First Winnie, Third Motorhome 2020 View 24D

[roundtail]

Greetings all!

We're the happy owners of our first Winnebago, a slightly-used 2020 View 24D. Our first unit was a 2021 Renegade Vienna, which we bought new as a 2020, though it was delivered (due to the pandemic delays) as a 2021. We loved that one, and didn't know how good we had it when we decided to "go big" and traded it for a used (but loaded) 2019 Tiffin Allegro 32SA. It would be an understatement to say that I was quickly disillusioned by what I thought was a premier brand in the Tiffin. All RVs need their share of attention, but that Tiffin was nothing but problems (how'd you like to open your battery bay to check the FLA water levels and discover a failing battery box so poorly designed it would've fallen off of the coach on your next trip).

Now those days are gone, and we're looking forward to the Winnebago experience. So far, so good!

 

[Eagle5]

Greetings roundtail,
I guy I worked with at Boeing purchased a Winnebago, and he loved it. He decided he wanted a bigger motorhome, so he too bought a Tiffin. He had many problems with both it, and the dealership, and regretted his decision.
So, you are a 767 fan?
Welcome to the forum.
Eagle5

 

[roundtail]

Thank you for the welcome message, Eagle5.

The only experience I have with the 7-6 is riding in the back. I retired from the airlines via Age 65, and though one of my favorite planes growing up was "the three-holer" 727, ironically I never got to fly a Boeing. A decent cross-section of everything else that carries people, though, from round-dials to state-of-the-art glass graces my certificate instead.

 

[Eagle5]

Well for me, the best solution was to get a Winnebago with Wings; the best of both worlds!
Eagle5

 

[roundtail]

Spaceballs reference. Nice.

 

[fanrgs]

We bought a 1 year-old 2020 Navion 24V (built in fall 2019) to replace our fifth wheel. It came with the factory 200w of solar, two LiFePO4 batteries, and the factory 2kw inverter-charger. I added another 300w of solar, so we can now run the induction cooktop, conv-microwave, toaster, Keurig, and 12v fridge when dry camping and boondocking without using the generator. The generator has 19 total run-hours, one hour of which was while camping. The rest are from periodically exercising it while parked at home.

The 24V fits in any national park campsite, crowded Walmart parking lot, or Flying J overnight RV parking space. It is fully accessible without opening the slide and gets 14-15 mpg. We have always been "travelers", not "campers", so the size, latest M-B safety features, 7-speed transmission, comfort, and quick set-up fit our lifestyle perfectly. And the best part is that my wife feels perfectly comfortable driving it, which was never the case when towing our fifth wheel or older travel trailer. FYI, we don't have a toad; we haul our E-bikes on a cargo carrier.

 

[cthiggy]

fanrgs, We also have a 2020 Navion 24V which i truly enjoy. But unlike you, we only have 200 watts of solar with LiFeP04 batteries under the entrance steps.

Question is: How did you add 300 watts solar to the stock panels?? I.e., what other changes to the electrical system did you make?? 500 Watts seems like a lot. I want to do something similar, but have not sorted out the way forward.
Thanks,
cthiggy
Grumman AA5B Tiger
Cessna 170B
Great Lakes 2T-1A-2 Biplane

 

[fanrgs]

The factory-installed 30A Zamp controller can handle 600w of 12v solar panels--150w of panels for each of the 4 ports (3 in the rooftop gland and 1 in the power cord bay). If each 150w panel outputs a theoretical 7.5A, the total is 30A. But in real life, the panels never provide the full amps, no matter how much sun you have, even here in Colorado with 300 days of sun each year! So, the total is always <30A, which is not a problem for the Zamp.

The way I added more panels was to leave the two 100w factory panels in place. I then added one 100w and one 50w flexible panel connected in series plugged into the 3rd port in the roof gland. Finally, I have 100w and 50w portable panels connected in series that I plug into the power cord bay port whenever I am camped in the shade or during low sun-angle snowbirding in the SW US. So, I have 350w on the roof and 150w of portable, making 500w total.

I made no changes to the rest of the factory installation except to change some of the default settings on the inverter controller to get a higher charge voltage for the Li batteries. However, I recently bought a Victron 12v-24v MPPT controller to hopefully increase the efficiency and get more amps from the same amount of sun. If I see an 10% or so increase from the MPPT, I may increase the panels by changing to a 24v panel system. I would get 600w by plugging the two factory panels in series into one rooftop port, the two newer 100w panels in series into the second rooftop port, and a new 24v, 200w panel into the third rooftop port. Then, in shade or low sun-angle conditions, I could plug the two 50w panels in series into the power cord port for some extra boost.

Just the current system--300w of added panels, connecting cables, marine adhesive, etc.--has cost me about $375. I bought the rigid portable panels and all their connecting cables at Harbor Freight and was amazed at the great amperage I got in my initial testing. The 100w and 50w flexible panels that I added to the roof came from Amazon, with free shipping. The Victron controller, with Bluetooth for cell phone monitoring, also came from Amazon but is not included in that cost. It is not yet installed (snow all this week!), but I hope to get it done before summer camping begins in late June.

Hope this helps. We have really enjoyed our 24V. Now, in my 80th year, I really appreciate those twin beds for the requisite 2:00 AM bathroom visit. And not having to unhook, set up, level, tear down, and hook up the fifth wheel for every 2-day stop is just the frosting on the cake. Toward the end, we didn't even unhook the fifth wheel or open the slides if it was just an overnight stop. With the MH, we can park, fix dinner, catch up on E-mails, and go to bed wirhout even opening the door or going out into the weather. Who needs hookups when the alternator and solar panels keep those wonderful Li batteries charged every day!

 

[cthiggy]

Fangrs,

You are a scholar and a gentleman. Excellent description of a great modification.

Mannny thanks for taking the time to write that.
cthiggy

 

[fanrgs]

What I haven't mentioned is that we now also have 12vdc "air conditioning". Our 3 year-old Coleman Mach AC-heat pump had a meltdown, after the warranty expired of course! The 120vac wires melted on the the terminal block inside the control box, apparently due to a loose connection. No fire, fortunately, despite no breaker tripping. But they don't sell just a new terminal block, so you must buy the entire control box for >$200 + installation (I wasn't about to replace it myself because I wanted a warranty). After seeing that melted wiring, I would also not repair it without adding a $280 SoftStart device. After adding up all those costs, I decided to remove the compressor AC unit completely.

I ordered a $650 TurboKool evaporative cooler that is a 60# lighter, drop-in replacement unit that requires a 12vdc connection and a water line. I did all the work myself in a couple of days and it works well in the semi-arid, very low humidity SW where we live and RV. And it's not like it was new technology for me because I installed a 6,500 cfm "swamp cooler" on the roof of our current house 48 years ago. I have had to replace it a couple of times since, but it has been our only cooling system in summers that reach 100 degrees (but only 25% max. humidity at those temps).

Moral of the story: open up your AC control box and tighten all the 120vac wires to the terminal block! And add one more item to your annual spring checklist: "tighten AC wiring connections".

PS: we can now run our "AC" off the Li batteries on hot afternoons, with the 5A that the blower uses being provided entirely by the solar panels!