Travel Trailer Power Setup

[stroodle96]

Hello,
I wanted to make a post with my current ideas for power solutions in our travel trailer.

Use Case:
I will soon be living full time in a travel trailer for about 1 year. My tow vehicle is a F150 powerboost with the 7.2kwh onboard power. I will be using the trucks generator function for all of my power generation when not plugged into a campsite. I want to install a small to medium sized battery bank in the travel trailer and have all our power run through an inverter. This is so we can not have to run the truck 24/7, especially at night or if it is in for service.. We can just plug into the truck to top up the batteries for a few hour each day as needed. I want to go with an all in one unit for simplicity and compactness, I also may want to add solar panels in the future and plan to prewire some mc4 connectors on the roof to make install easier later.

Current Plan/Ideas:
I plan to rewire the shore power to be the input to the inverter and will run a 30 amp connection up to hitch that will connect to the truck or shore power. Then connect the inverter output directly into the existing power distribution panel in the camper. I want to replace the existing converter with a Victron 48V to 12V converter to run the DC systems. This way all 120v power to the camper will run through the all in one inverter, including the A/C which will be the biggest draw. I will disconnect the existing 12v battery from the distribution panel and leave it in place to only operate the trailer brakes thru the breakaway switch, its my understanding that when the 7 pin is connected to the truck, it will still charge the breakaway battery.
My trailer currently has 30amp shore connection, but even with the A/C running it never uses more than 2000 watts(minus the startup draw, which I plan to manage by installing a soft start device on the A/C). We will be adding our work laptops and monitors to the power demand as well, but I don't expect that to add more than 500watts or less. I am thinking with an A/C soft start device, that I can get away with a 48V 3000W inverter.

Inverter:
I really like the new EG4 3000EHV-48 all in one unit. I know it would only be able to supply 25amps at 120V but I am thinking that will be enough, since my trailer never seems to use the full 30amp service it has now unless the a/c is powering on.
- Does anyone have suggestions for a good all in one unit that is better than the EG4 3000W-48V? Maybe something that would give me 3600W or more? Again, I am not sure I need the extra watts, but if prices are similar, I would rather have more power available than I need. I thought about their 6500W model, but that is just way overkill for what I need.

Batteries:
I am going back and forth between EG4-LL V2, SOK, or Trophy battery server rack batteries. I want to be able to use solar assistant, so I think that rules out trophy batteries, although the heaters would be nice just in case. EG4 makes sense if I am getting their inverter, and I like the longer warranty and fire arrestors of the LL V2 model. I have heard some not so great things about EG4's batteries on this forum. SOK's seem to be more reliable based on what I am reading in other posts.
- What is everybody's thoughts on these batteries? Any other suggestions? I want something reliable and something I can monitor with solar assistant.
- Are the fire arrestors in EG4-LL V2 battery really necessary? I thought these batteries were already pretty safe and could not explode or catch fire on there own??

Questions:
- I have so many questions, some I will split out into different posts once I have decided on the equipment. To start, I just want some feedback and suggestions on the inverter and batteries that will fit my use case well.
- Mounting Locations? I was thinking under the fridge, oven, or sink. There are water lines and propane lines that run near anyplace I would mount it, should I be concerned about this? Only other place I can think would be under the bed, and it makes me nervous to be sleeping on a DIY system with so much potential energy.
- Anyone have experience with keeping the breakaway battery separate? Will it stay charged off the 7pin adapter while towing? It should never have any draw on the battery so I would think the 7pin connection would keep it topped up.
- Is 48V overkill? From what I saw, any system over 3000W should be looking at 24V or 48V, and there seem to be way more options for 48V. And prices are pretty much the same so it seem to make more sense to go 48V.

Thanks!

 

[sunshine_eggo]

Hello,
I wanted to make a post with my current ideas for power solutions in our travel trailer.

Use Case:
I will soon be living full time in a travel trailer for about 1 year. My tow vehicle is a F150 powerboost with the 7.2kwh onboard power. I will be using the trucks generator function for all of my power generation when not plugged into a campsite. I want to install a small to medium sized battery bank in the travel trailer and have all our power run through an inverter. This is so we can not have to run the truck 24/7, especially at night or if it is in for service.. We can just plug into the truck to top up the batteries for a few hour each day as needed. I want to go with an all in one unit for simplicity and compactness, I also may want to add solar panels in the future and plan to prewire some mc4 connectors on the roof to make install easier later.

