Battery Array Project

(Mick) looks great. Getting the battery box mounted underneath is made easier if you use a big car jack to lift the box up. Your boxes look amazing. Didn't I mention that one of the things I would have changed was putting the mounting brackets on the ends as there is more room

These sealed batteries can be mounted in any orientation which one of the reason I selected them. Just remember that even a sealed battery vents gas once in a while so make sure the gas can escape.

5 batteries is a lot of power, 165 Amp hours total so 132 Amp hours of usable power assuming you don't drain them lower than 20%. If you do drain them to 20% it will take the onboard charger over 26 hours to bring them back to 100%. (5 Amps per hour) A small price to pay for that much power.

Great job

 

Rick - For sure you wouldn't want to put lead/acid batteries on their side

Dave - yes I am replacing the original battery. The four new batteries are in and wired, and the 5th battery should arrive before the weekend.

Mick - It was SO much easier to do this project when I could copy your design and make the improvements that you suggested. Being able to show the guys at Home Depot the photos you posted really helped too. Thanks!

 

Here are a few daylight photos:

This shows the cables running over the top of the hitch. I used part of a soaker hose to protect them. The black molded plastic containers are the water tanks.


The axle is at the very top of the picture. Not much extra space for the boxes between the axle and water tanks.


The angle actually slipped up and behind the axle a bit, so getting the nuts on these bolts was pretty tough.


The backside of the boxes (near the water tanks) was much easier to bolt. If I did this again I would mount the boxes all the way up against the water tanks (I have a 3/8" space). This would make the front bolts much easier to get in place. Also, i would prebolt the boxes without the batteries...


When finished, the new lowest point is only 3/8" closer to the ground than the storage bins.


And yes, Mick, jacks would have made things a whole lot easier. You can see the flower pot boxes that I used instead...

All I need now is that last battery. Then we'll take it all out for our 100th night this weekend and give at a go.

 

Great work Mick and Evan! The pictures and narratives really help on these type of DYI projects.

Is there a time frame for being able to link an original battery with a couple new ones? Mine is about 9mos. old and has never been run down below 11.5v

Now, has anyone come up with a mounting location for our 550's? I thought I would ask before I crawl under mine.

AJ

 

I just asked Mick about your battery, and he is thinking you would be fine with using your battery.

One thing to remember: Cary mentioned that they way we did things will only work on the 560s. The space we have under the trailer for our boxes is not available on the 550s.

 

And now, the final chapter in the battery project:

My fifth battery came in the mail on Friday, which was perfect because we were going out for the weekend.

I installed the battery, and then we headed out.

When we got to the campsite I checked the battery meter - it was at 12.9
Everything seemed to be working just fine, except for the custom stereo. If you take a closer look at the photo, you'll know why. (Look familiar, Craig?)

After two days with normal battery use, which included running the fridge 24/7, lights, water pump, charging everybody's cell phones daily, one Bach cantata, and one symphony by Beethoven, we were at 12.7
The solar panel probably wasn't much of a factor because the first day was overcast, and the second was rainy.

I think it's safe to say that we will have a very hard time running out of power unless we are off the grid for at least two weeks. Yahoo!

I'm going to chalk this one up as a successful project, made possible by the expert advice of Mick of Mick'nSarah. If anybody with a 560 is interested, I would be happy to post a material list and cut sheet for the battery boxes.

 

Evan not something we will do but it sure has been fun reading and seeing your project - great job.

 

Seeing this project really has me thinking about my own future needs. I'll definitely need more than one battery - but probably won't need 5. I think I'll wait until I have some time invested in my own 560 before I decide exactly what I want to do.

BTW, Evan, congrats on hitting the 100 night threshold!

 

Mick you and Evan have amazing ideas and your not afraid to drill holes in your Camp Inn. Its very interesting to see what you two guys come up with and fun to watch the projects develop.

 

I heard a rumor that "Snugglebug" is addiding a second story addition and the duelly wheels, air shocks will be needed.

Just a rumor.

Dave

 

Don't tempt Evan i think he would try anything once.

 

Report on the battery array:

We drove 10 hours down to Eureka to camp out in my wife's grandparent's backyard. (90th b-day). Although I could have plugged in to shore power, I decided not to so that I could try out the new battery capacity. Eureka is famously overcast, but the sun did come out for one day, so the solar panel may have helped a little bit.
With the fridge running full time, lights at night, and about an hour with the TV, the meter read 13.1 at the end of 48 hours.

I think we'll have to come up with something more challenging...

 

in 20 years, if you are lucky, you can add a cpap machine to the set up. That'll give the battery a little test.



or you could start making margaritas and espressos and using a blow dryer

-Al

 

Great project. if you did put together a consolidated project plan, i would definitely like to get a copy.

Stan

ssturbyfill@gmail.com

 

Out of curiosity, does anybody have the roof dimensions of the 550 and 560 or a diagram of where the different components are? What I'm researching for when we place our 560 order here in a few months is converting the roof into a custom solar panel, but I wanted to do some research and see what type of area is available.

The idea is to buy solar cells and literally solder them into a custom shape to utilize the whole roof. I would then use pour-able clear resin/acrylic to seal and protect the new solar roof. I will be testing the viability of the pour-able approach to make sure it's not reflective to where it kills the efficiency of the panel.

Example of solar cells you can solder into a homemade panel or as needed:http://www.amazon.com/AllPowers-36p...e-Efficiency/dp/B009R0XV7S/ref=pd_sim_sbs_e_5
Example casting resin to seal the roof:http://www.amazon.com/Environmental-Tech-Castin-Craft-Casting/dp/B001E1XBHI/ref=pd_sbs_ac_5

Also anybody using solar and batteries, this is an awesome read. It's very long but contains a TON of good information.

http://handybobsolar.wordpress.com/the-rv-battery-charging-puzzle-2/

 

You do know the solar controller maxes out at 120 watts/10 amps, right? And there's only room for one AGM battery. It seems like it would be a lot less effort to just get a panel, place it in the sun, keep your CI in the shade.

Gotta admit, it sounds like a cool project. I just wonder if the cell's efficiency would really decrease without the requisite airflow underneath. I spent way too many hours thinking about a roof mount (I like Evan's) but in the end I just didn't want to drill into the roof!

Be sure to keep us updated!

 

It seems far easier to have solar panels that are easily moved, so they can be placed in a spot that is optimal for gathering energy, rather than having to move your TD around on the campsite when the sun goes behind a tree.


-Al

 

Al - unless you have an extra big solar panel, and are perfectly happy to take what sun you get, never move your tear around, and never do any setup.

 

yeah, but who would do that?