Roadtrek Zion Battery help

[Goozer]

Hi all.

I’m new to the forum. Hoping you fine folks can help give me some guidance on my 2018 Roadtrek Zion.

My house battery (12 V AGM) appears to be on its way out and I’m looking into replacement options. My local dealers haven't been much help.

Does anyone have any recommendations? Have there been any advances in battery tech in the last 5-6 years that I should consider (lithium, etc) or do I need to replace “like for like”?

Any help is appreciated.

[booster]

Originally Posted by Goozer

Hi all.

I’m new to the forum. Hoping you fine folks can help give me some guidance on my 2018 Roadtrek Zion.

My house battery (12 V AGM) appears to be on its way out and I’m looking into replacement options. My local dealers haven't been much help.

Does anyone have any recommendations? Have there been any advances in battery tech in the last 5-6 years that I should consider (lithium, etc) or do I need to replace “like for like”?

Any help is appreciated.

You are in Ontario, so a lithium swap would be a major hassle due to the temps it will see.


You got 5 years out of the AGM, so if you are happy with amount of power you had, just get another of the same. There are lots of brands of AGMs from very expensive but very good, to quite cheap and not extremely good but for price might not be bad. Whatever brand that was in there was OK, so if you can find it locally it would be the safe choice.

[GeorgeRa]

If you stay with AGMs I would suggest Fullrivers DC, mine are 10 years old and are still running. They are not cheap. https://fullriverbattery.com/battery-series/dc-series/

[Goozer]

Awesome. Thanks for the advice. Will definitely check out those batteries.

[mumkin]

Originally Posted by Goozer

My house battery (12 V AGM) appears to be on its way out and I’m looking into replacement options. My local dealers haven't been much help.

If you can tolerate Facebook, there is a very good group called Roadtrek Zion and Simplicity Owners. I believe that you have the large (182 ah) Northstar that is no longer made. If you prefer to stay with AGM, RT is now installing a different brand and you could call the factory service/warranty department and ask about it. There was just a post with a photo of it on the FB page. That would be the most simple switchout.

Many have replaced with various lithium brands. That requires some adjustments to the inverter and UHG. Some of the more knowledgeable have posted "how to" in the group files. Lithiums don't work well in the cold... some have installed them inside the rig... some brands do come with a heating system.

This is a common discussion over on the FB pages since Roadtrek created such a complicated system. lol

[Goozer]

Great. Thanks for the reply and advice.

Might consider renewing my Facebook account for this.

Worth noting that, although I live in Ontario, I don’t winter with the camper van. The battery sits inside the cabin vs underneath the van. It also has a built in inverter (not sure if it’s a North Star).

Assume that any upgrade to lithium ion would require purchasing and integrating an inverter as well? I believe the new Roadtreks are rolling out with a 600ah lithium ion battery. Would be good to upgrade, if at all possible. I hear the voltstart can be fussy.

What do you think?

[mumkin]

Originally Posted by Goozer

Great. Thanks for the reply and advice.

Might consider renewing my Facebook account for this.

You could just open a new account riffing off your real name.

Originally Posted by Goozer

Worth noting that, although I live in Ontario, I don’t winter with the camper van. The battery sits inside the cabin vs underneath the van. It also has a built in inverter (not sure if it’s a North Star).

Is this the original battery? If so, that was what they were installing in the AGM Zions as long as they were available. So you pull it and put it inside the van? I have never heard of a battery with a built in inverter. The 2018 RTs came with a 2000w inverter in the cabinet next to the water heater. That was the standard whether you have an AGM or lithium system. None of the Canadians on the board have reported moving the battery from under the van during the winter.

Originally Posted by Goozer

Assume that any upgrade to lithium ion would require purchasing and integrating an inverter as well? I believe the new Roadtreks are rolling out with a 600ah lithium ion battery. Would be good to upgrade, if at all possible. I hear the voltstart can be fussy.

Those that have switched to lithiums (usually Battleborn) have all just done the quick reset of the stock inverter that all of them come with. To go to the Roadtrek Lithium system would require quite a bit of work as it is a combination of lithiums and an AGM "kicker battery" which is needed to avoid killing the UHG. Far be it from me to explain this stuff, which is why I suggest heading over to FB and consult with those who have done it. I can say that none of them switched to RT lithium system, but went in other directions with other brands. It is not just a matter of dropping the AGM and adding a lithium.

Voltstart was nixed when the new company took over... supposedly from Ram. There has been talk about adding a similar system again. Some have gone to an aftermarket Viper system