Mods/Upgrades while waiting out social distancing . Please share yours.

JeffroNC

@Cbusguy I am thinking about installing a DC-DC charger. Where did you have the Renogy located? Do you still have it?

Verna

@BirdieJane, I love your triple shelf. I bought an expandable shelf that expands to fit both cabinets, but I think your shelf gives better use of the space. Thanks for the idea!

Cbusguy

@JeffroNC. It is in Columbus ohio......I will hang on to it till I verify the victron.   If you are headed to the factory thing in June I may know by then......at that point I may just give it to ya

BirdieJane

@Verna here is one in our friends 2018, different slide idea

Verna

Thank you, @BirdieJane. I have a couple of more days of work on my raised garden beds before I get to tackle this. I appreciate the different way of adding space. 

BirdieJane

@Verna I am working on mine to.

jkjenn

Homebodyatheart said:

Not technical or difficult, but is a great
solution for extra counter space when cooking, needing the sink and also somewhere to set a hot pan. This aluminum rack is silicone coated so hot pans don’t damage it. It rolls up nicely and fits behind the sink. 

Mine came in the mail, today. I loved it so much I am keeping this for my kitchen and ordering one for the T@b! 

Homebodyatheart

@jkjenn , I thought about replacing my wire racks with these. Haven’t done it yet, but the year is young! I’m glad you like them, too! 

WilliamA

Cbusguy said:

@WilliamA   During my initial trips with my battleborn batterys,   I saw that while traveling the batterys were charging at 70 amps and when I stopped to investigate the wiring was warm to the touch........I had invested in a power bastards heavy duty alternator that is capable of 220 amps.

I initially installed a renogy dc to dc converter,  my issue with it is size and the fact is uses fans to cool the unit.    In a nutshell,  the dc to dc converter is a current limited charging and to isolate the trailer battery from the Tow vehicle.   The renogy worked fine it would fully charge my 200 amp hours of lithium as we travelled and never found the need to use the generator we brought with us just in case.     at the end of the summer we didnt bother to bring the generator.

I just recently removed the renogy and installed the victron.    The victron is about half the size and does not have fans to cool the unit.    I have not tested it at this point,  so I cannot review its performance.    in the shop it charges as advertised.

The renogy 20 AMP uses a set of dip switches to setup the output voltage,  the manual is poorly written.     
The victron uses a pot to set the peak output voltage and the max amperage is 18 amps.   

To answer your question directly,  There is a max amperage,   I have watched the current vary through the charge cycle via my shunt.    Now is that a function of the dc to dc or the battleborn bms,  I do not know.

The output voltage can exceed the input voltage,  but keep in mind it will draw more current from the source.

I wired mine through an ignition controlled high duty rated relay and fuse to the battery.    I generally pull the fuse when not traveling with the trailer,  reasons.   

Thanks for the response. I have been reading/youtubing quite a bit about the dc/DC converters. My concern is exactly what you reported: the difference in battery resistance between the two different battery types causing massive overcharging of the tow vehicle battery.  70 amps? Good grief! You'd need a dedicated 4 gauge charging wire (with matching ground!) to handle that kind of power. As you know, but many others may not, lead acid batteries have a much higher internal resistance than their lithium cousins. While both are capable and robust, this means that they don't play well together when hooked into a parallel circuit. When the trailer is attached and both are wired together, the tow vehicle alternator won't be able to tell them apart and will apply output at the highest amperage rate based upon their internal resistance. While that will provide fast charging, it will wildly overcharge the tow vehicle battery at best and quickly ruin it (and probably the alternator) at worst. Victron has some very good videos on the topic. 
Call me a monster shouter, but I worry about the topic enough as it is with my 2 batteries even though they are both of similar chemistry and capacity. I installed a smart battery disconnect in my trailer that shuts off the charge line if the tow vehicle voltage goes below 12.5 volts, essentially isolating the 2 batteries from each other any time the engine is not running. It also limits charging of the trailer battery to 20 amps irrespective of alternator output, reducing the potential charging load on the alternator and preventing overcharging of the tow vehicle battery. 70 Amps dc is a frightful, dangerous amount of potential. That much current will roast any connection that isn't up to the job. 
WilliamA 

Cbusguy

@WilliamA I had upgraded the wiring from the battery through a relay to a 100 amp andersen connector so that aspect was good,   But it still got warm to the touch.      The don't believe the renogy had a low voltage from source cut off.     The victron does for sure as I just read the manual, now ask me what it is?????????

BirdieJane

Here is a video on a van build system that has good information on this topic. It is sponsored by Battle Born Battery’s. It includes equipment and build for solar, DC to DC charging, and while on shore power.
very much inline with needs for our trailer and tow vehicle

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MlwBGM4onmc

JeffroNC

@Cbusguy Thanks. Not sure if we will make it to OH. So do you mount the DC-DC converter in the trailer by the batteries? 

Cbusguy

@JeffroNC That is a good question.  I would probably mount it closer to the Tow vehicle as it will draw more current to boost a sagging voltage.   Mine is in my tongue box with my batterys,  but I have a 320

JeffroNC

@Cbusguy thanks. Ray of Love your RV installed his in the battery bay which was a great distance from the TV battery but he used heavy cables and a big plug at the back of his truck.

