Scope Rise 18A - add lift kit?

[mumkin]

Thor... ugh... solar panels should NOT be flying off this easy.

It is always a nightmare trying to get into Cummings. Every time I needed work under warranty, I just decided it was easier to find a local company to work on it and just pay than to wait for 3-4 months to get it in...

At least you got the skid plate done.

[Teresa]

I'm working and traveling out of the van and wondering about my cabin battery. It isn't really clear to me exactly what I have as for size: is it 100 amp hours, 200?

Thor is refusing to pay 'enough' to replace the solar so I'm struggling to get that fixed and had to leave on the trip without it. While at the dealership waiting for work, seems my battery was drained by something. I'm plugged in and will allow it to charge for a day but I have a sneaking suspicion there might be something wrong. They did replace the solar charger which was why the solar panel wasn't charging before but I don't understand how the battery got drained so far. I drove for an hour yesterday and ran the generator last night but by morning with only a stuffed and cold fridge, the battery capacity was almost gone. I'm wondering if replacing the solar component knocked something loose and the battery isn't getting charged from anything. I'll let it be plugged in and check but this would be a real issue and no way could I take off for 2 months like this.

Anyway, since I don't know the battery size, I'm a little stuck on how long it should legit take to charge it. Anyone know off hand?

Teresa

[Urlauber]

You should have documentation/flyers which advertise the battery capacity.

My 22 Rize has two Group 31 AGM batteries underneath the van. Each is rated 100Ah so a total of 200Ah.

My solar charge controllers reports about 50-70Ah per day, so you can do the math on how long it takes to recharge them. I don't plug in so not sure about that.

Often folks leave their inverters turned on and don't realize that this empties out the batteries, even if there is nothing plugged into the outlet. So check if that is the cause of your unexplained drain. Also the propane solenoid (red light outside). Besides obvious things, like refrigerators etc.

[Teresa]

Yea, my paperwork claims I had two as well but that isn't what I see and the local dealer working on it said I only have one (hence kind of asking). It might be the model because I can't imagine there is enough space there for two. It is under the single bed in the back and a real pain to get down to so replacing it in the future is going to be some real work.

Right now my Dad says the electric service maxes out at 10 amps an hour and that would be while it is also supporting the fridge, computer, cell phone, pump. So guessing based upon all that is that it might take a full 24 hours to get the battery back up fully charged. I can check tonight and make sure it is charging. If it isn't, I can't leave on this trip and use my fridge cause we very likely won't be plugging in each day.

Good point on the inverter but mine wasn't on. Short of the ipad controller, nothing really should have been drawing on it. Hence being concerned that something happened and the system might not be charging or shorting out. It sat for an entire month plus after I purchased it and the battery was completely fine then. Gosh I hope there isn't another problem. I do seem to be going backwards with having gotten it ready for this trip regardless of how hard I tried.

[mumkin]

I don't know anything about your set-up, but with the Roadtreks, there is a switch directly on the inverter, and then there a remote switch elsewhere. The one on the inverter must always be off and only the remote switch should be turned on and off for use. Service people are famous for turning on the switch ON the inverter and thus draining the battery. So after every time any service is done, we always check the one on the inverter to make sure it is off.

Just a thought... since you have a mystery.

[Teresa]

Thanks. I checked last night and the battery(ies) are taking a charge and left it on all night so they should be full up this morning. Yea on that.

We do have a similar sort of set up where there is a specific inverter switch and then a 'full shut off' sort of switch. The nice thing is the inverter is easy to see if it is on and yes, they did leave on the overall power (I've heard stories about folks who shut that off and then find the battery on the Ipad sort of controller getting ruined so I'm jumpy about that).

In general, I find it amazing how the guys who work on the equipment are so cavalier about the condition they leave it in when they are done. I've found the fridge running when it was empty and not on when dropped off and the inverse when it is full of food, moving things around the interior to get at things (understandable) but then not doing a thing to put it back together after being done, etc. It isn't quite my full time home but it still feels invasive on some level.

Thanks all for the advice throughout the thread. I'm looking forward to the trip and will be back trying to get things fixed in a few months.

[mumkin]

You're welcome, of course.

