Switching to lithium batteries on 2017 Tab 320s

Prazzaa · May 27

I just bought a 2017 320-s and will need to add some power for boondocking with my cpap machine. I have the 3 way Fridge. I’m hoping to be off grid for at least 5 days. What equipment will I need. I have a marine style 12 v battery currently, and plan on replacing it with lithium battery. What equipment will I need? Thanks-im s newbie to electrical and solar.

Grumpy_G · May 27

The main hurdle is to fully charge the LiFePo battery, the converter/charger in the T@b is designed for lead-acid batteries. There are a few options in order of cost:
An external AC powered charger designed for charging LiFePo batteries (doesn't have to be anything fancy). Fully charge at home before the trip.

Add a DC-DC converter in the trailer to charge while towing.

A solar charging setup configured for LiFePo, you can charge at home by connecting solar and charge on the road as well.

pthomas745 · May 27

I have a 2017, put in a lithium in 2022. Made no other changes to the trailer, except to make sure my portable solar had a controller that was lithium capable. I do have a lithium compatible charger I can plug in at home and connect to the battery with simple battery clamps. If you decide you like to camp with electric hookups, there are lithium chargers out there now that have "dongles" that connect to the battery terminals. Like this: there are many of these to choose from.

https://www.amazon.com/LiFePO4-Battery-Charger-Rechargeable-Phosphate/dp/B0D7T9F5MP

Solar is also fairly easy, so don't get You Tubed out and overwhelmed. We can help with that. There are many solar "kits" that will simplify the shopping. A lot of owners have this little Dokio kit that is "almost" plug and play, and the price for a 150 watt panel, etc, can't be beat. You can also make this work right away with the battery clamps provided and connect directly to the battery. We can show you how to use the mysterious "SAE" port on the side of your trailer to make it even more convenient

https://www.amazon.com/DOKIO-Portable-Monocrystalline-Controller-Charging/dp/B07Y8CT1W9

Many owners in this group have purchased the "LiTime" batteries. They have "Group 24" batteries that will drop right into your current battery box. A 100 amp hour lithium battery will double your amp hour capacity compared to the "stock" battery in your trailer.

Litime has a number of batteries with different amp hour ratings between 100 and 200 amp hours. This link goes to the LiTime 12V battery pages. It is amazing how fast this technology is changing.

https://www.litime.com/collections/12v-batteries?page=2

There is tons of CPAP info in the group, also. Check to see if your brand of CPAP has a 12V adapter that can be plugged in to one of the trailer's "12V ports". (Also known as a cigarette lighter plug). If that is workable for you, it will save you a lot of battery power. Here is the CPAP search in the group to give you a quick idea.

https://www.google.com/search?q=cpap++site:tab-rv.vanillacommunity.com&client=firefox-b-1-d&uact=5&oq=cpap++site:tab-rv.vanillacommunity.com

jjfalardeau · May 27

This is just a consideration... I have a ResMed Airsense 11 CPAP and it uses about 65 watts (has 12v adapter). If you have 100AH battery bank and use the CPAP for 8 hours, it will consume a third of the capacity on top of other things running. So knowing this one can size/recharge accordingly. I expanded to 200ah lithium. I tote a small generator in case the solar doesn't keep up.

bjn2 · May 27

There's a learning curve for lithium upgrades. For you to stay out five days, I think you'll need a good amount of solar charging and another charging option for when solar won't keep up. I installed a Bluetti Charger 1 in our tow vehicle, which gives us the ability to charge our trailer's lithium battery via an external solar port I added to our trailer. The Charger 1 also rapidly charges our portable power stations, and unlike most DC-to-DC towing devices, you can set the output voltage manually so it can charge a wide variety of power stations designed for solar charging.

You need to figure out your daily needs and balance out total amp hour capacity, solar charging capacity, and generative capacity. I'd rather charge from the tow vehicle than deal with the noise and hassle of a portable gasoline generator. You'll want to include a smart shunt in your planning so you can accurately monitor your battery input and output.

Prazzaa · May 28

Thanks so much all of you for your great ideas!!! I’m so new to all of this electrical/battery stuff that I was getting overwhelmed. You give me hope!!!

rfuss928 · May 29

Here is another link to a LFPO install in the interior of our UT. Depending on space available, someplace in the rear bench may work as it did for me.

https://tab-rv.vanillacommunity.com/discussion/18199/ultimate-toys-cs-s-lifepo4-upgrade

Cherokee · May 29

Running the refrigerator on propane will cut down your power conscription considerably over those with 2-way refrigerators. If your in a sunny place, just 95 watts of solar will keep your DVD player working till you go to sleep. The price of LiFePo battery's keeps going down, but I still get by with two 6V Glass Mesh batteries connected in series and we stay out for several days. With a 3-way, you don't have to worry about having all to electric gear - just enjoy your time in the outdoors.

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Switching to lithium batteries on 2017 Tab 320s

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