New B Purchase

[Cannuck]

We ordered the Alde on the Zion. Not having much to go by from RoadTrek, we didn't realize where the radiators would be located. Apparently there will be one under each of the 3 rear benches. I would expect your unit to be similar.

Have you found the radiators are taking up a lot of space in these under seat / bench storage areas?

Are they protected in some way. I've seen pictures of the radiators themselves and the fins look somewhat easy to bend and damage.

Of particular concern is the rear bench where we will be storing paddleboards, BBQs, chairs, etc.

RoadTrek said they would come up with pictures, but I'm not holding my breath.

[ponti33602]

Originally Posted by Cannuck

We ordered the Alde on the Zion. Not having much to go by from RoadTrek, we didn't realize where the radiators would be located. Apparently there will be one under each of the 3 rear benches. I would expect your unit to be similar.

Have you found the radiators are taking up a lot of space in these under seat / bench storage areas?

Are they protected in some way. I've seen pictures of the radiators themselves and the fins look somewhat easy to bend and damage.

Of particular concern is the rear bench where we will be storing paddleboards, BBQs, chairs, etc.

RoadTrek said they would come up with pictures, but I'm not holding my breath.

Here are a couple shots.......My wife (She did all the research on the purchase and what she wanted) says there are 2 in the front and shown on the pic and another under the side seat in the back where we didn't have storage in the Agile anyway. Also a pic of the rear storage area.

[dknightd]

Bob,
Looks like you have a van similar to what we are considering.
It looks like those might be the Li batteries in the back under the bench.

Can you do me a favor - looks underneath the van where the spare would normally be stored (just ahead of the trailer hitch). Is there anything in that space?

[ponti33602]

Originally Posted by dknightd

Bob,
Looks like you have a van similar to what we are considering.
It looks like those might be the Li batteries in the back under the bench.

Can you do me a favor - looks underneath the van where the spare would normally be stored (just ahead of the trailer hitch). Is there anything in that space?

Will grab a pic tonight and post back for you. What are you thinking?

[dknightd]

Originally Posted by ponti33602

Will grab a pic tonight and post back for you. What are you thinking?

Thanks. I'm thinking maybe the "continental" spare tire mount is not needed.
If so, it would be nice to have easier access to both rear doors.
I have not been able to see one of these vans with the Li batteries and no propane yet.

[gregmchugh]

Originally Posted by dknightd

Bob,
Looks like you have a van similar to what we are considering.
It looks like those might be the Li batteries in the back under the bench.

Can you do me a favor - looks underneath the van where the spare would normally be stored (just ahead of the trailer hitch). Is there anything in that space?

The two black boxes on the sides under the bed are inverters. The lithium battery modules are mounted under the van at the rear.

[booster]

Originally Posted by gregmchugh

The two black boxes on the sides under the bed are inverters. The lithium battery modules are mounted under the van at the rear.

Two inverters?

[ponti33602]

Originally Posted by booster

Two inverters?

Is that wrong? I think we were told 1 is for the micro/conv and induction and the other converts the rest of the stuff??


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[booster]

Originally Posted by ponti33602

Is that wrong? I think we were told 1 is for the micro/conv and induction and the other converts the rest of the stuff??


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I wouldn't say right or wrong, but it is quite unusual. Using two inverters with one of them very small, to run a phone charger or DVD player is done by a lot of folks to be able to save some parasitic loads, as you can get little ones that draw very little power, but odd to see two large ones. It would be interesting to see why they decided to do it that way.

[gregmchugh]

Originally Posted by booster

I wouldn't say right or wrong, but it is quite unusual. Using two inverters with one of them very small, to run a phone charger or DVD player is done by a lot of folks to be able to save some parasitic loads, as you can get little ones that draw very little power, but odd to see two large ones. It would be interesting to see why they decided to do it that way.

I won't presume to know why Roadtrek does what it does but I can tell you that they have stopped using the larger capacity 24v inverter that was used in the 24v Etrek AGM van and now use two smaller inverters in Ecotrek vans that have induction cooktops. As far as I have seen, all Ecotrek systems, including the 1600AH version, are wired as 12v battery banks. One of the two inverters is the main inverter and contains the battery charger used on shore power. The second inverter does not charge the batteries (it may still have an unused battery charger) and is used to power the induction cooktop, the instant hot water, and the microwave (this may not be correct, it is my recollection in terms of what is powered by the second inverter). The main inverter powers the roof air conditioner and the outlets. Again, the allocation of devices between the two inverters may be wrong but the second inverter is not significantly less wattage than the main inverter, in fact, they may be the same size.

[TravelinDak]

Originally Posted by gregmchugh

I won't presume to know why Roadtrek does what it does but I can tell you that they have stopped using the larger capacity 24v inverter that was used in the 24v Etrek AGM van and now use two smaller inverters in Ecotrek vans that have induction cooktops. As far as I have seen, all Ecotrek systems, including the 1600AH version, are wired as 12v battery banks. One of the two inverters is the main inverter and contains the battery charger used on shore power. The second inverter does not charge the batteries (it may still have an unused battery charger) and is used to power the induction cooktop, the instant hot water, and the microwave (this may not be correct, it is my recollection in terms of what is powered by the second inverter). The main inverter powers the roof air conditioner and the outlets. Again, the allocation of devices between the two inverters may be wrong but the second inverter is not significantly less wattage than the main inverter, in fact, they may be the same size.

