Questions on Setting up an auxillary power system in my FWC

One More Thing

A perfect addition to a setup like your talking about would be a Del Tran battery tender mounted with those batteries. That way you will always have fully charged batts. just plug in the camper. I had one installed before the solar system. They are worth it, agm batts. love em'. Just wire mit to the 110 box the frig is plugged into, do it, you'll be glad you did. I'M DONE
 
I've been looking into "building" a 12 volt battery out of two 6 volt batteries. Reason being is that you can get much high amp hours vs 12 volt batteries for the the same or less cost. This has been discussed quite extensively on the expeditionportal board, but I haven't seen much of any discussion of this here.

It looks like some of the favorites are Trojan T105 or T125 due to their high amp hour ratings and high charging cycle count. I need to do some measuring, but the "closet" thread has me thinking about the space in the Hawk that is between the factory counter and the front wall. It is somewhat dead space anyway and it might be nice to build the batteries in there and extend the usable counter space.
 
I looked at the T-105 and T125 on thier web page and they appear to be both a WET CELL.

I would never put a WET Cell inside the camper. Even though VW Bugs had one under the back seat along with other cars. You do need to have proper venting and air space when they put off heat.

That is why the sealed types are so good and can mount them upside down if you wanted.

Be aware of the WET CELL needs.

You could build a box under the truck and put the batteries there. A lot of dead space under there. I saw a Toyota that had three batteries above the rear axle.
 
Took The Words Out Of My Mouth

I was just posting the same info, flooded batteries are not a good idea in a camper. I went with the blue tops because they fit the confines of the closet, they give plenty of performance, and they are safe.
 
Battery switch

A word on those battery switches. I have one under the hood that feeds power to the winch. Off is off and I can select which battery system to power the winch. If I was to use the winch I would to need to have the engine “OFF” before I turned that big dial. Others have had a problem from the surge that the alternator takes and have wiped out their alternator because of it.

So be careful as to when you turn that dial when the engine is running.

On a side note, I was able to jump start myself when the main battery died:thumb:.
 
Another Good Point

Burned diodes, should have mentioned that, interesting that some alt. will tolerate most won't. PV Eagle Lake opening week? ever go there?
 
The Lake

I have been fishing that lake since I was a very young kid with my dad, I'm 63 now I know the place pretty well, some of the best fishing in the western U.S.. It opens on Memorial weekend, I'm usually there for a few days before we take off for albacore, it's tradition, because I won't see a fricking tree for 3 or 4 months. So if you feel like it let me know.
 
Sounds like a great place for a FWC group to hang out and fish. For me I’ll be over on the right coast for the weekend. Thanks for the offer and soak up the tree view.
 
Yes, they are a wet cell and would need to be vented... I have been looking into that as well. Whether I'm better of trying to vent them from a mounting location inside the camper somewhere or if I should buy/build a mount for them under the truck somewhere. I was under the truck yesterday eyeing the area under the front corner of the box near the frame and then as I was thinking about it last night, the idea occurred to me that there is probably enough room in the front corner of the box to mount them next to the camper. I'll have to take a look at that today and do some measuring.

Ideally I would like to have them outside of the camper anyway so I can maximize my interior storage space rather than taking that space up w/ batteries.
 
The switch I use is "make before break" meaning if you switch from batt 1 to batt 2 theres continuous contact. Batt 1 and Batt 2 are momentarily in parallel before connection to Batt1 is broken. This means theres not weird spikes from a momentary complete disconnect.

I switch on the fly in Jeep all the time and have never had any problems. Now that off, batt1, both, batt2. I never switch past off while its running. Always go through both when switching.
 
So Craig for mine being in the OFF mode I NEVER want to switch to either battery while the engine is running?

If the switch is pointed to either battery or both you can move it from "A" to "BOTH" to "B" without harm?

If you switch to "OFF" and want to switch around then turn off the engine?

If I'm finish with the winching, I can turn the switch to the "OFF" position from "BOTH" while the engine is running.

Just want to make sure I understand.
 
Ok new plan. I'm changing over to LED's and retesting how long the batt will run stuff. I'm guessing there's a twin batt set up in my future but at the moment this is simple and easy.
 
I'm still working on the dual battery option... there are several vehicles w/ wet cell batteries inside w/ venting systems. I'm checking into those to see if they are both feasible and something I feel comfortable with. We shall see... I want to get this done before we go on our Utah trip in June.

Kyle
 
Here's what I did

Here's the link to the description and pix. There's a schematic there too. It's over on the FWC forum: http://www.wanderthewest.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1152

I have a 130w solar panel charging a 105 AH AGM battery. The battery doesn't get much below 12.0 volts by morning and is usually back at 13.7 (at which time the charge controller stops the charge) by noon. I can switch to have the solar charge the truck battery too but it is usually not necessary.
 
Kyle my friend you haven't told us (did I miss it) how the battery system worked on your long trip. How long did you stay in one place? What is your assesment of 2 batts vs. Solar?
 
I'm confused

I read all the posts on batteries,solar,inverters,chargers,switches,etc and i wonder if it is all really needed (for everyone)
I understand the question of batteries in a enclosed space,but is the camper really considered enclosed?.Maybe when the top is down and it is in storage,but even then you should have a window cracked to let unit air out due to moister.For our use we never camp/sleep with the unit closed up.roof vent,window is always at least cracked open to keep wet build up under control (and yes we camp in cold country spent 10 years in Idaho so know what cold is)
I have my 2nd batt. inside in a batt. box.I feel that if you check and maintain your batt. and charging system with normal use you will not produce enough fumes to cause any problems,if you develop a low/bad cell then your system will over heat ,but again it is up to you to maintain.
That being said that is why we bought a shell and built our system basic as follows:
2nd batt. is wired to a disconnect switch at truck batt. (circuit breaker and fused),power from 2nd batt.goes to fuse block then to added circuits.
1000 watt inverter is wired to 2nd batt.(fused)
solar panels go to controller(fused) then to 2nd batt.
Useage: lights,charger(cell phone,gps,marine radio,2 way walkie talkie's, head lamps),satellite receiver,t.v., portable fan, engle frig/frez.air compressor.
Factory ceiling light changed to fluorescent.
Heat is propane catalytic wall heater (no power required)
Water system is gravity feed and portable (does not freeze can be used anywhere and filled anywhere)
With this system i have never run the batt.all the way down.
I replace the batt every 3 years no matter what seems like when the warranty is up the batt is near the end anyway!
I used to keep a tickle charger on batt when truck was parked but found out the solar panels get enough light through the window's and skylight's in my garage!
We have always tried to keep everything simple,as we spend our travels enjoying without concern and if we did not have this mind set we would stay home!
Just my opinion!
Drive slow and enjoy "its the journey"
Les Lqhikers
 
Jay,

You didn't miss it... I've been a big slacker. The camper has been "parked" since we got back and I haven't even taken pictures of the setup or anything. It did work well. I had a happy wife who was able to take a shower in the middle of the valley of the gods and then blow dry her hair... We were even able to run the fridge on DC when we discovered our LP leak... and no, I haven't tracked the leak down yet either!

Hopefully I'll get to these projects in the next few weeks.

Kyle
 
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