Toy Hauler Electrical Upgrade: Request for Comment

[FASTLIKEJUDY]

Hello, This year my wife and I purchased a 2004 Forest River toy hauler and will go on the road for a year starting September 2018.  It has a propane stove, refrigerator and heater.  100 gallon fresh water tank, 35 gallon black and 35 gallon gray tanks.

We have a 3500 watt Champion generator/inverter.

The year we have boon-docked for 20 days in 3-day increments.  Our RV battery is toast but we did not want to purchase a new battery until we upgraded our electrics.  Here is a listing on the equipment we have identified.  We would like to be able to boon dock for 7-10 days.  We like to run our radio, use the computer and run the refrigerator.  During breakfast and dinner preparations we will run the generator for the microwave and other 120 volt kitchen appliances.  Please provide comment on the following equipment listing:

[font=Arial, sans-serif]1.   [/font][font=Arial, sans-serif]Renogy RNG-KIT-STCS-100D-NC (2 of these panels)  We will connect these in series.  We want the portable panels to avoid roof holes and we don't have much roof room. [/font]
[font=Arial, sans-serif]2.   [/font][font=Arial, sans-serif]Controller RNG-CTRL-RVR40.  MPPT controller for high efficiency and growth.  This controller supports wiring our panels in series.[/font]
[font=Arial, sans-serif]3.   [/font][font=Arial, sans-serif]Battery Monitor Bogart TM-2030-RV.  To accurately monitor electrical usage and protect the batteries[/font]
[font=Arial, sans-serif]4.   [/font][font=Arial, sans-serif]Group 27 Battery UB121000 (2 of these)  These are relatively cheap on AMAZON and will fit into our existing battery tray[/font]
[font=Arial, sans-serif]5.   [/font][font=Arial, sans-serif]Progressive Dynamics (PD9245CV) 45 Amp Power Converter with Charge Wizard - upgrade to a smart charger to avoid battery damage.[/font]

[font=Arial, sans-serif]We will appreciate any comments or suggestions.  Thank you[/font]

 

[RVtrek]

Is your refrigerator a typical RV-style 3-way fridge that can run off propane when boondocking? If so, then the only thing I think I'd change is your batteries. If there's any way you can use a pair of 6v deep cycle golf cart batteries you'll get more amp hours, and that's always a good thing. If you don't require AGM, then I'd go lead acid since they're significantly less expensive. If you are going with AGMs because your setup requires it, then I still recommend some bigger batteries.

Also, what part of the country are you boondocking in, and what part of the year? That can have some huge impacts on solar intake. I have 320 watts on the roof, and it was far more than I needed in the summer. Now in the fall I'm scrambling looking for outlets where I can charge up my batteries. Since you have a generator, that's not as big of a concern for you.

So anyway, that's my 2 cents. Bigger (more amp-hour) batteries to match up with the rest of your equipment.

 

[jonyjoe303]

for battery monitor you can always get a coulomb meter, it will do basically what the bogart does but shows everything at one time. I got the 50 amp model for 22 dollars (thats less then what the shunt alone cost on the bogart), but they got ones that handle higher amps. It can handle up to a 580 ah battery bank. Best 22 dollars I ever spent. It keeps track of all the amps going in/out of the battery, which is many times better than relying on the voltage to find what is your battery status.
In the picture it shows a 110 ah battery discharging, battery voltage, percent left, ah remaining, amps/watts being used, and time remaining at current amp use. When charging it will count up. Its a lighted display. Its shown next to a dc wattmeter to test the accuracy of the readings. I'm using these on my lifepo4 batteries but they work on any type of battery. 

TK15 High Precision LiFePO/Lithium/Lead Acid Battery Tester Coulomb Counter 50A

 

[FASTLIKEJUDY]

Thank you for your responses.

1. Mostly boon docking in west (Colorado, Dakotas, Arizona, New Mexico).

2. Yes we have the standard RV Propane/120 volt refrigerator.

3. I like the Coulomb meter recommendation, thank you.

4. Battery choice is really one of convenience for our existing battery tray.   I will look into two 6V golf cart batteries.

Thank you, this is the input I am looking for.

KRR

 

[rvpopeye]

6 volt Golf Cart Batteries are similar in footprint size to a GRP 27 , just a few inches taller...Hook thm up in series instead of parallel like the 12 volters.

 

[frater secessus]

Our RV battery is toast but we did not want to purchase a new battery until we upgraded our electrics.
...
[font=Arial, sans-serif]We will appreciate any comments or suggestions.  Thank you[/font]

Your equipment list sounds good to me. 

There's a chance you could milk the batteries a little longer by getting water level topped up and turning that bad boy PD converter loose on them.