The hidden cost of AiO units is they all have high idle consumption, i.e., they consume power just by being on even if no loads are powered. Count on a typical 40-50W of idle consumption per 3000W output. That's almost the capacity stored in a single 12.8V 100Ah LFP battery.

AiO units are also finicky about generator power. If your truck's generator is inverter-type and puts out very clean power, you should be fine.

Current Plan/Ideas:
I plan to rewire the shore power to be the input to the inverter and will run a 30 amp connection up to hitch that will connect to the truck or shore power. Then connect the inverter output directly into the existing power distribution panel in the camper. I want to replace the existing converter with a Victron 48V to 12V converter to run the DC systems.

Why not just wire a 30A RV plug socket to the inverter and plug the trailer into it?

This way all 120v power to the camper will run through the all in one inverter, including the A/C which will be the biggest draw.

Almost a certainty you won't be able to run your A/C off any AiO you're considering.

I will disconnect the existing 12v battery from the distribution panel and leave it in place to only operate the trailer brakes thru the breakaway switch, its my understanding that when the 7 pin is connected to the truck, it will still charge the breakaway battery.

Why disconnect the 12V? In the above proposed situation, The inverter feeds the converter to keep the 12V charged, and the 12V battery is there as "backup" if you have to take the 48V system offline, or if the 48V is depleted.

My trailer currently has 30amp shore connection, but even with the A/C running it never uses more than 2000 watts(minus the startup draw, which I plan to manage by installing a soft start device on the A/C).

Again, even with a soft start, I wouldn't count on being able to start the A/C on a 3kW lightweight unit. Soft starts reduce surge, not eliminate it. Expect at least a 4500W surge with soft start, and the lightweight AiO claims of 2X surge capacity is over-stated.

We will be adding our work laptops and monitors to the power demand as well, but I don't expect that to add more than 500watts or less. I am thinking with an A/C soft start device, that I can get away with a 48V 3000W inverter.

50/50

Best if you actually do an energy audit and design your system to numbers rather than guesses.

Inverter:
I really like the new EG4 3000EHV-48 all in one unit. I know it would only be able to supply 25amps at 120V but I am thinking that will be enough, since my trailer never seems to use the full 30amp service it has now unless the a/c is powering on.

What if A/C is on, and somebody uses the microwave?

Note that A/C is going to require massive amounts of battery unless you plan to run the generator continuously.

- Does anyone have suggestions for a good all in one unit that is better than the EG4 3000W-48V? Maybe something that would give me 3600W or more? Again, I am not sure I need the extra watts, but if prices are similar, I would rather have more power available than I need. I thought about their 6500W model, but that is just way overkill for what I need.

Since A/C is on the table, I can't recommend any AiO units.

You'll probably balk at the cost, but something like a Victron MP II 48/3000 unit has awesome surge and a paltry 11W idle consumption.

Yep, when you get around to adding solar, you'll need a charge controller and battery monitor, etc., but you're living in this thing for a year, right? You want dependable.

 

[stroodle96]

The hidden cost of AiO units is they all have high idle consumption, i.e., they consume power just by being on even if no loads are powered. Count on a typical 40-50W of idle consumption per 3000W output. That's almost the capacity stored in a single 12.8V 100Ah LFP battery.

AiO units are also finicky about generator power. If your truck's generator is inverter-type and puts out very clean power, you should be fine.



Why not just wire a 30A RV plug socket to the inverter and plug the trailer into it?



Almost a certainty you won't be able to run your A/C off any AiO you're considering.



Why disconnect the 12V? In the above proposed situation, The inverter feeds the converter to keep the 12V charged, and the 12V battery is there as "backup" if you have to take the 48V system offline, or if the 48V is depleted.



Again, even with a soft start, I wouldn't count on being able to start the A/C on a 3kW lightweight unit. Soft starts reduce surge, not eliminate it. Expect at least a 4500W surge with soft start, and the lightweight AiO claims of 2X surge capacity is over-stated.



50/50

Best if you actually do an energy audit and design your system to numbers rather than guesses.



