New to Solar with our Jayco 2024- 4210QB

[ifly1956]

Ok, so 6 months ago we bought a 2024 Jayco 210 QB. First time with a 12 volt electric refrig. Camper was wired for Solar, so last week I installed (2) 100 watt solar panels and a controller. I only have (1) 80 amp deep cycle marine battery. I turned the refrigerator on and left the camper unplugged for 3 days. Everything was cold, and voltage readings looked good.

Background - Next April we plan on going out west for 3 months. For 28 days we will be at Yellowstone campground. No Electric, water, sewer. I'm close to my max tongue weight, so right now one propane tank stays empty.
My question - would I just need another deep cycle battery, making it 2 batteries, or I'm looking at a 200 amp Lithium battery due to it being lighter than the lead acid batteries. Weather this in the future looks like it might be cold enough to run the heater a little, and I think it will be too much for the one battery.

Yellowstone will be our base camp, so there will be occasional overnight trips away from the camper. I do have a 5500 watt generator, but won't let it run if we are not there. Im hoping not to use it at all.

So - add another lead acid battery, or get the 200 amp lithium ? or ???

Thanks in advance for your help !!

[TowPro]

Your 80ah battery is only good for 40ah. Taking a lead acid battery below 50% is not good for it. So if you buy even a 100ah lithium it will act lihe its 2.5x larger because you can discharge to almost 0%.

[Kevin Cooper]

You mentioned your tongue weight, but not your gross weight. If you are not at your limit there, move as much heavy items as you can at or behind the axles. Then see if you have enough capacity to add what you need.

[ifly1956]

My Gross is fine, but my tow vehicle hitch capacity is only 500 lbs. Right now I'm at 475.The Lithium battery will reduce my witch weight another 22 lbs. I travel super light anyway, so there really isn't anything to move to the back.

[Kevin Cooper]

Originally Posted by ifly1956

My Gross is fine, but my tow vehicle hitch capacity is only 500 lbs. Right now I'm at 475.The Lithium battery will reduce my witch weight another 22 lbs. I travel super light anyway, so there really isn't anything to move to the back.

Then you need to put some things in the back to reduce your tongue weight, if you want to put more in the front. It’s a balancing thing.

[ifly1956]

I guess you missed this comment "...there really isn't anything to move to the back..." I'm not looking to add weight to the front. Going to a Lithium, I'll be saving another 22 lbs. I'll then be down to 453 lbs on the tongue, which is perfect for my needs.

[Kevin Cooper]

Originally Posted by ifly1956

I guess you missed this comment "...there really isn't anything to move to the back..." I'm not looking to add weight to the front. Going to a Lithium, I'll be saving another 22 lbs. I'll then be down to 453 lbs on the tongue, which is perfect for my needs.

I read it. Just suggesting a way you could use LA battery, GM battery or LifePo and have two tanks of propane.
Best wishes.

[Hbrand]

you will save much more than 22 pounds.
In general LI batteries weigh 1/3 of lead batteries.
200AH lead is about 130 pounds
200 LI is about 55 pounds

200 is minimum.

[Kevin Cooper]

Originally Posted by Hbrand

you will save much more than 22 pounds.
In general LI batteries weigh 1/3 of lead batteries.
200AH lead is about 130 pounds
200 LI is about 55 pounds

200 is minimum.

He has a 80Ah LA

[TowPro]

Originally Posted by Kevin Cooper

He has a 80Ah LA

which only really has 40Ah

[Kevin Cooper]

Originally Posted by TowPro

which only really has 40Ah

Correct. But on a good day only.

[ifly1956]

My LI battery is only an 80 amp battery. I'm replacing it with a 100amp lithium. The difference in their weights is 22 lbs, per the manufactures listed weights. If the weight difference is greater than 22 lbs, I'm still happy. :-)

[BWG]

I would definitely get the LiFePO4 - 200ah battery. You’ll need to switch your charger and solar controller from “wet” to “li” (or however your systems are labeled) to get the full charge out of the new battery. My 12 volt Dometic fridge draws down my batteries (I have two for a total of 412ah) around 10-15% overnight.
Have a great trip.

[ifly1956]

I actually wanted a 200ah lithium battery - but I have not found a case for it yet that will fit it. My battery needs to fit on the tongue where the LA battery is now. My camper came with a LI capable battery charger, and the controller will change from LA to LI batteries. I wanted to mount the battery under the front bed, but under the camper is sealed. I'm still working on a solution. Right now I'm happy how well the solar cells work.

