so I can top off the batteries in the unlikely event we're ever boondocking (wife hates it 😂). Also, I get that lower charge amps might extend battery life, but in your setup you're only charging each battery at 25 amps, not 50. To get to the recommended 50amps you'll have to set your charger to 100.

Gary, sounds like you got a plan. I have the same PD charger and inverter only Xantrex 2000. Upgrading the inverter to inverter / charger combo can wait. What I typically do is turn off the circuit breaker for the charger and let my victron solar charge controller handle the charging since it is programmable. If solar is not keeping up for whatever reason I turn on the PD charger for top off. Will seek you out at the Rally to meet and check in on how your upgrade went.

I've been amplifying the hi-jack but I imagine @Teaney Hull 292 got what they needed in 2 pages and we're all here for more questions from any and all members! I would not worry about the 104F heat issue unless you plan to exterior mount your inverter in the sun! 🤣 Ours is under the streetside bed. It did get up to 104 during testing August afternoons where we get pretty hot, when sitting in the sun. I installed the dual Beech Lane fan, like the one I installed in the fridge cavity. It pulls air from the streetside basement, all the way from vents I added in the bath, closet, etc. With the fan on 104F drops to about 88F, with A/C on and the interior about 74F. Reason you want the Victron is you can run your A/C on generator with the Victron supplementing extra power from your batteries when the compressor is running and when the compressor shuts off your generator would be back to charging batteries. You likely know this already. Victron calls the feature Power-Assist. Re your other comments, she may learn to like boondocking. We love where we can go where there are paved roads and campgrounds. More opportunities west than east. Oct we plan to park the Oliver on the edge of the North Rim! If at a point where we truly want to run A/C on batteries, after we replace the Dometic with something efficient, a third 300AH could be in our future. Given you have the Honda, I do NOT suggest the suitcase addition. We rarely use ours and wish I had saved the $800+ for the suitcase, the Victron 30A MPPT, cabling, connectors, etc. I would certainly suggest adding 400W or as much as you can get on your rooftop. Our 2x 160W panels are now 10 years old. I wonder how efficient they could be. Given that and the flat mounting we usually only get +10 to 12A net charging rates (winter afternoon sun). The 400W Renogy suitcase will double those numbers, from a combination of newer panels and being angled towards the sun. I'm looking forward to reading about your upgrade when you get to it! 😂

I'm an engineer, certainly a numbers geek, and OMG! I never added this up before. 🤣 Yes, you are absolutely correct. The Epoch app displays total amps +/- and amps to each battery. This was taken on a recent winter day, snow on the solar panels and I plugged in after several days of this weather. You can see +48.4A net charge to the batteries, with individual batteries receiving 22.8A and 25.6A (see pic). I should set our Victron to 100A charging and next time I'm down to 20% SOC we can recover in under 5 hours.

We stopped using a generator after we sold our Class-C. As you know, we have the Victron Multiplus II 12/3000/120-50. The numbers translate to 12VDC output / 3000 KVA inverter capacity / 120A max charge output / 50A max AC input (shore power/generator). I've had our charge output on the MP2 set to 50A ever since we installed ours last summer, and in our case we do not have a reason for faster charging. Specs for the 300AH Epoch Essentials show "recommended charge current" at 50A. Max charge current is 200A, so they could certainly take every bit of the 120A, but why is 50A recommended? Perhaps the lower charge is better for the life of the batteries. With 600AH we can go for days, a week or more off grid, assuming no use of A/C. Given the SW skies cloud up for awhile (rarely except when caused by chem-trails🙁), we can eventually get low on SOC. Under 50% is rare, but I do remember one trip it got down to 20% and the red warning light was on the Victron Connect app! (I set this to 20%.) What we did that time, and would do again whenever needed, is merely to stay one night somewhere with electric hook-ups. Plug into shore power and the MP2 is giving a full 50A to the batteries. At 20% SOC, down 80% on 600AH is 480AH to charge. Let's round up to 500AH (worse-case scenario). To re-coop this would take 10 hours to charge at a 50AH rate. We are going to check-in late afternoon say about 4PM, and even if you're the type to leave before the sun rises (not us!), you're going to be connected for 12-14 hours minimum. SOC is back to 100% HOURS before we would leave and we're good for another week. I much prefer this to carrying a generator and extra fuel. You like to camp summers in the SE, God bless ya, get hook-ups because if you're running your generator all day you will get ugly looks from me and many others! Generators rules at campgrounds are generally no use after 10PM and boondocking in the SE is rare where you could be far enough away from neighbors to run a noisy generator and even worse, the awfully noisy Dometic Penguin II! 🤣

