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Old 05-02-2018, 08:44 PM   #1
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Lightbulb Swapped out coach batteries, and moved chassis battery

I know this is not a new thread and somewhere I've read of others changing out their 2 12 volt coach batteries for 4 6 volt batteries giving us more run time. My 12 volt deep cycle battery has 25 amps at 105 minutes, the new 6 volts have 75 amps at 120 minutes. From what I gather you can determine your time my multiplying your 4 batteries (120x4=480 minutes) and figure your amp draw per hour (mine averaged between 7 and 10 amps per hour), being conservative with the power that figures out to be 48 hours of run time. I figure I can even stretch that out further with a couple of solar panels. Anyone good with solar panels, give me a shout out. So as you look at the pics you will notice no Chassis Battery, I purchased a Red Top Optima (1000 cranking amps with 5 year warranty) and placed it in the storage compartment just in front of door right next to the stairs. I drilled a 1 1/4 hole thru the back of the storage compartment and placed a pvc coupler in (to protect the cables from being cut) and pulled in the the wires for the Chassis Battery, after the install I used sealant to keep out water. Installing the 6 volts was pretty easy, I cut a piece of pressure treated 2x2 and placed at the rear of battery box and secured it with 2 2 1/4 inch self tapping screws, placed all 4 batteries in and wedged a piece of 9 in long 3/8 fuel line between each battery and along the sides of the battery box (I used a wooden yard stick to push down the hoses between batteries), I then cut one more piece of 2x2 and painted it black and placed it on the front side of the batteries. I then used a pry bar and pulled the 2x2 toward the batteries and secured with 2 more screws. I then began wiring the batteries together (cut to fit wiring and color coded each end, I also left the battery caps on to help with + & -, secured with sealant so they just won't fall off). I plan on using a piece or 2 of all thread covered with either rubber hose or pex line to secure across the edges of the batteries thru the battery box and use lock nuts to hold all thread so they won't bounce up, they are tight and won't move side to side or back and forth (they are held quit tight), but I want to ensure they can't bounce (you know some road a ruthless on our RV's). As you can see in the photos there should be plenty of air moving in and around the batteries. I am running a 75 amp inverter charger (was added when i upgraded from 30 amp service to 50 amp service). I'll updated with more photos as I finish up this project.
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Old 05-03-2018, 06:39 AM   #2
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About your calculations, remember you can only safely draw 50% of the rated amps. Drawing more than 50% can seriously damage the battery.

If your new battery bank is rated at 300 amps total (75 X 4) you can plan on using 150 amps between charges at most.

Have you installed a shunt and a battery monitor? This will keep track of all amps in and out of your battery bank.

Solar is pretty easy and there are lots of threads about it. I found a lot of good YouTube videos on RV solar that are a good place to start the learning process.

We have 4-12v AGM batteries rated at 100 amps each. I have 300 watts of solar panels, too. We have a residential fridge that runs off of our 2,000 watt inverter. We can run the fridge for about a day maybe a bit longer depending on a huge number of variables - ie sun, other loads, etc. We don’t boondock much, so it’s never been a problem.

Our RV came with most of this stuff because of the residential fridge. I just added an extra 200 watts of solar panels.
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Old 05-03-2018, 07:15 AM   #3
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Thanks for the nice write-up and clear pictures. I'm deciding if I want to do something similar.
1. Do you also have pictures of the relocated chassis battery?
2. Did you put the chassis battery in it's own battery box or what?
3. Do you already have a battery monitor installed somewhere? If so which one?
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Old 05-03-2018, 04:40 PM   #4
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Lightbulb

Here are the pics of the chassis battery, I need to paint the white pvc coupler and fill with sealant, other than that mod complete. I did shorten the 2 positive cables and made them the same length and I had to make a new ground cable as the original was about 4 inches to short, and I finished up by re-zip tied the wires under the coach.
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Old 05-03-2018, 08:17 PM   #5
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That looks very professional! You really did a great job. The PVC fitting through the metal is a great idea, and I’ve got loads of them on hand, so I’ll do the same. I’m still curious if you added a battery monitor?
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Old 05-04-2018, 08:26 AM   #6
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Lightbulb

I decided to add a BMK (battery monitor kit), so that I could know what the battery life is as well as amps being drawn off them. I will update post once it is installed. Connection is pretty straight forward, install shunt (in line on negative terminal) of house battery, use 18/4 wire (Lowes about .22 cents a foot) from shunt to display, I need about 12 feet as I want the display with all my other house controls. I will run wire today as my BMK will not be in till tomorrow. I am also considering mounting the display in a blank wall face plate (Lowes under 2 dollars for a black one) this way I don't have to worry about messing up the hole in my wall (allows for error room). I'll attached a pic of BMK that I ordered, it came with alot of good reviews and came highly recommended.
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Old 05-04-2018, 11:55 AM   #7
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Will 100 amp shunt be large enough for your 300 amp battery bank? I don't know the answer to this, just conjecturing.
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Old 05-04-2018, 12:14 PM   #8
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Lightbulb

You know I thought the same thing, but after reading alot of the reviews I seemed to be okay. I did read where one individual said that his biggest 12 volt large amp draw was his Generator starting (at 97 amps). There was one guy that said he had to move up in shunt size, but didn't state how big. I figured that once I installed it I would disconnect shore power and turn on everything possible that's 12 volts and get an idea of the amp draw, then even possibly try and start my Generator and see what happens.
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Old 05-08-2018, 06:02 AM   #9
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Lightbulb

