We just sold our 2021 Ram 5500 and 2016 Arctic Fox 1140 and purchased a 2000 Country Coach Magna Indulgence (40ft).
The 5500 was wonderful, and the truck camper was great for shorter trips. After a year of full-time use and over 15K miles, we decided it was a little small. We had 1800W of solar, a large lithium bank, composting toilet, and lots of other things that made for a great boondocking rig.
We also have a 2015 Keystone Alpine 3730FB, that is now in storage. It has 2925W of panels, but we gutted the rest of the system and moved it over to the new Magna. Not sure yet if we're going to prep it for sale, or use it as a cabin on some property we are looking at.
Juggling the two rigs, and switching between the two like we originally planned, turned out to be too much hassle with the way we wanted to use them.
Solar racks are not new to us, as I've built a few for others, and the one on my truck camper. I've learned a little (or a lot) with each build, and am really happy with how the rack on the Magna turned out.
The install consists of two rows of six, REC N-Peak 2 365W panels, for 4380W total. In one of the bays, I have dual Victron Quattro 48/3000 inverters, two Victron Autotransformers (one to load balance between the two inverters, one to step-up generator power to 240V split phase), four Victron SmartSolar 150/35, a 240V sub panel, and 22.8kWh of batteries for the 48V inverter bank. I left the original 12V bank alone, for the time being. I do have a few Victron Orion 48/12 DC-DC converters I might wire in at some point, but for now the 12V bank is charged by the original Xantrex (in charge-only mode), which is integrated enough into the coach to cause annoying warnings when removed.
Storage space was a big concern, so the install was planned as to not impede passthrough bay usage.
We pulled out the factory RV absorption fridge and framed out the cabinet for a new 22cf residential side-by-side. We also replaced the original Sharp microwave with a convection oven/ air fryer/ microwave combo that matches the fridge. That took a little cabinet trimming as well, but fortunately the cabinetry is well made and could be modified in this coach. We had to pull a slide window out to put in the fridge.
We also added a 240V induction cooktop and a composting toilet. Sorry, I didn't grab a photo of the cooktop but it looks factory.
We did all this in the course of a week, in the middle of the desert out in Quartzsite, AZ. Several friends dropped by over the course of the install and would help for a day or two, and we had a couple with us who assisted for the entire duration. It was a hellacious move and I can't thank the little community we have found on the road enough, for all their help. Completing a full build, move, prepping a rig for sell and another for storage in the course of a week was a massive undertaking.
Not sure if anyone is really interested in our build, but we're rather excited about the new rig and how it turned out. I had a build thread of sorts for my old 5500 on here, and decided to do the same with this.
The 5500 was wonderful, and the truck camper was great for shorter trips. After a year of full-time use and over 15K miles, we decided it was a little small. We had 1800W of solar, a large lithium bank, composting toilet, and lots of other things that made for a great boondocking rig.
We also have a 2015 Keystone Alpine 3730FB, that is now in storage. It has 2925W of panels, but we gutted the rest of the system and moved it over to the new Magna. Not sure yet if we're going to prep it for sale, or use it as a cabin on some property we are looking at.
Juggling the two rigs, and switching between the two like we originally planned, turned out to be too much hassle with the way we wanted to use them.
Solar racks are not new to us, as I've built a few for others, and the one on my truck camper. I've learned a little (or a lot) with each build, and am really happy with how the rack on the Magna turned out.
The install consists of two rows of six, REC N-Peak 2 365W panels, for 4380W total. In one of the bays, I have dual Victron Quattro 48/3000 inverters, two Victron Autotransformers (one to load balance between the two inverters, one to step-up generator power to 240V split phase), four Victron SmartSolar 150/35, a 240V sub panel, and 22.8kWh of batteries for the 48V inverter bank. I left the original 12V bank alone, for the time being. I do have a few Victron Orion 48/12 DC-DC converters I might wire in at some point, but for now the 12V bank is charged by the original Xantrex (in charge-only mode), which is integrated enough into the coach to cause annoying warnings when removed.
Storage space was a big concern, so the install was planned as to not impede passthrough bay usage.
We pulled out the factory RV absorption fridge and framed out the cabinet for a new 22cf residential side-by-side. We also replaced the original Sharp microwave with a convection oven/ air fryer/ microwave combo that matches the fridge. That took a little cabinet trimming as well, but fortunately the cabinetry is well made and could be modified in this coach. We had to pull a slide window out to put in the fridge.
We also added a 240V induction cooktop and a composting toilet. Sorry, I didn't grab a photo of the cooktop but it looks factory.
We did all this in the course of a week, in the middle of the desert out in Quartzsite, AZ. Several friends dropped by over the course of the install and would help for a day or two, and we had a couple with us who assisted for the entire duration. It was a hellacious move and I can't thank the little community we have found on the road enough, for all their help. Completing a full build, move, prepping a rig for sell and another for storage in the course of a week was a massive undertaking.
Not sure if anyone is really interested in our build, but we're rather excited about the new rig and how it turned out. I had a build thread of sorts for my old 5500 on here, and decided to do the same with this.
