We knew when purchasing a new motorhome there would be modifications and upgrades that we would want to make to make the vehicle more like a home and be able to provide a more comfortable lifestyle. We had read many reviews on various models of motorhomes including the one we purchased and knew that it would not be perfect and that some work would need to be done before venturing out long distances. These mods were not because things didn’t work but because they didn’t work they way we would like them to, as usual!
We made both major upgrades and some minor ones. We prioritized our list and focused on the ones we knew for sure we wanted. We have another list of potential items to do in the future but we will wait on those. We will cover those items in a future post.
We will start with the major upgrades and modifications first.
1) Addition of a Satellite Dish
The View came pre-wired for satellite but did not have a Satellite Dish mounted on the roof. No problem for us as we added one. We added a Pathway X1 Antenna (White) & DISH Wally HD Receiver Bundle. This required a roof mount kit and was easily installed and so far, knock on wood, works like a charm.
Winegard Satellite Dish
Winegard Satellite Dish Roof Mount Kit
Of course we do have a DISH satellite subscription for On The Go (RV) along with a DVR which we had on our previous motorhome. We mounted the receiver vertically against the back wall of the cabinet behind the TV to help save space. The DVR sits on top of it and both are attached to the wall behind them.
DISH Reciever and DVR in a vertical mount
2) Added 2 More Solar Panels
Our View came with 2-100 watt solar panels mounted flat on the roof.
Original 2 – 100 Watt Solar Panels – factory installed by Winnebago
We knew we needed to upgrade the solar and the batteries to allow us to boondock and keep the compressor fridge going amongst other items. Tests which were done by Litchsinn RV on a Winnebago Navion/View on the Zamp Solar System powering a Norcold Refrigerator is documented on You Tube.
The tests showed that the fridge could maintain adequate cooling temperatures for about 3 days when using nothing else (no one living in it and using lights, TV, water pump, etc.). The sky was a bit cloudy/overcast for the tests which allowed for some testing in real situations. A limitation of approximately 3 days is not ideal and we knew we needed to do something, either replace the fridge with a 3 way (AC,DC,propane) or add more solar and battery capacity. We thought we would take the easy route first (the latter) and see how that works before buying and installing a new fridge.
A generator can be used to charge up the batteries but we really hate to run the rather noisy generator and try not to except for situations when we have no other viable alternative and/or maintenance.
With the factory installed 2 solar panels already on the roof on the passenger side there isn’t much real estate left to add many more panels but it can be done. There is some shading which is bound to occur from the a/c and also from the newly mounted satellite dish that we installed. My husband laid out a few different designs with different sized panels to figure out the best use of real estate measured against wattage, cost, and benefits.
The additional solar panels we purchased were the Renogy (2 pieces) 100 Watt 12 Volt Flexible Monocrystalline Solar Panels and we mounted them on the roof on the driver side. This would give us a theoretical total of 400 Watts of solar energy.
Renogy Solar Panels Description
Below is the wiring diagram for panels as provided by Renogy. The View came equipped with three ports with SAE connectors on the roof for attaching solar panels. Two of the ports were used by the existing Zamp panels so the third port was used for the additional two panels which were wired in parallel. The only potential glitch during the install is that the existing SAE connectors which are available are wired opposite to the de-facto standard for SAE connectors. This required making a short “gender changer” cable and an adapter cable to go from the standard MC4 solar connectors to the reverse-wired SAE connector on the open port.
Solar Panels wiring diagram from
Our new panels prior to mounting
Our newly purchased panels before mounting on roof
Panels being mounted – note the newly installed Satellite Dish also in the picture
Busy mounting additional solar panels on driver side of roof
Here are the panels in action.
4 – 100 watt solar panels in action
During periods of unobstructed sunshine on a partly cloudy day we were seeing some readings like this:
Reading on a party cloudy day
On a party cloudy day, in Arizona, in March the panels were producing about 90 Amp-hours (Ah) and we were waking up in the morning with the house and chassis batteries over 13 volts. So far so good!
3) Replaced The Original House Batteries
The original house batteries provided by Winnebago were 2 deep-cycle Group 24 RV batteries (flooded lead-acid) which each weigh about 42 lbs and are 9 3/8 in high and 10 3/4 in wide and are rated at approximately 70 Ah. Since they are lead-acid batteries the actual usable capacity is roughly 50% of the rated capacity. That’s a total of 84 lbs and approximately 70 Ah which we calculated to be inadequate for boondocking. The compressor fridge seems to have a duty cycle of close to 50% even in relatively cool weather and the compressor draws more than 5A when active so the fridge alone requires roughly 60Ah. When we add in lights, some TV viewing, charging laptops, etc. the daily Ah capacity required to avoid running the generator is well beyond the capacity of the OEM batteries – we clearly needed significantly more battery capacity!
