New - 171 BH , solar / battery question

[ShivasGolf]

I am new here so forgive me if I missed this topic in past discussions

I pick up my 2022 171BH tomorrow. It comes with the 190w solar and (2), 130AH , 12v basic batteries

My family and I do an October camping trip in Canada each year for 3 nights. We are in a canopied area of the park with no electricity. We would use the lights and furnace in limited use. Most of our cooking would be done over the fire or with propane

Can someone please give me an idea if my batteries would hold up for 3 nights given that scenario? Not many hours of sunlight in October and I’m under quite a few trees.

What’s required to convert to lithium. Based on previous threads that I have read, I’m thinking that better batteries are my solution rather than more solar due to the limited sun

Most of our other trips will be in electrical sites between May and September. Thanks in advance for your advice Attachment 81789

[ShivasGolf]

I forgot to mention that it has the 12 v fridge

[JayLo]

I may be wrong about this, so wait until the “battery/solar” pros chime in, but that already is a ton of battery which is good, however, fussing with a standard battery may be you biggest issue. I went to lithium only because with those batteries you don’t need to worry about over or under charging and all that. The 171BH charge controller has a Lithium setting, so zero upgrades needed if you switch. However, for under the price of a bunch of new lithium batteries, you can buy a small generator to fill in the gap if you find yourself in trouble. Others on here have the 12v fridge and will speak more to the run time, I have the dual fuel.

Don’t buy batteries from the dealer.

Use the PDI checklist that is on this site ( search for it). Check to make sure Solar is charging the battery while you are there. Today, if they are still open, call and let them know you are going to be using a pdi checklist (I sent them a copy as well) and that you understand they have set aside a specific amount of time for PDI, but you will likely take longer and that it is okay to leave you with the trailer while you go through your checklist. I was at the dealer for 3 hours and I am not a weirdo, just went through the checklist.

This is a super exciting moment, but your mind set needs to have a back door that leaves the trailer there to have issues resolved before you take it home. It is unlikely, but once you take it home, it is harder to get it back. And since you don’t “pay for it” until you are leaving with it, they are more motivated to get everything right in a timely manner on the front end.

The 171BH is an amazing trailer, you will be so stoked! Just take your time and push past the emotional dopamine dump.

Even using the checklist, you will miss stuff, that where we come in. Cheers!

[ShivasGolf]

Thank you very much for the reply. I tried to load that pdi and it didn’t work for me very well

They don’t allow generators where we will be camping but I’m sure I could get away with it for an hour if needed

[EJH]

Your stock 130AH batteries will likely be lead acid, which means you have half that capacity in reality. Also 130AH is quite large for a single lead acid battery. I wonder if the dealer totaled the capacity and you have getting 2x 65AH lead acid batteries. A 130AH lead acid battery would be huge, no way two of them would fit on the tongue. That is what my trailer came with: 2x group 24 Interstate flooded lead acid at 64AH each. My guess is you are getting a similar setup. That means you really have ~65AH of usable power if you don't want to prematurely damage your batteries.

I have a very similar trailer to the Micro 166FBS, with similar power consuption to your 171BH, with the exception that I have a propane fridge. I like 12V fridges, but they require more batteries for dry/boondock camping.

I recently completed a 4 night trip in the Olympic Peninsula, under mostly tree cover and rain. Our site had a few hours of late morning lunch time sun (when it wasn't raining). My power usage was 25-40 AH per night. That included: 1 hour of the 12V TV w/ a Roku stick each night, running the furnace enough to keep the wife happy (night temps were 50F/10C, with the thermostat at 60-65F / 15-18C). A couple days were rainy so we spent more time in the late afternoon/evening in the trailer (with some lights on).

I have an additional 200W solar panel (for 390W total), upgraded MPPT charge controller (they work better in overcast and low light) and a 100AH LiFePo battery. On the sunniest day, The solar charged my battery from 55% to 93% (~40AH). Other days it recovered maybe 15% (~15AH) of charge. I started my trip at 100% and left the morning after the 4th night at 40%. Overall, that tells me that on average, my solar could not keep recovering the battery 100% in partial tree cover with cloudy/rainy skies, but I could have squeezed another night or two, more if the rain stopped and the sun came out.

Comparing your setup to mine, I see some concerns on your end:
* You have less usable battery capacity: 65AH vs my 100AH
* You have half the solar panels: 190W vs my 390W
* You have a PWM charge controller, which is 10-20% less efficient than my MPPT
* You have a 12V fridge (which I actually prefer over my propane fridge) but that will add a large power draw to your trailer. Not sure of the exact amount but others will know. My guess is 25-50AH/day or more, but again that is a guess.

I honestly don't think you can last 3 nights, IMHO, without some upgrades. Without the 12V fridge, you could do it being conservative elsewhere. If you can sneak a generator, that may do it. If you will regularly camp like this, start looking at power upgrades. Lots of info on this site. It is a fun project

[ShivasGolf]

Thanks, EJH

That gives me a really good idea. Appreciate you taking the time to give me that response

When changing to the 100AH Lifepo battery was it just plug and play or did you need to do any mods to the trailer to go to lithium?

I think 2 100ah lithium batteries along with my 190w solar should do the trick

[EJH]

Originally Posted by ShivasGolf

Thanks, EJH

That gives me a really good idea. Appreciate you taking the time to give me that response

When changing to the 100AH Lifepo battery was it just plug and play or did you need to do any mods to the trailer to go to lithium?

I think 2 100ah lithium batteries along with my 190w solar should do the trick

The Go Power PWM solar controller has a Lithium setting. That will top batteries off, even if you keep the same OEM (non-lithium) WFCO converter/charger. The OEM charger will get most lithium batteries to 70-90% only (but not harm them). The solar will get them to 100%, either when parked at your house, or on the drive to camp.

If you want to keep the batteries outside in the same box, make sure to get smaller ones, like the Lion Energy. My Renogy 100AH lithium were too big for the smaller battery boxes. I have mine inside the trailer anyway. Also suggest a smart shunt or batteries with bluetooth monitoring. Otherwise you won't know how much power is left in them.