Just took delivery on my new Anthem 2018 44F

[LWBAZ]

Originally Posted by saddlesore

Our '02 Foretravel 320t has the batteries buried in the 3rd bay (centered) with access thru the 2nd bay via a hatch panel..(after you remove the joey bed(s)

ROYAL PITA to change out those 8-D gell's @ 170 lbs each...

Wow, that sounds REALLY ugly!

Makes me feel a little better about my setup.

[Gary.Jones]

On my 2015 Anthem with the batteries below the drivers seat.... with me sitting in the driver's seat (at 220#), I was about 160# over weight limit on the front left steer on those 315s.... on 4-corner weights. The batteries probably needed to be moved somewhere other than where they were. I like the idea of out of sight, out of mind, as long as I dont have to worry about them (which was the entire time that I owned the Anthem).... So, I am happy with the change. And I REALLY love the storage space now under the driver's seat which you can get to without crouching down to get under the slides (and the motorized slide out trays on this Cornerstone make that a little easier also)).

Gary

PS: As an aside: I have been amazed that so few Cornerstone owners actually seem to give a darn about 4 corner weights... I have asked twice now for 2018 and 2019 Cornerstones weights, and have gotten three axle weights, and one with actual 4 corner weights. Given that 4-corner weights are considered to be the absolute right way to do it, I am somewhat surprised that getting them is uncommon. I will be getting mine done at NIRVC when I get to spend a little time with them getting my awning to come out and go back in without wrinkling and will publish the weights up here when I do.

[LWBAZ]

Originally Posted by g00se

Slightly OT here so apologies but still related to a 44F and batteries.

Looking at a 2019 Anthem 44F and wondering where(if) you could add more AGM capacity? Maybe Lithium is the better route?

See posts from John Arenz ("RubiconTrail") on pages 2 and 3 of this thread:

http://www.irv2.com/forums/f278/380a...ap-384096.html

[LWBAZ]

Originally Posted by Gary.Jones

On my 2015 Anthem with the batteries below the drivers seat.... with me sitting in the driver's seat (at 220#), I was about 160# over weight limit on the front left steer on those 315s.... on 4-corner weights. The batteries probably needed to be moved somewhere other than where they were. I like the idea of out of sight, out of mind, as long as I dont have to worry about them (which was the entire time that I owned the Anthem).... So, I am happy with the change. And I REALLY love the storage space now under the driver's seat which you can get to without crouching down to get under the slides (and the motorized slide out trays on this Cornerstone make that a little easier also)).

Good points, Gary.

I know you don't have the Anthem anymore, but based on the numbers you quoted the weight issue on the driver's side steer tire could have been solved by you signing up for Jenny Craig or one of those other magic weight loss programs where you eat as much as you want and still lose five pounds a day.

It's true you would have been down to 60 pounds by the time the left front was no longer overweight, but think of all the money you could have made as an advertising spokesman for the diet plan!

Oh wait, I forgot you already have a book deal!!

[Mr_D]

Originally Posted by saddlesore

Our '02 Foretravel 320t has the batteries buried in the 3rd bay (centered) with access thru the 2nd bay via a hatch panel..(after you remove the joey bed(s)

ROYAL PITA to change out those 8-D gell's @ 170 lbs each...

On my '09 Magna that center bay is where my inverter and most of the electrical stuff is. My 4 - 8D batteries are located on two slideout trays and I have room for two my. Just replaced all 4 with Lifelines for $2,780 installed. Hope I never have to replace them again at those prices.

[g00se]

Originally Posted by LWBAZ

See posts from John Arenz ("RubiconTrail") on pages 2 and 3 of this thread:

http://www.irv2.com/forums/f278/380a...ap-384096.html

Thanks - too bad this isn't an option direct from the factory.

[LWBAZ]

Originally Posted by g00se

Thanks - too bad this isn't an option direct from the factory.

I suspect their thinking is that relatively few Entegra owners do a lot of dry camping, hence relatively few owners need more than 780 AmpHours of house battery bank capacity.

[g00se]

Originally Posted by LWBAZ

I suspect their thinking is that relatively few Entegra owners do a lot of dry camping, hence relatively few owners need more than 780 AmpHours of house battery bank capacity.

Agreed it is probably not a high demand item for the majority of Entegra owners - much like a better solar option (i.e., more than 200W).

As @RubiconTrail noted on the 6 x L16's, it just completely removes the concern of making it overnight.

[saddlesore]

Originally Posted by Mr_D

On my '09 Magna that center bay is where my inverter and most of the electrical stuff is. My 4 - 8D batteries are located on two slideout trays and I have room for two my. Just replaced all 4 with Lifelines for $2,780 installed. Hope I never have to replace them again at those prices.

Yup, what FT did since the AquaHot needs annual service and the batteries should last 10 years (or more) they swapped the locations..

[777 Driver]

Hi Larry,

Originally Posted by LWBAZ

The 2019 Anthems and Aspires have a 17,000 pound front axle, while the Insignias have a 16,000 pound front axle. So there could be front axle weight concerns on those coaches.

