Got quite a few upgrades done this weekend.

Undertheradar

Good weekend getting some much needed improvements made on our new ‘15 320:

Wired in a 3-position battery cutoff/switch and a smart Bluetooth shunt so I can monitor the battery levels, and replaced the old “shortstop” breaker with a resettable 30a unit.  

I also had a brand new 100Ah AGM battery sitting around from a solar project a few years ago and decided to put it to use in the empty generator box the previous owner had installed.  It’s wired to the second position on the cutoff so if the main battery gets too low, I can easily switch over to the backup.  Added an SAE plug to it as well so I can charge it with the new Renogy 100w suitcase panel.  

Ditched the old elevator style table base and installed a Laguna assembly which I remounted the old top onto.  Holy heck did that make the table 10x more functional!

Last but not least:  I installed a fan in the output vent for the fridge.  On our first trip we noticed the bag of groceries we had sitting on the counter were getting really warm.  Read about the issues with the early models not having the fan, so I added one.  Not too difficult and it really moves some air!

 

AnOldUR

 

Sharon_is_SAM

@AnOldUR - I think he has a solar port connected directly to the battery to charge via a suitcase. 

AnOldUR

 

Undertheradar

AnOldUR said:

Productive weekend! Looks good, but I have an observation. It looks like one of your negative leads is connected directly to the battery rather than going through the shunt. Solar? Am I seeing it incorrectly?

Correct…there’s a negative from the solar port as well as the one coming from the backup battery.  Don’t want either going through the shunt.  👍

Tabaz

Nice work!  BTW, is that a cable winch in the planter?

AnOldUR

 

SLJ

Undertheradar said:

AnOldUR said:

Productive weekend! Looks good, but I have an observation. It looks like one of your negative leads is connected directly to the battery rather than going through the shunt. Solar? Am I seeing it incorrectly?

Correct…there’s a negative from the solar port as well as the one coming from the backup battery.  Don’t want either going through the shunt.  👍

The shunt won't give an accurate reading unless it is the only thing connected to the negative battery post. If you charge using the solar port the shunt won't sense any charging and you won't know the state of charge in the battery. It won't be accurate for the second battery and will make the first battery's reading inaccurate so you might as well connect the second battery after the shunt also.

Undertheradar

Tabaz said:

Nice work!  BTW, is that a cable winch in the planter?

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.  

Undertheradar

SLJ said:

Undertheradar said:

AnOldUR said:

Productive weekend! Looks good, but I have an observation. It looks like one of your negative leads is connected directly to the battery rather than going through the shunt. Solar? Am I seeing it incorrectly?

Correct…there’s a negative from the solar port as well as the one coming from the backup battery.  Don’t want either going through the shunt.  👍

The shunt won't give an accurate reading unless it is the only thing connected to the negative battery post. If you charge using the solar port the shunt won't sense any charging and you won't know the state of charge in the battery. It won't be accurate for the second battery and will make the first battery's reading inaccurate so you might as well connect the second battery after the shunt also.

Yeah, I realized that after wiring it up.  I’m going to put another breaker on the negative line from the second battery so I can isolate it from the shunt.  May get a second shut to install on that battery if I find that we actually need to use it on a regular basis. 

Tabaz

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. 

Undertheradar

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. 

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.

Sharon_is_SAM

Brilliant!  Thanks for sharing.