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...two Overland 160's on the roof, one 100AH BB LiFePO4 and a B2B charger - for us, it is balanced for year-round use, no regrets. It mostly depends on your energy loads and personal useage patterns, keeping latitude and wx patterns in mind.

Neal, Up on the roof the connections need to be rock solid - waterproof and UV protected. Try to keep your adapters and connections to a bare minimum up there. If you must cut and solder, then 10 AWG and 12 AWG are close enough in size, e.g., the yellow butt connectors are sized 10-12 AWG. Be...

Vic, I know, right? I too bought one of their batteries. Fortunately, it has performed well for me, in both hot and cold conditions and I have no complaints about it...yet. Rich

Rando, I get what you're saying, but to be fair, keep in mind that it's a commercial 'white paper', not a scientific peer-reviewed journal article. The goal of a white paper, by a for-profit company, is to persuade the reader to reach a specific conclusion. It's a marketing tool that may not...

You know it's always a temptation to use an 'all-in-one' device. These types of tools on the surface always appear to be a clean, easy, simplistic solution to a seemingly complicated problem. As with almost all all-in-one solutions they typically don't excel in any one thing particularly well...

Hi Neal, Yes, definitely, you can mount the controller near the battery. It's a good place for it as it keeps the wire runs shorter. Besides, mounting the controller under a sink might expose it to the risk of a water leak on the off chance of one of your water hoses or hose clamps failed. Not...

Yes, you need to cut the wire after the wago, that's how FWC terminates the solar wiring. Also, a Blue Seas (or other reliable, thermal) circuit breaker before and after the controller is advisable and convenient. Rich

Here's a link to the Battleborn white paper on cold-weather performance of a Lithium vs Lead battery https://battlebornbatteries.com/lead-is-dead-white-paper-study/ Rich

Steve, Are you talking about swapping out the AGM batteries for a Lithium battery and keeping the Blue Seas ACR7611 as a charging relay? If so, Blue Seas does not recommend the ACR7600 with a Lithium battery setup . You'd want to swap out the ACR7611 for a compatible B2B charger or bypass it...

They do, but the specs are still essentially the same as the non-heated battery, that is, the same internal battery temperature parameters that shut the battery down or start it charging again still apply, in cold weather. Also, it's not automatic, you still have to manually switch on the...

Yes, it's worth it. I'm sure you've done your research and know what the technical advantages are. The higher initial cost of the battery will equal out over the the lifetime of the LiFePO4. The primary downside to any battery is severe cold weather. Lithium batteries are more sensitive to very...

You can make your own out of aluminum or steel angle bar that attaches to the jack brackets, or these might work for you if you have an 8 ft. ARB awning. These brackets will work on any FWC "slide-in" model (except the Grandby)...

If you want a flatbed, the other much more inexpensive option is a hybrid flatbed, e.g., Hawk slide-in shell model on flatbed. Add whatever options you want, yourself.

Max clearance height for a '20 Hawk shell: 32 in. (31 in. w/ arctic pack) Rich

The Redarc will shut off solar charging when the solar voltage is above 28Voc (some of their literature says above 32VoC - but their specs are inconsistent, so who knows; I'd be conservative and go with their specs that suggest above 28 VoC). If you want to take full advantage of your solar...

Rockaway, Yep, we love the flip-down side rails/utility tables as well. It's one of our favorite mods. What a difference they have made. Rich

Maybe. Mine has a dumb 120A alternator using 4 AWG, but the Sterling 1230 b2b is designed to never exceed 30 amps output. It typically starts out around 25 amps and drops over time with its 4-stage charger profile. It's a slower charge rate, but it gets the job done. Probably easier on the...

Ah, didn't know that. Unfortunate. In that case, maybe the Victron Orion B2B charger wouldn't be the best option for installation in a space that had very limited air flow and couldn't dissipate heat well enough to avoid shutting down. The vent and fan is a good workaround, Vic. It's parasitic...

Phil, we have a Hawk shell with left-side rear battery box in the lower part of the tower. But regardless of where your battery box is located, I still believe that you will not have an issue with heat dissapation if you have a well designed B2B charger that has a little room around it, that is...

Wallowa, thanks for your kind comments. I'm sure you'll be very happy with the AGM to Lithium swap you are planning.. My bad about doubling the AH capacity on the AGM to Lithium swap out you referred to, and no you didn't miss anything. I was probably thinking of a one-to-one swap, that is...

Vic, I don't know if the RD sits higher than the RS, not sure how they construct the subframe on the RS. My guess is that it is the same basic frame and same basic height, the only difference being they don't incorporate the steel crossmembers, which sit in the gap on the subframe that the RD...

OK, got it. Sounds like a dual AGM setup, maybe 150AH total battery capacity with a Blue Seas in between the start battery and camper house batteries. You'll only effectively get about 75AH (50% battery capacity) of run time on your AGMs before needing to recharge. One 100AH lithium batt will...

Vic, one thing I forgot to mention was that the RD comes stock with a Gooseneck hitch, a 30K B&W hitch with welded ball that is recessed below the deck and accessed via a hinged aluminum trap door on the surface of the deck. I had no immediate use for it with my setup, but that might be an...

You can still build your z-bar frame ahead of time by making it about 6 inches longer than your Overland 160 panels (overlap rails by ~3 inches on both ends) You can always cut the z-bar frame shorter, later, if you need to. This way the exact slot-to-slot measurement is not critical. Besides...

Adventurebound, thanks for the comment. And that's a good question. The answer is yes! The CM, for instance, does not interfere with the trucks frame in any way. It is simply installed onto it, using both thru-bolts as well as spot welding in key locations. If you had, say, a spare tire that is...