Sorry Kayteg, I just can’t agree with “something most of us don’t need” at all.
Sounds like your Sprinter has the equivalent of one built-in. I wish all vehicles did, or at least the option to have it included like inverters are now. It’s sorely needed by the RV’ing crowd, and I would happily pay the extra for it.
The bottom line is that the auxiliary or house batteries need to be integrated into and treated as part of the whole system. They need to be maintained properly, and for the most part they are not, currently. But, until they are, I’m OK with adding what’s needed myself.
People that report high heat issues either of the unit itself, or of the wires simply aren’t following the manufacturers recommendations. Yes, they need cooling to dissipate the heat. And yes, the wires have to be of sufficient gauge so they don’t heat up as well.
If your Sprinter is one of the few that treats the house batteries properly, you’re a step ahead of most of us. With its regenerative braking system you described, it’s already got a very advanced electrical system. I’m not aware of ANY light truck that has regenerative braking yet. I installed the improvements to my system in an incremental way, and know what worked and what didn’t work. That’s empirical evidence, which is good enough for me.
:):)
