RV BATTERY UPGRADE 🔋 | RV Renogy Lithium Batteries
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- Опубліковано 5 вер 2024
- We LOVE to boondock and that requires a pretty good battery 🔋 Our lead acid batteries worked great for the past 3 and a half years of full-timing...until they didn't. Did you know that you're not supposed to run lead acid batteries past 50%?? We sure didn't 🙃
We decided to take the leap and buy lithium batteries from Renogy! We installed them along with a new converter - with A LOT of help from my dad (thanks dad!! 🥰) If you've ever wondered how to install new batteries in an RV or how Steph reacts to drilling holes though our home, check out today's video! 🎥
What kind of batteries do you use? Have you upgraded them? LET US KNOW in the comments!
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#lithium #rvupgrades #fulltimeRV
Batteries 🔋🔋renogy.sjv.io/YgoaBe
My wife’s idea of Boondocking is at a campground without sewer. 😂. Great job on the video!
Hahaha I like that 🤣 thank you!
Guys! We switched from our 17MKE to the 2600RB this past December. To be honest, you were the inspiration to look for this model! Even though our WI winters haven’t let us take Dottie (the camper) out and about, we’ve been contemplating a battery upgrade. So once again and always, THANKS for the timely vid! We’re looking forward to this spring/summer/fall adventures. If you’re even in Wisconsin and need a place to visit, hit us up! - B&S
Aww thank you so much, that means the world to us 🥰 Can't wait for the warm weather to hit so you can take Dottie out! So glad to hear the video is helpful, that was our hope!! Thank you so much - we need to check out Wisconsin and would love to meet up when that happens!
@@lifererouted did you use a dc / dc converter between your tow vehicle alternator and the lithium batteries to protect the alternator from having too many amps draw to charge batteries when your 7 pin connector in in place when driving? This was something I had to deal with when upgrading...
One detail you guys did not cover is the weight of the batteries? When you're trying to keep your travel trailer as light as possible on the tongue weight of courses huge Factor.
We just got a new lithium battery to up our power game too, and didn’t realize that the current inverter wouldn’t charge it completely. Great info!
Thanks so much friends!
Nice upgrade. When I swapped out my WFCO converter. There was a place to wire in a switch or use a jumper to select lithium. I went with the jumper. The new fuse board you got, is really nice. You will love the difference going to lithium.
Thanks Pat! When we called wfco they told us we could do a jumper wire instead of switching out the fuse panel but we decided it would be worth the extra work just to have the switch. We're excited to put them to use!
I got the same model. It's the 9800LiS model but I don't need a switch so I just used an 18 gauge silicon wire to jump it. I have a 2018 Grand Design Reflection 29RS.
Congrats on our upgrade guys! You will love them, we have no doubt.
Thank you!!
Congratulations on your new batteries. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you so much Betty Jo!
Thanks for the video. I just completed my upgrade. Change the charger, lithium battery, and my personal favorite a true battery kill switch for when it is in storage.
Awesome!!
You two are awesome
Thanks for the walk through
Thank you so much Randy!
Had them install the converter when I purchased the trailer 2800bh, put in the lithium 200amp battery and switched the solar to lithium. So far so good. Have not boon-docked as of yet.
Oh nice! Looking at solar for the future 😊
Thanks for this great video and your service to others through nursing!
Thank you so much ❤️
Great Job you guys! Way to shop around!
Thanks so much Bernard!! We were super excited about the price 😁
Great content. Thanks for sharing, gives me ideas 💡.
My pleasure! Glad you enjoyed! ❤
Great video as always!
Thanks so much Mark!!
Enjoyed the video guys and great idea going to lithium I wish you both safe travels and happy camping
Thank you so much! We're looking forward to using the new batteries 😁
I like that.. Going Hog..!!!! Makes total sense because as a Hog Hunter those things are wild.. tuff and run like a cheetah..!!!!
Full hog!! 💪
Enjoyed the video. Getting ready to do a similar upgrade to my 2021 Winnebago 2831RB with 2 Ionics Bluetooth 125 ah lithiums and the same converter upgrade.
Thank you so much! We hoped our experience would help someone else - we had trouble finding info on the install 😊
Just found you guys and liked your video. I'm now following.
Welcome aboard!
Great info.. Safe travels. Get out of the cold!!
We're trying! 🤣 Thank you so much!
Thanks for sharing super jacked to see how you like them after you have some time on them! I hope to possibly make an up grade like this sometime down the road!
Thank you! We'll be sure to update everyone in future videos how they're holding up 😊
Do you need a dc to dc charger from your alternator?
We do not need a DC to DC charger in our rig because we have a inverter/charger that charges the batteries
@@lifereroutedno fear of burning up the alternator?
Great price for batteries!