What if A/C is on, and somebody uses the microwave?

Note that A/C is going to require massive amounts of battery unless you plan to run the generator continuously.



Since A/C is on the table, I can't recommend any AiO units.

You'll probably balk at the cost, but something like a Victron MP II 48/3000 unit has awesome surge and a paltry 11W idle consumption.

Yep, when you get around to adding solar, you'll need a charge controller and battery monitor, etc., but you're living in this thing for a year, right? You want dependable.

Thank you very much for the detailed response. Gives me a lot to think about.
Yes the Powerboost is equivalent to a inverter generator from what I have read from others. The only problems people seem to have is the PowerBoost outlets are all GFCI and bonded neutral. I do not full understand the different with Bonded vs floating neutral. Will the bonded neutral connection give the All in one units problems??

I can not find a supplier for that Victron model in the USA. I can only find the 12V and 24V variants. EDIT: I found it on Amazon. Just wasn't looking hard enough. The charging rate seems low(35A) and I don't like the idea of having to spend a few hundred more on their monitoring equipment(Cerbo GX?). I was reading through the datasheet and it also shows 3000VA continuous but then says only 2400Watts continuous both at 25 degrees Celsius? I thought VA to watts was 1:1.

What about stepping up to the EG4 6500EX-48 or 6000EX-48HV models? Would that give me the same benefit as going with the Victron? Roughly the same price and the charging rate is higher which I like. Footprint seems roughly the same and it includes the solar charger. Only downside seems to be Victron systems having better reliability.

If I hook either of these up to a single server rack battery, the max watts I can pull from them is 4,800W since the max discharge of those batteries are 100A correct? (100A x 48V) 4800W should be plenty for the AC and anything else. Any thought on this?

Greatly appreciate anyone's insight.

 

[sunshine_eggo]

Your trailer has a floating ground by default since it's insulated from the ground. It relies on the power source for your N-G bond. Shore power takes care of this for you, and your truck's inverter does as well.

This means that the inverter you use will need to appropriately toggle between bonds. When inverting, it should provide its own N-G bond. When passing through the generator and while AC charging, it should de-couple its internal N-G bond and pass through the source's N-G bond. I'm certain the Victron behaves this way, and I woudl expect the EG4 models to behave this way as well.

Unit is available from Signature Solar - same places you're looking for the EG4 stuff.

EG4 6X00 models will have even worse idle power consumption. You'll likely burn 2.0kWh/day just having them turned on. That equates to nearly $600 worth of battery you can't use because the inverters are eating it. Equates to about 1.3 hours of A/C operation. When to add solar, the first 500W of your array will be dedicated to just feeding the inverter's consumption even with zero loads. When you add the ~$850 in consumed battery/PV, the prices of the AiOs become less appealing. yes, you absolutely come out ahead, especially compared to the total cost of a complete Victron ecosystem.

Victrons have better reliability, lower power consumption, and a very robust and reliable remote management/monitoring system, VRM. For comparison, the 48/3000 unit will only consume 264Wh of energy per day. You'll need about 60W of solar to replace that. With VRM, I monitor/manage my system that's 3.5 hours away. I can do almost anything remotely including firmware updates of all hardware.

In addition to surge, which is addressed well by the Victron or EG4 6X00 units, your bigger concern about running A/C is the substantial amount of batteries you'll need.

 

[stroodle96]

Thank you again for some great details.
I am not worried about the A/C usage for batteries. I plan to have to have the truck plugged in to run the A/C. I really only want to be able to power the A/C through the inverter during the night when it should not run much, or maybe for an hour or 2 during the day if one of us takes the truck to the store. If I end up having to add a second battery to accomplish this that is fine. I mainly want to make sure my inverter is well sized and up to the task, I will worry about expanding my battery bank later. So I am not expecting to ever run the A/C for extended periods of time without shore or truck power.
I am starting to like your Victron suggestion the more I think about it.

A few concerns I have with the Victron Model:
- My main concern now is I was reading through the datasheet and it also shows 3000VA continuous but then says only 2400Watts continuous both at 25 degrees Celsius? I thought VA to watts was 1:1. Can you or somebody with a better understanding speak to this? Are you sure the victron unit will be able to supply 3000W steady?