My favorite dealer stupidity: the next time you have your tires rotated, be sure to either check the air yourself before you leave... or my favorite, make the service manager do it. They are supposed to check on the door frame for the proper numbers, but don't seem to bother. lol Once I left with all 4 tires set at the amount for a nearby sedan.

Whenever they do any work on the electric system, be sure to check the switch that is on the inverter itself. They just can't keep their paws off it. Handy that you can easily get to the inverter. On some of the Roadtrek models, you have to reach in with your camera to check it. You only want the inverter on when you are plugged in or to run a 110v appliance.

Have a fun trip!!

[Teresa]

Well, we're one week in and having fun. Drove from Fargo to just outside of Portland and that went very well and now for the past 3 days we've been working from the van. The weather was pretty warm on Wed but just beautiful and perfect since then. I haven't had any problems and love the set up.

No Verizon cell service at all and luckily, the Starlink is working great. I added a leg to the table and that fixed all the wobble there. Shelves in the bathroom made all the difference in the world there. We can effectively work and live out of it so I'm looking forward to doing a lot more trips with it.

I still have all the warranty work and such ahead of me next time I'm back home but overall, it is very functional at least for me. Thanks all.

[mumkin]

Glad that all is going well.

[Teresa]

Thought it might be nice to come back and provide everyone a quick update. We're through the summer and lived and worked out of the van for more then 2 months. Everything was great. It drove well, the van functions worked well and the working from it was just fine.

I think that it would be difficult to live in it in hot weather. The air conditioner is functional and keeps the sleeping area in the back cool when needed but that's about it. It also struggles to keep up with humidity.

Aside from that, the rest of the system was enough for me and I was showering in it, cooking in it and working in it most of the day.

I got back to ND in early Sept and the warranty work parts had arrived so that was done and I've done a few weekend trips since then. Now it will sit for most of the month so I used Tom's winterization video to do that on Sunday just in case the weather turns on me. Tom, that video is great. I'm not the most handy person but I made a check list from it and kept the video handy and I'm pretty sure it worked. Thank you for taking the time to make it.

Next I am leaving south at the end of the month and will be in it for a good chunk of the winter. I had some doubts and fears about buying it and spending the money but that's all past. I would never have been able to enjoy the summer the same staying in friends homes. While I like them all and visiting is great - having one's own space makes it better.

Thanks all for the help. I'm loving how it turned out.

[W9TR]

Originally Posted by Teresa

Thought it might be nice to come back and provide everyone a quick update. We're through the summer and lived and worked out of the van for more then 2 months. Everything was great. It drove well, the van functions worked well and the working from it was just fine.

I think that it would be difficult to live in it in hot weather. The air conditioner is functional and keeps the sleeping area in the back cool when needed but that's about it. It also struggles to keep up with humidity.

Aside from that, the rest of the system was enough for me and I was showering in it, cooking in it and working in it most of the day.

I got back to ND in early Sept and the warranty work parts had arrived so that was done and I've done a few weekend trips since then. Now it will sit for most of the month so I used Tom's winterization video to do that on Sunday just in case the weather turns on me. Tom, that video is great. I'm not the most handy person but I made a check list from it and kept the video handy and I'm pretty sure it worked. Thank you for taking the time to make it.

Next I am leaving south at the end of the month and will be in it for a good chunk of the winter. I had some doubts and fears about buying it and spending the money but that's all past. I would never have been able to enjoy the summer the same staying in friends homes. While I like them all and visiting is great - having one's own space makes it better.

Thanks all for the help. I'm loving how it turned out.

Thanks for the shout-out on the winterization and de-winterization videos. I’m glad they were helpful for you. I’m not a fan of most YT videos which seem to be made by people who like to heat themselves talk.

So far we’ve put 55,000 miles on our 2020 20AT Tellaro. It’s been a fun ride. This year we did a 31 day PNW and Canadian Rockies tour and an 11 day Lake Superior Circle Tour, about 10,000 miles all in. No issues, everything is working.

I agree with your assessment of the AC. It’s kinda loud. Nice when you really need it but we try and camp in cool weather.

[mumkin]

Thanks for the update. Good that everything worked. Enjoy the winter down south!! This will be my first winter in the north for many years.