FWC Now Offering 200Ah Lithium Option and Dual Solar Panel Option

[Jon R]

I was just looking at the FWC web site because I'm making an option order change for my pending Grandby, and I noticed they are now offering an option for two 100Ah lithium batteries (appear to be relabeled Battleborn 100Ah GC2) and an option for those batteries with two 160 watt solar panels. They also are offering the same dual solar panel installation as a separate option. The battery option says they reconfigure the battery compartment for the new batteries, but no details are given. They are using a RedArc Manager 30. They mention "upgraded wiring," but don't say what that means.

The prices are quite high ($4995 for batteries and $6995 for batteries and solar), so I am still planning to do my own conversion.

Update 2/7/21: I looked at the web site today and now they are showing a different battery that appears to be some other brand - all black, terminals on top.

 

[makalutoo]

Interesting choice of the manager 30. It has a low temperature charging cut off of 32 degrees. it looks like it measures temperature at the battery terminal so it probably reacts to external temperature fairly quickly. It would be better, in my opinion if it were to rely on the battery management system, so you could use an internally heated battery for cold weather operation. Maybe FWC has a work around? Looks like a pretty slick unit however.

 

[rando]

Agreed - the manager doesn't seem like a great option. That is also one heck of a markup, most people would be better to go the DIY route.

 

[Jon R]

The idea of one electrical device that does everything sounds attractive from the standpoint of allowing a clean installation, but I like the idea of separate solar and alternator chargers to hopefully make loss of both functions on a trip due to a failure less likely.

The Manager30 has a maximum solar array voltage of 32 volts. That forces use of lower voltage panels in parallel only.

 

[rando]

It also has a lithium float voltage of 13.6V, which is not ideal for long term performance as lithium doesn't like to be floated. Not a huge deal but for such a 'fancy' system you would think it would have user configurable settings.

 

[Dessmo]

DIY and Victron chargers seem to be better and more affordable.

 

[ri-f]

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 panels, or solar and B2B charging simultaneously and, if you have a solar array that has a maximum voltage of over 28Voc, then it is an important consideration to make sure that your solar controller is capable of working with higher-voltage solar panels, such as the Overland 160w panels, which we use, and which have a maximum of 32.76Voc. I'd be concerned that the Redarc will shut off solar charging if you exceed somewhere between 28-32Voc - not hard to accomplish on a sunny day. We typically see over 30 VoC with our Overland 160 panels on very bright days or direct sunny days. Which is why we chose to not use an all-in-one unit with a low VoC rating, and instead went with a Victron 100/30 mppt controller for the solar panels. You could also exceed 28Voc on the Redarc (or any other controller, for that matter, which limits voltage too much) especially if you decide to wire your solar array in a series configuration, where voltage is additive. This could essentially defeat one of the most significant advantages of wiring a solar array in series - less current draw with smaller-gauge wiring over long wire runs. Check the specs on your individual components when considering system compatibility.

p.s. An Overland 160 panel costs about $500, and a Battleborn 100AH LiFePO4 costs about $1000.
Also, I seem to recall a while back, that the two Overland solar panel and 8 AWG wire, was only an option on the FWC Flatbed models and not the slide-in models. Maybe that has changed.

Rich

 

[Ted]

"The prices are quite high ($4995 for batteries and $6995 for batteries and solar), so I am still planning to do my own conversion."

We are having a new rig built by another company. Two lithium batteries and 400 watts of solar - $3275. Less than half of above!

 

[makalutoo]

In defense of FWC, it is awesome that they are finally offering lithium batteries as an option. In my opinion, lithium is such a better battery for the lightweight camper application vs lead acid (agm). There is dramatic weight savings and more power available for the space they take up. Sure there are drawbacks to the redarc, but the all in one unit will provide for easier installs and service work down the line. Plus the redarc has a dc/dc charger built into it, so it will take care of the issue of batteries not charging fully from the alternator with the stock measly 10guge wire setup.

I just think that it is unfortunate that the price is so high for this option, but FWC has a huge price markup on all of their options so it is par for the course. With FWC 54 week lead time, their pricing does not seem to be an issue. At least they have a lithium/dc-dc charging system as an option now.

 

[Bwht4x4]

A flatbed hawk with the lithium and solar option is easily now over $40k and the model I just priced comes in closer to $48k!!

I'll keep my paid off 2013 Hawk that we paid $18k for!!

 

[ri-f]

A flatbed hawk with the lithium and solar option is easily now over $40k and the model I just priced comes in closer to $48k!!

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.