B+ motorhomes

[Daniel_C_]

I just bought a Trail Lite B+ 211s with 8.1 Chevy
engine. This is my fifth motorhome (others range
from an old 20' Vagabond, and three Winnegagos, from 19 to 32'. This vehicle is fantastic. I am
using it as a mobile office (and sneaking in a fun
journey from time to time). It gets about 9.5mpg
and I believe I could pull a bus behind it if I wanted! I paid low $40's which is about what I had expected to pay for a five or six year old Chinook with a nicer interior, but fewer features
(slide). I am delighted thus far.

[rcwaz]

Upon our arrival back to Illinois from a trip out east, I noted that the digital voltmeter for the inverter read 10.6 volts with the engine off. This surprised me since we had been driving about 9 hours. I roughly calculated the totals of the chassis/coach and the inverter loads (going down the interstate in nasty cold weather). I came up with approximately 85 amps. I believe the E450 has a 115 amp alternator. Assuming inefficiencies in the wiring, alternator, and inverter I guessed that there must not have been enough spare amps to maintain the coach batteries. On the entire 6 day trip I found that I could never fully recharge the batteries either through the alternator or the Parralax 7300 with 110V connected.

In a previous test I did on the Parralax 7300, it was putting 11 amps into the batteries at 12.2 volts after 30 minutes. (It started at 30 amps and quickly dropped before it lined out at 11.0). That means that it would take 9 hours to replace the amps withdrawn from the batteries and that was without any other 12 volt loads. I also read the Parralax FAQ and it had pretty much stated that I would get the results that I did but indicated that the design recharge rate and methodology was to protect everything else connected on the 12 volt system. I say that's baloney, it's just a cheap charger.

I checked out Xantrex (sp?) and a charger like the TrueCharge+40 smart charger delivers it's full rated output for the entire bulk charge. It does this by frequently stopping the charge and checking the battery voltage to determine when to go into the next stage. The 90% charge time is 3 hours for two 100 amp batteries discharged to 50%.

Since we don't want to change the way we travel, we'll need either a 220amp replacement alternator ($300 to $550), or the TrueCharge+40 (approx $350), or both! (Are you listening darling?)

[Gene_in_NE]

TonyTiger - Have not heard from you in ages. I don't know what you have tried to track down the drain on your previous batteries. That is like trying to find a needle in a haystack. I would remove a battery post and alligator clip a volt meter in series with the post and removed cable. It should show if there is current flow. If there is, then the draw is prior to the ignition switch. I would next look for how the radio/clock is wired and disconnect if at all possible. The clock is expected to have a small milli-amp draw, but should not kill a fully charged 12V battery in several months. I would then use my volt meter to test if circuits are live in the fuse panel without the ignition switch on (most are not). If there are one or two, I would remove the fuses one at a time to pinpoint the problem cirucit. A real guessing game, good luck.

[TonyTiger]

Burlmart-

I added two Dekka gel cell batteries to my Siesta. So far so good, but still tracking down the drain that killed the original batteries. I used group 24 gel cell batteries for RV/Marine. They never need water and tolerate freezing and can't spill.
Tony

[markopolo]

from Dario:

Markopolo, I updated my Volt meter to LED fro LCD so I could see it in the dark, I installed the LCD volt meter in my new Roadtrek only because I had it because ,I don't really RV overnight in the Roadtrek but I had it so I used it.

[Gene_in_NE]

Gary Swanson wrote:
Just a quick follow-up on my change over to 6v golf cart batteries....Next time out I'm going to correlate the LED reading with my volt meter, and if the LEDs don't give me the information I need I will wire in a separate little digital volt meter.

I am really interested in your 2-6V battery installation. When my coach battery dies, that will be my direction. Everything I have read indicates that to be a much better choice over 2-12V batteries. I posted the pictures Dario's pictures as I think that is a neat way of monitoring both the chassis and coach batteries. In another topic, someone mentioned that the Trail-Lite charges both directions - like a combiner. By that, I mean shore power would also charge the chassis battery and the chassis alternator would charge the coach battery. I'll have to check out the batteries with my volt meter.

[markopolo]

That is Darios modification - I only posted the photo.

[Gene_in_NE]

markopolo wrote:
Thanks Dario (B-Plus) I got the photos...As discussed, I'm posting some of your photos. Thanks again for sending them....
I will send you a picture of a Volt meter that Installed to monitor both the chassis and coach battery with a toggle switch.



...

Gary - Thanks for sharing your solution. I found the above in this topic posted on July 30, 2007 on about page 162. I now find it to be extremely interesting. I am not certain if Dario or Markopolo gets credit for it. Looks real professional.

[Gary_Swanson]

Just a quick follow-up on my change over to 6v golf cart batteries. I had to loosed the propane tank hold-down bolts and nudge the tank over about a quarter to half and inch to allow for the increased width of the 6v batteries, but it was easy. The Pro-Fill RV watering installed on each battery in a heart beat and the batteries went in end-to-end very smoothly. The Pro-Fill coupling tube and all the electrical cabling was straightforward although the space to work in was a bit tight. All in all pretty easy and worth it IMHO.

