My new Victron 100Ah battery is installed and tested, and I am super happy. The installation is not for the faint of heart, this battery is slightly bigger than the Camp-Inn original AGM and is best used with the Victron charger. I ordered the battery from Colorado Standby, Victron 12V/100Ah AGM Super Cycle Battery (M6) BAT412110081, $328 with free shipping. I also purchased a Victron IP65 10Amp Blue Smart charger with a 12V cigarette plug adapter, and a Victron Orion 10A DC-DC converter Blue Smart charger. I got 10Amp chargers as the battery will last longer charged at a lower rate, it is easier on the car alternator, and generally the time to charge is not a problem for us. 10 Amps allows wiring with #12 wire, though I used #10 for safety.
The installation took a good amount of time. After removing the old tired original battery from the compartment, the first item was to remove the Camp-Inn installed battery isolator; I labeled the wires so I would remember what goes where. I also found removing the wires from the battery switch was helpful so I could get the battery compartment cover panel out of the way.
Next I removed the wood bar that holds the battery vertically. This is required because the Victron is just slightly taller than the original. The bar is held in place with some staples and grabbing it with pliers and wiggling a bit pulled it out.
View attachment upload_2022-4-29_12-34-38.jpeg
The battery can now be put into place. The top of the battery has a notch that just fit under the plywood piece that mounted the battery isolator; I was afraid I was going to have to trim it, but it fit fine. I put the wood bar back above the battery with some screws.
View attachment upload_2022-4-29_12-36-38.jpeg
Next I mounted the DC to DC charger above the battery; the battery needs to come out again for this step. The mounting required removing the screws holding the wiring harness so it can be pushed up out of the way. I drilled four additional mounting holes in the charger to hit the two wood bars above the battery then fixed it in place with four screws. The wiring harness is well supported by the charger so I didn't try to put the fixing screws back.
View attachment upload_2022-4-29_12-39-13.jpeg
The next task is the wiring. I removed the ground wire that was originally going to the isolator, it was too small. I made two new ground wires with #10 stranded wire, with a ring lug on one end. These were installed on one of the ground studs and routed to the input and output "-" terminals on the charger. The wire from the hitch was almost long enough; I removed the ring lug from the wire carefully so I didn't have to shorten it any, and managed to snake a little length of the hitch cable through the tube that runs from the front to back of the trailer. It was then long enough to attach to the charger input "+". I removed the original wire from the circuit breaker and made a new one from #10 stranded wire, with a ring terminal at the breaker and routed to the charger output "+" terminal. The charger has a jumper that should be left in place.
View attachment upload_2022-4-29_13-48-8.jpeg
The battery can now be put into place. The original wires and terminals work fine with the new bolts and washers that come with the battery. Mine has a shunt for my battery monitor on the negative terminal.
View attachment upload_2022-4-29_12-54-53.jpeg
The last challenge is that the battery switch is quite deep and interferes with the new charger. I removed the battery switch from the panel, and removed the switch mounting block from the panel. I fabricated an aluminum panel to mount the switch to the panel, this moves it forward. I also cut off the overly long connecting screws. The result fits safely, though the switch handle does protrude slightly into the storage compartment. I don't think it will be any detriment to the use of the compartment, and the switch detent is strong enough that it is not likely to be switched inadvertently.
View attachment upload_2022-4-29_13-29-34.jpeg
View attachment upload_2022-4-29_13-29-53.jpeg
I did not remove the original Camp-Inn shore power charger, though I may in the future. The 110V input charger I got will only be used when the trailer is in the garage, I got a lighter power point adapter for the charger and simply plug it into the power point in the galley, not necessary to plug in the shore power cord. I may upgrade the built in charger at some point, but for now this is easy.
The Victron DC to DC charger works really well. It has a feature that it doesn't start charging the battery until the car engine is actually running. This prevents the trailer from discharging the tow vehicle battery. It also limits the current taken from the car alternator, protecting it from over-current. A Bluetooth connection allows monitoring the charger and battery, and configuration of charger parameters.
