LiTime 230AH Lithium Battery Install in 2021 Tab 320BD

immanence

Hi folks,

Making a separate thread for the final install, but the journey started here: https://tab-rv.vanillacommunity.com/discussion/17897/replacing-agm-with-lithium-in-2021-tab320-bd/p1

Lot's of parts buying and returning in those threads! But here is what the end product looks like. I still need to clean up my front tub and connect a solar port up there for my suitcase. Thanks to everyone in the previous thread for helping, and particularly @Yoshi_TAB and @pthomas745 for answering questions as they came along.

The Battery:

I put in a LiTime 230ah battery and installed it in the rear passenger side by the AIR8 AC unit. This was an unused space for me, and the battery fits perfectly. As you can see, there is a little wiring harness down there - the angle makes this look closer than it actually is though. I had room to screw some brackets in on both sides for battery straps. I crisscrossed them, so the battery doesn't move in any direction. 

I also installed the Victron Smart Shunt here to monitor battery levels. All the wiring used pre-existing holes, which you can see going out to the right here. There is still a little storage space to the left of the battery, but I'm not sure what I'd put here. Tools or spare parts that you don't need often would probably be a good choice. 



Here we have the positive/negative passing through. Not much going on. I'll just include it if anyone is curious about where to run wires.



Here the positive/negative come into the WFCO compartment, which is next to the bathroom on the 320. I put a 30amp in-line fuse here, which you can see at the top. The negative goes straight into the grounding bar, which is hidden beneath that AC duct, but you can see a bunch of white wires going into it.




The Busbar and Switch:

This is where the biggest changes were made. I put the switch to the right of the CO2 detector, and a small LED right below it.

The busbar has lines to:

• The battery
• The new switch
• The MPPT solar controller (from VBATT+) - with 30 amp fuse
• A line to the front tub (connected to the old switch) - with 30 amp fuse
• To the junction box in the front of the trailer (black wire... I... ran out of my red wire)

The LED is connected to the line that goes out to the junction terminal and the grounding bar. This is a tip from @yosh@Yoshi_TAB - the idea is if that light is out you should be concerned about power to your trailer brakes.



Here is what that looks like from the front:



And here is a shot with the seat down, because I think the switch looks very clean right there when the leg of the seat comes down.



I think that's it for now. I still need to clean up the wiring in the front tub, and I need to buy a new solar input port, because the one I have is installed in the side of the front tub, but I added additional tubs in the front. Once I clean that out, I'll have a ton more space, and I'm hoping my Honda EU2200i will fit in there... but it looks like that would be a tight fit... Excited to check out the new tongue weight too. Hope it isn't too light now!

Yoshi_TAB

Hi @immanence,

Very nice and clean install.  Well done.

One question..I'm probably just forgetting, but what is the difference between these two?  I thought there was only one positive wire going from inside the TAB to the outside.

immanence

@Yoshi_TAB there is the #6 that (used to) go into the WFCO. Then there is the vbatt+ from the MPPT that used to go back to the battery in the tub. The former goes to the junction, while the latter went straight to the battery. Does that sound correct?

Yoshi_TAB

Ahh..that' s right...the wording in the second sentance was a bit fuzzy to me that it was the wire that ran to the front from the solar controller.

manyman297

@immanence
Awesome upgrade! Keep us posted how the LiTime holds up. I'm interested in using this exact battery in our 2021 400 as I believe our stock AGMs are starting to age.

rickpool

@immanence - Great job and thanks for posting these details for others.  I am just wrapping up my own very similar install based on @Yoshi_TAB and your threads, and have 3 questions for you (or anyone else who has solved the same):

1. What is the best way to mount the battery straps?  I screwed mine into the floor but am a little worried they could pull out over time with some bouncing around.  I’m am not sure what is beneath the floor and whether to use longer screws or to build a mounting platform that I could affix with more screws.  Any thoughts on this?

2. I am planning on splicing the old MPPT positive directly to the Aux Solar Input in the tub (which will connect it directly to the positive bus bar), whereas you mentioned hooking this to your old on-off switch.  Is there a reason to retain the old on-off switch that I am not thinking about?

3. What did you do with the old battery connects in the tub (that go to the junction box)?  Is there at reason to retain these for future use (e.g. dc-dc charger)?

Yoshi_TAB

Hi,

1,  I used these for battery hold downs.  They have places for 4 screws for each tray.  I used the same length screw as is used for the Air8 brackets.  I've driven about 12000 miles so far and have remained tight.  Amazon.com: Camco Camper/RV Standard Battery Hold-Down Tray | Holds 24/24M Automotive Batteries | Fits Batteries Up to 11 1/8" L x 6 ¾" W x 8" H (55394) : Automotive  I put a dab of caulk on the screw threads to act as a "loctite".

2.  I tied both the Aux. and MPPT solar positive wires into the positve bus bars.  I left the old switch just in case I wanted it  for some unknown future need.

3.  I capped off the extra battery connects that go to the junction box.  I don't see why you couldn't use it for a future DC/DC charger install.  Just need to line up the charger max. current with 10AWG size wiring.

Lets see some pictures when your done...