Greetings - New Member with 1997 Winnebago Adventurer

[zeus-WO]

Hi All, new member here, and 1st-time motorhome owner (a new-to-me '97 Winnebago Adventurer Class A 34 ft/single-slide with Ford 460 chassis).

I've a fairly decent mechanical background but, being new to motorhomes, will likely have more questions to ask than answers to give for the first little while.

Upcoming project is to convert my stock 4 x 6V house battery system to accommodate the four 12.8V 100Ah LiFePO4 self-heating ones I've recently purchased. This of course will involve several peripheral components, so I'll be searching this forum for threads by those who may have gone before as this is no small undertaking.

Looking forward to interacting with all of you. Cheers, B.

 

[Eagle5]

Greetings zeus,
In reviewing the brochure for your 34' long 1997 Adventurer, it looks like you have the 34DQ floor plan (pictured below.) Considering your moniker of zeus, might I suggest The Thunderbolt Grease-Slapper as a possible name for your motorhome?
Welcome to the forum.
Eagle5

 

[zeus-WO]

LOL. thanks Eagle, I'll consider it.... ok, done. (Decided not to go with that one. Instead I chose Miss Appropriation-Of-Funds). The zeus moniker is in reference to the fact that I'm an old geezer.

The pic does indeed look like mine, right down to the exterior color scheme. Gets a whopping (measured) 8.65 miles per imperial gallon. (about 8 per US gallon).

 

[creativepart]

While there are many of us that have completed the switch to LFP batteries, I seriously doubt that you’ll find others that have done so on such a “vintage” coach.

On one hand the process is pretty much the same on all RVs, however the exact specifics for your older model is not something others have already documented.

Changing out the Converter should be a first step and fairly straight forward. Determining the alternator charging system’s details might be more difficult because Winnebago doesn’t provide as much detailed info on RVs from the 90’s. So you very well be blazing a new trail in this process.

Best of luck and keep us informed as you complete the process.

 

[zeus-WO]

Thanks for the feedback. And yes, I'd already determined that this older unit was going to require some creativity. (Aside from some decal weathering it's in decent shape with low mileage so well worth the swap).

But going to LiFePO4 batteries up here in Alberta (and also considering that we may in the future take the RV out of storage a time or three during the winter months - where temps can plunge as low as -40 on occasion) we will need to have those batteries mounted INDOORS, ie: somewhere in the living space where they can a) be kept above -4F and b) easily removed and brought home when the rig is in storage. That location is likely to be in the storage area under the queen bed at the back of the unit - with heat ducting routed into the bay. This of course will require longer wiring harnesses and corresponding heavier-gage cables.

This is a project I'll likely tackle in the late winter and early spring but once completed I'll post an update and schematics for those with older Class A rigs to reference. Added benefits would be for potential buyers of older rigs at selling time:
1. with many camp grounds refusing entry for older rigs it's nice to know the unit with the LFP batteries and solar panels is capable of boon-docking for more than a day or two.
2. Some folks (however wise or not) are actually living in these things year-round (and some of those have no choice). With the help of diesel heaters, skirting and de-humidifiers they're able to pull this off. Finding a unit on Marketplace that's already set up for such questionable endeavors would be a welcome surprise - and one that could certainly offer some return on investment to the seller.