Host F550 4X4 Motorhome Quad Slide 330

[B1Toad]

To be honest our small Class A is very comfortable but in retrospect I sometimes wish I had got a B van. I was afraid we wouldn't have enough room but we really only need a place to eat, sleep, poop and shower. No kids or pets.
The whole bed bug thing kind of freaked us out on hotel rooms. Once you bring bed bugs home it's a major deal to get rid of them.

 

[Wildman]

Motorhome fired right up this morning with no issues. So not sure what was the problem.
Will see how it does this week.

 

[Wildman]

I figured out what was/is happening.

My first night on the trip I'd tried to watch a movie before I'd fallen asleep and also had my StarLink trying to connect to the satellites. Woke up unable to start the generator or the truck. So had to fire up the Jeep to jump the truck...
Don't know why or how they have the motorhome wired but here's my theory....
The coach batteries are killing the chassis batteries. When the engine was being rebuilt I don't think it was plugged in over the winter and might have froze. Then on top of that since I'd been preoccupied with the Jeep I hadn't been thinking about the motorhome...
When I'd stayed in camp on Wednesday I'd checked the batteries and they were all low on water so luck me I had distilled water with me and filled them back up. This seemed to help a lot but I'd also stopped trying to watch a movie at night. So then each morning I'd have enough power to start the generator so I could make my coffee. Worked for the rest of the week...

So it's looking like I'll be replacing batteries come next spring (sooner than I'd planned) with lithium ones now that they have some the same size as the 6Volt ones in there.

 

[Wildman]

So after having my battery issues during my MT trip and with a LONG trip coming up to AZ then TN then a few weeks of relaxing and hitting spots along the way to end up in UT I decided to spring for 4 Lithium batteries during the Black Friday sales happening now.

LiTime 12V 100Ah Group 24 Bluetooth Lithium Battery with Self Heating​

My route from WA to AZ then TN... Meeting my son & grandsons in Windrock, TN during their Spring Break in March to go wheeling. He's got a XJ on 33's.

Then will take me time to head towards Sand Hollow, UT for the forums event this coming year.

I'll get the RV in for an oil change & other maintenance during the winter... Should be a FUN trip & hopefully the Jeep holds together for this whole trip or it's nothing I can't fix along the way.

 

[John Cooper]

So after having my battery issues during my MT trip and with a LONG trip coming up to AZ then TN then a few weeks of relaxing and hitting spots along the way to end up in UT I decided to spring for 4 Lithium batteries during the Black Friday sales happening now.

LiTime 12V 100Ah Group 24 Bluetooth Lithium Battery with Self Heating​

View attachment 654603

My route from WA to AZ then TN... Meeting my son & grandsons in Windrock, TN during their Spring Break in March to go wheeling. He's got a XJ on 33's.

View attachment 654604

Then will take me time to head towards Sand Hollow, UT for the forums event this coming year.

View attachment 654605

I'll get the RV in for an oil change & other maintenance during the winter... Should be a FUN trip & hopefully the Jeep holds together for this whole trip or it's nothing I can't fix along the way.

Sounds like an awesome trip!!!!

 

[Wildman]

Sounds like an awesome trip!!!!

Hoping so... Lots of things to figure out...

 

[Farmergreg]

Battery envy......

 

[rasband]

So after having my battery issues during my MT trip and with a LONG trip coming up to AZ then TN then a few weeks of relaxing and hitting spots along the way to end up in UT I decided to spring for 4 Lithium batteries during the Black Friday sales happening now.

LiTime 12V 100Ah Group 24 Bluetooth Lithium Battery with Self Heating​

View attachment 654603

My route from WA to AZ then TN... Meeting my son & grandsons in Windrock, TN during their Spring Break in March to go wheeling. He's got a XJ on 33's.

View attachment 654604

Then will take me time to head towards Sand Hollow, UT for the forums event this coming year.

View attachment 654605

I'll get the RV in for an oil change & other maintenance during the winter... Should be a FUN trip & hopefully the Jeep holds together for this whole trip or it's nothing I can't fix along the way.