- The charging rate seems low compared to the EG4s (35A). Is my math right that it would take about 3 hours to recharge a 100AH battery? If so then that isn't too bad and seems reasonable. If I end up with 200AH of batteries than 6 hours starts to get a little long. Can I add an additional charger so they work in parallel If I need it in the future?

- I don't like the idea of having to spend a few hundred more on their monitoring equipment(Cerbo GX?). But it seems like a solid setup so maybe this is actually better in the long run. Is the Cerbo GX a requirement to monitor the inverter with something like solar assistant?

- Will I need a battery shunt to monitor the battery level? or will the Victron inverter communicate with EG4 or SOK or Trophy Batteries?

- Will the 100A max discharge of the SOK or EG4 batteries be a problem when the inverter needs to surge? (5500W peak / 48V = 114A) I remember the batteries also have a surge amp draw, but I thought it was only for a few seconds.

Here is the part of the spec sheet I am getting these numbers from.

 

[sunshine_eggo]

Thank you again for some great details.
I am not worried about the A/C usage for batteries. I plan to have to have the truck plugged in to run the A/C.

If that's the case, then surge isn't an inverter issue at all. When the generator is running, the inverter is passing it through to loads and charging the battery. The generator must be able to handle the surge.

I really only want to be able to power the A/C through the inverter during the night when it should not run much, or maybe for an hour or 2 during the day if one of us takes the truck to the store. If I end up having to add a second battery to accomplish this that is fine. I mainly want to make sure my inverter is well sized and up to the task, I will worry about expanding my battery bank later. So I am not expecting to ever run the A/C for extended periods of time without shore or truck power.
I am starting to like your Victron suggestion the more I think about it.

A few concerns I have with the Victron Model:
- My main concern now is I was reading through the datasheet and it also shows 3000VA continuous but then says only 2400Watts continuous both at 25 degrees Celsius? I thought VA to watts was 1:1. Can you or somebody with a better understanding speak to this? Are you sure the victron unit will be able to supply 3000W steady?

V * A = W when power factor is 1.0.

Power factor - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

I grasp the concept, but not the real-world translation.

This helps:

How to read inverter specifications: The difference between VA and Watts

- The charging rate seems low compared to the EG4s (35A). Is my math right that it would take about 3 hours to recharge a 100AH battery?

Yes.

If so then that isn't too bad and seems reasonable. If I end up with 200AH of batteries than 6 hours starts to get a little long. Can I add an additional charger so they work in parallel If I need it in the future?

yes.

- I don't like the idea of having to spend a few hundred more on their monitoring equipment(Cerbo GX?). But it seems like a solid setup so maybe this is actually better in the long run. Is the Cerbo GX a requirement to monitor the inverter with VRM

yes.

Victron provides ample opportunity to accessorize at increased costs.

something like solar assistant?

No idea. don't use solar assistant and wouldn't expect it to work. Also aggressively doubt it's as good as VRM.

- Will I need a battery shunt to monitor the battery level?

Maybe.

or will the Victron inverter communicate with EG4

Not the inverter, but I believe the GX does. Best to ask Sig Sol. In this case, a shunt is not necessary as the battery communicates and controls the GX and all attached devices.

or SOK or Trophy Batteries?

Unknown.

- Will the 100A max discharge of the SOK or EG4 batteries be a problem when the inverter needs to surge? (5500W peak / 48V = 114A) I remember the batteries also have a surge amp draw, but I thought it was only for a few seconds.

The batteries also have a surge rating. The v2 batteries list 150A for 3 seconds. Would not anticipate a problem.

Here is the part of the spec sheet I am getting these numbers from.
View attachment 121417

Yep.

Something unique to the Victron is power assist. if you were on a lower output generator, and the loads + charging exceeded the inverter input limit, the inverter will stop charging and temporarily boost output from the batteries to the loads to keep from overloading the AC input. If you were parked somewhere and had access to only 15A 120V, this is a VERY useful feature.

 

[kbeefy]

I will disconnect the existing 12v battery from the distribution panel and leave it in place to only operate the trailer brakes thru the breakaway switch, its my understanding that when the 7 pin is connected to the truck, it will still charge the breakaway battery.