We replaced the OEM betteries with Lithium-Iron-Phosphate Batteries (LiFePO4) 12 Volt 100 Ah) which each weigh about 28 lbs and are approximately 260 mm (10.2 inches) long, 158 mm (6.2 inches) wide, and 246 mm high (9.6 inches). This means that the LiFePO4 batteries are a drop-in replacement for the original house batteries. They weigh significantly less (total of 56 lbs) and provide much more energy. LiFePO4 batteries have more usable capacity of up to 80% without significantly shortening the life of the batteries. Overall these batteries give us roughly double the capacity and a saving of 28 lbs from the original lead acid batteries.
Besides being lighter and having more usable capacity, the LiFePO4 batteries also are faster and more efficient at charging, are pretty much maintenance free, and have an extended life cycle.
The down side? They are not inexpensive!
The original batteries were located under the steps when you enter the motorhome from behind the passenger seat. We removed the original batteries and inserted the 2 new LiFePO4 batteries which are lighter and fit easily in the existing battery compartment. Some re-cabling was required since the LiFePO4 batteries had the posts on the opposite side.
House Battery compartment under steps – installing the lithium iron batteries
House Battery compartment under steps – showing the newly installed lithium iron batteries
4) Added A Starting Battery Charger/Maintainer
A major omission in Winnebago’s DC electrical design is that the chassis batteries are not charged in concert with the house batteries. When parked for a period of time the parasitic loads on the chassis batteries will run them down even if the vehicle is plugged into shore power with the converter maintaining the house batteries fully charged. We added a Trik-L Start module which allows for charging the chassis batteries from the house batteries when the house batteries are above a threshold voltage (approx 13.2V). This ensures the chassis batteries are maintained as long as the house batteries are being charged by shore power, generator, or solar panels.
There is a battery boost switch on the 3500 Sprinter Chassis which allows you to use your house batteries to jump start your chassis batteries but it is not good for the chassis batteries to be running them down.
Lights and switches on Sprinter 3500 dash (left of steering wheel) for tow brake light, stabilizers, and battery boost
There is also a switch on the dash to change the radio from Engine to House batteries. You can switch the radio to house batteries to allow the operation of the dash radio (Riverpark Xite) while parked and hopefully then not put a drain on the chassis batteries. Switch it back to Engine while driving. Since installing the Trik-L-Start module, we tend to leave the switch in the Engine position.
Switch to toggle between engine or house battery for the Sprinter dash radio
The Trik-L-Start seems to be working fine.
Trik-L Start Charger
5) Added Sewer Hose Storage
Our View came with a sewer hose storage container on the driver side’s basement which is located under the slide. It is difficult to use those basement compartments when the slide is out but not impossible. The compartment has a plastic container with an opening that you can slide a BARE sewer hose into but you must first remove any fitting on the end. This is cumbersome at best, and just plain ridiculous considering you no longer have a positive connection at the sewer entrance. You have to just shove the bare sewer hose down the hole and hope it doesn’t pop out during a dump of the black tank! Overall this potentially good idea of a storage compartment was completely unworkable and was removed to provide a good bit more storage in the rear compartment.
Diagram showing the original factory installed sewer hose container
Both of these items were addressed by removing the sewer hose storage plastic container whereby freeing up more basement compartment storage space. More space is always good.
The original Winnebago View 24D sewer hose storage – after we removed it from the basement compartment
Extra space in compartment now that the factory installed sewer hose container has been removed
We purchased a sewer hose storage system which mounts to the bottom of the rig close to the dump controls. We purchased a Super-Slider Adjustable Super-Tube 43/80 after watching a review by The Fit RV on You Tube .
This tube is big enough to accommodate the hose with connector attached and it is MUCH easier to insert/retrieve the hose plus it is adjacent to the dump valve and not under the slide – another big bonus.
Super Slider-4380
Super Slider-4380-Description
It works great!!!!
Our new sewer hose storage system mounted
6) Added a DC-DC Variable Converter for Reduction of Solenoid Power Consumption
The View has an electrically operated solenoid which opens and closes the main valve on the LP tank. This switch-operated valve is convenient however it draws a considerable amount of current in the “ON” position. When the solenoid is on the coil is continually energized which draws roughly 900mA at 13.2 VDC from the batteries when not connected to shore power. This drain amounts to roughly 1 AH or 24 AH over a 24 hour period. Of course if propane isn’t required full-time this could be reduced by only switching the LP on when required. This isn’t practical when the furnace or hot water are required.