We just returned from a five day outing to the East Mojave National Preserve with our son and family. We played DVDs, used lights and water pump with no problems. At the end of the stay my battery meter was showing a charge level of 97%. The previous trip out, the old battery died on the second DVD.
The installation took a good amount of time. After removing the old tired original battery from the compartment, the first item was to remove the Camp-Inn installed battery isolator; I labeled the wires so I would remember what goes where. I also found removing the wires from the battery switch was helpful so I could get the battery compartment cover panel out of the way.
Next I removed the wood bar that holds the battery vertically. This is required because the Victron is just slightly taller than the original. The bar is held in place with some staples and grabbing it with pliers and wiggling a bit pulled it out.
View attachment upload_2022-4-29_12-34-38.jpeg
The battery can now be put into place. The top of the battery has a notch that just fit under the plywood piece that mounted the battery isolator; I was afraid I was going to have to trim it, but it fit fine. I put the wood bar back above the battery with some screws.
View attachment upload_2022-4-29_12-36-38.jpeg
Next I mounted the DC to DC charger above the battery; the battery needs to come out again for this step. The mounting required removing the screws holding the wiring harness so it can be pushed up out of the way. I drilled four additional mounting holes in the charger to hit the two wood bars above the battery then fixed it in place with four screws. The wiring harness is well supported by the charger so I didn't try to put the fixing screws back.
View attachment upload_2022-4-29_12-39-13.jpeg
The next task is the wiring. I removed the ground wire that was originally going to the isolator, it was too small. I made two new ground wires with #10 stranded wire, with a ring lug on one end. These were installed on one of the ground studs and routed to the input and output "-" terminals on the charger. The wire from the hitch was almost long enough; I removed the ring lug from the wire carefully so I didn't have to shorten it any, and managed to snake a little length of the hitch cable through the tube that runs from the front to back of the trailer. It was then long enough to attach to the charger input "+". I removed the original wire from the circuit breaker and made a new one from #10 stranded wire, with a ring terminal at the breaker and routed to the charger output "+" terminal. The charger has a jumper that should be left in place.
View attachment upload_2022-4-29_13-48-8.jpeg
The battery can now be put into place. The original wires and terminals work fine with the new bolts and washers that come with the battery. Mine has a shunt for my battery monitor on the negative terminal.
View attachment upload_2022-4-29_12-54-53.jpeg
The last challenge is that the battery switch is quite deep and interferes with the new charger. I removed the battery switch from the panel, and removed the switch mounting block from the panel. I fabricated an aluminum panel to mount the switch to the panel, this moves it forward. I also cut off the overly long connecting screws. The result fits safely, though the switch handle does protrude slightly into the storage compartment. I don't think it will be any detriment to the use of the compartment, and the switch detent is strong enough that it is not likely to be switched inadvertently.
View attachment upload_2022-4-29_13-29-34.jpeg
View attachment upload_2022-4-29_13-29-53.jpeg
I did not remove the original Camp-Inn shore power charger, though I may in the future. The 110V input charger I got will only be used when the trailer is in the garage, I got a lighter power point adapter for the charger and simply plug it into the power point in the galley, not necessary to plug in the shore power cord. I may upgrade the built in charger at some point, but for now this is easy.
The Victron DC to DC charger works really well. It has a feature that it doesn't start charging the battery until the car engine is actually running. This prevents the trailer from discharging the tow vehicle battery. It also limits the current taken from the car alternator, protecting it from over-current. A Bluetooth connection allows monitoring the charger and battery, and configuration of charger parameters.
We just returned from a five day outing to the East Mojave National Preserve with our son and family. We played DVDs, used lights and water pump with no problems. At the end of the stay my battery meter was showing a charge level of 97%. The previous trip out, the old battery died on the second DVD.
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