Jollyrogers
Senior Member
- Joined
- Feb 2, 2015
- Messages
- 159
I had a long post. Lost it. Still a long post.
2nd set of AGMs are on last leg in 2015 Hawk. Dometic AC/DC 65. Dual fans and LED lights.
I camp by myself. No fridge typically and use a cooler. I could leave the house and probably camp a week.
With wife fridge and power requirements are maxed for my Hawk. I used to get a couple days without charging. Now I can’t make it through the night even after a full charge. Time to replace, but noticed I can get a Lifepo BMS 100ah fairly reasonable now. Not worried about charging in low temps either.
We tend to charge and cool fridge night before using shore power. Camping we use a 200w suitcase (lithium compatible) or a honda 1000 (we camp under trees a lot in the NF) to keep batt(s) charged. Either do the job.
I’d like to just disconnect from truck. The truck to house charge just sucks. Probably because of the smart alternator and poor wiring to house batts.
So I THINK what i want to do is:
-1x100ah BMS LifePo
-Progressive Dynamics PD9145ALV for shore power so I can top off before traveling or charge from genset. It has the IOTA DLS-30/IQ4 and have read mixed info about charging lifepo batts with it.
-Battery monitoring
-Add 100w roof solar to charge while driving. And use 200w suitcase and honda 1000 once at camp spots. Either will do the job after a few hours. Most trips are within 4 hours travel time.
Later maybe add a DC-DC and improved wiring for truck (2019 RAM 2500) to House batts.
Is this a sane way forward? Do I have to replace the IOTA? Could 100w roof keep me going ok long enough while traveling for the day? Or should I go improved wiring and DC-DC now, and replace the IOTA later? How hard is it to replace anyways (I am pretty sure I can do it as I’ve been a radar tech for 30 years)?
I’ve read a lot and it’s all overwhelming but got me to at least this point. It’s also an investment of money I really don’t want to spend… lol, but seem I need to at some point.
I have a solo trip for a week in Aug planned. At a minimum I could just get the battery and keep it charged with my suitcase since I won’t be using any real power. But by this fall the wife will be wanting to hit the appalachian mountains.
2nd set of AGMs are on last leg in 2015 Hawk. Dometic AC/DC 65. Dual fans and LED lights.
I camp by myself. No fridge typically and use a cooler. I could leave the house and probably camp a week.
With wife fridge and power requirements are maxed for my Hawk. I used to get a couple days without charging. Now I can’t make it through the night even after a full charge. Time to replace, but noticed I can get a Lifepo BMS 100ah fairly reasonable now. Not worried about charging in low temps either.
We tend to charge and cool fridge night before using shore power. Camping we use a 200w suitcase (lithium compatible) or a honda 1000 (we camp under trees a lot in the NF) to keep batt(s) charged. Either do the job.
I’d like to just disconnect from truck. The truck to house charge just sucks. Probably because of the smart alternator and poor wiring to house batts.
So I THINK what i want to do is:
-1x100ah BMS LifePo
-Progressive Dynamics PD9145ALV for shore power so I can top off before traveling or charge from genset. It has the IOTA DLS-30/IQ4 and have read mixed info about charging lifepo batts with it.
-Battery monitoring
-Add 100w roof solar to charge while driving. And use 200w suitcase and honda 1000 once at camp spots. Either will do the job after a few hours. Most trips are within 4 hours travel time.
Later maybe add a DC-DC and improved wiring for truck (2019 RAM 2500) to House batts.
Is this a sane way forward? Do I have to replace the IOTA? Could 100w roof keep me going ok long enough while traveling for the day? Or should I go improved wiring and DC-DC now, and replace the IOTA later? How hard is it to replace anyways (I am pretty sure I can do it as I’ve been a radar tech for 30 years)?
I’ve read a lot and it’s all overwhelming but got me to at least this point. It’s also an investment of money I really don’t want to spend… lol, but seem I need to at some point.
I have a solo trip for a week in Aug planned. At a minimum I could just get the battery and keep it charged with my suitcase since I won’t be using any real power. But by this fall the wife will be wanting to hit the appalachian mountains.