Alright everyone, I need electrical upgrades, time for ALL NEW! Suggestions needed!

[Dano]

Current setup
New main starter battery and new alternator
I need new Coach batteries, mine are 5 years old that came with the rig and are shot. Will likely stick with affordable flooded batteries when purchasing new ones
Have space for two batteries on the slide out tray
My charge controller is the original Mark 15
My converter section was replaced with a new unit a year or two ago and is a Parallax 45TCRU. Description: The 45RU is a three current stage 45 Amp converter/charger. It is part of the RU Series manufactured by Parallax Power Supply. The 45RU is a direct replacement for the Parallax and MagneTek™ 7345 Power Centers.
http://www.dyersonline.com/parallax-pow ... ement.html
I only have the existing 50 watt roof mounted panel

We want to travel, likely half boondocking and half at serviced sites. I want whatever suggestions and upgrades to be “mostly” plug and play without a ton of work. I’m a very good carpenter but only a very average electrician but will still do all the work myself!

My questions and thoughts:
Can I stick with this new converter/charger? Will it do a decent enough job charging the new batteries without boiling them or creating any other issues like the Progressive Dynamics 4600 series?
Clay feels the Coleman/Sunforce charge controller is a good one. Any concerns here simply replacing the Mark 15 with this unit or is a better/different one in order considering our needs? It sounds right...
Group size recommendations for batteries? What type? AGM, marine deep cycle or whatever?
Time to upgrade panels or add to what is there...Anyone get lucky with a good setup?

I’ll do whatever you suggest, I promise!!

[kdarling]

Well, we all love to spend someone else's money heh heh

But really, it all depends on your budget, and what your actual electrical goals are.

When you camp away from power now, are your electrical needs met? Is there anything that you'd like to be able to do, that you cannot right now?

Btw, do you have any meters yet to keep track of your usage and battery state? That's always a good starting point.

Kev

[Dano]

Well, we all love to spend someone else's money heh heh

But really, it all depends on your budget, and what your actual electrical goals are.

When you camp away from power now, are your electrical needs met? Is there anything that you'd like to be able to do, that you cannot right now?

Btw, do you have any meters yet to keep track of your usage and battery state?

Kev

The budget is whatever makes quality sense but also has value. Will stay away from $1,000 lithium batteries as an example! Anything we use at night would be a LED TV and a reading light probably, small water pump usage to run a bit of water. Charging items like laptops would be done while driving to piggy back the alternator. If we made coffee or used a high load item, we'd use the generator. For sure, I'd like to keep the same layout of things without too much cutting or hacking. Biggest batteries we can fit in the slides. Does a portable solar panel kit make sense Kev? Should I do some kind of load calculation?

[HoosierB]

I went with several recommendations from forum members. These we're basic upgrades for safety and the latest technology rather than major modifications. FYI: I store my rig in a pole building with a 30amp "shore power" hook up.

Sunforce controller for house batteries (Clay's approach) for existing solar panel. Cost effective upgrade that was a basic "plug 'n play". Future modification will be a 200+W solar system.
New AGM Group 65 engine battery
New AGM Duracell marine group 31 house batteries (2), plus new cables
New starter solenoid
New SurePower battery separator
Progressive Dynamics power distribution unit
Progressive Industries EMS (hardwired) w/monitor
SmartPlug cordset and inlet connector modification (eliminated OEM "cord-reel")
Upgraded (short-run) wiring for AC/DC compressor Fridge
All new LED exterior/interior fixtures
New Onan 4k Generator

[Dano]

You need to pay attention and sweat the small details more Hoosier!

Seems like everyone likes the Sunforce controller so will go with that I think. Previous owner just put in a brand new starting battery so will leave that one alone. I’ve already swapped all lights to LED so am good there. My Onan 4K generator has 400 hours on it and was just serviced so will also leave that alone.
Is your power converter a 4 stage? My new Parallax 45RU was installed new by the previous owner and is a 3 stage, do you think that will suffice? Do you prefer the AGM batteries to regular deep cycle? Do you feel they are worth the extra cost?
Thanks for taking the time...

Dano

[HoosierB]

The SunForce is a cheap/easy upgrade.
Your good on all LEDs.
Your Onan is up to snuff.
Not familiar with The Parallax, but the 3 stage should be fine.
Recommend the Progressive Industries EMS for a quality surge protector. Easily hardwired to the distribution box, mine sits just behind the kitchen drawers on the (bathroom) wall.
I prefer AGM bats (IMHO). Always worked for me, no problems. And worth the extra $. I installed these bat cables (Amazon) to tidy things up.

Blue~Go will have excellent advice on all this for sure.
My travel style is daytime "touring".... with over-nights on shore power. Very little boondocking. We use the microwave. LED flat screen w/BD player.
The big change will be solar. Anything in the 200+w range will need major upgrade for controller/wiring/panels. But even Clay's approach to an additional 100W of solar power is cost effective and sensible.
All a matter of how far you want to go...

