Lithium & Inverter Upgrade

elbolillo
elbolillo Member Posts: 555
in Battery/Electrical & Solar
I upgraded my single BB to a 3 battery setup with a 3000W Victron Inverter and added an external solar connection.

Now we just need to find a time to escape the frigid north for warmer climes.


_____________________________________________________
Ken / 2023 Tab 400 “La Bolita” (31,000+ miles) / 2024 Toyota Sequoia
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Comments

  • A_boondock_owner
    A_boondock_owner Member Posts: 11
    Nicely done! Assume you have the inverter on a switch to reduce vampire drain. Have you measured the idling current this inverter uses?
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  • AnOldUR
    AnOldUR Member Posts: 1,728
    I agree. Very clean installation. Jealous of the addition space available in the 400 for this upgrade.
    Stockton, New Jersey
    2020 nuCamp T@B 320S * Jeep Wrangler
    60,865 camping miles through the end of 2025

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  • elbolillo
    elbolillo Member Posts: 555
    A_boondock_owner said:
    Nicely done! Assume you have the inverter on a switch to reduce vampire drain. Have you measured the idling current this inverter uses?
    Everything is controlled through Bluetooth. This inverter is also my charger and is on charger mode
    when the inverter is not used. 
    _____________________________________________________
    Ken / 2023 Tab 400 “La Bolita” (31,000+ miles) / 2024 Toyota Sequoia
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  • Tabaz
    Tabaz Member Posts: 2,421
    Have to disagree on the clean installation - I noticed the excess ziptie shank was not removed:

     =)
    Couldn't help myself.  It really is a beautiful piece of work.  Love the matching arcs of the battery cables.  I'll bet the screws for every outlet and switch cover plate in his house all face the same way (as they should).
    2016 Outback 320
    2024 Ford F150 Supercrew short bed.
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  • elbolillo
    elbolillo Member Posts: 555
    Tabaz said:
    Have to disagree on the clean installation - I noticed the excess ziptie shank was not removed:

     =)
    Couldn't help myself.  It really is a beautiful piece of work.  Love the matching arcs of the battery cables.  I'll bet the screws for every outlet and switch cover plate in his house all face the same way (as they should).
    Ha ha. That’s great. I still have some tidying up to do with all my cables. It’s just so cold right now that I’ll wait till it warms up. And yes, all the screws in the faceplates are aligned vertically. 😂
    _____________________________________________________
    Ken / 2023 Tab 400 “La Bolita” (31,000+ miles) / 2024 Toyota Sequoia
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  • Denny16
    Denny16 Member Posts: 5,431
    Yea a very nice clean job.  It helps that nüCamp had the infrastructure already in place, and just the batteries, inverter/ charger and cables need to be added.  Those of us with older TaB 400s, need to rearrange the battery compartment to accommodate all the newer gear.  B)
     cheers 
    2018 TaB400 Custom Boondock,  Jeep Gladiator truck, Northern California Coast.
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  • elbolillo
    elbolillo Member Posts: 555
    Denny16 said:
    Yea a very nice clean job.  It helps that nüCamp had the infrastructure already in place, and just the batteries, inverter/ charger and cables need to be added.  Those of us with older TaB 400s, need to rearrange the battery compartment to accommodate all the newer gear.  B)
     cheers 
    Yeah. It did make it a bit more manageable. Nice to have that space set aside.
    _____________________________________________________
    Ken / 2023 Tab 400 “La Bolita” (31,000+ miles) / 2024 Toyota Sequoia
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  • Schildts5
    Schildts5 Member Posts: 1
    elbolillo said:
    I upgraded my single BB to a 3 battery setup with a 3000W Victron Inverter and added an external solar connection.

    Now we just need to find a time to escape the frigid north for warmer climes.


    I already added 2 battleborn batteries and am getting ready to add a 4th battle born battery and upgrade my 1200w inverter to this same 3000w. Is it just a matter of switching out the inverters? How did you tie into the AC panel?  I’m second guessing my install abilities now.  (2025 400 black canyon)
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  • Yoshi_TAB
    Yoshi_TAB Member Posts: 569
    edited April 2025
    Hi,

    If you increase your inverter size, you most likely need to increase the fuse protection in the circuit along with possibly changing wires to a larger size wire to handle the load.  I say "likely and possibly" because we don't know what you have.  To tie  a standalone inverter   into the the WFCO to send AC voltage to all the outlets when on battery power  you need a transfer switch or some sort of switching relay.  That is an inverter/charger in the picture, not a stand alone inverter.

    Here is a link that explains sizing fuses and wires for an inverter circuit.  Click on the orange download button in the upper right corner.

    Calculating Inverter DC Wire & Fuse Size | DIY Solar Power Forum
    2025 360 CS 
    2021 TAB 320 BD (w/new owner having fun)
    2021 Jeep Grand Cherokee
    Southern Maryland
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  • elbolillo
    elbolillo Member Posts: 555
    @Schildts5 It's not too difficult of an install.

    You will need to do some rewiring as the 1200w inverter as installed by NuCamp is only an inverter and is wired to provide power to the outlets in the bedside cubby and under the television.

    The Multiplus is an inverter/charger and will take over the charging of the batteries from the WFCO converter. 10/2 wire comes into the Multiplus from the 30amp plug. Then a 10/2 wire is run from the Multiplus to the WFCO converter. You will also need to rewire the 2 outlet that were being powered by 1200w inverter.

    No transfer switch is required as @Yoshi_TAB stated. All those capabilities are built into the Multiplus.

    Here is a diagram that helped me in wiring my system.


    _____________________________________________________
    Ken / 2023 Tab 400 “La Bolita” (31,000+ miles) / 2024 Toyota Sequoia
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