This looks like an awesome trip. It's too bad timing wouldn't work to get up to CO for some of the scenic stuff in the San Juan mountains (still snow packed until late June on a good year). Hopefully during your next trip!

 

[TurboTJ]

Hoping so... Lots of things to figure out...

I have a pair of 100A Battle Born batteries that I bought about 4 years ago. At the time they cost about $1000 each. Now you can get heated 100A batteries for about 1/3 that price. I wonder if they are just as good? You can also get much higher capacity batteries that are smaller than the equivalent capacity with 100A batteries. I might try that in a few years. It is amazing how battery capacity is getting so high you can run air conditioning off of them.

 

[B1Toad]

I have a pair of 100A Battle Born batteries that I bought about 4 years ago. At the time they cost about $1000 each. Now you can get heated 100A batteries for about 1/3 that price. I wonder if they are just as good? You can also get much higher capacity batteries that are smaller than the equivalent capacity with 100A batteries. I might try that in a few years. It is amazing how battery capacity is getting so high you can run air conditioning off of them.

Li Time has become a very popular and trusted battery maker. I bought Time USB 2 years ago and haven't had any issues but if I were to buy today I'd consider Li Time. Elefast is another one that's making a good name for themselves with 5 year warranty and good prices.

 

[Wildman]

I have a pair of 100A Battle Born batteries that I bought about 4 years ago. At the time they cost about $1000 each. Now you can get heated 100A batteries for about 1/3 that price. I wonder if they are just as good? You can also get much higher capacity batteries that are smaller than the equivalent capacity with 100A batteries. I might try that in a few years. It is amazing how battery capacity is getting so high you can run air conditioning off of them.

I've been following reviews of these for a while. And I'd wanted some Group 24 batteries to replace my current 6V with.
If they turn out to be a poor choice I'll be sure to post about them.

 

[B1Toad]

I've been following reviews of these for a while. And I'd wanted some Group 24 batteries to replace my current 6V with.
If they turn out to be a poor choice I'll be sure to post about them.

I don't think you'll be disappointed with LiTime. Just be sure to follow their recommendations on charging, balancing and storage. Are you getting a DC-DC charger?

 

[Wildman]

I don't think you'll be disappointed with LiTime. Just be sure to follow their recommendations on charging, balancing and storage. Are you getting a DC-DC charger?

I've got to figure that out still. I want to start planning for a better system as I move forward. Right now I've got a no name MPPT that I'm not happy about that was installed by the RV dealer. I want to upgrade my inverter and MPPT to a Victron but that's going to have to wait... That damn engine rebuild sucked up all my funds for a while.

 

[Wildman]

This looks like an awesome trip. It's too bad timing wouldn't work to get up to CO for some of the scenic stuff in the San Juan mountains (still snow packed until late June on a good year). Hopefully during your next trip!

No worries... I plan/hope to make it out to CO for some wheeling. Might not be in 2026 but who knows... Got to see how this trip plays out first then will go from there. But it's on my list.

 

[Wildman]

Reading MORE into all this I guess I'm going to need to get a GOOD DC to DC charger... First I've got to figure out what or how the motorhome is currently wired up to charge the house batteries. And since when my house batteries when dying are also killing the chassis batteries they have to be connected. And the disconnect switch that I'd assumed was there if it is obviously isn't working since my chassis batteries are dying when the coach batteries do.

My first choice is this:

Victron Energy Orion-Tr Smart DC to DC Charger (Bluetooth) - 12/12-Volt 30 amp 360-Watt ​

But I need to do a little more research on this to make sure it's what I need and is sized correctly. 30 Amps does seem like enough but I need to figure that out.

 

[rasband]

I can't remember, do you have solar on the RV? If not a controller that can intelligently balance the truck charging and solar could be pretty sweet (especially if you're shacked up somewhere for an extended period). Solar has really come down in price and it's now what we use for week long hunting trips.

 

[Wildman]

I can't remember, do you have solar on the RV? If not a controller that can intelligently balance the truck charging and solar could be pretty sweet (especially if you're shacked up somewhere for an extended period). Solar has really come down in price and it's now what we use for week long hunting trips.

