Hey guys I know I asked a bunch of question on Lithium, but in the end I decided to go with (4) 6v batteries from Costco. I appreciate all the feedback on the forum.So the trailer has a steel-floor compartment between the landing jacks and forward of the basement that the perfect spot. The camper was built with 1-12v batter in the forward curbside compartment with the jack hydraulics. I stole the idea from another poster that commented on my other thread and found a plastic storage tub at the home center that would fit 4-6v batteries.I used #4 wire between everything.I added a vent hose and routed it to the original vent in the front of the trailer. I also added an intake at the bottom of the box with a hose that draws fresh air from below the floor.I installed the Xantrax 600W inverter and 15a trandfer switch on the wall right above the batteries:Inside I added the Xantrax remote, battery gauge and Progressive Charge Wizard to the switch panel by the door. The trailer already had a PD 9260 installed, so all I had to do was add the remote pendant.

Very clean and neat. Using #4 wire should mean close to no loss. “FRESH” dates on batteries…2/22!

Nice job! Beware of that battery SOC table showing 12.6 is full. Your 6s will probably be more like 12.75 when full (resting)

Actually I recreated this chart from an old .jpg and that 12.6 is supposed to read "12.6+"

Looks great. Those Costco 6ers have served well for many RVs including 15 years in mine (2 sets).

Forgot to mention that I used 2"angle iron and welded a frame around the battery box with supports across under the batteries.

Batteries and Inverter Installed | Good Sam Community

StirCrazy
Moderator
Mar 31, 2022
Lantley wrote:
I'm no battery guru and I'm not challenging the advice given.
However, checking battery level weekly seems like a lot to go through.
In reality I can never see ME checking the battery level that often.
For that reason alone I would opt for AGM's.

I check my batteries 2 or 3 times a year if there new, begining of camping season end of camping season and once and a while 1/2 way through storage. if you have the factory WFCO converter it might be better to check them once a month, but a good quality charging system on new batteries shouldnt need that frequent of checking.

Steve
Lantley
Nomad
Mar 31, 2022
Currently I have AGM's and a small inverter powering a TV and nothing else.
Very simple install as I seldom boondock and I have a built in Onan 5500 if I really want power.
What had me questioning AGM vs. typical lead acid is the idea that water levels need to be checked once a week. If once a week monitoring is truly required, than it seems AGM's are the only way to go regardless of cost because once a week is a cumbersome task to me.
Before I went with AGM's I had lead Acid and I checked maybe 3-4 times a year at random intervals, But I was not running an inverter.
Is it that running an inverter necessitates weekly checks? Is it the size of the inverter and frequency of use that factors into weekly water checks?
Or are weekly water checks not necessary?
pianotuna
Nomad III
Mar 31, 2022
Lantley wrote:
Currently I have AGM's and a small inverter powering a TV and nothing else.
Very simple install as I seldom boondock and I have a built in Onan 5500 if I really want power.
What had me questioning AGM vs. typical lead acid is the idea that water levels need to be checked once a week. If once a week monitoring is truly required, than it seems AGM's are the only way to go regardless of cost because once a week is a cumbersome task to me.
Before I went with AGM's I had lead Acid and I checked maybe 3-4 times a year at random intervals, But I was not running an inverter.
Is it that running an inverter necessitates weekly checks? Is it the size of the inverter and frequency of use that factors into weekly water checks?
Or are weekly water checks not necessary?

A small inverter has little or nothing to do with checking fluid levels on wet cells. What does is poor converters.

What size wattage is the inverter?

I had wet cells--but got tired of checking water levels laying down in snow.
BurbMan
Explorer II
Mar 31, 2022
Checking water levels on the TT was a PITA because the batteries were on the tongue behind the propane tanks, here they are easy to access and check.

Lantley the issue is the converter/charger...some cheaper OEM models will overcharge the batteries and that's what causes the water loss. This 5er has a Progressive Dynamics 9260 so I'm not worried about overcharging.

Checking batteries weekly is for the retired guys that need something to do....I check mine 2-3x per season and never had any issues.

BTW if you don't boondock, there's no need for this capacity. We like to camp at music festivals and they never have hookups and often prohibit generator use, so I like to get through a weekend on batteries.
deltabravo
Nomad
Mar 31, 2022
A Victron Smart Shunt or BMV-712 should be your next upgrade - they are a smart battery monitor because they monitor amp hours consumed.

I've been using amp hour monitors since the 90s when they were invented.

Here's the BMV-712 install I did in my previous RV

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