Convert AGM to Lithium in your Caravan | Easy Steps | Install Advice

In this video I tackle the change out from AGM style battery and management to a full lithium style setup. I go through what is needed to change over from the older style components to be able to maintain and run LiPo4 style battery system. This job is tackled in our van whilst at a caravan park and also while living 100% out of the van. See what is needed to swap your old system out with new and awesome technology.
As always, don't forget to Like, Share and Subscribe to keep up to date with our travels and see our weekly videos. Also follow us on the socials @ DucruznOZ to see more current news.

[@philnelson900]

Thanks for the info and discussion. Good to know and mull over.

[@DucruznOZ]

No worries mate, have loved having it since too 🍻

[@ianlloyd1182]

Thanks Marc, appreciate the simple, easy to follow info.

[@DucruznOZ]

No worries mate, glad to help 🍻🍻

[@markcarlile5209]

Well done and very comprehensive. Victor are brilliant quality and Bluetooth is great.

[@DucruznOZ]

Cheers for that mate 🍻

[@OzTravelLog]

Thanks Marc one of the best videos I have come across. Explained simply and expertly. I will now be swapping out our AGM batteries

[@DucruznOZ]

Thanks so much, good luck with the install 😎😎🍻🍻

[@billyjohns3872]

Awesome work mate we have the same van and just spent 6k on upgrading but went with enerdrive 200amp batteries and relocated them to under the dinnet love your content 👍

[@DucruznOZ]

That will be a killer setup, I wish we had of done something similar in the build but live and learn.... definitely a caravan park install, ha ha... cheers for ur support 🍻🍻

[@parkerkenin2238]

Hey Marc, mate awesome job, and very timely our agm's have died so yeah will be doing the change out to Lithium.. Thanks mate

[@DucruznOZ]

Cheers for that mate 🍻🍻 I take no responsibility if it doesn't work though ha ha 😎😎 good luck with the install 👌

[@RoslynRadnidge-ij2nh]

We are just about to change our caravan over to lithium batteries and found this video very good and helpful. Wish us luck 😄😄

[@DucruznOZ]

Nice one, u will not look back after going lithium👌💪💪

[@user-ec1xz8ee1c]

Thanks Marc, as a non-tradie type the simplicity of your video was great. Am considering moving to lithium for my caravan & giving it a go myself. Have upgraded the panels already & Victron controller. Great video

[@DucruznOZ]

No worries mate, glad to help.... if in doubt just consult a sparky to be on the safe side ;) 🍻🍻

[@raycolley2356]

I have a 2003 Regent Caravan & the 12 volt 100 amp exide Leisure cycle battery that was Dying. I bought a 12 Volt 100 amp lithium battery to replace it. I saw I could have used the 240 volt to 12 Volt 3.5 amp charger that i had in there with the solar panel controller as the battery was designed to do it ok but I put in the front boot a new 240 volt to 12 volt 30 amp charger & shifted the battery under the bed as the temperature was the same there as the temperature from checking with Google. Inside the caravan & in the boot it is 10 degrees higher. I saw online that if I didn't put a DC to DC charger in the caravan, The 12 vots from the car Battery & Alternator would burn out the Alternator. I now have one? The first time I took the caravan up to Dongara, 332 Km without plugging the anderson plug into my car I ran the 16 amp 3 way fridge all the way to Dongara & the battery capacity was fine. I now have the 12 volt 20 amp DC to DC charger with a built-in Solar panel for the Lithium battery in the boot as well. I have quite a few 50 amp Anderson plugs that I change over depending which cahrager i want to connect, for If I'm travelling or stationary in a caravan Park. With the two Solar Panels because they are laying flattish in my roof I only get around 2 to 2.5 amps. I see people because of this use through an anderson plug, portable solar panels that every hour they can change the portable solar panel position & get say 10 to 15 amps extra by continuing directing it up towards the sun. I have built & stuck a chart in the boot that has the anderson plugs design of how to do the changes to the anderson plugs. It works fine but before I plug the battery back in I make sure I connected everything correctly by checking at least three times.