We were really impressed too! Felt like we couldn't pass it up, even though it delayed us leaving the cold a little longer 🥶
Woot woot lithium for the win!! And of course with your funny sense of humor…thanks for sharing! Here’s to going “full hog!” Lol 😂
Thank you so much Michelle! Maybe I should just use that as my catchphrase from now on.....full hog! 😆
@@lifererouted heck ya!!!!!
Enjoyed this video and you will really appreciate that lithium upgrade. We have two renogy 170ah and they have been amazing. Wanted to just throw this out there (I can't tell real well from the video) but you may want to run the negative wire from the camper over the other battery (the one closest to the storage door). Typically they recommend when you are running two batteries together that you run the postive to one of the batteries and the negative to the other to just be sure they are discharging at the same rate. In saying this, you may have done that already but just couldn't tell. Keep up the great videos and always love seeing other Hoosiers on the road as fulltimers.
Thank you! So far we're really glad we upgraded 😁 thank you so much for the advice! We love meeting other Hoosiers too! What part are you guys from?
@@lifererouted we lived in Indy for 20 years before we hit the road full-time in 2020. Michelle was born and raised in Anderson.
How cool! We're from the Terre Haute area. Small world!
Sweet, congrats on your upgrade! That is an insane price on the batteries, they usually cost twice that, don't they? Way back when, when we first decided we were going to eventually hit the road and your videos turned us on to Grand Desgin and the 2600RB specifically (we've set our sites on a different Imagine now) I was thinking of doing the EXACT same thing and putting the batteries in the EXACT same place, because it looked like the battery cable was going through the ceiling of the passthrough anyway and we certainly weren't going to put the batteries under the bed like we'd seen other people do. Maybe GDRV could hook you up with a solar panel or two and a charge controller and you guys will be able to extend your boondocking even further!
So happy for the three of you!
Yes!! When Mike found the sale I was on board for sure!! I'm glad our videos helped you guys pick - what imagine model are you looking at now? That's so funny you were thinking of putting them the same place! We were going to weld them on the A frame but I'm really glad we ended up doing it this way. Thank you friend!!
@@lifererouted Yeah, with nice batteries costing what they do, we were NOT going to leave them out there for anybody to grab. We've got our eye on the 3100RD because it offers a great living room area (where we'll spend 95% of our time) without being a fifth wheel; due to the other half's injuries and mobility issues, she's not literally wheelchair bound, but makes use of an electric wheelchair when she can and stairs are extremely painful (though doable). That way she can camp out in the theater seating to watch TV and do her crochet, we'll swap out one of the couches for a Mike-and-Steph-Special Desk for my computer, and her service dog will likely take over the kitchenside couch (if we don't do something nutty like swap it out for a chest freezer or extra fridge or something). We'd also considered the 2670MK since it already has a desk, but she wants my desk to be adjacent to the theater seating so we could hang out together while still doing our own things and no other travel trailer floorplan really offers that.
Full Hog! Do you have solar yet? Good thing you got'm nice and toasty in the pass through, lithium won't charge when it's below freezing!
Haha I said it with such confidence then immediately doubted myself 😆 not yet, but hoping to get solar in the future! Thanks friend!
I know I’m a bit late to the party but I just finished swapping out the converter just like you guys did and now I’m charging our new LiFePo4 batteries. Really appreciate your install walkthrough and the detailed explanations. I’ve tried to get a voltage reading on my multimeter using the same pos and neg terminals like dad Mike did but the probes on my multimeter get hot 🥵 Weird. Anyway, thanks so much! (Any updates on how the new system is working?)
Nice work! We've upgraded out system since then ua-cam.com/video/RPza-dd1UcM/v-deo.html
So far so good!
Thanks!
Thank you!!!
Awesome guys! Next is solar!!
That's our hope, now we just have to start researching and scoping out the sales!! 🤞🤞🤞
Nice upgrade. I may have missed it but what was the reason for putting the new batteries in the pass-through instead of on the tongue, where I'm guessing the old batteries were kept?
Good question! We planned to eventually put them in the pass through but just decided to go ahead and do it on the install. They are pretty expensive and we didn't have a way to lock them on the tongue, so we felt safer with them in the pass through. There's also some temperature requirements for charging/use and they should stay a little warmer in the pass through. Thanks!
So after one year are you happy with your batteries ? Most people also add a dc to dc charger between the tow vehicle and the trailer. Otherwise the alternator can’t charge the lithium batteries, because the voltage is too low, like the converter. Also the lithium batteries may try charging the battery in the tow vehicle if you don’t unplug when the engine is off.
We have bigger 200aH batteries now, but the 100aH batteries worked out really well for us. No DC charger required, we were able to replace the converter and it worked out really well for us. No issues with them, and they're actually cheaper now than when we bought them for this project - renogy.sjv.io/YgoaBe
nice job! i am a little concerned about what gauge wires you used - they looked a little thin to me
Thank you! I'm not sure on the gauge - they were the wires that came with the wfco converter. Hopefully they hold up as well as the last one!
