Dumb questions about moving to Lithium

dluck

Hi, 
We have a 2021 320 CS-S. I want to move to a lithium battery so I can run the fridge when boondocking (tried that last year with the stock battery and it wouldn't last through the night). I was looking at this one: LiTime 12V 140Ah Bluetooth Lithium Deep Cycle Battery for RV – LiTime-US

We have the Victron SmartSolar MPPT 75/10, and I understand I'll need to change some of the settings in the app. I've read on here about all sorts of other things people are adding/doing, but do I *need* to do those? Can I just swap the battery out, change the Victron app settings, and be good to go?
I read somewhere about needing something to protect your truck battery if you're charging through the 7-pin - is that true?

Thanks,
DeAnne

Grumpy_G

You can just swap out the battery, change the charge controller settings and call it a day. There are a number of things people do in addition to that like add a DC-DC converter between the tow vehicle and the trailer battery to help charging while driving but that is not required. Even more so if you have a solar panel on the roof that can charge during the day while moving. 
Modern automotive charging systems can reach 14.4V so back feeding from the trailer does not subject the tow vehicle battery or electronics to undue stress. 

pthomas745

The adjustment for the Victron controller is very easy.  Hold on to this link.  When you get your battery, the LiTime brochure will have the various "voltages" in their brochure for the settings.  They won't differ very much from the Battleborn numbers.

https://battlebornbatteries.com/programming-a-victron-smartsolar-charge-controller/

The thing to check is the size of that battery, and how it may fit inside your current "battery space". It seems the 140 amp hour battery is about 3 inches longer than the stock Group 24.  So, measure that out.  

 I really like seeing how LiTime now has several amp hour ratings of batteries between 100 and 200 amp hours.  And, there is an "Extra Mini" battery that might even slip easily into any of the spaces under the benches in a 320.

If you are skilled at these sorts of "mods", any of the various things owners add can be easy.  If you are not...they can get expensive and time consuming.  The best bang for the buck (for me) was a Victron shunt and a portable solar setup.  You may "need" more solar charging capacity with a larger battery, especially when the trailer is not in an optimal solar spot.