[@DucruznOZ]

Sounds like u have got ur needs covered which is all you can hope for... there is so many things needed for a complete and thorough installation.... happy travels 🍻🍻

[@user-dn9mu6oi1c]

Great video, very informative and I just installed mine after watching this. Got to say though, a lot more money than the UK.

[@DucruznOZ]

Glad to help 🍻🍻 shame about the price difference though :( hope it all works out for you 💪💪

[@carl.colleen.rover.adventures]

Great upgrade Marc you won't regret it. I upgraded my 2 x 100ah AGM's to 2 x 120ah iTechworld lithiums when I took delivery of my camper trailer as the upgrade from the factory was huge$. I went Redarc BCDC40D for the DC2DC and a Victron 25A 240 charger like yours with the 500A Victron smart shunt (without monitor screen). We just did 6 days with no sun grey and wet/warm days and it went down to 35% which we are very happy with running all our 12v for 6 days you cant complain with that!! Keep the videos coming we love to see where you get to and add a few locations to our wish list for when we will be there as well.

[@DucruznOZ]

That is awesome mate, we love it and use the air fryer now and have no dramas 💪💪thanks for the support, we really appreciate it 🍻🍻

[@craigtomkinson2837]

nice work

[@DucruznOZ]

Cheers mate 🍻

[@Kasual_kampers]

Changed the AGMs in our camper a year ago to a couple of 100a Solar kings, and have just changed the aux battery in the cars canopy to lithium. I upgraded to Victron 240v chargers but went with Redarc dcdc chargers. Bought it all from Home of 12volt at Pooraka in SA.

[@DucruznOZ]

Nice one... such a good system isn't it 😎💪

[@bkpenta]

Great video Marc. I did notice wth the bluetooth Victron shunt monitor that you said it was dearer than the non Bluetooth one. When I installed my lithium batteries late last year I was going to get the auto sparky to put in the one with the little monitor which he quoted me at the time about $320. He then said look if I wanted to just go with the Bluetooth shunt and not have a monitor it was only $220 because you don't need the monitor at all as it just runs off your phone. I went with that option because like you it was too hard to get the monitor up next to my battery management display unit. I just use my phone now to get an accurate picture of what's happening. The Victron stuff is excellent. my battery management system is BMPro and my BCDC charger in the van is a Redarc 40 and my inverter is a 2600w Enerdrive inverter which will run my aircon off the batteries. Safe travels you should have no problem with power now.

[@DucruznOZ]

Nice setup u have 👌👌 it was dearer as it still had a monitor/screen as well as the Bluetooth function (so it can be read from the screen or the app). We are loving our lithium and have not had a drama since 🍻😎 safe travels mate 🏝

[@markrund6292]

In the States, our trailer is connected to our tow vehicle through a 7 pin connector. This connector has a 12v "Hot" that, in the original AGM configuration will charge the batteries from the alternator. This is fine because a low voltage voltage AGM will only draw a smallish current from the alternator. (Through a rather small wire) But, swapping out to LiPo is very different. When the LiPo is low, it will draw a very high current. This will in many cases max out the alternator current and after a short time, burn up the alternator. (But also, the wire is so small in the 7 pin that it might melt - Or blow the fuse) The way to correct this problem is to use a DC-DC converter. Victron makes several of those as well. For example, a Orion TR Smart 12/12 30A. This will limit the charging current to 30 amps, no matter the state of the battery. It will also act as a battery isolator in that it only charges your trailer battery when the vehicle is actually driving. It goes into isolation mode when parked. But... You will have to run new wires. From the alternator to the charger, then from the charger to the trailer batteries. ALL IN 30A WIRE. I did this and it is a great system. One word of warning though - if you make a mistake and hook up the DC-DC converter backwards, as I did. it will blow the internal fuse. This is not replaceable. Yay Victron.

[@DucruznOZ]

We have a dedicated dc dc charger inside the van for the same reason, is run with 4bs cable from the car through an anderson plug to our van 👌👌

[@zoezoe610]

We have lithium as well and our last van was AGM, you soon realise how useless AGM is. Good video thanks.