Other View owners had reported that the solenoid valve will operate at a much lower voltage than the nominal 13.2 VDC. Lowering the voltage applied to the solenoid will proportionally reduce the current and overall energy required to keep the LP available to the coach. In order to reduce the voltage I installed a DC-DC variable converter with adjustable current limiting and LED readouts for voltage & current.
The solenoid now operates reliably at 5.0 VDC and only draws 170 mA so the 24 Hr usage is reduced from 24 AH to roughly 4.5 AH and when boondocking and charging the battery bank using solar panels this is a significant saving.
DC-DC Variable Converter
Other Miscellaneous Modifications
7) Removal of Various Items
The following items were removed from the RV to give us more space and to save on our weight allowance. We did not dispose of them but they were items we didn’t think we would be using or we thought they were not necessary. We still have them and can put them back in anytime we want.
2 Booster Seats – The Sprinter Chassis driver and passenger seats can swivel to face into the coach therefore 2 booster seats are provided so when you sit on the seats your knees don’t come to your chin (ha, ha…). We had a Sprinter chassis before and rarely swiveled the seats so we thought we would remove them and save on storage space.
Extra table and pole – The View 24D comes with an extra table and pole which can be mounted either between the driver and passenger seats or next to the couch. We felt that our needs only required the dinette table and again we wanted to save on space and weight so we removed them.
Both sink covers – The kitchen sink has 2 sink covers which provide extra counter space. We felt the kitchen counter space was adequate and having the 2 sink covers would require always having to put them somewhere when using the sink. Out they go!
Curtain which hangs around bed – The View comes with a large curtain which can be hung around the Murphy bed/couch to provide privacy. This isn’t something needed by us and takes up a fair bit of storage space that could be used for clothes or other items. Out it goes!
Cab over bunk mattress and ladder – The mattress and ladder weigh quite a bit and when we aren’t in need of extra sleeping space then out it goes. We added a carpet to the area where the mattress usually sits for both aesthetic reasons and also to keep items (such as coats and hats) more secure. Of course, if the grandkids come then we can easily put the mattress and ladder back in.
Cab over bunk with mattress removed and carpet installed
8) Added a TPMS – Tire Pressure Monitoring System
We removed the TPMS from our previous Class A and are now using it on our View. We bought it years ago at the RV tent show in Quartzsite and it still works great.
Tire Safe Guard TPMS
9) Adjusted the Kitchen Sink Faucet
On our first drive from the RV dealer home we noticed that the kitchen sink faucet would easily swivel, even while driving. It would swing around and hit the kitchen window. Not good. So when we got home my husband added an thick rubber elastic band around the fixture to allow it to still swivel but with some resistance so it now stays put. Problem solved! And it looks half decent.
Kitchen sink faucet with band installed to limit reckless movement
10) Bubble Levelers
We don’t have hydraulic leveling jacks with this RV but we do have stabilizers. This will mean a bit more of a job to level. My hubby installed a couple bubble levelers hidden inside the fuel door to aid with leveling. When the fuel door is open one bubble indicates fore/aft level and the other indicates the side-to-side level.
Leveling Bubbles by fuel fill
11) Added a trash can under sink
One of the problems we saw with many of the Class B+/Class C motorhomes we looked at was either no location for a decent sized trash can or no location for a trash can at all. What is a decent sized trash can you ask? Well, that is very subjective.
We measured the area under the sink very carefully and looked around both at stores and online for a trash can (with a lid/cover – a strong requirement since we are sleeping close to the trash) that would fit under the sink. The trash can needed to not have a straight flip up lid due to the small area. We found, what we thought was, a perfect sized trash can with a swing top lid online at Wayfair. We ordered it and, lo and behold, the advertised measurements were for the trash can without taking into account the lid therefore it did not fit under the sink. We did, however, decide to keep it (and notified Wayfair of the actual measurements) and simply cut a section out and pop-rivited it back together.
There is now plenty of room to allow the swing top trash can to swing and not hit the sink above it. We love the modified can and it works perfectly! By the way, it was advertised as 9.5 gallons and when we received the product it stated it was 9.2 gallons. After cutting it down we assume it is around 7 or 8 gallons. That to us is a decent sized trash can. The only other one we could find was 2.6 gallons. That would not be a decent sized trash can to us.
Swing Top Trash Can that we cut down to fit under the kitchen sink
12) Added Boot Trays
Boot trays make an easy place to store shoes/boots for easy access when parked. We purchased 2 shoe trays which are 20″ x 15″ each and they can either be stacked when traveling or put one behind each of the drivers seat and the passenger seat when parked. These are smaller than normal shoe trays and we found that the standard sized ones were in the way when we walked from the cab to the coach and vice versa.