Derek, that is a very kind offer. Odds are, I’m going to get the suggested 2 230Ah Li Time Bluetooth batteries. In process of upgrading the Board for the Power Converter, the thing I call the Fuse Box, with part PD4045CSV to charge the batteries, or upgrade to the Xantrex 3000 with the built in Charger. It also charges at a higher amp. I’ll keep you posted as we get closer. I’ll be at site F27. FYI, I put the pictures of all the things in the storage areas. Not sure where it ended up in this forum.

Waiting may be good, but be prepared! I waited over four years and finally decided on the Atmos 4.4, no regrets! I especially love how quite it is; this ‘light sleeper’ no longer needs earplugs at night, and we can easily watch TV and carry on a conversation at the same time regardless how far apart or chosen fan speed. As for the continuous fan run when in Cool Mode, not a concern of mine. If ever a spike in cabin humidity is detected, Dry Mode is activated which rapidly drops the moisture level. However, a small room dehumidifier helps to mitigate such issue and high cabin humidity is a rare occurrence. I truly like the feel of continuous air movement via the ‘swing function’, whereby up and down circulation is felt at the furthest reaches within while factoring in the higher operating CFM rating of these units. The ‘cool breeze’ is an added comfort and talk of mods to make change are unnecessary measures IMO. Like others I too am disappointed in the cost increases and thus, so glad I didn’t wait any longer for the ‘ultimate’ unit that may or may not become available and at what price. ‘Nuff said!

Great info. Thanks

New Mexico camping New Mexico Free Camping I know this thread is rather old , But I wanted to share this I am planning a trip to New Mexico and I stumbled across this YouTuber that has quite a bit of New Mexico content the videos are not that spectacular but the information is detailed see you out there edit ( added New Mexico Free Camping )

Gary, To help you get a range let's think of it like this: Option 1: Factory Upgrade: $10K + If you upgrade at the factory you can get an accurate quote by contacting service via email. My guess is around $10K to add 3 Lithionics batteries and a new 3000 Xantrex Inv/Charger. One reason for the high price is uprading to a new 3000 Xantrex Inverter Charger would also likely have them change around some wiring in your trailer to enable it to run your AC off of your new batteries. The other thing you discussed was a fridge replacement with a compressor fridge. Those are a very time consuming upgrade and costly. A real quote for time and cost can be had via email to Oliver Service. Option 2: Self Upgrade with help from friends: $1-2K About the lowest cost would be to drop in (1) Epoch Essentials 300AH Heated with Bluetooth battery for $999 (SKU: 12300A-H) and charge it with the existing charging circuits. You would likely be able to reuse all the big battery cables you have now. If you dropped in 2 (about $2K including cables) then you would have 600AH capacity about 3x what you have now...and that would enable you to switch to a new fridge. Hope that helps. Craig

Hi Gary, I would also add that you'd probably be better off buying 2 batteries instead of 4. Less complexity with cabling/connections and larger batteries usually have a better BMS.

Haven’t heard of anything. I just checked 511 AZ app typed destination Show Low and no warnings along the route from here to there. Don’t know about New Mexico. Camping should be wide open Mar~Apr and temps are warm for the elevation. Come see us in Prescott! Have a great trip.

You will never regret having the extra 140aH provided by two 300 aH batteries (600 aH total). In your shoes, I would go for the two 300 aH, since they fit in the battery tray. The digital monitor offered with the 460 aH battery adds little value, IMHO, given the availability of the app.

