katanapilot

Following. Our Victron MPII just arrived, along with all of the other Victron equipment. Install to commence next week. Like others, the power assist mode was the primary driver. I found when running on generator power (dual Honda EU2200i) paralleled and in ECO mode, the generators could not start our Houghton heat pump. So I had to run them with ECO mode off all the time. I'm hoping that with power assist from the Victron, I can run the Honda's in ECO mode and still start the Houghton. Considered adding soft start too, but will wait and see if the power assist works as advertised.

A copper bus bar of 1/8x1” will conservatively handle 275 amps at 40c ambient with a 30c temp rise. If you don’t think that’s enough, then upsize the bus bar.

I used some copper bus bar I had left over from one of my airplane builds. I either got it from Aircraft Spruce, or more likely McMaster-Carr. 1/8" thick by 1" wide. I bent it to shape in a vise, used an annular cutter to make the holes for the battery stud and disconnect. Used heat shrink to cover as much of the exposed copper as possible.

A Google search of this site will lead you to several posts of how owners have installed these switches. Here is a picture of how I did mine during the lithium battery upgrade (which was shamelessly copied from Geronimo John). Tie down straps added after the picture was taken.

The GX550 is a beautiful vehicle. I would be hesitant to buy one right now as it's the same V35A engine (although slightly de-tuned) as the ones listed in the recall. 2024 Tundras aren't being recalled (yet), even though there are reports of engine failures in them as well. I'm sure there will be a fix, but I would wait until that fix is implemented at the factory. Really don't want a service tech at the dealer pulling and rebuilding a very complex twin-turbo V6. But maybe that's just me. I'm a huge Toyota/Lexus fan and a former Boeing employee. Both companies that I have (had) tremendous respect for have really let a lot of people down...

Follow up on this post - Anyone here with the Victron Multiplus that can verify the power boost function adequately starts their A/C when using a single 2200 watt inverter generator? I tried starting our Houghton/Rec-Pro A/C with paralleled Honda 2200's in ECO mode without success. Contemplating addition of a soft-start, but might not be necessary if the Victron MP2 can provide enough amps to get past the inrush current during compressor start.

This video should make those of us who joined the Oliver family feel pretty good about our choice.

This is what is required to replace the engine on a Tundra. I sure would not want this done to my brand new truck.

Toyota has not been replacing engines - they have been replacing short blocks only. That requires the service techs at dealers to rebuild the engine using a lot of the “used” components - heads, etc. Some owners are now on their third engines. Others have gone the lemon law route, which is what I would do since I wouldn’t trust a dealer tech to have the skills and equipment to rebuild an engine vs. full replacement. Certainly they don’t have the clean room that might exist at the manufacturing facility. Hard to accept the “debris” excuse, as I believe the LX engines might be made in Japan, versus the Tundra and Sequoia engines being made domestically - unless exact same processes are being used in both engine plants. Anyone heard differently? This is going to be costly, both in money and in reputation, for Toyota. I’m glad I didn’t make the leap to the new generation Tundra, Sequoia or LX.

I saw yesterday that Toyota has finally issued a Safety Recall for 2022 & 2023 Tundras and Sequoias. I’ve read that 2024’s are continuing to have the same main bearing failures. I’m a huge Toyota fan and you will have to pry my 2011 CrewMax out of my cold dead hands - but the new ones look really nice. Very disappointed in Toyota for these failures and hope they find the root cause soon. Not really buying the “debris from engine manufacturing” as the cause, since that would be easy to remedy and I think they would have taken care of that early on when these failures started to occur. Anyone here with a third gen Tundra had an engine failure yet? https://pressroom.toyota.com/toyota-recalls-certain-model-year-2022-2023-toyota-tundra-and-lexus-lx-vehicles/

It's hard to provide an answer to this question not knowing how you connected the Honeywell thermostat to the existing wiring and whether or not you kept the Dometic control relay box in place. Lots of good info in previous posts - maybe start with the "Got Earplugs" thread I started a long time ago. Many users have posted how they converted to the Houghton from the noisy Dometic. In my case, I only use the remote control for the Houghton heat pump and still use the factory Dometic thermostat and control box to run the Suburban furnace. As I recall, the factory wiring from the thermostat to the relay box may have been digital, so there weren't enough wires to convert to a more traditional analog wiring scheme for both the Houghton and the Suburban. I also don't think there was any way to connect to the Houghton with an external thermostat (at least the model I used).