[Dano]

Thinking of a 100W Renogy portable folding kit that comes with a charge controller, cabling, etc. It will actually fit inside one of the beds I just built in addition to the 50W panel on the roof. Creates some flexibility to always have the panels in the Sun if your rig is sitting in the shade. No holes in the roof or install issues, just clip on and go. Gives you some charging while driving and also when stationary. Love the clips too!

[deppstein]

Hello Dano--
First off, let me say that there are some real electrical wizards as elders on this forum. Able to give you much more excellent technical advice. I am pretty handy (generally), but tend to stay away from things electrical. Nothing complicated.
That said, I have made a several "electrical-related" changes to our 2004 Premier. All of them are separate from the original "internal" electrical set-up with its 30amp service and converter/charger. I've also removed the on-board 4000watt Onan generator. Turned that compartment into additional outside storage. HUGE!
My wife and I use "Turtle" to camp in mostly semi-remote areas (BLM and State Parks are our favorites) for up to two months at a time. We rarely hook-up. We removed microwave and tv long ago. Never really use the AC, and have enough House Battery juice to use regular furnace to take off chill before bed and first thing in the AM. Run frig on propane 95% of the time, and use computers and phones regularly. The only unusual significant electrical draw need we have is to charge our "Copenhagen Wheel" Electric Assist Bikes--LOVE EM!
To meet these use/need parameters, I have done the following:
--Since we use the vehicle alternator as a major source of charging House Batteries, I replaced the original Separator with a Blue Sea 7622 magnetic in effort to decrease voltage drain. Did not replace any wiring. Based on my Scan Gauge II reading of the alternator, coupled with my digital readout of the Xantra 1000watt pure sine inverter that is wired (fused) directly to the House Batteries and mounted behind the driver seat--it looks like I only use .1volt along the line. Alternator charges as high as 14.6, but generally at 14.2, while the inverter reads 14.5/14.1.
--The 1000watt inverter meets all of our "plug-in" needs. With a 120v wire running from front grill (we carry our electric assist bikes on the front) through the firewall and connected to the inverter outlets, we can charge the bikes while driving and still keep House Batteries reading about 13.2v. The inverter also works well (driving or boondocking) for charging our cell phones/computers.
--I replaced the original pair of Group 27 House Batteries with a pair of Group 31's for more storage capacity. Not ready for next generation of Lithium Ion, and AGM seemed too fussy for my unsophisticated charging system. Had them now for 3 years, and still holding a decent charge.
--I purchased a Zamp 200 watt "Solar Suitcase." Roof top real estate is spoken for by boats (canoe/kayaks), and I like the flexibility of portable. The system has its own 5-stage smart controller, and is plug-n-play directly tied to the battery. The suitcase is about 3feet by 4 feet and I have a simple mounting system that puts it on the back bumper next to the storage locker. I've rigged it so that it can easily be tilted outward to allow for access to the storage behind without having to always remove the suitcase. This system works well for adding charge to House when there is sun.
--I also have a 1000watt Honda Inverter Generator for use when no sun, or a need to charge the bikes more quickly. Very Quiet. Nothing like the old on-board. The 1000watt can be stored in the back locker. The 2000watt is too wide.
--Also purchased a NOCO Genius 15000 smart charger that I use in a couple of ways. First off, to keep batteries up when at home and not traveling. Second, as a way to make the Honda a "smart" charging source by plugging NOCO into the Gen. Third, when we do find ourselves at a site with shore power, I will actually plug the NOCO into the shore power and attach it to the batteries to charge (smarter than going through the old "House converter/charger" system).
These things, used as described seem to do a fine job of meeting our electrical use parameters. The two big ticket items were the Zamp Solar (about $850 I recall), and the Honda 1000watt Inverter Generator (about $900). The other things (separator, inverter, NOCO) all cost between $100-300 each.
Hope this is helpful. Additional questions...let me know. Can also send pics/specs of stuff if you want.
Best,
David

[Dano]

Wow Dave, thank you. You and Hoosier are dialed IN!! A few questions if I may...is your Honda generator enough to power the A/C if you wanted to start and use it? Do you think the original separator is adequate given our lesser needs or do you feel yours is a must do upgrade? Are your batteries normal deep cycle style or anything special or just off the rack cheapies? Thanks for taking the time to answer! Dano

[Dano]

JUST AN FYI for anyone following this thread...The Sunforce 30 Amp, 12-Volt Digital Solar Charge Controller has two part numbers but are identical units from what I can see. The only difference is one is branded Sunforce and the other Coleman. Sunforce part number is 60032 and has a yellow stripe across the bottom and the Coleman part number is 68032. The only difference with the Sunforce brand, is a little over $31 cheaper with taxes on Amazon here in Canada, enough to buy a Coach battery monitor!