Who's ready for ne LiFePO4? Got an email on this today, 15% OFF Epoch! https://www.epochbatteries.com/collections/rv-van-camper-lithium-batteries

JD, This is great thread for those with older trailers. I'm always amazed by the depth of knowledge by a number of members. Hoping our 2022 carries us for years to come, without having to do anything major. Anything electric is over my head🙃 Thanks for sharing all your mods. JD

Thanks for this awesome post with pictures, JD! Although my installation is a little different it was very helpful, to me, to see that these batteries indeed fit into the battery tray. And thanks much to Scuba RX ,here at the "Q", with helping me remove the wiring rat nest in the battery cave....+ and - bus bars were so easy to install! I now have only 2 wires inside my battery cave! Pictures later after my DC to DC charger installation.......happy camper again! John

Different trailer with different drawer slides designs. But the VAST majority of our owners have trailers are of a more recent design. And many of us have found that flying drawers and their contents do in fact toss stuff on the floor, especially off road as Mike noted. Several of the off road owners, like ours, have had heavier drawers not only bounce out contents, but eventually they blast out so fast the they have broken the drawer retainer hardware as well. For the design we have, the straps have proven to be a God Send as stated. Another thank you to John Davies. As far as them looking tacky, I don't really mind as there is never any guests in the trailer when the straps are in place. As far as the time to install and uninstall, with the "Hooks" and the straps pre looped as JD suggested, it takes about 30 seconds to install/de-install. Time wise, it is a lot less than just the time to pick silverware scattered about the trailer. And a lot less additional time for washing them...again... Finally, if I could afford the beautiful Bocote wood drawer fronts that @Foy_Mirna Sperring made..... I for darn sure would not want them bouncing out and both getting damaged and also likely damaging the interior of our OE2. This appears to be a topic where getting strapped in the long haul is a good thing. Seems like my Daddy felt that way to about me. So basically, it looks like we sort of disagree on this one issue. John DIY - Galley Drawers Straps by John E. Davies.docx

I thought the same thing until I put a camera inside. They pretty much came open every time there was a big jolt. We do have them laden with a lot of stuff though. My only other clue before that was stuff on the floor occasionally after a long drive. I used some hooks on the top and bottom with bungee cords for each set of 3 drawers to use during travels then easily removes and stows. IMO it doesn’t detract from the decor and seems to work well. In all honesty, I should probably just clean out most of the stuff I have in the drawers! But it works, especially off pavement.

Update on our return trip… Given the goal of staying off Interstates, we wanted to see South Texas w/o I-10 travel. Left Inks Lake for lunch in Kerrville and spent a night in Bandera at Antler Oaks lodge. They are $59 plus tax! But with a soft sales call, I talked them into $40 cash and we would not hook up, no costs for them. The RV park was nice enough, but one tenant scared us. They were up all night, lights on at 2AM, where 4 pickup trucks parked around their large travel trailer. One thing my Dad told me, “Nothing good happens after midnight.” I’m sure they were involved in trafficing or drug running. We stayed quiet pin the trailer and they kept me awake most of the night. Thought to head straight south to Uvalde. The largest town out that way and they were in the news for a major school shooting a couple years ago. Uvalde also has the cheapest fuel around. Another part of planning is where to buy fuel. We use Gas Buddy and with the map view you can look ahead at prices along your route. Highest gas price we paid was $2.99 for diesel and the lowest was $2.79 at H-E-B Uvalde, $2.43 for regular, nice! Wanted to see Del Rio, stopped for lunch there and had many great views of the Amistad National Recreation Area. On our route west. just woke up in Sanderson TX. Not much of a town or RV park. Got another $10 discount for my “no hook-ups speel” some light road noise and we slept well. i was too tired yesterday to push another 2 hours to Davis Mountains SP, so will leave for there as soon as I stop typing this! Looking forward for a few days there!

It’s great to be back in Texas, what a well-run state! Business is key, great schools and sports, very well kept roads and great city/county/state parks. Not all the public lands of the west, but so much more open space than back east. We moved to Georgetown Texas in 2006 and moved out of Texas end of November 2014, so it’s been 10 years. I’ve flown in for business a half dozen times, driven from FL to AZ in 2018, but this is our first real visit to Texas in 10 years and we can’t wait to see old friends and new! Not considered a Boondocking state, though it appears every city or county in West Texas has a park with free camping. Some have free hookups! 🤣 Did groceries today at H-E-B, Big Spring TX. Given all the inflation of the last 3 years, prices considerably less than anywhere in Arizona, or likely most states. Last night we stayed at Yoakum County Park and tonight we are at Foster Creek Park, west of San Angelo. It’s not Yellowstone or Zion, but we have more fun at small quiet places I’m sure you know what I mean. Thanks for reading. Tomorrow we’ll be one of the early birds arriving at Inks Lake SP for the Rally! Come by campsite #71 to say hello if you are attending!

