johnwen

Happy Easter ya'll...from Big Bend Recreation area outside Canton, OK. 94 degrees was the high a couple days ago, 44 was the high yesterday. A ton of rain in the past 24 hours but now the sun is out :) Nice backyard, JD!!!

Welcome and congrats :) Wen and John

The only problem I have with the app is sometimes I have to restart the bluetooth on 1 of the batteries...through the on/off radial button in the app. Not a big deal.

Hi Rob, I'm leery to give any advice here, especially after Prowse's last review but it was made after my install. Here's my experience....we swapped out for 2 Epoch 300ah essentials 2 months ago at Quartzsite (installed myself...with a little help from my friends), loaded the app, installed a Victron dc to dc charger. All has been working as advertised and I could not be happier with the result. Both batteries charge fully and equally on solar and on A/C through the Xantrex 2000 W inverter. After all is said, I would be hesitant as you are and I don't know how I would have proceeded had that review been posted before my install. In retrospect my install went great and maybe I was just lucky or the review doesn't apply to my 300ah batteries, just the larger ones. I do not plan to perform any type of software upgrades in the future...even if deemed safe to do so.

Another way...I went with terminals on opposite ends. No particularly good reason. John

GL, JD, Have fun out there...doubt you'll get stuck with your rig :) And congrats on your starlink! John

Hi GJ, Wiring from my vehicle is all 6 AWG to the charger and wiring from the charger to B+ and B- busses are all 6 AWG. I could have used 4 AWG if I trimmed some strands to fit receptacles on the Victron charger but I chose to use 6 AWG on advice from installers. The terminals on my 30a Isolated Victron (4 terminals) will allow up to 6AWG, thus the need to trim strands if larger wire is used. I'm certainly not an expert in this area but this is the way I ended up installing everything. Hope this helps. John

JD I should look at this mod the next time we cross paths! John

I know the feeling...we did the same as you at Quartzsite this year with the help of a few patient friends. It's soooo nice to not be worried about the batteries! (2000w Xantrex and 3 way fridge). Usually 85-90% in the morning with cpap and television usage. The days sun (if out) tops them off by early afternoon. Congrats on your success, John

Has anyone relaced the vip3000 with the vip3500? Is it an easy swapout? The bolt pattern and spacing appear to be similar. I'm a little tired of the grinding sound sound it makes at the upper half of its travel. I've had it apart and checked the grease...it appears fine but either the motor or gears are binding. It has been that way since OTT's annual service last year. Probably just a coincidence. It may just be wearing out...55000+ miles full timing and just over 3 years old. John

My ground is about a 1 1/2 feet (2 max) to the truck frame from the Andersen connector.

thumbs up!

JD Testing shows 5-30a on the Victron shunt with all power disconnected and solar controller off. I have an isolated 30 charger...2 in and 2 out connections. Negative to B- bus and positive to B+ bus and of course the other 2 are Positive through resettable breaker at the TV battery and Negative to ground on frame near the rear bumper. My trailer batteries are already fully charged so that's why the 5-30a variation as the batteries need it. Hope this helps :) John

Will check in a couple of days, on our next leg. As I remember (have only used a couple of times since installation and really haven't had a need for the charger...rooftop solar is sufficient since we don't use much energy) we had amperage flow.

Hi, JD, My equipment consists of a solar controller, a shunt and the dc to dc controller. When the dc to dc is disconnected at the andersen connector from truck to trailer there is no bluetooth blue light on the controller...nor is it discoverable. When I connect the andersen ends together it then becomes discoverable with no charging as the truck is off, but it does indicate truck battery voltage. Texas is one windy place :) Onward, John