Pulled the Trigger - Do I Need 2 Batteries

[FlyStar]

Agree with powercol. See if you can get em to add the second battery. You will be more at peace with two on that cold night where you ended up at a Walmart for who knows why.

[masterdrago]

Would a single 100Ah Lithium be a good alternative to push for. If the converter will correctly maintain a Lithium, I'll push for that even though they will surely not include a $900 Battle Born in the deal. I can always ask. Since we will not dry camp, will only one work. Also, charging while running down the road from the truck alternator - will that even be good as the truck batteries are lead acid AGM type, not LiFePO4.

[masterdrago]

Also I need to consider how the charge controller of the 185 watt solar panel deal with battery type. Lots to deal with. But the idea of a much lighter 100Ah battery makes sense to me.

[Second Chance]

Would a single 100Ah Lithium be a good alternative to push for. If the converter will correctly maintain a Lithium, I'll push for that even though they will surely not include a $900 Battle Born in the deal. I can always ask. Since we will not dry camp, will only one work. Also, charging while running down the road from the truck alternator - will that even be good as the truck batteries are lead acid AGM type, not LiFePO4.

Also I need to consider how the charge controller of the 185 watt solar panel deal with battery type. Lots to deal with. But the idea of a much lighter 100Ah battery makes sense to me.

A 100Ah LiFePO4 battery would give you a lot more useable energy than a 100Ah lead-acid battery, for sure. As far as I know, all MPPT solar charge controllers can be set for lead-acid, AGM, and lithium.

Rob

[masterdrago]

Thanks Rob. I'll check this morning on that. Excellent.

[masterdrago]

This Lithium, solar, etc thing has gotten me down a completely different rabbit hole. Need to head to more forum threads to understand the relationship between the different sources of keeping the battery charged (truck alternator/regulator, converter, & solar panel/controller). Looks like a bundle of wiring circuits I want to understand. Yikes!

[masterdrago]

I got a look at the converter model# and looked up specs. They claim automatic detection of both LiFePO4 and lead acid batteries. Forgot to check the solar charge controller but betting it is the MPPT type.

[masterdrago]

Confirmed the MPPT this afternoon when I went by to take some last minute measurements to see if the umbilical would need an extension with the PP3 hitch. I also sprung for the LiFePO4 battery. With tax and installation, $900+coins!! The joke was that they wanted to charge installation as they had already installed the wet cell for my PDI. I got them to get me two MaxxFan 4 speed rain sensing remote control reversing models for near AMZN pricing. I did have to pay labor of ~1hr each. Saved me getting up and peeling the goo.

[JNel182]

Congrats on the new trailer! Interesting that the trailer only came with one battery. Our 2022 297QB had one installed for PDI, but when we pressed the dealer about it, they did say the trailers that are equipped with the 12VDC fridge and solar have a 2x 12V battery allowance. No hassle getting the 2nd one thrown on.

Not the best batteries in the world, but they sure do the job for now. Will look into better batteries in the future. When we are getting packed up, I turn the fridge on 2 days prior to loading it, and with the solar package, the batteries still read full.

As well, the solar charge controller does have a few different battery-type options, so you should be covered no matter what batteries you get.

** Not battery related, but One thing to check as soon as you are hooked up to water: if you have an outdoor quick connect spray port, check the water line connection to it in the trailer (ours is under the dinette bench). They used the cheapest connectors. We found that out the hard way with a small pond in our brand new trailer the first weekend out with it! We caught it quickly so no damage, but don’t hook the water up and walk away without a thorough check!

-Jeff

[tompotts]

Thanks Steve and Sheryl. Our guy at the dealer mentioned the Lithium and I've read about them for a year or so. Do you know if the converter will indeed charge a Lithium? The one in our Montana would not. A single Lithium might be a good upgrade if the converter will, as they are less weight and can be drawn down farther.

Stephen & Judy, I had not even considered the 12vdc reefer. My suspicion is that the truck charging system would keep the single el cheapo battery up during a half day travel. Not sure though.

Check your converter. My 2022 XLS 17MKE came with a converter that charges Lithium. If the converter part number ends with AD it means Auto Detect and has a lithium battery charging profile.