This inverter is a beast! When I first field tested it, I disconnected shore power and ran the A/C off of inverter only. It was reading over 3500W and I didn't understand. This is not a 3KW inverter, but a 3KVA rated at 2400W continuous. How was it able to run at 3500W+ for 1-2 minutes until I realized it and turned off the A/C? When I did the inverter was still pulling over 1500W. I thought that nothing else was on, so I started tripping the 120VAC breakers. The last one did it and I found out we had the HWH AC switch on! Whoa, won't do that again. Then it ran A/C for the next 4 hours. I turned it down to 72 degrees and the compressor was running about 2.5 of the four hours. This old Dometic PII takes +/- 1800W or 150A DC inverted. IT dropped down for 37% SOC. Given 63% of 600AH used is 378AH and if you divide that by 150A for the A/C it comes to 2 1/2 hours running the PII full on compressor running. As @rideadeuce has shown the Atmos A/C takes half this amperage, so with a future A/C upgrade, we should be able to run all the A/C we need for the hot day now and then. Here's the internals of the MP2 Beast!

I had just installed a Beech Lane dual cooling fan for the fridge cavity and thought the same fan would be great to vent the basement area under the streetside bed. A 3KVA inverter produces a great amount of heat when inverting and charging large amperage. I was waiting on delivery of the Victron Multiplus II inverter anyway and it makes sense to install this before the large inverter is in the way. This fan is a dual 5” fan. I had a 4” hole saw available and thought that was enough of an opening to clear the hot air in this small basement space. I ended up using a jigsaw to cut a straight line opening above and below (not pictured). Notice the L-bracket top-right in pictures, necessary since this wallboard is only connected to the floor and outer wall. Then I hung the fan inside, added a wire loom. I used the grill that I removed from the furnace return when I added a filter there. Yes, the control and grill are hung upside down. I could have wired it the other way, but the wires would have to loop below. I keep a duffle bag there, so I pointed the vent up to blow over it.

Living in Central Arizona we are surrounded by so many great day trips! Less than an hour to Jerome and Cottonwood, 1 1/4 hours to Sedona, 2 to the Grand Canyon. Check out Sycamore Canyon Wilderness Area, even better (2nd largest canyon in Arzona) just 90 minutes, just past Williams. Just to name a few! We're here for 3 nights, at $14 a night or $7 with the Lifetime Senior pass. Where can you get 3 nights in a most beautiful canyon for $21. No hookups, but a dump station and a separate freshwater station. 85 miles and 2 hours from our home. Burro Creek Campground | Bureau of Land Management (blm.gov) NO cell service though. Starlink would be great to have here. Also, no TV or even radio reception in the canyon. At just under 2000' elevation, winter is the season here. Low mid 30's last night and at 1:40 PM it's now 62 (a cloudy day today, otherwise it be 70+). It's too hot in the summer here. Half the sites were empty, many of them listed FF on recreation.gov. I'm thinking if you could get service here, this place would be fully booked. Stopped for lunch at LUCHIA’S RESTAURANT - 136 Photos & 97 Reviews - 15797 S Hwy 93, Wikieup, Arizona - New American - Restaurant Reviews - Phone Number - Yelp Highly recommended on any Phoenix to Vegas trip, quick stop on the Hwy 93 just north of Wikieup, AZ. They have guest Wi-Fi. Much more re our trip when we get back home this weekend, as we plan to spend our remaining time offline! Note in the first pick Charley is busy watching Dad setup camp.

I realized Chris had taken a picture of the lone Joshua tree, looking down at Wikieup and the Sonoran Desert below. He somehow drifted away from his family on the other side of the range in the Mohave!

The first night the sun truly lit up the Burro Creek Bridge (Burro Creek Bridge spans farther than most in the Southwest - AZ Wonders). Picture taken is zoomed in from our campsite #6. The next morning you can see the moisture of the creek swirl out of the canyon to form paisley shape clouds surrounding us (sorry no pics of this). The day became cloudy, partially clearing later leading to a most spectacular sunset!