[@DucruznOZ]

Dam str8... I will never go agm again 😎😎 cheers for the support 🍻

[@CHOPSZOOKER]

I'll be replacing our campertrailer agm's once they die with the solarking batteries. Very happy with the solarking I have in the back of the car in a thumper battery box I got from the home of 12volt mt barker!

[@DucruznOZ]

Good stuff mate, they are great guys to deal with too 🍻🍻

[@mick2d2]

Thanks!

[@DucruznOZ]

All good mate 🍻🍻

[@bradworthington8594]

Good Vid Marc. Heaps of good info for the newbies. What brand did you go with for the extra 160 watt solar panel? 👍

[@DucruznOZ]

It was just one from home of 12 volt so what ever ones they use.... 👌

[@kevinpeake5536]

Hello Marc, been following for a while just ordered a new network 19.6rear door did you install a new inverter with your system. Love your content very enjoyable.

[@DucruznOZ]

Cheers for the support mate 🍻🍻 we got our invertor installed during the build but I supplied them with an enerdrive 2000w unit.... would have to check with them now as I believe they don't really like doing anything out of the norm an6more when it comes to custom installs 🤷‍♂️🤷‍♂️

[@johnallen3555]

Self tappers are known to vibrate loose - perhaps some lock tight or goop if you do not want to be checking in the future

[@DucruznOZ]

Good idea, cheers for that 👌👌

[@annettemay5743]

Gidday Marc, Great job again, Question what actually hold the batteries down ? I saw some sort of clamp but it looks like it only pushes battery to the back wall of box. P.S. hope those hands on the bucket didn't shake it to much hehehe

[@DucruznOZ]

Thanks Annette, that was the factory battery clamp so I just re-used it... seemed ok and the batteries hadn't moved after doing lots of tracks so should be ok.... u can use hold down clamps, they will fit in there 👌👌

[@petermoore7724]

Hi Guys, interesting vid, I noticed you didn’t mention wiring. Did you do an audit of your current wiring because now you are putting through a truck load more amps than before.

[@DucruznOZ]

Hey mate, all of the wiring for the panels is 50amp and all of the charge cables are also rated at 50amp.... so everything is all good 👌👌

[@markward38]

Gday Mate, Like your presentation and I’m in the process of changing from AGM to lithium batts too. A couple of questions for you where did you get your solar panel support brackets from and when you power up your 240W electric items in the van (running on lithium batteries) do you just plug your electric devices into 3 pin electric outlets. Sorry about the silly questions ,but I have very limited knowledge on batteries.

[@markward38]

My wife got excited when you said you ran our coffee machine on lithium power. Was that 240w coffee machine?

[@DucruznOZ]

Hey mate, we have a 2000w inverter to run our 240 stuff when off grid. It has been wired in on the build so it goes to all of our power points. We can only run small appliances before it overloads (toaster, microwave, coffee machine etc) but that is all we needed it for. The solar panel brackets we just got from the same place as the solar panel ;) hope that helps, it can be quite confussing 😎😎🍻🍻

[@gavinpinner5176]

Hi Great video. Are you running a Thetford 275L fridge. If so how long do you get off grid on overcast days. 🙂

[@DucruznOZ]

Cheers for the support 🍻🍻 yes we have that fridge, the longest we went fully off grid was about 14 days and it didn't miss a beat, we also have a solar blanket that I use if we are going to stay in the one spot for a longer period (more than 2/3 days)....😎😎

[@rossbell4169]

Awesome vid, do you have a dcdc charger as well? Im up grading my system from 2 x 135ah to 2 x 200ah, cause we want to run the air con, seems like a pretty easy task, I guess just a bit time consuming

[@DucruznOZ]

Yeah mate, got a dcdc changer in the van also.... with 400ah u may only get a small amount of time from ur ac, just make sure u have enough solar to recharge it or u will be low on charge most of the time 😎 good luck with ur change over 🍻🍻

[@jasonpace442]

Good video. Q, how do you connect additional solar panel?

