Swapped out coach batteries, and moved chassis battery

[jeepfamRV]

robval1987 , how hard was it to run the wire inside the wall? Did you get access and drill up from the bottom then just fish the wires down?

This past weekend is the first time dry camping my 2018 Vista 29ve (only 4th time out period) And I noticed the 2 batteries only lasted 12 hours the first day, Ran generator 5 hours, then lasted 3 hours ran generator 3 hours then lasted an hour. I am hoping doing something like this will help then maybe do Solar later. Whats your take now that you have had them in?

[LarryW]

One day and eight hours of generator? Boy, that’s no fun. Please camp far away from me.

[jeepfamRV]

Originally Posted by LarryW

One day and eight hours of generator? Boy, that’s no fun. Please camp far away from me.

Trust me, this RV has been a nightmare. In the shop for warranty more than its been in my possession.

So how did you run the wires? Did you find access from underneath and just fish them through the wall?

[LarryW]

OK, I’ll ask..residential fridge?

[robval1987]

I ran my inverter 1000 watt xantrex for (1 Led tv, dish receiver), then 1, 12 volt Led tv, 2 Led lamps and satellite dish (Winegard G2) for a little over 18 hours when the inverter alarm went off for low battery power and almost 20 hours when the inverter shut off due to low voltage (forgot to see what the volts read on the BMK when that happened). I was impressed with the endurance of the 4, 6 volt batteries compared to the 2, 12 volt batteries. I was averaging about 11.5 amps according to my BMK. I'm sure there are other parasitic drains, when I plugged in the shore power cord I was pulling 13 amps on the battery converter (charger). I haven't figured out if I'm going to put on solar panels (400 watt kit, 4 panels with charge kit) or Magnum Generator Auto Start (I like the feature to set battery voltage, temperature and have a/c's come on for my dogs). Any thoughts

[jeepfamRV]

Originally Posted by LarryW

OK, I’ll ask..residential fridge?

I wish, standard fridge running on propane but still need 12v to activate solenoid.

[robval1987]

When I had initially started this project I meant to add the watering system to the batteries so that maintenance would be that much easier. Well after 2 times of fiddling around with distilled water jug and funnel I was done. Added the Battery Watering Pro System, took all of 20 minutes to install and 2 minutes to fill the batteries. Can't beat this for easy of maintenance, should have finished this job several months ago.*

[4x4van]

I have the same battery meter, and with the backlight turned off, the parasitic draw is so tiny that there is really no need for the switch to turn it off. My RV has sat for more than a month and I've seen (at most) a 0.01v drop in the battery voltage leaving the monitor on.

Nice install; I'm planning on doing the 4-6v battery conversion under the step as well. I will likely move the chassis battery to a new mount behind the front bumper/frame area below my air filter (Workhorse chassis).