CRM

I will definitely be adding solar sometime next year. My son will be going off to college and my wife and I will be hitting the road for a VERY extended period. Want to be ready for boondocking, which I know we'll have to do along the way, whether she likes it or not! In the beginning stages of planning now and will stuff in as many amp hours worth of batteries, and as many watts of solar as possible, but still crunching numbers and comparing all the other parts and pieces. I really just wanted to go all Victron since I love their monitoring system but when comparing the invertor function of the MultiPlus 12/3000/120-50 to the Xantrex XC Pro 3000 I found a substantial difference in wattage ratings as the temps climb. At 104 degrees and above the Victron de-rates much more than the Xantrex and it only has 1760 watts available for inductive loads while the Xantrex has 2400. Gets even worse at 113 degress where it's 1628 vs 2220. I know we'll eventually end up in some pretty hot places where we'll need to run the AC for a while and I want to be sure I can run it under those conditions, so for now I'm stuck on what to do. Thankfully I have time to figure it out and make a decision. Sorry to hijack your post, @Teaney Hull 292! I'll buy the first round next time!

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.

Approximately. Here's what AI spit out assuming 400 Ah of batteries at 20% SOC using a 40amp, 60 amp, and 120amp charger to bring batteries back to 100%. Also assuming that the generator could handle at least 1800 watts output steady for the 120 amp charger. 40 Amps: 7.7 to 8.2 hours 60 Amps: 5.3 to 5.8 hours 120 Amps: 2.65 to 2.9 hours

And this can be a deciding factor if you boondock with a generator. Depending on which PD convertor/charger you have you'll be running the generator 2x or longer than you would with a 120 amp Victron to top off your batteries.

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.

Ah, finally an RV AC unit with an invertor compressor and variable BTU output like a home mini split system. After a quick look the only downside I see is that the fan runs continuously just like most of the others I've already crossed off my list. This might be a problem in cooler temps with high humidity like I frequently deal with, but at the same time, *maybe* not due to it having two multi-speed blower fans and ability to throttle down to 7500 cooling BTU's . This Turbro unit definitely has my attention!

A couple of years ago a friend of mine had a bearing fail on his work trailer with the never lube axles. He was able to get a new Timken bearing through Summit for around $50 which is far less than Dexter charges for their Chinese bearings. He said they use these same bearings on some production cars.

We've found that using a simple box fan blowing across our outdoor seating area is the best way to stay mosquito free. Seems to keep them out of the Ollie too.

Interesting.. Cooler is always better, though we don't know the condition of the standard 30 amp plug he was testing against. He was also loading at 24 amps which just happens to be the exact maximum continuous (3 hour) load rating of a 30 amp circuit. Would have been nice to see if the temps varied even further if loaded to a full 30 amps for the hour test.

Thanks. I've never even seen one of the Truma units before. Since it's on-demand it makes sense that it doesn't have an electric option.

The Truma is propane only?

I suggest reading through the Yelp reviews on LazyDays.

The CL900 also does and all the way up to 2000 amps. 😮

I have 3 clamping multimeters and all 3 measure AC and DC amperage. One of the better ones I have is a Klein Tools CL390 which is around $100. Edit-Just took a quick look on Amazon and couldn't find a clamping meter that didn't do both AC and DC amperage. Might want to check your meter's documentation to verify that it doesn't actually measure DC amps.

I knew I shouldn't have done it, but I decided to go down the rabbit hole of looking up the actual law in the CFR (Code of Federal Regulations) based on the DOT 4BA type tanks I have and found these recertification guidelines. Adds even more confusion, but I'm still having it done at 10 years anyway!

Just called a propane dealer in my area and they told me that there's a lot of confusion to the Federal law. It was originally 12 years, then changed to 10 a few years back at which point the propane industry made noise and DOT sent out an order to not enforce the new 10 year ruling. But 10 is what the Federal law actually says so better to get it done at ten, IMHO.

It's 12 years in my neck of the woods with a 5 year extension after recertification.

To remove our graphics I used a heat gun set on low while working the vinyl off slowly with a plastic razor blade. Not moving too fast was critical since whenever I tried moving a little faster the vinyl would end up ripping and coming off in small pieces which slowed the whole process down. Cleanup of the remaining residue was done with Goo Gone.

Usually only one of the HDMI inputs on a TV are labeled "ARC". You might want to check that the HDMI cable coming from your stereo is plugged into it.

Sorry about the wacky text formatting. I copied and pasted from another group I posted this to and was using a black screen theme on my browser. Edit. Fixed formatting

For anyone thinking about purchasing one of Hughes Autoformer units, you my want to wait a little longer. I had a conversation with a Hughes representative a couple of days ago and he informed me that a new Autoformer will be released within 1-3 months called the "Watchdog Power Center". It will have Bluetooth and WIFI connectivity and will be slightly larger than the current power boosting units are. If you already have an internally mounted Autoformer you will need to install a new mounting bracket for the Power Center.

Yep, every RV should have one.

So happy for you guys and can't wait to see it in person! Congrats, and welcome to the club! Chris

Actually, it is a different design. I just remembered that I couldn't install friction hinges on ours since the hinges are built into the door frame and can't be replaced.

Not a single crack in my 2010. Either I'm very lucky, or a change to the door materials was made at some point down the line.