Hi All!
Please review and comment on this first stab at drawing up my oddball project. Greatly appreciated!
Background:
We have a Lance 2185 travel trailer that I want to upgrade from FLA to LFP.
Initially I was going to do a full solar plus hybrid inverter/charger build for our trailer. Then we bought a 2021 F150 Powerboost hybrid with the 7.2kw Pro Power on Board feature that can provide 120V 30A service for the trailer wherever we go! In a completely separate project I am running the 120V 30A from truck to the trailer such that it can be used while we are towing. ? Thus, the refrigerator can run on AC (vs propane) and our batteries can be charging - all while going down the road.
Note: When parked, the truck uses the hybrid battery to drive the Pro Power inverter most of the time. The engine runs for about 2 minutes to recharge the hybrid battery as needed. We no longer need the noisy portable generator.
Goals:
The trailer's WFCO 8955 (converter/charger/AC & DC panel) isn't designed for LFP and "Lithium Ready" replacement converter/chargers don't seem to be much better. So, my idea is to use the WFCO 8955's 12VDC to power the DMT1250, and nothing else. The DMT1250 takes on the duty of charging the batteries when needed, or just being a 12V DC power supply to the existing 12V fuse panel otherwise. The 120V side will remain unchanged and handled by the WFCO 8955.
The DMT1250 includes 30A MPPT that we can use with portable solar panel(s). So if we are at a boondocking site for several days and going hiking/exploring for the day we can set up the panel(s) while we are gone to recover some power while out and about. At some point I may mount panels on the trailer roof, but for now I'll just keep it simple. I've not yet diagramed for PV input. I am hoping for feedback before I go any deeper into this.
Also, most of the time we are on 12V rather than 120V. On the occasions we want to run the air conditioner or microwave we can use the truck. So you will notice there is no inverter in the design.
Other:
Using the Energy Audit spreadsheet a rainy-stuck-in-the-trailer-all-day scenario came in at 104 Amp Hours (DC). If I'm thinking correctly, that means we should be able to go two days (without solar or running the truck). Right?
Note the distance from the existing WFCO 8955 to the rear closet is going to be 10-13 FT depending on how the wire routing goes. About 3 FT of that will be right next to existing 120V 10/2 Romex. I'm thinking 4 AWG for the two runs to the closet and back. Can I use this same wire for the connections within the rear closet?
Feedback, thoughts and help regarding the diagram would really be appreciated (especially wire sizing, fuses, breakers, etc.) Please spare me from bonehead mistakes! Any thoughts or feedback you have on the overall project would also be appreciated. Please let me know if you think it's just a bad approach, or I'm making things harder than needed! The DMT1250 isn't a must and can be returned. It just seems to fit the bill.
Initial Diagram (NOT drawn to scale):
Thanks so much!
-Eric
PS - If this is in the wrong area of the forum please let me know the correct area and I'll repost there.
Please review and comment on this first stab at drawing up my oddball project. Greatly appreciated!
Background:
We have a Lance 2185 travel trailer that I want to upgrade from FLA to LFP.
Initially I was going to do a full solar plus hybrid inverter/charger build for our trailer. Then we bought a 2021 F150 Powerboost hybrid with the 7.2kw Pro Power on Board feature that can provide 120V 30A service for the trailer wherever we go! In a completely separate project I am running the 120V 30A from truck to the trailer such that it can be used while we are towing. ? Thus, the refrigerator can run on AC (vs propane) and our batteries can be charging - all while going down the road.
Note: When parked, the truck uses the hybrid battery to drive the Pro Power inverter most of the time. The engine runs for about 2 minutes to recharge the hybrid battery as needed. We no longer need the noisy portable generator.
Goals:
- Keep things safe
- Keep things simple and easy to install
- Move the battery position to a closet at the back of the trailer (the soon to be gone FLAs are outside on the trailer tongue)
- Allow use of 1 or 2 portable solar panels
- KISAE DMT1250 12V DC to DC Charger (Manual)
- 2 - Lion Energy UT1300 105Ah, 1344Wh, 150A LFP Batteries
- 1 - Lion Energy 100W12 V Foldable Solar Panel
- A bunch of other things I will be returning!
The trailer's WFCO 8955 (converter/charger/AC & DC panel) isn't designed for LFP and "Lithium Ready" replacement converter/chargers don't seem to be much better. So, my idea is to use the WFCO 8955's 12VDC to power the DMT1250, and nothing else. The DMT1250 takes on the duty of charging the batteries when needed, or just being a 12V DC power supply to the existing 12V fuse panel otherwise. The 120V side will remain unchanged and handled by the WFCO 8955.
The DMT1250 includes 30A MPPT that we can use with portable solar panel(s). So if we are at a boondocking site for several days and going hiking/exploring for the day we can set up the panel(s) while we are gone to recover some power while out and about. At some point I may mount panels on the trailer roof, but for now I'll just keep it simple. I've not yet diagramed for PV input. I am hoping for feedback before I go any deeper into this.
Also, most of the time we are on 12V rather than 120V. On the occasions we want to run the air conditioner or microwave we can use the truck. So you will notice there is no inverter in the design.
Other:
Using the Energy Audit spreadsheet a rainy-stuck-in-the-trailer-all-day scenario came in at 104 Amp Hours (DC). If I'm thinking correctly, that means we should be able to go two days (without solar or running the truck). Right?
Note the distance from the existing WFCO 8955 to the rear closet is going to be 10-13 FT depending on how the wire routing goes. About 3 FT of that will be right next to existing 120V 10/2 Romex. I'm thinking 4 AWG for the two runs to the closet and back. Can I use this same wire for the connections within the rear closet?
Feedback, thoughts and help regarding the diagram would really be appreciated (especially wire sizing, fuses, breakers, etc.) Please spare me from bonehead mistakes! Any thoughts or feedback you have on the overall project would also be appreciated. Please let me know if you think it's just a bad approach, or I'm making things harder than needed! The DMT1250 isn't a must and can be returned. It just seems to fit the bill.
Initial Diagram (NOT drawn to scale):
Thanks so much!
-Eric
PS - If this is in the wrong area of the forum please let me know the correct area and I'll repost there.