Homebodyatheart

Today’s mod- water shut off valve to the toilet. Thank you @Dalehelman for the help and confidence! A very simple mod, and may I never need to use it! 

pthomas745

Not much of a mod, but here goes.  Ten years ago,  I was tent camping with camera equipment that required battery charging and a laptop, and I bought the first of these 35 AH deep cycle batteries.  I connected a small inverter using an alligator clip/12v plug cable.  It worked, but since I had no clue about amp hour use/state of charge/how to monitor a battery, I ruined a couple of batteries.  The battery in the photos was purchased in June 2017, about five months after buying the Tab, when I realized the extra 15 amp hours to supplement the trailer's battery was still useful.  And, thanks to the people here who 'spained battery care to me, this battery is still going strong three years later.  I still prefer my  home-brew portable battery bank over the pricey battery boxes. 

The "mod" is the new Noco cable attached to the battery posts.  The cable was buried deep down in my Amazon wish list.  Much easier than using the alligator clip cable, and much more secure.   I can close the battery box and simply let the plug "dangle" out the side of the box.  If I was a truly bad modder, I would run the cable through a hole in the box attached to a cable gland....maybe someday!

The small inverter is also an upgrade.  I experimented with electric blankets this winter in the trailer and discovered the small 300 watt pure sine wave inverters are fairly inexpensive.  This Bestek 300 watt is less than 50 bucks on Amazon.   The electric blanket experiments were failures, but the little fan I carry to the desert likes the pure sine wave much better.  The inverters can also be plugged into the Tab's 12v plugs if I want to use them that way. 

VictoriaP

After seeing upgrades on another thread, I opted for a semi-permanent protector for my 7 pin plug, and installed it today:

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B01MFFC0IU/

There may be better alternatives out there. This one is relatively easy to install, just a Philips head screwdriver, no drill required. It’s really just a lid of sorts; with no outlet in there for it to plug into, the plug stays put due to the grip on the cable instead. But it looks like it’ll serve the purpose of keeping water out of the plug, and that’s what I wanted.

Sharon_is_SAM

That is better than the rubber cap and and Fist clamp that we currently use.  Amazon - here I come!

Cbusguy

Finally got most of it hooked back up

rh5555

8-Bottle wine rack.

There was this space in our TAB400 which we didn't use effectively.  Now we do!

The bottles slide in on a significant slope that stops them leaping out during hard stops.  To access the bottles by the wall (which are nestled around the window shade bezel) you have to slide out the outer half of the divider:

The View from outside:

Denny16

Nice, but that could be kinda of a warm spot to store wine?  The window areas get hot quickly.
cheers

rh5555

Isn't that what they installed the shade for?  Also our wine isn't that fancy...

Denny16

Yes, but the shade is not supposed be closed in direct sun.  Keep the sun out ofmthe window, and you should be fine. It is still a cool idea.
cheers

ontheroad

maybe if the wine gets too hot there...new shoe storage?...

rh5555

We also live in the land of tall trees and not much sun.  We'll modify the contents if we can ever head south again...

Verna

Well, I had my T@B S Max for over 3 years, and I’ve had my T@B 400 for almost two years, camping full time in the 400 for 18 months. For 5 years I spent 4 to 6 months in Arizona in the winter. I pull my shades down at night and when the sun is beating down. That is the intent of the shades. My windows and shades have suffered no ill effects from being closed in 80*+ in the spring in Arizona and in the 90*+ in the Midwest. 

It is my understanding that the decal on the window indicates that the shades should not be shut during travel due to stress on the blinds. The decal does not indicate to keep the shades open during sunny days. 

And on the second note, @rh5555, I love your wine storage idea, but even with the shade pulled in the porthole storage, it gets extremely warm in there. Cheap wine or not, it’s a big disappointment to open a bottle of wine 🍷 only to discover it has turned to vinegar. Just my
opinion, and I love a glass of red wine🍷😉

By the way, since there are so many differing opinions about the decal, we are reaching out to the manufacturer of the windows to get a definitive answer as to how the blinds should be positioned in sun. I will get back here with their answer. 

Denny16

I got this bulletin from PLASTOFORM, the TaB 400 window source:

”Within these instructions you will be able to find information to most common questions about correct usage of PLASTOFORM Blanca windows. If you can't find the information you need here, please contact us directly on email: blanca@plastoform.si

WHILE DRIVING

When vehicle is in motion all windows must be fully closed.

SUN BLINDS

Never use blind on direct sunlight. If you use the blind on direct sunlight, also for a shorter period, heat will accumulate between window and blind and window will get damaged (will start bending, ballooning...).”

Seems with the window and blinds closed, too much heat can build up in the window panel.
I use a combo of partial blind on lower third and screen shade on upper 2/3rds of window to block some sun and creak window open for air cooling around the window.  

On the small porthole window shade only up 2/3rd, top uncovered to allow air circulation around window.  Seems to work so far.
cheers

Sharon_is_SAM

blanca@plastoform.si   This email was not functional.

Bayliss

Here's a discussion thread on the window sticker.  Essentially, it provides the same info as posted by @Denny16:

https://tab-rv.vanillacommunity.com/discussion/comment/128642#Comment_128642

WilliamA

Denny16 said:

Nice, but that could be kinda of a warm spot to store wine?  The window areas get hot quickly.
cheers

Can't speak for others, but I'd drink it.😎

WilliamA