[@DucruznOZ]

Cheers mate, just wired it in with an existing panel, red to red, black to black... wire gauge is fine to handle to voltage/amps so that was all good ;)

[@tukawuyal4971]

Hi Mark, do you run the dcdv charger and 3 way fridge from the same (one only) anderson plug on your tow vehicle. If yes what size wiring are you using and does the fridge get enough power. Thanks and great vidoe. Danny

[@DucruznOZ]

Hey mate, fridge is a 12v compressor fridge so it just runs off the house batteries all the time... the 12v from the tow vehicle goes to the dc dc charger then into the house batteries, dexter sway control and all other 12v devices 👌👌 as for wire size, bigger is better 💪💪 all depends on how long and what amps ur running 🍻🍻

[@CairnsMotorhomes]

Great video, just one comment, I recently changed to lithium in my motorhome, Projecta charger had a profile that the battery retailer said was fine for lithium but the system crashed and the battery BMS shut the batteries down. It seems there's a specific algorithm for lithium, not just the charging profile

[@DucruznOZ]

Cheers mate, you are correct in the charger needs to have the correct algorithm for lithium.... shame about ur system crashing :(

[@davedavies5746]

Oh, Network RV spaghetti wiring. We have a BLackline. I have redone 95% of the wiring and installed redarc gear.

[@DucruznOZ]

The wiring is ok, just like any van would be spaghetti where u dont see it, if I had unlimited time and not living out of it I would have done it alot neater that's for sure.... 🍻🍻

[@bildad1234]

If you were charging your AGMs with your vehicle as you were driving, you will have to change your DC to DC charger as well for LiFeP04.

[@DucruznOZ]

Correct, thankfully the dc dc charger i have in the van was lithium compatible so I only had to change the settings over 👌👌

[@fjadventures]

Hey Marc, Just about to do this same convertion. Where/how did you install the Shunt. i see its not Water/dust proof so ideally should be inside but would be easy to install in battery box than having to relocate all negatives to battery? unless there is already a fat earth to inside under bed at back of the panel?

[@DucruznOZ]

Hey mate, to be honest I did chuck it under the van in the battery box 😲😲 I have been through a few river crossings and had no issues so far 🤞🤞 but yes, ideally it should be sealed... maybe even a junction box (like a clipsal power box) with cable glands would make the inside of the box water proof.... food for thought..

[@johnallen3555]

my gosh, what a rats nest of fuses and wires in the battery box - recomend somthing like Blue Sea Safety Hub 150 to tidy this up - the wireing standard from new often leaves a bit to be desired - some units do not even have double pole 240 GPOs and safety switches etc from new. good vedio, thanks

[@DucruznOZ]

A few good points, cheers mate.... unfortunately wiring behind the scenes doesn't need to be tidy, but it would make it easier to work on....

[@thebigaussiewalkabout4882]

Hey marc , what size invertor are you using and what will it run

[@DucruznOZ]

Hey mate, just a 2000w enerdrive inverter... runs a pod coffee machine, toaster, air fryer etc... just have to check the wattage on what ever appliance you are wanting to run..... if we did it again I would go a 3000w one so we could do the toast and a coffee at the same time, ha ha 🤪

[@invert1100]

How are your batteries holding up being on the outside of your van and only having a IP rating of 65? I was looking at solar king but the ip rating isn’t the best so I’m thinking of going with Itech worlds new batteries which have an ip rating of 67. However, operational temp isn’t as good as solar king.

[@DucruznOZ]

Hey mate, batteries are fine and have been subjected to some harsh conditions... the difference between 65 and 67 is extreme if u look at it and what u would have to do to ur van the reach the 67 rating (submerged for 30mins at a depth of 1m) 😲😲 but overall they have performed faultlessly and wouldn't hesitate in getting them again 🍻🍻

[@kanehartcher5996]

Did the 150ah batteries fit the existing boxes without any problems?