All the trailers I have had have a separate small battery for the breakaway braking system. Usually mounted in the frame rail close to the coupler. They often have a small LED light on them that illuminates when they are receiving a charge. Not all trucks energize the 7 pin 12v pin all the time, some are switched with ignition and some need additional fuses/relays installed. No clue how it's configured on your truck.

If that is the case the 12v house battery would be unnecessary, although as previously mentioned it may be handy as a backup or reserve, as I understand it the Lifepo will do the brunt of the work until almost depleted.

 

[stroodle96]

All the trailers I have had have a separate small battery for the breakaway braking system. Usually mounted in the frame rail close to the coupler. They often have a small LED light on them that illuminates when they are receiving a charge. Not all trucks energize the 7 pin 12v pin all the time, some are switched with ignition and some need additional fuses/relays installed. No clue how it's configured on your truck.

If that is the case the 12v house battery would be unnecessary, although as previously mentioned it may be handy as a backup or reserve, as I understand it the Lifepo will do the brunt of the work until almost depleted.

I plan to charge my TT batteries while driving by having the camper plugged into the 30amp connection. So while driving the 12v battery on the tongue would be charged by the truck and the converter at the same time and I don't know what affect that will have on the truck. So i would rather just have the break away battery be entirely separate.

I guess I can just disconnect the charging wire from the 7 pin and have the break away battery only charging from the converter. Then I still have the redundancy and not the complexity of 2 charge sources.

 

[time2roll]

A few concerns I have with the Victron Model:
- My main concern now is I was reading through the datasheet and it also shows 3000VA continuous but then says only 2400Watts continuous both at 25 degrees Celsius? I thought VA to watts was 1:1. Can you or somebody with a better understanding speak to this? Are you sure the victron unit will be able to supply 3000W steady?

Still going to be 2400 watts continuous max. The benefit is if there is a power factor issue up to 20% the Victron is able to present 3000VA apparent power and continue to run the load with 2400w uncorrected power factor.

BTW my GoPower 2000w inverter runs my 13.5 Dometic RV roof air conditioner just fine. Also available in 3kW.

I prefer to have separate components. Inverter, transfer switch, battery charger, solar controller.

Simplistic Xantrex white paper on Power Factor

 

[OffGridInTheCity]

I'm in my 2nd year of using an MPP Solar 3048LV (3000w inverter / 48v battery) in my 7 x 14 cargo trailer -> camper trailer. It has a 30a external socket routed to the MPP Solar AC in. I use either a Honda eu3000is or Champion 2300 (pure sine wave) for boondocking and they work fine feeding the MPP Solar.

I put in a bypass switch so I can bypass the MPP Solar + battery and just route from the external plug to the power distribution center directly for long term storage AND just in case the MPP Solar / battery system fails for some reason. Also, I went with 120vac -> 12vdc transformer for 12vdc stuff to avoid a secondary 12v battery/system - which powers the tongue jack, water tank/battery "RV Heat Pads", and some lights.

What's kind of cool with MPP Solar AIO is the built-in UPS - so you can just drive with power coming from the battery and then plug-in at the campsite (or run a generator) and things continue operating + recharge the battery for the next unplug. It's so seamless/easy we actually run the mini-split and keep temperature so it's warm (or cool) as we arrive at the camp site. The battery is large enough for 24hrs at moderate temps.

When boondocking I do *manually* adjust the battery charge level thru the MPP Solar software between 2a (100w) or 10a (500w) or 20a (1000w) depending on what we're doing inside to avoid overloading the generator vs faster battery recharge.

 

[Bobert]

I did a review on the AIO I use on my travel Trailer. The one I use is 3500w so it’s almost a 30 amp equivalent. Here is the review

PowMr 48 volt 3500 watt hybrid inverter review

I initially wrote this review for Amazon but never posted it. I thought those who were considering purchasing this might find this review helpful. This review is probably a bit more basic than necessary for this audience so much of what I mention you probably already know and You may want...

diysolarforum.com

You will probably find that if you have 7K available from your truck you would greatly benefit if you can figure out a way to go directly to the AIO from the truck so that you can use ac and still charge your batteries at max rate. Otherwise you will be many hours recharging if you are useIng ac. If your AIO doesn’t have power sharing you will constantly have to be reprogramming it to keep from tripping your 30 amp breaker. My 3500w inverter had no trouble starting and running my 15k rooftop ac even without a soft start. I replaced the rooftop unit with a mini split because I get more than double the runtime (and 1/4 of the noise) off of the same battery bank. One possibility might be to install a 50 amp plug in on the trailer with only one of the two 120v legs connected to the AIO then you could supply that half of a 50amp outlet from the truck and be able to charge at nearly full capacity regardless of if you have the truck or a 50 amp rv connection. If you only have a 30 amp compground connection just use a dogbone and practice power management.

