2022 T@b 400 upgrade to lithium batteries

kerilynvj · May 30

My old battery finally gave me the middle finger after bringing her out of storage this spring. I would like to upgrade to the lithium and after reading through several posts, I have some questions:

Which battery is going to not only run the electric, but also the air (at least for a bit)? Which brand is recommended/best for our campers?
Will 1-100 work, or should I go with 200+?
Will I need an inverter?
I definitely want the integrated heater package correct? (I live in Colorado and even in July in the mtns it can snow)
Do they all come with the bluetooth app to determine battery life?
Last but not least - I'm pretty handy and have done a lot of mods on my camper myself, is this something I could do or do I need to haul in the experts?

Thank you everyone in advance for your responses! I apologize if this has been answered a million times. I have found a lot of info and it is all running together at this point so any help is greatly appreciated.

pthomas745 · May 30

1. Not just "a" battery. Expect to need multiple batteries, and a larger inverter. It can be done.

2. If you really really really want AC....200 or more.

3. Yes.

4. if the batteries are inside the trailer, the only time "heaters" might be needed is if: you need to charge the batteries, and the inner parts of the batteries (inside the battery) is below 32F. The only "danger" to a lithium batteries is they will be damaged if the "battery", not the air temperature, is below freezing and you need to charge it.

5. Some batteries do have an "App", but...I'm not sure if they work the same way as a shunt does, or provides anywhere near the accuracy of the Victron solar controller you already have. A shunt install should be part of your plan for a lithium setup in any case.

6. Lots of owners have done this sort of thing. And, there is tons of help. Here is one example:

https://tab-rv.vanillacommunity.com/discussion/14776/three-batteries-in-a-2019-tab400

Here is another with a Victron Multiplus install. This inverter is 3000 watts. If you do wind up with multiple batteries, a larger inverter would (maybe) be needed if the AC usage is still in your plans.

https://tab-rv.vanillacommunity.com/discussion/16601/lithium-inverter-upgrade

There are other install threads.

kerilynvj · May 31

THANK YOU!

Droid · June 2

Hi kerilnvy, I put a redodo 200 ah lithium self heating battery in my 400 last year. I would buy redodo again, price is great and I live in Michigan so the self heating gives me a good piece of mind when using and charging. On your 2022 it should be a simple swap.

Droid

Basil48192 · June 2

@pthomas745. Regarding the self heating. Can a lithium battery be subjected to freezing temperatures without damage, as long as it is not being charged? I do some 'shoulder' season camping. Once in a while, the temperature might dip below freezing during the night. I am looking at batteries with a low temperature charge cut-off, but not self heating. Thank you in advance!

elbolillo · June 3

@Basil48192 LiFePo4 batteries can handle freezing temperatures, you just cannot charges the, below a certain temperature. For Battleborn, you can charge down to 25°. Battery can be operated down to -4° and stored down to -10°

Basil48192 · June 3

@elbolillo. Thank you!

descott12 · June 4

I am in the process of upgrading my new Tab320S. I bought 2 LiTime 100AH batteries with integrated heater and a Renogy 3000W inverter. I have installed an extension cord right from the inverter's AC outlets up the microwave and an AC outlet from the inverter's AC terminals to run laptops, etc. It is pretty easy to do this but I am not sure you will get much time out of 200AH of batteries when running the AC. And there may not be room for more than 2 batteries? And you really want to keep the wires as short as possible so you can't put some batteries inside and some out in the propane storage area.

Also, for example, my microwave is 1300 watts. From a 12 volt battery bank that means almost 120 AMPs so wiring must be very big. To handle the full 3000 watts, that is over 200 Amps! I am running 2/0 wires from my batteries to the inverter. They are huge, expensive and difficult to work with as they don't bend much so you really need to plan their lengths appropriately.

Also note that you should not combine different types of Li batteries so the very expensive BattleBorn battery that came with my Tab is not of much use to me now so it is up for sale.

donmontalvo · June 4

I currently run my iPhone, iPad, and MacBook Pro off my inverter..

Finally circling back to build out a 2 port 12V USB-C QC4.0 panel, to avoid wasting power.

https://tab-rv.vanillacommunity.com/discussion/comment/215694/#Comment_215694

GregR · June 4

kerilynvj, we have a 2022 T@B 400 BD also and will probably be changing out our 2 AGMs this year. There are a few other components that may affect your going to a lithium battery. You'll want to consider how you're going to charge the new battery - converter, independent lithium battery charger, solar, etc. If you have a WFCO-8955-AD converter like we do, you may need to get a jumper from WFCO since their "AD" (auto-detect) is not always "auto". (The jumper is free, you just have to ask for it.) There may be some other things to consider depending on your individual situation and the battery(s) you purchase. I haven't completely sorted through all of the issues.

We're also in Colorado (western slope) if you should be close by and need help.

kerilynvj · June 6

THANK YOU! All great comments! I'm one of those who works best when watching a video. I was hoping someone made a "how-to" of this process, but can only seem to find the one changing out the batteries in a 2018.

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