That is a great price. Great job.
Thank you!
Good job guys
Thanks!
Did you guys need to use a jumper stud or bolt where your batteries were at originally? This way your power tongue jack has a place to plug into or did you just extend the power tongue jack cables? Also, for the framing around your batteries. Did you use just plane ole wood screws? How good of a hold did they have on your flooring? I noticed you used a ratchet tie down connected to the wood around the batteries.
after watching different vids, i noticed you may have made 1 small error.battery 1 should be positive out jumped to battery 2, and battery 2 should be negative out jumped to battery 1. this will ensure better flow across the batteries and better draw off the batteries to where you are not basically using 1 battery and feeding it with another , rather you are using 2 batteries at the same time.
We greatly appreciated this video. It was helpful for us to make the right purchase as well as know we needed to buy a comparable converter. We have recently purchased the same battery as well as the converter upgrade for a lithium battery. It auto detects both lithium and lead batteries. As I was getting ready to hook up the battery, the instructions say to charge the battery with a charger or charge controller before using the battery. My question is can we just hook up the battery and plug our RV in to shore power and let the lithium compatible converter do it’s thing and charge the battery?
Nathan, I would always recommend asking an expert. But when I called GD, they explained that the replacement converter would charge the batteries just like they did before. My batteries came in the box ~50% charged, and charged on the new converter in a couple of hours without any issues. Hope that helps!
Great video! Good to know you can get s reasonably priced convertor for lithium. I keep looking at convertor/ invertor combined and that is lots more. PS, as a fellow Hoosier (grew up on the Ohio River, now in Indy), I'm curious what part of the state you are from??
Thank you so much! We're excited! We're both from the Parke County area. Hello, fellow Hoosier!
@@lifererouted Hoosier from Cass county. Congratulations on the battery upgrade
Nice job on the upgrade and nice job on the video! I’m learning videos are tough! Anyway, I have a question.. did you replace 2 LA batteries with 2 LifePO4 batteries? I want to upgrade my fifth wheel which has 4 flooded 100ah batteries. 4 LifePO4 100 ah are out of my price range!
Thank you, Mose! We re[placed our 2 12V lead acid batteries with 2 12V 100Ah Lithium Iron Phosphate Batteries from Renogy. We got ours on sale for ~$500/piece, but they're on sale right now again too I believe. renogy.sjv.io/YgoaBe
I've been very happy so far. Hope that helps!
Hey Mose! you do not need to replace on a 1 for 1 basis when you are using Flooded lead acid. I would just get 2 100AH lifepo4 or get 1 200AH lifepo. I say this due to the fact that lead acid batteries are only actually 50 of usable AH listed on the battery. anything below 50% will damage the battery and also you are not getting 12 volts out of lead acid at 50 depth of discharge. Renogy makes great products! but even I cant afford thier prices for batteries. their are many channels on youtube of people that do battery tests and break them open to let you know if they are good or bad quality. I build my own from Raw cells, My wife loves designing and engineering new builds.
What is the recommended 12v solar panel array that should be used to charge this 2-battery bank?
Jerald, Renogy has a calculator that may answer your questions. renogy.sjv.io/YgoaBe
Just saw this today. Have you done an update on how they are working for you? I couldn’t locate one but may have overlooked. Thank you.
Really good question! We haven't had good situations for boondocking all year to be honest. Hoping that'll change this fall. We'll keep ya'll updated!
Be careful having them in the pass through, as you can destroy them if you try to charge them when it's below 32 degrees F. Maybe consider a warming pad to go under them. Mine are going under my bed.
Thank you for the advice!
so a couple questions - why not install the batteries outside on the a frame where the old battery was - risk of theft I'm assuming? does the bluetooth function of the battery make a smart shunt redundant? also with 200 ah of reserve power - did you consider an inverter to pwer some outlets? are you ok to only have a larger supply of power for only 12 v items?
thanks!
Good question! We decided to put them in the pass through for several reasons-
We would've had to refurbish parts to put them on the A frame since they're bigger than our old ones
It keeps them out of the elements
It will help prevent theft
It allows us to add more in the future
I've seen the smart shunts, but the Bluetooth works fine so far. I may want to install a proper battery level indicator in the future
I may add an inverter in the future, and install it in the pass through as well.
We've done really well will 12V only for boondocking, and it really isn't a huge deal to us. But it would be nice to have more power in the future.
Hope that helps! Thank you so much for watching!
Do you use your generator to charge the batteries when boon docking?
Adding just in case my verbose comment exceeds the 30 line limit? Be sure to install a module to the charge pin on the seven pin connector that will condition the voltage coming from the alternator on the tow vehicle to protect your new batteries.
Thanks so much!
ow. unusual ~ 🤟
Thanks!