 

[stroodle96]

So after looking at the Victron systems more I really like them. My only concern is I would effectively be limiting my power ability to 2400W when I am not connected to shore power or the truck generator. After researching it seems like these 3000VA units are super popular even for 50amp RVs, where they would be limiting their max power even more when not connected to shore. But nobody seems to be complaining about not having enough Watts to start or run A/C etc when off grid. So that gives me some confidence.

More questions/concerns:
Just to confirm though, when I am connected to 30AMP shore power, I will still have the full 30AMPs of power available to use correct?(even more technically because of power assist feature I think)?

Also, for vendors, it looks like Signature Solar has these units and the Cerbos GX for several hundred dollars cheaper than other vendors(not even including the current deals). Are they the best vendor to buy Victron from? How are they able to sell the equipment so much cheaper compared to all other vendors? I am also worried about support, I have read that you need to buy Victron through a reputable vendor since they are who you contact for all warranty issues, I have tried calling them 3 times(3 separate days) and requested a call back through the automated system each time and still have not heard back. Are other people having issue reaching them? Should I pay a few hundred more and get the equipment from current connected? (Looks like current connected also extended the warranty to 10 years)

For Batteries, I think I have decided to go with SOK or Trophy batteries, both 48V 100AH server rack. From the sites, both will communicate with Cerbos GX. Sorta thinking out loud below about both batteries. I would appreciate any insight or suggestions people have.
Trophy:
I really like Trophy, I called and talked with Dan and he was super nice and helpful. I also like that they have heaters, we may get in places were it is below freezing and would be nice to know that if for some reason we run out of propane and the camper gets cold, that the batteries will be able to charge sooner. But, the inverter will still be able to pass thru current from the shore power connection even if the battery BMS shutsdown right? So the heaters do not seem like to much of a benefit, since I can just plug the camper into the truck or shore power and run the furnace to heat the camper and batteries back up(Assuming the Victron will still pass through current from shore). Another perk is trophy is cheaper and they underrate the pack to extend its usable life, plus I think they are a smaller business which is nice to support. One downside is the battery is bigger dimension wise than SOK, and space is a premium under the dinette seats where I plan to install everything. another downside is they do not seem to be as popular as SOK and so finding help with any issues I encounter may be more challenging. Will liked the screen menu of the trophy better.

SOK:
I heard Will recommend these for RVs and mobile solutions because of the rigid metal cage that holds the cells. So I like the idea of that. Trophy on their site also says something about an all metal cage holding the cells, but in Will breakdown, they looked to be held together by foam strips. Maybe trophy updated this? I have seen videos showing how to set the SOK batteries to communicate with Victron Cerbos GX. I have not found good tutorials yet for trophy. SOK seems to have been around longer and more well known. SOK is much more compact which is a big selling point for my use case. User serviceable.

In Summary: Both batteries have perks for my use case. I am leaning towards the SOK because of the metal cage and smaller size. The trophy batteries seem like the better deal overall, but I really need something that will for sure be rock solid in my TT and the SOK seems to be more popular and proven. I welcome any insight and opinions.

Thanks again to everyone for all the feedback and ideas!

 

[sunshine_eggo]

So after looking at the Victron systems more I really like them. My only concern is I would effectively be limiting my power ability to 2400W when I am not connected to shore power or the truck generator. After researching it seems like these 3000VA units are super popular even for 50amp RVs, where they would be limiting their max power even more when not connected to shore. But nobody seems to be complaining about not having enough Watts to start or run A/C etc when off grid. So that gives me some confidence.

Per the article I linked, if powering resistive loads, 3000W. If powering inductive loads (motors), 2400W.

They have a robust and legit surge capability. I would expect no issues starting a rooftop A/C with a microair or other soft starter.