A smaller than normal boot/shoe tray
13) Foot Stool
We purchased a bean bag foot stool to use by the couch and opted to not use the table which can be mounted by the couch when parked. We felt the dinette table was good enough for us but can always change our mind later. The foot stool is light enough to be stowed on the cab over bunk and small enough to fit under the bed when the Murphy bed is pulled down. It can also be used a extra seating or as a little coffee table.
Bean bag foot stool cube – can be used as a coffee table, foot stool, or extra seat
AND a variety of other upgrades
14) We mounted a indoor/outdoor temperature gauge and clock to the wall which we had in our Class A.
15) We mounted a magazine rack by the dinette for various items such as reservations, maps, e-readers, mail, etc.
16) We installed brackets in the driver side basement (rear wall) to mount wash brushes and our hiking sticks.
17) We labeled several of the switches which were not labelled to help us remember what is what. They included the switches as you enter the coach on the left side and are for the outside light, the cab over bunk light, the skylight, and the galley light. We also labeled the switches outside the bathroom door for the Murphy bed up/down and the bedroom ceiling light.
18) We added labels to the dashboard (in both feet/inches and metres) of the height of the RV and the length of the RV. This helps in quick decisions when driving anywhere where there are height or length restrictions. Having it in metres helps us quickly from doing the math (and making an error) while driving in Canada.
19) We put a label on the Truma control switch in the bathroom. The dial is located in the corner of the bathroom and the controls are very difficult to read because they are small and in the shadows. We put a piece of tape on the control dial and also on the off switch to know they need to be aligned to have the unit off. Otherwise it is impossible to see where the dial is located.
Truma Aqua Go controls
20) We added 2 additional shelves in the bathroom medicine cabinet and 1 additional shelf in the cabinet below the bathroom sink.
21) We mounted a small spice rack to the wall close to the stove.
22) We mounted 2 more towel hooks in the bathroom. There is one close to the shower which is a bit of a shallow hook and nothing seems to stay on it while traveling.
23) We mounted a toothbrush holder under the bathroom medicine cabinet.
24) We put pillows on the dinette so we can sit lengthwise if we want to relax some.
25) We added a thick carpet under the dinette for those cold days.
26) We added floor mats in the Sprinter chassis. Nope, they did not come with any.
27) We removed the holders for the cab over bunk ladder and put 2 coat hooks in their place.
Coat Hooks in place of the bunk ladder – can easily be switched back
28) We added a few hooks under the kitchen sink for a small broom and dust pan and fly swatter. We have a swiffer with a collapsible handle for mopping the floors which we store under the dinette seats. We have yet to decide if we want to use space and weight for some kind of cordless vacuum. Too soon to tell.
We cut down a broom and mounted it
29) We added a door handle to the inside of the screen door on the screen door slider. Without the handle you have to open the slider, go inside, grab the opening of the slider to shut the screen door, and then close the screen door slider every time you go in. A nuisance! Now you just open the screen door, go inside, and grab the newly installed handle to shut the screen door.
30) We had to purchase leveling blocks. Yes, we are back to the days of having to do a manual leveling. Maybe hydraulic jacks are in our future?
31) We added a DVD Player which accepts USB input from an external hard drive with videos and/or music. The 32″ Insignia TV which comes with the View only allows USB input with JPEG format photos. Our DISH Receiver mounted in the rig only allows USB input for a DVR drive. The Jensen entertainment system (in the coach) provides a radio, DVD player, and a USB input but we tried multiple devices (USB stick, USB external hard drive 1 TB, USB external hard drive 5 TB) with the following formats (jpeg, jpg, mkv, mp4, mp3) and the TV would never recognize them. Maybe we are just too stupid to figure it out but we had a DVD player in the house with a USB input which allows us to plug in a USB device and the TV can recognize the video/music/photos with no problem.
32) We added a sorely needed single 125VAC outlet near the entry door under the radio on the kitchen counter waterfall area.
33) We modified the slide control switch to allow opening and closing the slide without the engine running. The parking brake still must be set for the slide to operate. This can be accomplished by moving the wire on the plug from the #8 (top) position to the #2 position and just tape up the wire that originally went to #2. The #8 position is no longer used.
34) We added an additional pair of outlets by the bed which provides an always powered 12 volt socket and a double USB power outlet. The two existing USB outlets require 125V AC in order for them to function so we needed to either be connected to shore power or have the inverter turned on for the USB outlets to be powered. We don’t normally leave our inverter on, especially overnight when boondocking so they are pretty well useless for our purposes. We now power a digital clock mounted to the wall from the new USB outlet and charge small items from this outlet without turning on the inverter.