Thanks. I was referring to the BMV and Multi Control. Are they not redundant with the GX? Only asking because I am headed down the same path fairly soon.

Why the multiple control/indicator screens? Will the GX Touch not do everything you need, or was this just to fill previous holes in the walls?

Timely post. Just switched to BB lithiums and planning a complete Victron conversion. Thanks for the detailed write ups.

These days, having a travel trailer that you can take on a long trip and not have it break down at every stop should be considered a "luxury". Maybe that's what the marketing gurus were trying to convey. 🤷‍♂️

Just a single data point but I would avoid the Brite Way chinese made batteries if at all possible. Ours were never abused, but they failed in about 3 years. They were very swollen and difficult to remove from the battery tray. There are better choices available and the fact that Oliver quit using them might be another data point.

Not sure about the experience of others with the Brightway (Chinese made) batteries, but if yours are more than a couple years old and you depend on them for boondocking - you might want to think hard about replacing them sooner rather than later. Ours failed in about three years with very little use, as we mostly camp with FHU. I had difficulty removing the batteries recently, as they had swollen up and wedged themselves into the battery box. These batteries were not high quality - a concern I expressed to Anita when Oliver made the change from Trojan (in 2020 as I recall). This was an expensive upgrade, clearly not worth the cost. We just bought three BattleBorn lithiums and will install them soon. Yes, I know we need to change the converter configuration for the lithium batteries.

Thanks George. (Sorry all - very off topic). Yes, we owned a Diamond DA20-A1 for many years. Both my kids learned to fly in it. We donated it to a high school in Florida a couple of years ago for their aviation program. If you want to see more - https://www.firstcoastnews.com/article/news/local/class-in-nassau-county-teaching-students-how-to-take-flight/77-0316acb0-19c4-4531-ac3e-053b6511973f As to the skills to install the system, I hope I do. Mostly it's taking the time and working in cramped spaces. I am heading in this direction, as I like the capabilities and reliability of Victron components. Thanks for the additional information.

Very nice installation. I wish we had that kind of room in the Oliver so the Multiplus could be installed vertically. I saw that one was installed horizontally in an Oliver and it's why I asked for feedback on his experience with it. Sure like the interoperability of the Victron components and I know they have a great reputation. Trying to decide if it's worth taking this installation on and spending the retirement dollars.

Less than 3 years. Not impressed and clearly, Oliver has discontinued buying them. Not at all surprised.

Wanted to see if you had any additional feedback on your Victron Multiplus. I recently had to extract my 4 POS Briteway AGM batteries (was very unhappy with the switch from the Trojans listed in the brochure) as they had swollen up like a dead dear on the side of the road. Came to the dark side recently with the purchase of 3 BB lithiums. Now planning the install and possible upgrades to the electrical system. We have not done much boondocking, but plan to do a bit more in the future, especially if the trailer is better equipped to handle it. I really like the capabilities of the Multiplus, but besides the investment, there is some risk of putting all your DC "eggs" in the one component "basket". Feedback from your experience with it?

Question - has anyone determined if the TPMS temperature measurement will track (albeit delayed) bearing heating due to bearing wear and impending failure? I like the hub caps and use bearing buddies along with periodic bearing repacking to minimize the chance of bearing failure. And yes, the bearings were replaced with genuine Timken's before our Alaska adventure.

My bet is it's part of the transition to the dealer network. Selling used Oliver's here bypasses that network and the dealers will want that piece of the pie.

Wonder if the thermistor located in the unit needs to sense the warm air being generated by the heat pump before it will turn on the fan? I know when using the heat pump, the compressor runs for a bit before the fan turns on. By relocating the thermistor externally, you may have defeated the heat pumps ability to sense when warm air is being produced. Just a WAG.

I agree with John. Alaska was beautiful, but the drive from Jasper to Banff was almost beyond words. Side note - make sure your brakes are in great condition for the drive southbound. We did the Alaska Highway northbound and Cassiar southbound. Eight weeks total, 12,000+ miles from Georgia and back. Incredible trip.