FWIW, my Quattro 5K has no issues at all starting a rooftop unit WITHOUT a soft start.

More questions/concerns:
Just to confirm though, when I am connected to 30AMP shore power, I will still have the full 30AMPs of power available to use correct?(even more technically because of power assist feature I think)?

If you look at the datasheet, the ATS is actually 50A, so it can actually pass through as much as 6000W + powerassist.

Also, for vendors, it looks like Signature Solar has these units and the Cerbos GX for several hundred dollars cheaper than other vendors(not even including the current deals). Are they the best vendor to buy Victron from? How are they able to sell the equipment so much cheaper compared to all other vendors?

They are very new to the Victron product line. They may be pricing them aggressively and taking a hit to get a foothold in the market. My concern is they may lack the technical expertise to fully support Victron.

 

[stroodle96]

Thank you. Another question, if I get a battery like above that will communicate with the cerbos GX do I still need a victron smart shunt? Or will the batteries bms act like the shunt?

I will have a dc converter for 12v appliances and the inverter as loads on the 48v battery.

 

[sunshine_eggo]

Thank you. Another question, if I get a battery like above that will communicate with the cerbos GX do I still need a victron smart shunt? Or will the batteries bms act like the shunt?

It depends on the system. If the BMS provides all the functionality of a battery monitor, then you don't necessarily need one.

My Batrium has its own shunt, so I technically could get away without having a Victron Shunt, but I like the redundancy of a second battery monitor and another functional relay if I need to control something with my BMV based on voltage or SoC.

 

[stroodle96]

I did a review on the AIO I use on my travel Trailer. The one I use is 3500w so it’s almost a 30 amp equivalent. Here is the review

PowMr 48 volt 3500 watt hybrid inverter review

I initially wrote this review for Amazon but never posted it. I thought those who were considering purchasing this might find this review helpful. This review is probably a bit more basic than necessary for this audience so much of what I mention you probably already know and You may want...

diysolarforum.com

You will probably find that if you have 7K available from your truck you would greatly benefit if you can figure out a way to go directly to the AIO from the truck so that you can use ac and still charge your batteries at max rate. Otherwise you will be many hours recharging if you are useIng ac. If your AIO doesn’t have power sharing you will constantly have to be reprogramming it to keep from tripping your 30 amp breaker. My 3500w inverter had no trouble starting and running my 15k rooftop ac even without a soft start. I replaced the rooftop unit with a mini split because I get more than double the runtime (and 1/4 of the noise) off of the same battery bank. One possibility might be to install a 50 amp plug in on the trailer with only one of the two 120v legs connected to the AIO then you could supply that half of a 50amp outlet from the truck and be able to charge at nearly full capacity regardless of if you have the truck or a 50 amp rv connection. If you only have a 30 amp compground connection just use a dogbone and practice power management.

Which mini split did you use? I am interested in doing this as well.

 

[OffGridInTheCity]

Which mini split did you use? I am interested in doing this as well.

For my 7 x 14 Cargo Trailer -> Camper conversion, with 1" (R5) foam board all around (ceiling, walls, tailgate, floor) I use the https://senville.com/9000-btu-mini-split-air-conditioner-senl-09cd/ and it's worked great! The specs say down to 5F but I've only tested to 26F low so far and it worked. Is 120v and maxes out at ~1100w. Super quiet and of course it cools as well. I use an MPP Solar 3048LV (3000w, 48v) for my power system.


Senville also makes an Aura variation for more extreme temps - https://www.amazon.com/Senville-Split-Conditioner-Works-Energy/dp/B09TBC25P6?th=1 - but it's 220v.

• ULTRA HIGH EFFICIENCY: Energy Star Certified Air Conditioner and Arctic Heat Pump (Up to -22°F/-30°C) Uses 208-230V, ETL Intertek Approved, AHRI Certified, Works with Alexa

 

[Bobert]

For my 7 x 14 Cargo Trailer -> Camper conversion, with 1" (R5) foam board all around (ceiling, walls, tailgate, floor) I use the https://senville.com/9000-btu-mini-split-air-conditioner-senl-09cd/ and it's worked great! The specs say down to 5F but I've only tested to 26F low so far and it worked. Is 120v and maxes out at ~1100w. Super quiet and of course it cools as well. I use an MPP Solar 3048LV (3000w, 48v) for my power system.
View attachment 121993

Senville also makes an Aura variation for more extreme temps - https://www.amazon.com/Senville-Split-Conditioner-Works-Energy/dp/B09TBC25P6?th=1 - but it's 220v.