This is probably just the start of our upgrades and modifications. It is a learning process and requires more time traveling in it and living in it to determine what needs to be done or not done and to determine if we even like the rig or not. It takes time to get used to downsizing and having a different rig. We drove the other rig for over 8 years so we are now going through an adjustment period.
Stay tuned for our next shakedown trip with dry camping.
Great ideas- thank you so mich
Thank you!!
I thought lithium batteries replacements required a different charger/ inverter?
Hi Eugene,
Ideally yes, a better charger that had a charge profile for lithium batteries would be better. As it is, the stock charger does work, sort of.. but the good news is that the solar charger works better and has a lithium profile and I installed two additional solar panels so when the sun shines the lithium batteries get charged more fully. Also when we are driving the alternator charges the batteries fully and when we are plugged in to AC the batteries are kept at about 13.2V by the converter which, although not fully charging the batteries, it is fine for just maintaining the batteries.
As for inverter, the stock one works OK but only puts out 1kW. I intend to replace it with a 2kW inverter that has a much better internal converter and transfer switch. Then I will be able to power the microwave and other appliances off the inverter as required. I will need to re-wire the outlets but that is straight forward. A bonus is that I will be able to relocate the existing transfer switch to generator/shore power duty. It seems Winnebago has realized how sub-standard the batteries/charger/inverter are and designed the 2020 View with many of these issues sorted out properly – unfortunately we have to do the mods ourselves to get a reasonable system.
Norm
What charge controller would you get if you upgraded?
Driving charges the batteries fully? To what voltage?
Is the switch worth it so far?
I have a 2017 Navion 24J on my second set of Lead Acid batteries.
I run from town to town for business and boon-dock during the week.
Try to find something interesting on the weekends. Ideally in nature but a KOA to do laundry and see urban sites works too.
I am thinking, If driving fully charges the Li Battery I’ll be in good shape.
Hi Thomas,
I haven’t upgraded or fully researched charge controllers yet but it would have to have a LiFePO charge profile and ideally allow for custom settings. It should also have a bit more monitor capability showing the charge mode in effect and hopefully the capability to manually select a mode.
The alternator does charge the batteries. I suspect that after some hours of driving the batteries do get well charged because the indicated voltage is about 14.4V but whether they are “fully” charged I cannot tell with my current lack of a good battery monitor system.
For us the decision wasn’t so much “is it worth it” as “do we want to be able to boondock without running the generator daily”. Since we do like being able to boondock without running the generator increasing the battery capacity was almost manadatory for our RV. The 24D comes with a DC only fridge which consumes more energy than the two stock (puny) Lead-Acid batteries could deliver over a night following a cloudy day in warm weather. We now have at least twice the energy available and with a total of four solar panels we can boondock for extended periods without resorting to running the generator – unless of course we have a few consecutive days of heavy overcast or we are parked in a heavily treed campground!
Sorry I can’t be more difinitive but hope that helps a bit.
Norm
Thanks… Very helpful and your website is awesome. Tom
Thanks for the kind words and feedback, Lisa is the webmaster and has done all the work keeping up the blog.
I have a 2019 View 24D. I also installed 2 Battle Born batteries to replace the original batteries. My Zamp controller never seems to fully recharge the BBs. It never shows over 13.4 on its display while recharging with solar. We were very good boondockers in our old RV, but are struggling with energy management with the View. Do you have any suggestions for me?
Sorry Daniel I can’t offer much help other than to commiserate!
I have experienced the same issues you have. It is unfortunate that Winnebago chose to install such a low end controller that doesn’t allow any adjustment to charge profiles, or even to view them. I do see about 13.6V before it starts flashing “Full” but that is well short of what it should be for a LiFePO batteries. Since no adjustments are possible I have been considering swapping out the controller for a more capable one and maybe a battery monitor as well if the functionality is not provided in the controller.
How much solar do you have on the roof? If find 4x100W to be just barely sufficient for extended boondocking. Since the panels are mounted flat they only approach 300W output when the sun is directly overhead.
Although I find it frustrating to have such a basic controller I find the lack of an automatic transfer switch even more irritating! Cheaping out on some of these systems really detracts from the rest of the coach.
Winnebago appears to be a bit of a penny pincher.
I guess they are just trying to keep the overall price down!!
Hi Norm,
I am taking your advice and adding the 200W of solar as well as the Lithium Iron Pho batteries to my 2018 Navion this winter. Now that you have had this upgrade installed for a while is there anything you would have done differently or are you still pleased as punch? 🙂
Hi Steve,
The addition of the solar with the new batteries has worked out pretty much
as expected. We are now able to boondock without running the genny unless
we are parked in a heavily treed site or we have several consecutive days
of heavy overcast which was the goal. So, yes I am pleased.
