Community Forums

CJBROWN · 03-09-2014, 09:40 AM

Yep, BestConverter is a good resource. They have a lot of good info and have sold a lot of units. Pricing is competitive but generally not the lowest. Like a lot of retailers, if they would guarantee their pricing they would sell a lot more units. Perhaps they want to get paid for posting all their good info.

Seriously, good information is readily available on the internet these days. I always say, "If it's not on the internet it doesn't exist." LOL

Not sure how they configure an additional unit next to the existing one. With both connected and running when shorepower is connected the old one is still going to be charging. Perhaps they have a configuration recommendation.

But yeah, the manufacturers cheap out on this stuff. 90% of the campers sold just get plugged into a RV park or when at home so the intention is the charging part is just to maintain them. For dry camping or 'boondocking' as the call it, something that charges better makes a huge difference. We've often used the engine to charge because the alternator puts out a lot more amps than our old parallax. The problem here is the chassis batt tops up first which tells the regulator to cut back so the house batts don't get a good charge. I can't believe I got thru ten years like this but there you go.

In higher end coaches and even for lower level ones in recent years have gotten decent converters. There's another brand WFCO (I think) but they seem to have a high failure rate - lots of complaints. You find them on eBay. BTW, eBay is generally not the best price on most anything new anymore these days.

Some of the luxury DP's have an inverter charger - Magnum is a big name - they power the house at 110v and have a sophisticated charging algorithym when plugged in. They are also quite expensive - some of those systems are thousands of dollars, which makes the PD and IOTA converters a relative bargain.

EDIT: BTW, if you like reading up on this stuff this site gets posted here a lot: http://handybobsolar.wordpress.com/t...ging-puzzle-2/
Handy Bob's charging puzzle - he gets into a lot of detail about proper voltages and such and how to configure cheap solar. Lots of good info...you just gotta read past the angry old man syndrome. LOL

CJBROWN · 03-09-2014, 09:51 AM

I looked a little closer here and realize the photo of the charger label is on the door, not the unit. So the assumption is that the unit is mounted to the floor behind this panel.

If you look around the perimeter of this entire panel you see the screw fasteners - my assumption is that removing them will drop the whole panel out and you'll be able to get to the compartment. You may need to remove the door hinges and get it out of the way. Also check for a side door or other access to the compartment.

And yes, for a 55amp converter I would just replace it. If you have 12v deepcycles get the Progressive Dynamics one. For golf cart batts the Iota. The beauty is you can leave the coach plugged in at home indefinitely and not worry about over or under charging your batteries.

Since these RV's are all hand built by real people they can be undone or rebuilt the same way. You just have to figure out how they put it together.

macnut · 03-09-2014, 10:01 AM

CJ, thanks for the help!

CJBROWN · 03-09-2014, 11:11 AM

Sure, no problem.

Since we're moreorless making this into a 'how-to' thread I took a few pics to clarify. In my unit all of the electrical 'stuff' is under the refer unit. Here's a couple of pics - on the fridge facing panel is the sub for the entertainment system, Audiovox walki-talki charger and storage unit, 12v breaker panel, and propane sniffer.

Around to the left is another door with the 110 breaker panel.

Removing 5 wood screws and the door cover latch allows the entire panel to drop out.

When I did the Iota change out I also removed the Audio-Vox walki talkin unit to gain easy access to the converter unit. I'm mostly likely going to remove the walki's permanently, we've never used them, they're 10 years old, and just leech power now. I'm thinking of putting my solar charge controller there.

Anyway, now inside the compartment there's a maze of wiring - and the reason I say winnebago employs monkeys to do the assembly work - look at this mess.

And there in the middle right behind the walki-talki unit is the new Iota converter charger. With a power screwdriver it was easy to remove the four screws holding down the old unit and install the new unit. Hook up the battery leads and plug it in. The 110 receptacle is on the left side buried under all the wiring.

At the very back of this compartment you can see the shower pan and drain going to the gray-water tank, as well as the backside of the 12v load center and walki-talkie housing. I give up on the wiring, at least they are in looms and are protected, but how unorganized can an installation be?