I have read much on battery care and feeding as well as differnet converter/charger systems during my researching for this project. There are two definite camps on the converter/chargers: "float" vs "smart" charger output. My Trail-Lite has a Parallax 7355 converter/charger and I found their web page (www.parallaxpower.com) very informative, especially the FAQ section. What I came away with is that in a perfect world (infinite time and money) a smart charger wired in properly is best. However, given that my battery bank is wired in parallel with the RV's 12v system I believe Parallax's float system is just fine as long as I top up the batterys' water once a month (which is a snap with the Pro-Fill or Quick-Fill system!). Also, I recommend checking your battery bank's state-of-charge (SoC or % of deep discharge) with a digital volt meter. All my reading has taught me that we should NEVER discharge out battery bank below 50% capacity, which is approximately 12.2 volts. I now know that the relatively early demise of my last batteries was due to excessive and repeated discharges well below 12 volts. Didn't seem like much of a deal at the time but that's a guaranteed early killer. My OEM micro-monitor panel is made by KIB, and their web site states that the battery LED read out of "C" means 12.7-12.85 volts, "G" means 12.10-12.15 volts, "F" means 11.60-11.65 and "L" means 6.00-??. Next time out I'm going to correlate the LED reading with my volt meter, and if the LEDs don't give me the information I need I will wire in a separate little digital volt meter.

[Gary_Swanson]

To answer Gene in NE -- too frequently we use our RV like an OHV, just because that's where the great places to explore are. As a result we bounce this rig up/down/all over the place. Plus I have been accused of "flying" the rig a couple of time in Mexico (guilty as charged) when some "topes" came at me out of nowhere. When I first went to two batteries they were group 24 12v and I mounted them sideways next to each other on the original battery tray. Used a stout plastic plant tray of some sort cut to size to have the batteries sit up a bit higher and not rest on the tray's angled-up lip. In the course of six months I had to have the battery tray re-welded twice. Both welders said the tray was poorly conceived and even more poorly mounted. Next my two batteries died and I replaced them with two group 27 12v deepcycles from Costco. They hung even further out past the true bottom of the tray but what the heck. A few months later on the way to Prescott, AZ (and then on to Mexico) we took the worst back "road" I have even been on. I pulled over once we got back to "pavement" (and I use that term loosely) to investigate an odd noise. There were the two batteries hanging by the pos and neg cables, with the remains of the tray dangling in a different direction. We made it to Prescott with the help of my bottle jack and four ratchet straps. There we were able to find a hot rod shop owned by a master fabricator/welder. $350 later I had a new and very beefy tray that runs lengthwise and has room for two group 27 batteries lined up end to end. It's also going to hold my two new Costco 6v golf cart batteries (which weigh in at 63# each). So what have I learned? Life's a great adventure.

[Geoff_H]

For a 2003 Trailite 211 I added one regular sized 12V battery and the 2 just fitted rotated at 90 degrees to the original. They overhung the original tray which was extended and the garage that did the job made an angle iron bracket to clamp onto the upper outside edge of both batteries to secure them firmly. I needed the extra power for a satellite internet link and can go at least 4 days with no heater or other large drain on the battery.

[Gene_in_NE]

Gary Swanson wrote:
...Anyone with a Trail-Lite suffering from inaccessable batteries MUST end their pain by getting the Qwik-Fill system from Flow-Rite. It is great. I am switching to 6v golf cart batteries (2) for my 211S and have bought Flow-Rite's new Pro-Fill RV system that is designed for 6v batteries...(How, you are asking, can I fit those tall 6v golf cart batteries in that cramped battery tray space? That is another long story, but the short answer is the OEM tray broke off a couple of years ago and I had a larger, somewhat lower sitting tray fabricated and welded/bolted in place. The golf cart batteries plus the Pro-Fill RV system will fit in with < 1" to spare.)

Good to have you contribute. Does the long story start with putting in two batteries turned 90 degrees? I'd been thinking of doing that as I am always fearful that 1 battery will not last through the night with the furnace on. Rebuilding the tray - larger and lower seems like the correct way to go.

[markopolo]

From their website FAQ:

Automatic shut-off prevents over or under watering
Provides electrolyte level accuracy within 1/8"

Here's the link:

http://www.flow-rite.com/index.html

[cheeze1]

How does one know if the battery level is correct after using the Quik Fill?

[Gary_Swanson]

cheeze1 wrote:
I I have a small clear hose and funnel setup for adding water, which also entails a flashlight and mirror. No matter what, T/L definitely dropped the ball on this one.

Anyone with a Trail-Lite suffering from inaccessable batteries MUST end their pain by getting the Qwik-Fill system from Flow-Rite. It is great. I am switching to 6v golf cart batteries (2) for my 211S and have bought Flow-Rite's new Pro-Fill RV system that is designed for 6v batteries. As a result, I have my Qwik-Fill system that works perfectly up for sale. You can view the ad in the "Free Classifieds" link at the top of the Forums front page.

(How, you are asking, can I fit those tall 6v golf cart batteries in that cramped battery tray space? That is another long story, but the short answer is the OEM tray broke off a couple of years ago and I had a larger, somewhat lower sitting tray fabricated and welded/bolted in place. The golf cart batteries plus the Pro-Fill RV system will fit in with < 1" to spare.)

[cheeze1]

ok, ok, since you are all clamoring for me to weigh in on this. I have the kit that comes with a length of tubing and a fitting that screws onto the kit fitting that one must put in the line. Just screw the tube on, open the valve, run the pump. Works just like Gene describes. HOWEVER, this year I realized I have the air adapter (shrader size) that screws into the exterior FW fitting. Since I have a compressor, I tried that method and it worked great. Too bad I forgot to get antifreeze for the traps. HOwever however, since I left our dvd in the RV, I have to go visit it anyway.
Don't ask about other things I forgot.
🙂