As for doing anything differently with the solar/batteries, I really don’t think so.
I still have a few items on my wish list though:
– A more capable/flexible solar charge controller with custom profile for LiFePO
– An automatic transfer switch for the shore/generator input
– A 2KW inverter/converter with built-in transfer switch and better monitoring
– A “real” fan in the bathroom
– An infotainment system that actually works
Hi Norm,
I just completed the install of two additional 100W solar panels on the Navion and it looks good and is acting real nice! I did notice in the manual that the technical specs for the roof mounted three port solar cap is a maximum input of 150W per port. Do you have any concerns that we are now exceeding that rated maximum? -Steve
Hi Steve,
Sorry for the delay in replying, the e-mail notification must have gone astray..
Good to hear your installation went well, the extra two panels should really help.
Concerning the ports, I really don’t think it is a concern. The ports are combined so I think it would be more important to keep within the 450W for the total or about 30A total current. Of course the four panels when mounted flat on the roof will never actually put out the rated 400W or 28A. The best I have seen on a sunny summer day in Arizona summer is more like 25A so well within the 30A spec for the combined three ports. I don’t anticipate any problems.
Hi Norm,
We take delivery of our new 2020 24D on Nov. 2nd. at Lichtsinn RV in Forrest City Iowa and then travel back to San Diego to outfit it! I have been using your Upgrades and Mods as a great resource and I really appreciate all of your work!
The 2020 does not have your great cab pleated blinds but instead has folding ones like you see that people use in their cars. It has something to do with the redesign of the Mercedes cab and the front air bags. But there are many improvement that WBO made that mirror many of your upgrades and mods.
There is a Fantastic Fan in the main part of the coach which I understand is quite good. My question is, the bathroom has a very small fan. Did you upgrade that fan to something like a Fantastic Fan or find it necessary? I think the roof opening size is the same as the original fan so one may fit. I think the fans can pull in fresh, cool air if it’s needed, especially at night so I wanted to get your opinion.
Thanks Norm, safe travels and let us know when you have more adventures!!!
Lou & Alicia in San Diego
Hi Lou good to hear from you,
Your 2020 24D sounds great and worth the wait.
At first I thought the pleated window covers in our rig were a bit obtrusive but they work really well and we have come to really appreciate them. Hopefully the new system will work equally well.
So true about the bathroom fan. It is puny, makes a lot of noise but doesn’t move much air. It also only has one speed. Our previous
RV had Fantastic fans which we loved. They *really* moved air on high, had fully variable speed and were very quiet when run on low speeds. They were also reversable which was useful from time to time.
So yes, I definitely want to replace the supplied fan and I agree that the roof opening seems to be a standard size. I haven’t ordered a new fan yet but it is on my list.
I think the one in the middle might be more complicated to swap out but I think we would be happy with a good high-volume fan in the bathroom.
I look forward to hearing about your first impressions of the 2020 when you get back to San Diego.
Cheers,
Norm
Hi Norm,
When you installed the Super Slider Tube on the passenger side did you bolt it thru the floor of the bin? -Steve
Hi Steve,
Yes, I used fairly big washers on the inside of the bin to distribute the weight, but in reality there is very little weight and it is has held up well.
Great article/site! My wife and I own a 2018 Navion 24D. Our mods so far: Borg Dually valves, TPMS, Bluetooth Thermostat, 15 lb drawer closers (the stock 10 lb sometimes opened in curves, freaking out our dogs), and a step-through gate to keep the dogs in the back.
The LiFePO4 capable replacement for the stock Progressive Dynamics PD9245C charge controller is the PD9145ALV (~$190). The main issue with Lithium Ion batteries (besides cost) is the risk to ruin them when charging below 32F/0 C. The house battery location under the stairs is vented (required for lead acid batteries), and should be insulated for Lithium Ion batteries to stay warm(er) in colder climates. Unless you go with Cold Weather Lithium Ion batteries (e.g. Relion LT), which are even more expensive, but won’t get ruined when charging at/below freezing temps.
Re. Dan: Using the Zamp ZS-30’s Li/Ion battery profile, the Solar charging voltage should be 14.6V DC, which *should* top off your BB’s, as the 13.6V from the shore/alternator via the PD9245C will only charge Li-Ion batteries to ~2/3 capacity.
The idea with the 5V DC step-down voltage for the LP Solenoid is a good modification. I first read about it on the viewnavion.com Web site (which is worth checking).
