Best Of
Re: Got quite a few upgrades done this weekend.
Sure thing. The winch was my solution to the same problem I had with the scout troop trailer I kept stored at my house that had all of our gear in it. It was just too heavy to get up and over the bump from alley to parking pad in our backyard. I tried dollys, as well as a fancy trailer valet and they just couldn’t do it. What I came up with was to cement a piece of scrap 4x6 in the ground directly a few feet away from where I wanted the hitch on the trailer to end up resting and bolted a heavy duty 3200lb hand crank winch to it. I attached the hook on the end of the webbing to the chains in the trailer and crank away. Pulls it right up no sweat.Tabaz said:Undertheradar - I know from reading this forum that some of our members might have difficulty maneuvering their rigs into the parking spot at their homes. It might prove helpful to others if you posted more details (and photos) on that winch set-up for others to consider.
Re: Got quite a few upgrades done this weekend.
Haha, good eye! My parking pad in the backyard is on an alley and there’s a good size bump the trailer has to get up and over and doing it solo is next to impossible. The hand crank winch does a great job, once over it I can manually move it into position.Tabaz said:Nice work! BTW, is that a cable winch in the planter?
Re: Some "Out the Window" Views
@RMo I feel you. I should be able to get our 400 out by mid May for our first trip in June. We've been dumped on with snow this month. I've had to clear the trailers roof, rake off the house roof and clear snow away from the windows several times already. But the good news is that the skiing has been fantastic!
Re: LiTime 230Ah batteries show weird voltage after charging
I ended up getting a replacement Multiplus II. This one has a lower leakage current, though still not zero.
I also repeated the discharge test on one of my LiTime batteries: Got 229.3Ah out of a 230Ah rated battery, discharging at 70 Amps. Not complaining... Tomorrow I'll test the other one.
Re: Outdoor Shower Enclosure Mod
OK, got it. We had a very successful car dealership owner in Phoenix named Tex Earnhardt ("This Ain't no Bull"), who showered every day using an outside garden hose regardless of the ambient temperature. BTW, Tex was a tall guy, but could afford a tall indoor shower. Thanks for your responses.
Re: Single or double sway bar?
Are you looking for a weight distribution hitch (WDH) or only anti sway? What you have is probably a WDH. They are only necessary if the weight on your hitch is causing swat. Otherwise the Reese friction sway bar will give you sway protection.
Re: Outdoor Shower Enclosure Mod
... and, curtains cut to size and it works! These are NOT glamour shots...
Re: LiTime 230Ah batteries show weird voltage after charging
elbolillo said:@otr_320 @rh5555 It's fascinating following this thread and your insights. I have learned much about batteries and charging since purchasing our Tab 320 and now Tab 400. I installed 4 100ah BB in our '23 Tab 400 along with a Victron Multiplus 3000w inverter. I was able to purchase the batteries when BB had sales running so that definitely helped with the total cost of purchase. I didn't do exhaustive research on LiFePo4 batteries, but the investigation that I did kept pointing me back to brands like Battleborn. My experience has been very positive. I have consulted with BB technicians to verify my installation and they have always been quick to respond.
I am geeky enough to like to play around with these things on my Tab, however, at the end of the day, I just want to get out and not have to worry about my batteries. We recently took a 13 day trip to Big Bend NP and during that time the lowest the battery bank went down was to 63%. With abundant sunshine and the rooftop solar and a 220w external panel I was able to keep everything running like a champ. This included heavy inverter usage to power our Starlink and keep our electronics charged. To me the peace of mind that comes with this setup is worth the extra cost.
Thanks, @elbolillo!
Can't go wrong with Battleborn--especially 4 of 'em! Paired with your Victron Multiplus 3000, you couldn't ask for better components.
Your trip to Big Bend sounded awesome! That's on our bucket list of places to visit. Agree, it's a great feeling to be self-sustaining in a dry-camping environment--especially when you're able to pull it off with solar alone like you did. Icing on the cake when your system performs so well you almost forget it's there.
We just finished our annual 3 week camping trip to the FL Keys. Unfortunately, only dry camping was available with 11p-7a quiet hours. My wife really wanted access to a/c---24/7. Our DIY 304ah lifepo4 battery pack (slightly larger than one Battleborn battery) and Victron Multiplus II 3000 stepped-up in a big way. Together they powered our Air8 a/c throughout quiet hours with plenty of ah's to spare. During the day, the Multiplus II's power assist/share mode and charger (with its superb power factor!!) allowed us to dial in the perfect load for our little Honda 2200 so it could power the a/c and charge our battery at the same time.
Technology, when it performs well, is the cat's meow!