Mike Wendlends lithium batteries

[Davydd]

Bob,

There should be no floor cutout with lithium ion batteries. What I saw in the Roadtrek video was metal trays with fastening latches that held 8 3.2v cells. Gerrym51 said he counted 5 trays. I didn't check that. But they looked like Prismatic 180ah cells to me and 40 of them adds up to 1,800ah in a 12V system which is close to the 20,000 watt terminology that was admittedly rounded off. It's all speculation on my part but the speculation with what I came up with tells me it is possible. Roadtrek is not blowing smoke here. Combined with the scads of solar panels they put up and guessing they may be using a very energy efficient 12V air conditioner they should get their 24/7 air conditioning without a doubt if a person drives a B anywhere close to the way I do. My only question is, OK, why? 24/7 air conditioning would be self flagellating hell.

I know a little more about the Advanced RV system to know they have one box size which will hold their maximum of 800ah assuming what they were testing when I was there at Advanced Fest. I know their box fastens to the bottom underneath about where the Onan generator would typically go. There is no hole in the floor. 800ah of batteries would weigh about 227 lbs so I imagined would be dropped with a jack underneath when up on a lift. There is no maintenance required such as battery terminal cleaning. So at up to 5,000 cycles if you had to charge every single day as a full timer they would last, in theory, over 13 years! Of course we know that is not going to happen. Even the industry 2,000 cycles gets you 5.5 years. In effect, I expect never to see those batteries as long as I own my ARV assuming I don't abuse them in some way.

Earlier Advanced RVs had used the car battery size Smart Battery. I had seen configurations at ARV of four batteries or about 400ah and they were in floor cut out boxes which will now be storage boxes in my B.

[wpshivers]

Just finished reading this entire thread that is now about a year old, I found it interesting due to my recent purchase!

I just took delivery 1 week ago of our 2016 RoadTrek CS-ADVENTUROUS we ordered in October 2015 at the RVIA Show in Pomona with a lot of assistance from Jim Hammill and staff. Chassis is a 2015 Mercedes Benz Sprinter 3500 Turbo Diesel V6 Standard length (170"), White with Ebony interior.

It has the E-trek Luxury option which includes EcoTrek 800 Amp Hr Lithium Power Modules + 470 W Solar Panel with Engine Generator + Volt Start Auto Start Battery Protection and a Go Sun Solar Oven, (That Roadtrek still owes us!).

We opted for a No-Propane setup. Two Induction Cook-tops installed, (One slides out from the pantry and can double as additional counter work-area with the included cutting board).

We also apparently have one of the first "Released into the Wild" Diesel-Alde heating systems. Unfortunately the Alde system was DOA at the Dealership. Roadtrek and Alde are working to get a fix out to me, but I took delivery anyway as I'm not desperate for heating/hot water here in Southern California for now, (This is still a BIG move up from our 30+ year old Starcraft 19' Tent Trailer!). We do have the Insta-Hot faucet for immediate Hot water needs except for showering. I come from a Computer Systems Engineering (Retired) background and am very use to and enjoy living on the "Bleeding Edge" of Technology! -lol-

The CS has two power inverters that are switched on/off separately. It appears one inverter handles power for the Insta-Hot Water heater and the secondary Induction cook-top. The Primary Inverter mounted under the bench seat in back handles everything else to the best of my knowledge.

The Primary Induction Cook-top and the Microwave are on a toggle switch, you can use one or the other but not both at the same time. Secondary induction Cook-top is always available as long as the Inverter is on or connected to shore power.

I'm not sure of the power capabilities of the two inverters, but I seem to have more available power than what I need. I'll have to look that number up just so I know!

The Underhood Engine Generator is 12V, 3,500W, includes a 2500W inverter/converter/charger and two extra 6V batteries. (This is all part of the E-Trek package).

Our CS has the standard Dometic Rooftop A/C. It is noisy, but glad to have it when we really need it. The Fantastic Fan will probably be our primary source of ventilation/comfort in our travels. The double door 7.0 cubic Foot refrigerator/freezer is very nice to have! We have it running 24/7 using solar/batteries only to keep it going fulltime.

Theoretically, we should never need to "Plug In", but only time and travel will confirm this!

Now if we could just do something about the constant filling/emptying of the holding tanks! -lol-

[gregmchugh]

So, there are 4 of the 12 volt Ecotrek 200 amp modules under the rear and two standard 6 volt AGM batteries under the hood?

Sounds like it is wired for 12 volts only, not like the 800 amp hour AGM ETrek with a 24 volt battery bank and 24 volt engine generator and inverter?

You might want to join the Roadtrek Owners Group on Facebook, other owners getting the new technology are there.

[wpshivers]

Originally Posted by gregmchugh

So, there are 4 of the 12 volt Ecotrek 200 amp modules under the rear and two standard 6 volt AGM batteries under the hood?

Sounds like it is wired for 12 volts only, not like the 800 amp hour AGM ETrek with a 24 volt battery bank and 24 volt engine generator and inverter?

You might want to join the Roadtrek Owners Group on Facebook, other owners getting the new technology are there.

I'm really not sure how everything is mounted and distributed, there are 4 EcoTrek 200 switches. There are batteries under the hood, it appears there is another bank mounted outside in a box under the rear inverter. There may be even more batteries mounted in what use to be underfloor storage behind the the rear doors, I haven't unbolted the cover yet to verify.

Lots of power storage!

Is the "Roadtrek Owners Group" on Facebook any different from "Roadtreking: The Group" I currently post in?

[gregmchugh]

Originally Posted by wpshivers

I'm really not sure how everything is mounted and distributed, there are 4 EcoTrek 200 switches. There are batteries under the hood, it appears there is another bank mounted outside in a box under the rear inverter. There may be even more batteries mounted in what use to be underfloor storage behind the the rear doors, I haven't unbolted the cover yet to verify Lots of power storage!

Is the "Roadtrek Owners Group" on Facebook any different from "Roadtreking: The Group" I currently post in?

Yes, the Roadtrek Owners Group is much less about lifestyle discussions and much more oriented toward discussion of owners experiences, both good and bad. We do a lot of problem solving discussion between owners that you won't see much of on the bigger Roadtreking group.

[gregmchugh]

It is likely that the two batteries under the hood are standard 6 volt AGM lead acid batteries wired in series to get 12 volts and used as part of the Roadtrek electrical system. The Sprinter chassis starter battery is under the drivers feet.

[wpshivers]

I'll check under the hood as the battery there did appear to be more "Automotive-like" ie "AGM", but I didn't look close yet.

There has been a lot to learn about this vehicle in the past week! I will check out the FB owners group! I need to tap into power for my HAM radio, CB, Radar detector, Cell Phone Amplifier and probably a WiFi Amp/router.

I don't like wires hanging out, so some disassembly and hole drilling will be needed! The most painful will be drilling holes in the roof for some of the antennas!

It will be good to tap into group knowledge in this area.

With all the power available in the CS there sure is a lack of 12v outlets!

[gregmchugh]

On the older units there was an easy spot to add a 12 v outlet at the Winegard TV amplifier wall plate in the entertainment cabinet. Winegard sells a replacement wall plate with an outlet, an internal coax splitter, and an auto switch between the antenna and the cable TV input. I doubt they are still using it these days but if you have one it us an easy swap of the wall plates and the circuit was a 10 amp circuit so extra power available there.

[gregmchugh]

There are several HAM radio people on the Roadtreking:The Group so you can likely get some info there...