Happy RV’ing,
Alex from Northern California
Hi Alex,
Thanks for your comments and especially the pointer to the PD9145ALV which could certainly help with getting the most out of a set of LiFePO batteries.
We also added valve stem extensions for the inner duals and “U” extension for the outer, TPMS and and more powerful drawer clasps.
Regards,
Norm
Alex/Norm – from what I have read about charging the LiPo batteries when they may be below freezing temp is that the built-in Battery Management System will protect the battery and not allow the batteries to take a charge below a certain temperature. Let me know if you agree. I did buy some upholstery foam that I intend to pack around the batteries in an attempt to provide some insulation. For anyone who might be interested, I bought my LiPo batteries direct from China off the Alibaba site (China’s version of Amazon), exact same specs as Battle Born and paid about $700 for 2 batteries delivered to my house. I installed my SuperTube yesterday and that is pretty sweet deal.
Hi Steve,
I have read the same concerning charging below 0°C. Battle Born have stated that their built-in BMS will prevent charging the batteries below freezing. I have heard of some people installing battery warming blankets where they really do need to charge the batteries when the ambient outdoor temperature is well below 0°C. Of course you need to have some power source for the warmers but solar panels work very well in the cold and output even higher voltage as the temperature drops.
You got an absolutely smokin’ deal on those batteries! I have never ordered from Alibaba but if I ever need more batteries I will definitely check them out. Thanks for the tip!
UltraHeat makes a small tank heater that you could set the batteries on and I would think that would be sufficient. But after thinking on it we plan to NOT be in cold weather so it seemed like overkill and will just try the foam insulation which I imagine for us will be fine.
That is also our reasoning. We live in Arizona and stick around the south in the winter. We don’t normally venture north to cooler climes until the summer heat down here chases us out.
After reviewing the tip re. Alibaba, I am looking at the following Low Temperature 200ah LiFePO4 battery to replace the two wet Napa Group 24 House batteries in my 2018 Navion:
https://www.meritsunpower.com/low-temperature-lithium-ion-battery-li-ion-lifepo4-battery-pack-12v-200ah-lifepo4-battery-and-bms-12v-200ah-with-bluetoo
The cost on Alibaba is currently $615 plus shipping, AND it has self-contained Heating for charging at temps up to -30 C (!). Together with the PD9145ALV Charge controller, this should work for most climate zones.
For those looking at the PD9145ALV, AND if you have a Trick-L-Start, please be aware: The constant charging voltage for LiFePO4 batteries is 14.6VDC, which means you might slowly destroy/cook your chassis battery, unless you reduce the voltage before the Trick-L-Start to 13.6VDC, which is appropriate for 12V Lead Acid/VRLA batteries.
Alex,
Thanks for sharing the link and that very interesting and valuable information about the batteries.
As for the concern about using a Trick-L-Start with the PD9145ALV, I haven’t been able to find out exactly what is going on inside the sealed black box and the web page doesn’t really describe the function sufficiently. There is definitely a voltage drop between the input from the house and output to the chassis but some of the infomation (i.e. input voltage 12-18VDC) on the device spec page seem to imply that it also functions as a voltage regulator. It would however be prudent to monitor the chassis voltage when using a PD9145ALV plugged in to shore power for long periods of a time.
Hi Norm,
Regarding the PD9145ALV, was wondering your opinion of the value of this upgrade considering you now have 4 solar panels which will get your batteries to show “Full” status quickly (although I understand they won’t reach “Full” while on shore power) and changing out the converter seems to be a bit of a PITA due to where it is located. While the PD9145ALV is ideal it may be more trouble that it is worth? Also, where the heck did you get the 15 LB drawer clasps? Really tired of having to baby those right-hand curves…:)
-Steve
Spicewood, TX
Hi Steve,
Excellent points about the PD. I was actually considering (still am) of replacing the inverter with a 2KW model that has a built in transfer switch and a charger that has a LiFePO charge profile. I would then just scrap/bypass the existing PD and relocate the inverter transfer switch to the back and use it between the Generator and the Shore Power. The reason for the 2KW inverter is so that I could run the microwave or 1500W tea kettle off the inverter.
As for drawer clasps, I didn’t use the 15lb ones that others have, I just added a second clasp on the drawers – they now stay shut.
Steve,
Here is the link to the replacement 15 lb drawer clasps. Only need to replace the existing cabinet side using a Phillips screw driver, as the drawer hook part is identical.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00NUKUTPI
Alex
Thank you Alex. I have them installed and they work great! -S
Nice Mods!!!
Love some detail on modifying the slide control switch to allow opening and closing the slide without the engine running… Giant pain in the butt. I have seen a few posts but no how-to.