[Kevin Cooper]

This would be my suggestion. If you put a 200AH LifePo battery on your trailer tongue, and leave for any length of time, sorry to say this, but you are at risk of it being gone when you get back. This can be bolted or welded down, and has a lock on it. Room for more stuff. https://a.co/d/9YQ87aS

[Pauls72]

We have our Lithium batteries under the bed.
Plus it keeps them warmer in the winter, so you don't need heaters for the batteries.

[Woodsman54]

Lithium is the only way to go. And go with good ones so you have decent BMS (Battery Monitor Systems). As someone else mentioned you can run them down to 0% whereas AGM or Deep Cycle LA can only be run down to 50%. Also LiFePO4 batteries only lose 2-3% of charge per month when stored. AGM and L-A can lose 20-30% per month. I’ve had great luck with both Battle Born or Lion Energy. I ditched the crappy 6v AGM wired in series in my Class A, which were rated at 224 amps, and put in 2 12v Lion Energy UT1300 in parallel, which at 100 amps each now gave me 200 amps, but a true 200 amps. In reality the 224 amps of AGM were really only 112 amps since at 50% they are considered discharged. But if I were you I would also add 200 watts more solar. Oh, and Costco online had a twin pack of the Lion Energy for $1500. That’s a $500 savings from buying from a dealer. Good Luck.

[jimmoore13]

200 watts of solar is a bit meager for your expectations.
A 100 watt panel will put out about 5 amps or so at peak sun. You get peak sun for roughly 3 hours a day, so total peak output might be 30 AH. On a good day, you might double that from sunup to sundown...grand total of 60 AH of charge under ideal conditions...no shade and no clouds. Ideal conditions are rare.

If you have a solar charge controller that can handle 30 amps, you could add two more panels. The rewiring is pretty easy, because you can get connectors that will parallel two panels, and then a third connector to parallel the two pairs of panels. Easy...and all done on top of the roof.

I'd recommend also going with LiFePo4 rated at about 200 AH. These batteries can regularly deliver about 80% of rated capacity...in this case 160 AH. Two 100 AH lithiums might be cheaper than a single 200 AH battery, but you have weight concerns, so go for the 200 AH battery to save weight and complexity of wiring the batteries in parallel.

The battery with your rig, laughingly rated at 80 AH (good for 40 AH usable) is probably really only good for 70 AH or a bit more. These group 24 marine batteries are throwaway items the dealers install to make the trailer legal to tow...because the battery will actuate the brakes in the event of a breakaway from the tow vehicle. If you have another vehicle with an aging battery, this MIGHT make a suitable replacement, but more than likely not. It's a great "core" to surrender when you buy your new battery.

2 more panels won't add much weight, and, properly positioned, won't add tongue weight. The LiFePo4 battery will weigh in at roughly half of that clunker lead acid battery millstone around the tongue's neck. And jumping from 40 AH usable to 160 AH usable might actually get you through a few days of "no sun"...solar blackout.

Don't be overconfident about this 12 volt compressor fridge. The are known to demand a minimum of 35 AH per day, and often the demand is more like 60 AH per day. Fire up that furnace at 10 amps on a cold night with it running on a 50% duty cycle, and that's another 40 AH...not to mention the little nice things like lights, water pump, parasitic loads, and, and, and.

Gonna tough it out and not use the furnace? Be prepared for LOTS of condensation inside your rig. That furnace has a lot of purposes, and one of them is to prevent mold and water damage.

When it comes to 12 volt compressor fridges, overkill on the solar and batteries is highly recommended.

My rig...for camping in the Colorado Rockies.

[ifly1956]

Thanks - we are in our testing phase right now. I will be changing over to LI batteries soon. Right now I did a weeklong test using my current setup with a LA 80 ah battery and (2) 100 watt solar cells. The solar kept the batter charged, and the refrigerator running all week. I have a Honda 2000 generator we will also be bringing - I'd like to avoid it if needed.

WE have 28 days in a yellowstone campground, and will be using it as our base station as we see the area. There are 1-2 days at a time we will not be at the camper, so I want the refrigerator to stay running while we are gone. Changing to a 100 ah battery should give us 2.5 times our electric capacity we have now.
When I graphed our power capacity, we had full solar capacity 6 +/- hours a day. Maybe it's because we are in Florida and you are in the Rockies ?
I'm still testing - and soon I will be changing over to Lithium.

Thanks EVERYONE !!! First time I've had solar, and I really appreciate all the information that everyone has sent me. It's opened my eyes. I'll let everyone know how things go after I add Lithium into the mix.