I know that I was a little surprised to find my coach to be so close to the front axle limit when it was weighed at the Spartan Academy. I still had several hundred pounds capacity and was a little heavier on the driver's side. Although part of that was my loading (which I adjusted), I suspect that some of the inequality is built in (several built-in heavy items on the driver's side) in the DEQ floorplan. It's nice (likely meets some legal requirement) that Entegra includes a placard showing weight as completed at the factory (full fuel). It would be much better, IMHO, if a weight on both ends of the three axles was provided. That would give the owner some insight into how to best load items.

Originally Posted by LWBAZ

But even if we assume that is the case, moving the house battery bank farther aft doesn’t necessitate the batteries being housed in an unventilated plywood box centered side-to-side in the basement storage space.

The centered location does make sense from a weight and balance perspective, to me, for the left/right weight distribution. Granted, simply moving the battery location aft doesn't demand to enclose them. Since the AGM's don't require regular servicing, the enclosure doesn't seem to present any big problem and enclosing them gives the storage space a cleaner "look".

Originally Posted by LWBAZ

All of the major motorhome manufacturers watch each other closely. If what Entegra decided to do was such a good idea, I would expect at least one of two of their competitors to have followed suit. I’m not aware of any who have.

Absolutely agree. Just because Entegra does it doesn't make it a better idea than everybody else. OTOH, just because competitors don't follow suit doesn't necessarily mean their idea is better.

Take care,
Stu

[paparazi]

Have you priced those lithium replacements? The best price we found was little over a grand each. Couple advantages, but could not justify the expense.

[757driver]

For Cornerstone owners where the batteries were located was not a problem. For Anthem and Aspire owners moving the batteries back to the rear of the basement storage was essential. Spartan also moved some if not all of the air tanks to the rear in between the axles on some models. All in an effort to reduce the front axle weight. On my Anthem I also went to the trouble of moving the battery bank to the rear when I replaced with lithium because it was essential.

An added benefit of the batteries in the rear is the inverter cables are much shorter (less than 1/2 the original length) and thus much more efficient.

[LWBAZ]

Originally Posted by 757driver

For Cornerstone owners where the batteries were located was not a problem. For Anthem and Aspire owners moving the batteries back to the rear of the basement storage was essential. Spartan also moved some if not all of the air tanks to the rear in between the axles on some models. All in an effort to reduce the front axle weight. On my Anthem I also went to the trouble of moving the battery bank to the rear when I replaced with lithium because it was essential.

An added benefit of the batteries in the rear is the inverter cables are much shorter (less than 1/2 the original length) and thus much more efficient.

Thanks Don, good input. I’ll provide a few comments:

I fully agree that locating the house batteries as close as possible to the inverter(s) is ideal. That said, from a design/engineering standpoint, inverter(s) can be installed in a variety of different locations, as can house battery banks.

Owning and looking at motorhomes over the past 20 years, I’ve seen house battery banks in a basement compartment just aft of the driver’s side front wheel, a basement compartment about mid-ship on the passenger side, a compartment under the entry steps, the same basement compartment as the chassis batteries, a box in the center of a basement storage area as Entegra is currently doing, and probably a few other locations I’m not immediately recalling. Same with inverters – some engineers are clearly mindful of locating the inverter(s) close to the house batteries, others obviously are not.

With regard to axle weight ratings and staying within those ratings, I ended up deeply immersed in that subject back when we decided to buy a 2010 Tiffin Allegro Bus. Toward the end of our evaluation, we were debating between a 40 foot non-tag-axle model and a 43 foot tag-axle model. At that time, Tiffin’s 40 foot plans tended to be pushing the drive axle weight rating and had a comfortable margin on the steer axle (even though the house battery bank of six GC2’s was right behind the driver’s side front wheel). Conversely, the tag-axle models tended to have plenty of margin on the drive and tag axles, but were pushing if not exceeding the weight rating of the steer axle.

We pondered the trade-offs for some time, eventually deciding on a 40 foot non-tag-axle coach. In the end, my logic was that if I’m going to be overweight on a particular axle, I’d rather it be one with four wheels and tires that only go straight rather than one with only two tires which are vital to controlling the direction of the coach.

I continued to follow the issue and Tiffin’s efforts to correct the steer axle overloading on their tag-axle models. Of course they did the obvious, which was switching to a steer axle with a higher weight rating. But they also found they could take weight off the steer axle by re-proportioning the amount of weight being carried by the tag axle versus drive axle. I would think Entegra/Spartan could do the same, with both new builds as well as coaches in the field. Maybe they have. And as you point out, the chassis manufacturers can help too by relocating various chassis components like the air tanks you mentioned.

My point is that there are a lot of ways to distribute weight on a given motorhome, particularly when it’s being designed and engineered. As such, I have to respectfully disagree that it was essential for Entegra to move the house batteries to the particular location they chose. But after the fact, once a given owner has a given coach and discovers weight distribution issues, the options are clearly more limited. As such, I commend you for relocating your house battery bank to a more optimal location.

Separately but related, I followed your thread on your conversion to lithium batteries and was VERY impressed. Excellent engineering and very nicely done!!