Hi Mark,
I’m not advocating this mod but find it very convenient and I don’t feel that it jeopardizes my safety since the you still have to have the parking brake set for the slide switch to operate. In any case what I did was as follows:
1) Pop out the slide switch and disconnect it from the 5-pin plug that plugs into.
2) Move the wire that was at the top of the plug (Position #8) and attach it to position #2.
3) If you have a tool to remove the wires from the plug you can just move the wires but I didn’t so I cut the wires from #8 and #2 and used a crimp connector to connect the old #8 wire to the old #2 stub.
I’ve posted a pic in the blog entry which might make more sense than these words?
Good luck and enjoy the mod!
Norm/Alex: Regarding the Trik L Start “The constant charging voltage for LiFePO4 batteries is 14.6VDC, which means you might slowly destroy/cook your chassis battery, unless you reduce the voltage before the Trick-L-Start to 13.6VDC, which is appropriate for 12V Lead Acid/VRLA batteries.”
I contacted Support at Trik L Start and they indicated that it works fine because the maintenance mode will be less than the 14.6 charge mode. The exact response was: “We have customers using TRIK-L-START with their BattleBorn LiPo house batteries – It works fine, as long as you confirm that your house battery charger or solar panel charge controller isn’t constantly maintaining your house batteries at any voltage higher than approx. 13.8 volts.
Occasional excursions above this value (as typically occur while the panels are in the process of recharging the house batteries) are OK, but a long-term maintenance voltage above this value can cause excessive water loss in your starting batteries. For conventional lead-acid batteries, 13.5 volts is generally regarded as being the ideal maintenance voltage.”
This make sense to me, what do you think? =Steve
Interesting response from Trik-L-Start.
A couple of thoughts:
1) They still haven’t disclosed what exactly the circuit inside inside the box is actually doing. Is it as simple as a diode which would present a fixed voltage drop of about 0.5V or is it something more sophisticated. They seem to indicate in the ad literature that the input voltage has to be above a fixed threshold before the chassis battery will get any charge current – this sound like more than more than a simple diode. A diode would continue to drain the chassis batteries down to 0V?
2) Their comment about reducing the input voltage to 13.6V seems to imply that there is no voltage drop accross the TLS but that isn’t what I observe. It would be nice if they would be a bit more forthcoming about exactly how their box functions.
3) I have never observed sustained chassis battery voltages above 14.4V, and that only a few hours per day during peak solar, but I do see those voltages from the alternator which is directly connected to the chassis batteries. Supposedly Mercedes engineers chose the output voltage of the alternator for optimal functioning, but maybe not longevity, of the battery?
4) Before I installed the T-L-S I did see the chassis battery being drawn down when the veh was parked and it didn’t take long – the worst was when the veh was on the dealer’s lot. I feel that those too low states of charge probably did more harm to the chassis battery than potential over charging due to the T-L-S.
If I remember correctly, the Sprinter Alternator can provide a brief 14.6 V “boost” charge to the Chassis VRLA battery, IF it is drawn down extremely low. After a few minutes, the alternator goes into “bulk” charging mode at 13.6 V. If you see the 14.6 V at your alternator, the chassis battery may already be “on its last leg”.
The Trick-L-Start comment about Lithium battery maintenance mode being lower than 14.6 V anyway deserves a “yes, BUT” response IMO. A Lithium Ion charge controller likely provides the required Constant Voltage of 14.6 V. The Batteries’ BMS (most often built into the battery) may drop the voltage internally to a float/maintenance 13.8 V, etc. if it is full. That means that your battery still gets 14.6 V at the posts, and that is what the Trick-L-Start sees.
As far as I am concerned, the Lithium Ion House battery/ies, and the Trick-L-Start only “mix”, as long as the Lithium Ion battery receives 0 charge in Lithium Charging spec voltage (Lead/Acid spec voltage is OK). That means, you keep your PD9245C (and do not upgrade to the PD9145ALV or equivalent), and leave the Zamp ZS30-A in Wet mode. Of course, the Lithium Ion House battery will never get a full charge that way (2/3 to 80% max.). This is basically what Trick-L-Start told Steve.
Otherwise, the chassis battery would get the same charging(!) voltage as your House battery receives at its posts during the trickle intervals, which is too high for a VRLA battery (i.e. it loses water, or slowly “cooks”).
I have a 2019 24D. Having some problems with the slideout so I am looking for the control box for slideout. Where is it located ?
I haven’t had occasion to deal with the slide control box but according the the WIRING INSTL-BODY,12V Diagram it is on the driver side in front of the forward storage compartment. The wiring diagrams are available on Winnebago’s website.