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  1. #11
    Seasoned Camper
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    Sep 2022
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    One caveat I should have mentioned with this design is that the batteries being tied in directly at the converter means the factory battery disconnect switch in the pass-through no longer serves its original purpose. It needs to be left in the "on" position in order to feed power forward to the few items which, in the original configuration, are powered ahead of the switch. The breaker I have between the battery and converter acts as the battery disconnect, and truly kills all power to the coach while it is sitting in storage. When in use or on the road, the battery breaker and factory disconnect switch must both be on in order to power essential systems. You can decide if you like this or not.
    2023 Imagine XLS 22MLE

  2. #12
    Site Team Ynot4me2's Avatar
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    Mar 2020
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    ON & QC Canada
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    Quote Originally Posted by Harvestmoon View Post
    One caveat I should have mentioned with this design is that the batteries being tied in directly at the converter means the factory battery disconnect switch in the pass-through no longer serves its original purpose. It needs to be left in the "on" position in order to feed power forward to the few items which, in the original configuration, are powered ahead of the switch. The breaker I have between the battery and converter acts as the battery disconnect, and truly kills all power to the coach while it is sitting in storage. When in use or on the road, the battery breaker and factory disconnect switch must both be on in order to power essential systems. You can decide if you like this or not.
    IMO, that factory battery disconnect is more of a pain than it is useful. On my current setup, I added a true disconnect right at the battery, similar to the breaker you added. I don't even touch the original disconnect. The DIY battery that I'm currently working on will also have a disconnect right at the battery. If ever I have a need to go behind the panel where the factory one is, I will remove it.
    Steph & Lise
    2019 F150 Lariat 2.7 EB
    2020 Imagine XLS 22MLE

  3. #13
    Seasoned Camper
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    Sep 2022
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    As an update to this, we had the camper out for the first trip of the season and the first trip since the electrical upgrades. We had an electric site but unplugged for half a day, and I also turned off the solar panel to see how fast we would use power. We ended up averaging about 2.5 amps running the fridge and not much else. So this would be about 60Ah per day, although that is probably on the low end since it was a cool, overcast day, so the fridge wasn't working super hard. The next day, the sun was out and I turned the solar panels on, and had no trouble charging the batteries back to full. Very happy with how everything worked.
    2023 Imagine XLS 22MLE

  4. #14
    Seasoned Camper
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    Sep 2022
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    Wisconsin
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    Reporting back on our experience during a 9 day trip off grid. Typically saw about 50Ah used in the overnight hours when solar was not producing. On days of full sun we were charged back to full by late afternoon. We had some partly cloudy days where the solar was more or less keeping up with the demand during the day but did not have enough excess to charge all the way to 100 percent before the sun went down again. After a couple of days of slowly loosing ground, getting down to around 60 percent remaining, we had some hot days when we were running the generator for a/c anyway so I "cheated" and charged for a few hours from the generator. All in all happy with the performance and works perfect for our application. If you wanted to go completely no-generator and allow for multiple days of less than idea solar conditions, probably would need more than the 2x165W panels that we have.
    2023 Imagine XLS 22MLE

  5. #15
    Setting Up Camp
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    Nov 2020
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    San Jose, CA
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    I've got a 2021 22MLE and I've been considering a solar install and alternator charging from the TV.

    I stumbled across this YT video by a guy who does a ton of YT vids on camper solar installs.

    I thought it was very well done, and it's done to a 22MLE!

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KM_8s4cTjWA

    Enjoy -

    Bill

  6. #16
    Site Team Ynot4me2's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Billh662 View Post
    I've got a 2021 22MLE and I've been considering a solar install and alternator charging from the TV.

    I stumbled across this YT video by a guy who does a ton of YT vids on camper solar installs.

    I thought it was very well done, and it's done to a 22MLE!

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KM_8s4cTjWA

    Enjoy -

    Bill
    I just watched the for few minutes (running out of time this morning), and it pretty much looks like what I have invisioned my last step would look like. I can't wait to watch the rest tonight. Thanks for sharing.
    Steph & Lise
    2019 F150 Lariat 2.7 EB
    2020 Imagine XLS 22MLE

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