Do the batteries have low temp protection ?
Hi, Thomas! According to the website: "The lithium battery has low temperature charging and discharging protection function. When the temperature is below 0℃, it will stop charging. When the temperature is below -20℃, it will stop discharging."
Hope that helps!
Did you seal the hole in the bottom of the trailer with something?
Yes! We put some silicone on it.
Hey guys, nice job. I gotta do the same thing in our 2500rl and was assuming we have same converter, but I couldn't see very well. Was that a wfco WF-8955-PEC-GE ? I couldn't zoom in on the sticker. Sorry.
Thank you! It's the LIS model. Should be this one amzn.to/3TmMF3t
Hey Guys. Been following for some time. After a year how are the Renogy batteries holding up? Would you buy again? Art
Hey there! We've upgraded to bigger ones since - ua-cam.com/video/RPza-dd1UcM/v-deo.html Had really good luck with them!
Cool and helpful video. Do you need to swap the converter if you're only charging the lithium batteries via a solar panel through a charge controller?
Great question! If you're connected directly to the batteries from a controller I wouldn't think you'd need one. You'll have to consult the professionals on that one though 😂
And what does the app look like with two batteries in use? Are both batteries displayed for one display in the app or are both batteries displayed?
Great question! The app shows it as one battery, combined for the total of the 2 batteries
@@lifererouted With two batteries, the continuous discharge current doubles from 100Ah of a single battery to 200Ah?
I ordered two 100Ah batteries and would like to operate an induction field with 1500 watts with an inverter, but 150Ah draws.
Will this work?
Curious why you moved the batteries to the storage compartment? was it because the lithium wouldn't fit in the OEM position?
Good question! I did it for several reasons. It got them out of the weather, keeps them locked up and more difficult to steal, and freed up a spot where I plan to put the spare tire. Hoping to add more batteries to the bank as well someday!
Next stop.... 2000 watt inverter (then transfer switch)
💪
Did you have to do anything different to your 7 pin connector from the truck to trailer since installing these batteries?
No, the existing connector works fine charging the new batteries. Good question!
@@lifererouted Thanks! for the quick reply :) It's nice you can basically just drop them in other than the WFCO charger change out in the distribution panel
Do you have solar? I have 190 watt panel on the roof and a 30 amp charge controller. Not sure what brand, dealer installed it when we bought it. Also ruining 2-6 volt lead acid batteries. We want to run a small inverter so we can run the TV while we boondock. Any advice?
We don't have solar...yet 🤔 Been looking into it some. There's so much info out there it's really hard to choose. My father in law has a 1000W inverter he runs off 2 6V lead acid batteries. Seems to work okay for them. Seems to me, Tom, that if you can stomach the install price a professional install is worth it. I just keep digging into research 🤣
Go Bears
🐻🔽
So in order to make a lead battery acid to lithium battery conversion I need to change the convertor AND invertor?
On our model, we had to replace our converter because it wasn't set up for lithium. We do not have an inverter. If you have a camper, you're first step is to contact the manufacturer and see what converter your model has. Hope that helps!
Your inverter (DC to AC) should work just as well on LiFePO4 as it does on Lead Acid. You may want to monitor voltage for the first few uses of the inverter to be sure it does not let the LiFePO4 go below 10 volts. If the inverter has a low voltage cut off that can be set, 10.6 volts is much better for the battery, with about 10% remaining. As stated by others including the OP you need to have a converter (AC to DC) that is appropriate for LiFePO4.
Do you have solar panels?
Not yet! Hopefully in the future 🤞
Step 2 - REMOVE WIRES FROM BATTERY!
You're not wrong! We unplugged the camper and had the battery disconnect engaged - but didn't think to mention that. Thank you!
@@lifererouted You're welcome! 😁
You should have bought SOK batteries cheaper and better than renergy
Good to know!
Looks cold where you are. Check out this idea for a cheap battery heating pad: ua-cam.com/video/m1T7S1J-Zxs/v-deo.html . Search the comments for "rv" for other things to consider 😀
Thank you!
So, please share real experiences with renogy " prorated warranty" what exactly does it mean, I read more and more that they are scam artists? Input appreciated
I'm not sure about the prorated warranty, you'd have to talk to them about that. I have had nothing but good experiences with them so far. The products have been working as expected, and we've also upgraded our system with Renogy products
@@lifererouted thanks was mainly wondering about their pricey batteries with "5 year" warranty, what happens if they fail after say 2 or 3 years
Not “full hog”. “Whole hog” is the accepted phrase.
Haha thank you! Knew it sounded goofy 🤪
@@lifererouted whole hog, full monty, the whole 9 yards, whole shootin' match, whole shebang, whole ball of wax...lol...now you have a bunch more slag sayings for the same intent. new viewer and now new subscriber! Thanks!