When I was at the Hershey show, I asked about the two inverters. Jim Hammill told me it was because the single larger inverter on earlier models was causing too much heat, thus they decided to make 2 smaller ones. Hope this helps explain.

[ponti33602]

Originally Posted by booster

I wouldn't say right or wrong, but it is quite unusual. Using two inverters with one of them very small, to run a phone charger or DVD player is done by a lot of folks to be able to save some parasitic loads, as you can get little ones that draw very little power, but odd to see two large ones. It would be interesting to see why they decided to do it that way.

I did purchase this specifically for the the tv/dvd and any other small stuff. Like $18 bucks on Amazon and elsewhere. It will plug into the 12v in the cabinet above the dvd player. I haven't figured out yet what is already plugged into the USB/12V adaper currently. Looks like pics of all the RT's show this.

[booster]

Originally Posted by TravelinDak

When I was at the Hershey show, I asked about the two inverters. Jim Hammill told me it was because the single larger inverter on earlier models was causing too much heat, thus they decided to make 2 smaller ones. Hope this helps explain.

That is interesting. I wonder if the inverter they use runs a bunch hotter than the Outback or Magnum chargers often seen in the big battery bank systems. It think the class A rigs, which use lots of power, also use them.

[gregmchugh]

Originally Posted by booster

That is interesting. I wonder if the inverter they use runs a bunch hotter than the Outback or Magnum chargers often seen in the big battery bank systems. It think the class A rigs, which use lots of power, also use them.

As I recall, the 8 AGM Etrek used a single 5000 watt 24v inverter and they now install two 3000 watt 12v inverters but the second one only needs to be on when you are using the microwave, induction cooktop, or instant hot water tap. If you don't have the induction cooktop and still have a propane cooktop there might be only one inverter.

[booster]

6000 watts is a bunch. 500 amps of DC will put a hurt on the batteries in a hurry.

[avanti]

This is interesting. The fact is that large inverters are quite inefficient when used with small loads. This isn't an issue for us, since I was very aggressive in making sure that all small loads are dc-powered, so we only ever use the inverter for microwave, Keurig, or A/C. However, if I DID have small loads (e.g., a 120VAC Television), it would make sense to have a small auxiliary inverter. I wonder if they have some way to automatically switch between them. If not, it would be a significant and hard-to-explain usability hassle.

Hmmm. I DO have one low-power AC load: the d**n clock in the microwave. Drives me crazy. I actually tried to mod the microwave to run the logic board from 12VDC. Unfortunately, $79 microwaves turn out to be pretty aggressively cost-engineered. The AC and DC power supplies are hopelessly intertwined, so I gave up. I will have to give some thought to whether I might run a tiny inverter all the time just to maintain the time. I can see two issues: (1) making sure nothing bad happens if somebody turns on the microwave when the large inverter is turned off; and (2) ensuring that there isn't enough of a glitch to lose the time when the large inverter takes the place of the small one. This is likely to be an issue, since the inverters won't be phase synchronized. Interesting problem...

[gregmchugh]

The two Roadtrek inverters are not integrated in any way. They are both controlled manually and are not connected to the same 120v devices so no need to have phase synchronization.

The two 3000 watt inverters that Roadtrek uses have parasitic power draws of about 55 watts each.

I think the plan to have a small inverter for the entertainment systems makes sense and it would be nice if the TV and DVD player were native 12v devices so you would not even need a small inverter for entertainment devices.

[booster]

Originally Posted by avanti

This is interesting. The fact is that large inverters are quite inefficient when used with small loads. This isn't an issue for us, since I was very aggressive in making sure that all small loads are dc-powered, so we only ever use the inverter for microwave, Keurig, or A/C. However, if I DID have small loads (e.g., a 120VAC Television), it would make sense to have a small auxiliary inverter. I wonder if they have some way to automatically switch between them. If not, it would be a significant and hard-to-explain usability hassle.

Hmmm. I DO have one low-power AC load: the d**n clock in the microwave. Drives me crazy. I actually tried to mod the microwave to run the logic board from 12VDC. Unfortunately, $79 microwaves turn out to be pretty aggressively cost-engineered. The AC and DC power supplies are hopelessly intertwined, so I gave up. I will have to give some thought to whether I might run a tiny inverter all the time just to maintain the time. I can see two issues: (1) making sure nothing bad happens if somebody turns on the microwave when the large inverter is turned off; and (2) ensuring that there isn't enough of a glitch to lose the time when the large inverter takes the place of the small one. This is likely to be an issue, since the inverters won't be phase synchronized. Interesting problem...

How about 12v native digital clock? Last time I looked, they were about $10. I assume they can be on full time whenever they have power, as they show them on the dash in the ads.

[avanti]

Originally Posted by booster

How about 12v native digital clock? Last time I looked, they were about $10. I assume they can be on full time whenever they have power, as they show them on the dash in the ads.

You're no fun.

[cruising7388]

Originally Posted by gregmchugh

The two 3000 watt inverters that Roadtrek uses have parasitic power draws of about 55 watts each.

Maybe more than that? From the recent Roadtek power budget bulletin:


"Inverter - 100 watts (Yes, the inverter uses power. Turn it off when not needed.)"