[@DucruznOZ]

Yeah mate, same size = straight swap.... 🍻🍻

[@user-ee8kh8fr6p]

Hey mate we have the same van , did you install an inverter?

[@DucruznOZ]

Hey mate, it was installed during the build, enerdrive 2000w inverter with ac switch.... made so all the gpo's are active when the inverter is on 👌👌

[@Ogilberry]

Is there a way to set the victor app alarm if your battery gets too low

[@DucruznOZ]

I am pretty sure there is an alarm or a cut out for low voltage... would have to look at the manual for that one 🤦‍♂️

[@Phil-ez9bh]

So when your on site how do you separate inverter power from shore power ? You need to install a transfer switch buddy. Both shore and inverter outputs go into it and it’s one output goes to your caravans supply get a 50 amp one. So when your not plugged in the inverter runs your sockets (don’t plug your battery charger into your sockets) when your plugged into the site your inverter out is disconnected and the shore power takes over this is also where your battery charger picks up it’s connection. Happy travelling - I run a converted 7.5 tonne horse box with 3 x banks of 24v 500 amp cells giving me 3kw a day for a week (25kw) when the sun doesn’t shine lol able have a ev charging cable so I can grab cheap electric from the ev charging points worst case I book into a campsite.

[@DucruznOZ]

There is a changeover switch next to the rcd's that goes to mains power or inverter power. When we plug into main we flick the switch over to mains power and when off grid we flick it to inverter power ;) when on inverter we switch off our battery charger under the bed also or it tries to charge itself off its own batteries and just chews them down....

[@Phil-ez9bh]

Remember big rule never turn the inverter on when the site cable is still plugged in if your not using a isolator because if the site turn the power off and are working on the line and you flick that switch to turn your inverter back into play you could down feed the site and kill the engineer. If you disconnect every time you sort of protect him. It can happen

[@DucruznOZ]

@@Phil-ez9bh yeah we are really good with that sort of stuff 👌👌🍻🍻

[@bren2dan]

What brand of solar panel did you use?

[@DucruznOZ]

Couldn't tell you the brand, just that they came from home of 12 volt....

[@patstewart6608]

Could you please list the equipment that you use?

[@DucruznOZ]

Equipment as in what I just installed?? Or tools used??

[@NosRoadtripsenmotorise-xm4kz]

Hello, I want to replace the batteries of my motorhome for a 300ah lithium. I bought the victron isolated smart dc-dc 12v 30 amps. Can I connect the victron changer with the wires coming to my auxiliary batteries (by adding a 60 amp fuse protection at the input to the output) now to my new lithium without modifying the old installation...

[@DucruznOZ]

Hey, if you are just adding a lithium dcdc charger to replace an old agm style dcdc charger than it should be a straight swap, but without seeing how ur system is setup I couldn't say for sure, if the installation guide supplied with the charger isn't clear enough I think it would be advisable to seek the help of an auto-electrician... they will be able to guide u in the right direction by looking at ur current setup 💪💪😎😎

[@CairnsMotorhomes]

Most motorhomes will have a relay to stop backflow from the house battery and I think this has to come out when installing a DC to DC charger

[@fjadventures]

Hi Mate, How did you wire the extra solar panel in? Went to other panel and just joined?

[@fjadventures]

Also, noticed you didnt install a DC/DC charger, did you just leave the Anderson plug cable that go from car to batteries disconnected? As i dont think its good for lithium to be hooked up straight to alternator of car?

[@DucruznOZ]

@@fjadventures i already had a dc/dc charger in the van that is lithium compatible so I just had to change the setting on that ;)

[@DucruznOZ]

The solar panel is just wired into another panel, the wiring is 50amp wiring so has plenty of gauge to carry the extra panel 😎😎

[@fjadventures]

@@DucruznOZ Thanks you, that is great to know as we may need another panel too when upgrading to lithium. Just riding out the life on the AGM's we got from factory.

[@fjadventures]

@@DucruznOZ Nice. Didnt know that as they arent standard with that. Good to know i still need to add that in :)