I did some work on the batteries, I used a piece of 7/16 all thread with a left over piece of 1/2 pex water line. I drilled a hole on each side ran the all thread through each side and used a fender wash, lock washer and nut to secure the batteries down. I then took 2, 5/8s clamps and mounted the 100 amp shunt to the pex covered all thread then rewired the grounds. I was able to use 4 alligator jumper leads and temporarily hook up the meter. I then checked the readings with 2 different multi meters and all 3 were almost exactly the same + or - .1 to .2 volts and amps drawn. I did mount the guage directly in the wall below my slide out switches (did not use a wall plate as stated in earlier thread, would not fit like I wanted) I dId have to shave down the side clips 1/8 of an inch to secure in the wall tightly. I did start my Generator (5.5 Onan) and observed it pull approximately 72 amps, I did this several times along with my inverter on as I ran everything that was 12 volts that I could think of turned (all lights, water pump, 2 Fantastic Fans, stereo and the inverter with both tv's and Satellite receiver's and blue ray player) and I never pulled over 89 amps with all that and starting the generator. I doubt that this scenario would ever be real world, but if so I know I can draw up to 89 amps. This test was also run with the chassis battery unhooked so I could insure that it wasn't drawing any power other then the house batteries. Here are a few pics, more once I've ran wire from guage to shunt and it's operating.
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Old 05-08-2018, 10:39 AM   #10
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Lightbulb

Finally found a place to get the wire pulled through for the battery meter to the shunt. Connected the wires an ran a final test, when ever the RV engine is running, Generator is running or plugged in to Shore Power the current on the gauge and power read 000's, but it does show the voltage from outside power and energy is always counting from the time you hook up the positive on the battery. It does stop counting when engine, gene8rator or shore power is on. I think I am going to have to put a small black rocker switch next to the gauge to the positive wire to turn it off when in storage, or it would become a perasetic drain to the battery (any thoughts would be appreciated).
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Old 05-09-2018, 02:47 AM   #11
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What if you were install a blade disconnect in the battery's positive cable to prevent the parasitic drain?
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Old 05-09-2018, 11:53 AM   #12
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I am considering a BMK and asked the dealer for a quote (2018 vista 35f). They told me they need to install a controller in addition to the BMK and $1500 to do the job. Do I really need a controller?
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Old 05-09-2018, 01:37 PM   #13
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Lightbulb

If all you want to do is be able to monitor your house batteries then you can just buy the BMK that I posted (go to Amazon look at the reviews, or pick a different kind if you like) and install it your self. It took me under a hour to cut the hole in the paneling where all my other house controls are, run the wire (that the hardest part) but for me it was easy as I already knew where to run my wires, and the mount the shunt. Most people just connect the shunt directly to the negative post then reconnect the ground to the shunt. Then just connect the wires to the monitor to the shunt. No need for a dealer and definitely no need for a controller as all your doing is monitoring your batteries. If you run into any problems shoot me a message and I'll give you my phone number and I can help you out, it's to easy, don't let the stealership rip you off.
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Old 05-10-2018, 09:37 AM   #14
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Lightbulb

Added in a rocker switch on/off only to the positive wire then to the BMK so I could turn it on when needed and off when not needed (like in storage mode). I placed it right next to the guage and labeled it so that their wasn't any confusion. I also replaced the warning label to the slides, but put it above the slide out rockers due to space below them.
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Old 05-10-2018, 04:03 PM   #15
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This is brilliant, we have Vista 29 and I was trying to figure out where to put 2 more batteries. I didn’t even think of moving the chassis battery and swapping it out with an Optima battery that can go anywhere. I’m going to save this for when we are ready to do this. Thanks for sharing.
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Old 05-17-2018, 09:12 PM   #16
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i'm working on doing the exact same thing....why do you have 2 red cable on your chassis battery?
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Old 05-17-2018, 09:29 PM   #17
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Lightbulb

I am assuming it has to do with either momentary switch on the dash (when it ties your coach and chassis batteries together) for a dead battery, or it is the charging line, I've noticed that my chassis battery is being charged when it is on shore power, generator running as well as when the main engine is running. And lastly that's how it was before I started the mod and I put all cables back where I got them, with the exception of the 2 jumpers that I made that go between each set of 6 volt batteries turning them into 12 volts.
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Old 05-18-2018, 07:58 AM   #18
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You really did a nice job on this installation. I like that you can switch the meter off when it's not needed. I'm curious how much energy the meter itself uses, but I imagine it's not much. Two questions.
1. Can you turn off the meter backlight?
2. What tool(s) did you use for cutting those perfect, very professional looking holes which the meter and switch are mounted in??
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Old 05-18-2018, 08:58 AM   #19
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Lightbulb

I bet it's like milli amps, and yes you can turn off the blue back light if you don't want it on, there is a small button on the right side of the screen bezel (recessed in so you need a pen or toothpick to turn the back light on or off). And to cut the holes I used a utility knife with a new blade (your only cutting through 1/8 paneling), I drew it out in pencil then to insure it was centered and it was were I wanted it, I then used the utility knife and followed the lines several times till it cut through the panel. I did shave off a 1/16 to an 1/8 of an inch of the mounting clips on the side of the meter so that they would spring open on the back side of the panel and prevent it from popping back out. The switch was installed the same way, then I took my label maker and did the labeling to make it look more professional and assist those who don't know what the switch is for. I also replaced the slide warning label (just for safety reasons).
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Old 05-19-2018, 07:16 PM   #20
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“I figure I can even stretch that out further with a couple of solar panels.”

Why denigrate solar? The proper solar system for your camping style coupled with an adequate battery bank doesn’t “stretch” anything. It recharges your batteries fully...fully every day the sun shines. Thus eliminating any generator use.
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