• ULTRA HIGH EFFICIENCY: Energy Star Certified Air Conditioner and Arctic Heat Pump (Up to -22°F/-30°C) Uses 208-230V, ETL Intertek Approved, AHRI Certified, Works with Alexa

I use the same mini split you do in my 38’ travel trailer. It’s to small for heating my application but it works acceptably for cooling our 120 square foot living area and the entire camper once the sun is down. Heat is a no go as we have a family of 6 not including a large dog 2 cats and a fish so we don’t really want heat until the temperature is lower than 40 and at 30 degrees the heat pump doesn’t produce enough heat to touch the 380 square feet of our unit. It’s hard to beat the energy efficiency of the mini split compared to a rooftop unit. 3 to 5 hours of runtime with the rooftop unit on a 5k battery and 3.2 k of solar and 24 hours with the same solar setup on a sunny day.

 

[OffGridInTheCity]

I use the same mini split you do in my 38’ travel trailer. It’s to small for heating my application but it works acceptably for cooling our 120 square foot living area and the entire camper once the sun is down. Heat is a no go as we have a family of 6 not including a large dog 2 cats and a fish so we don’t really want heat until the temperature is lower than 40 and at 30 degrees the heat pump doesn’t produce enough heat to touch the 380 square feet of our unit. It’s hard to beat the energy efficiency of the mini split compared to a rooftop unit. 3 to 5 hours of runtime with the rooftop unit on a 5k battery and 3.2 k of solar and 24 hours with the same solar setup on a sunny day.

Yea, I can see that for 9000BTU. Our trailer is only 100sq ft (7 x 14) with no windows and R5 and it seems pretty well matched.

We do an optional double-tarp (18mil thick) extension on the tailgate for an additional 36sq ft room. There's a door between the trailer core and the tailgate extension. Obviously the tailgate extension doesn't have any insulation but with a small USB fan to push air to it from the core - the Senville just barely worked down to 26F to keep 75F in the core and 60F in the extension. Just the core is no problem w/heat.

Of course - the heat rises to the upper half of the trailer so we use wool socks / slippers to avoid the cold floor as I'm not sure how to force heat down without fans or something that will take up room. You can literally put your hand near the floor and it's 65F? and raise it up to 75F at 4ft off the floor and feel the temp change.

 

[k490]

I plan to charge my TT batteries while driving by having the camper plugged into the 30amp connection. So while driving the 12v battery on the tongue would be charged by the truck and the converter at the same time and I don't know what affect that will have on the truck. So i would rather just have the break away battery be entirely separate.

I guess I can just disconnect the charging wire from the 7 pin and have the break away battery only charging from the converter. Then I still have the redundancy and not the complexity of 2 charge sources.

Helping a friend put solar on his new 16' travel trailer. His came with a single deep cycle lead acid battery on the trailer tongue used for the house power, and wired into the break away switch for the electric brakes. His didn't have a tiny frame battery like my flatbed car hauler has. We plan on replacing it with 2 100ah lithiums in parallel, and we will install a small battery on the frame for the break away electric brakes the trailer brake will trickle charge it. I find my car hauler the battery doesn't last long I just replace it before I use it since it sits most of the time.

We don't want the truck 7 wire charging the lithium batteries. We installed a Victron blue smart charger if he needs to use shore power to charge. We fabricated a nice box for a honda inverter generator in the back of his pickup to secure the generator. Mostly boondocking and camping in cool climates won't need the AC much likely it might only be used for the microwave. He have a small inverter for a small TV, or items needs. I think with 600 watts of solar and 200 AH of lithium power should be more than enough. We did some testing with a single 100 ah cheap $270 LifeP04 I got on eBay for experimenting with solar on a shed in my backyard it was way better than the interstate Deep cycle they gave him. I'm only concerned is about the lithiums being able to handle cold weather in a box on the trailer tongue. He is going with Battle Born they say go down to -4 up to 135F we could go with the heated versions. Maybe we put some insulation in a box up there.