I owned a 2002 Traverse for 11 years. The newer ones were virtually identical to the older models except with fewer features (they dropped the 12/120v hot water heater and the rear door mounted 120v AC for example).
My current RV is a B+ to which I added Lithium batteries, a battery heater system that I designed myself, solar, an inverter, and many other upgrades.
If I were starting over with the Traverse and had a few grand to really make it a better vehicle I would make the following upgrades:
1. Swap the batteries for these Lithium models:
PowerUrus $330 ea ($660 for two)
2. Swap the charger for this Inverter (which you can shoehorn into the same spot under the bed with a little effort - but make sure you measure before you buy):
Xantrex 1800 $675
3. Rooftop solar using flexible panels. These are cheap and not particularly durable, but you can adhere them to the pop-top (using just enough to hold them since you will likely need to replace them at some point). I would use three, which should take up most of the pop-top and give you plenty of power to run the fridge indefinitely even in cloudy weather. Using three means you can use a cheap PWM controller which will be small and easily mounted next to the existing control panels. A MPPT controller takes up more room, is much more expensive, and only gives you a real-world increase of about 20% more power. Adding a third panel gives you 50% more for less than $100, so it is a far more cost effective approach. Here is a
four-pack of panels that give you an extra for future use. $270
4. You need the solar controller. This is not the cheapest option, but it has the battery temperature monitoring capability (use a
10k probe eight dollars) as well as BT monitoring capability (nice!).
Renology $30
5. I would add a rooftop fan as well. I talked with PleasureWay about this once to see if the fiberglass pop-top could handle having a 14"x14" hole cut in it but did not get a solid answer. To play it safe you could just install this
MaxFan Dome Fan $71. It is possible to modify these to have a variable speed, by cutting out the switch and putting in one of these
PWM controllers $8 in its place (the dial should fit where the switch was).
6. I would also install a
battery monitor $38. These measure the exact amount of power that flows in and out of the battery so you know exactly how much charge it has. This is far superior to just looking at voltage, which is nearly useless with a LifePO battery. The shunt goes on the negative terminal of the battery, the controller is mounted where you can see it. If you would prefer just bluetooth monitoring this
Victron $100 is a good option (the Victron app is very good, I use it).
2012 Traverse NEWBIE to B class RV
Linear Mode