Yes I've got to 190 Watt I think solar panels and then a no name MPPT controller. The current one will work with lithium batteries by just changing the type of batteries & the charging profile.

These batteries are just my first step to getting a better solar system. I'd like to add 4-5 mor panels but don't know how much room I have. Then change out my inverter from a 1500 watt to a 3000 watt dual phase inverter which would allow me to power the whole RV. Then the next step would be to add another 4 batteries and I think I'd be close to what I want/need for solar.

 

[Farmergreg]

Reading MORE into all this I guess I'm going to need to get a GOOD DC to DC charger... First I've got to figure out what or how the motorhome is currently wired up to charge the house batteries. And since when my house batteries when dying are also killing the chassis batteries they have to be connected. And the disconnect switch that I'd assumed was there if it is obviously isn't working since my chassis batteries are dying when the coach batteries do.

My first choice is this:

Victron Energy Orion-Tr Smart DC to DC Charger (Bluetooth) - 12/12-Volt 30 amp 360-Watt​

View attachment 654842

But I need to do a little more research on this to make sure it's what I need and is sized correctly. 30 Amps does seem like enough but I need to figure that out.

Chassis need to be isolated from the house batteries.

When the breaker was inadvertently shut off that my MH was plugged into the house batteries were completely drained due to the residential fridge. But the chassis batteries were fine.

 

[Wildman]

Chassis need to be isolated from the house batteries.

When the breaker was inadvertently shut off that my MH was plugged into the house batteries were completely drained due to the residential fridge. But the chassis batteries were fine.

I've got to do some tracing of the wiring to try and figure out WTF they did when this was setup. Not have even a rough schematic of the motorhome really torques me off when trying to figure out some of this stuff. And Yes I thought that the chassis batteries should be isolated when the motorhome is turned off and then when the engine is running it charges the house batteries.

 

[B1Toad]

Reading MORE into all this I guess I'm going to need to get a GOOD DC to DC charger... First I've got to figure out what or how the motorhome is currently wired up to charge the house batteries. And since when my house batteries when dying are also killing the chassis batteries they have to be connected. And the disconnect switch that I'd assumed was there if it is obviously isn't working since my chassis batteries are dying when the coach batteries do.

My first choice is this:

Victron Energy Orion-Tr Smart DC to DC Charger (Bluetooth) - 12/12-Volt 30 amp 360-Watt​

View attachment 654842

But I need to do a little more research on this to make sure it's what I need and is sized correctly. 30 Amps does seem like enough but I need to figure that out.

That's the one I'm using but I only have 100ah. The newer Orion 50 amp is all the rage, and smaller. Check and see what the allowable auxiliary current output is on your alternator. In my case I have a 220 amp and Mercedes originally said in the upfitter guide no more than 40 amps auxiliary loads but later they changed it to 80 amps on the same alternator.

You probably already know this but the DC-DC not only raises the voltage to the correct level for the Li batteries but it also protects your alternator by limiting current. If you have at least one method to fully charge them occasionally for top balancing that's really all you need, whether it's your solar, DC-DC or a plug in charger. Li batteries can be charged to near full by just about any charge means as long as occasionally they are topped off properly. Some of the "drop ins" even claim you don't need any charging system mods. I think it's because they know their cells will last long enough for the warranty if kept below full.

I don't have solar but I did add a Victron charger so I can balance two ways now. I have a WFCO converter that has a lithium profile which is "auto detect" enabled but I need to run fatter wires so it will detect the Li, or just change it to a Progressive. The WFCO is mostly hated in the Li world.

Good luck on your isolation issue, you might have a BIS (battery isolation solenoid) or a BIM (battery isolation module) or something like a "Bird" which I know nothing about. Also check for a chassis charger that the PO could have installed, the early ones were called Trick-L-Start but they closed when the owner died but there is another one called Amp-L-Start. They charge your chassis batteries off the house batteries and as long as you are plugged in everything stays charged.

Do you have a Boost switch on the dash?