How to Install Power Systems in Vans & RV's (the actual process)

[@herkko61]

Watching this video was my first task in the morning, coffee and the newspaper can wait.

[@rosslukeman]

Hey there, thanks for tuning in again! Glad you found this useful enough to wait on the coffee. That means a lot!

[@edwardbroomfield2291]

Great video. I used your cheat sheet when designing my RV upgrade. The only suggestion I have is to draw a diagram with measurements step one. I've seen people start their project with a good plan in their head. Only to find out the equipment will not fit where you want it to go. I did this on my RV, and I discovered my Victron inverter needed to be relocated. Saved me time later on.

[@SuperSushidog]

Great video with tons of useful information for someone wanting to turn their van into a custom RV. It covers much more than just the vehicle's power system, as the title suggests. I think the first thing that needs to be done is ascertaining your needs and then research the best way to meet those needs. This is the most important part, so should take the longest time. There are many components to an off-grid power system that need to be integrated together. For instance, before cutting holes in your roof to run wires, attach a solar racking system, etc. You should decide if you really want to mount your solar panels there, or on the side of your van/RV as we did. Determine the battery capacity that best suits your needs and then decide to buy premanufactured ones, selecting a brand that fits your budget, or to build your own. The size, weight and voltage of this bank will determine where the best place to mount it is. Decide if you'd rather buy an all-in-one inverter/charger/charge controller of separate components based on your needs, ease of wiring, available space to mount it, and so on. Finally, after determining how much this system costs and how much it weighs (and the CCC of your rig) ask yourself if your plan is realistic and affordable. Only when you have a complete vision of your system should start planning the actual construction process. We live in our RV full-time and wanted an extensive electrical system so we could live off grid like we were at home. It took us 5 years to complete our system. We are retired and living on a tight budget so had to do everything, from system design to construction ourselves. Another consideration is your age, and physical ability and mental acuity to complete certain challenging tasks. We decided to build our solar/battery system in 2 phases, a 12v system for our basic 12v DC needs and a 48v system for our 110v A/C needs. We started by building a 620-watt liftable solar array on the side of our older motorhome. It makes a nice bedroom window awning too, practically lifting itself with a couple gas struts, and it's easy to clean, standing safely on the ground. We finished the 12v part of our build a year ago, with the addition of a LiFePo-4 battery that we built with 8, 280ah prismatic cells. We use a Heltec 330amp BMS with a 5a active balancer to keep the cells synched up. It cost us less than $1,500 to build this 560ah 12v, 7.1 kwh battery, including the high amp BMS. We chose these cells rather than a pre-built battery because they fit under the steps of our MH where our old pair of golf cart batteries used to live, and they were cheaper than buying a pre-built battery. Our 12v system uses an 80A Progressive Dynamics LFP converter/charger, a 1,000w Renogy inverter, a 50a Epever MPPT charge controller and a Lnex battery monitor. We also purchased a Renogy DC-to-DC charger, but found we never needed to use it. Nevertheless, some might find alternator charging useful, depending on their needs. By mounting the solar array on the side of our coach, we left the roof free to rack 8, 550w solar panels (4,400 watts) down the length of our 35ft Class A, 15" off our roof, above our AC, vents, etc. This huge array covers our entire roof too, providing some nice shade with plenty of cooling air underneath, increasing solar output and reducing the heat load on the air conditioners too, though our overall height is still under 12 ft. We mounted our Sungold Power all-in-one 48V, 5,000W Inverter/100A charge controller/battery charger, breakers and a Lnex battery monitor on the wall in our bedroom, saving us space as well as money. The 48v battery that resides under our bed uses 16, 320ah prismatic cells and a 200amp Heltec BMS to keep it safe and happy. Together with our 560ah 12v bank, we have a total of 23.5 kwh of batteries onboard (the equivalent of about 18, 100ah Battleborn batteries) - kept charged by 5,020 watts of solar. We removed the 13.5k btu rooftop Dometic AC we had in the bedroom and replaced it with an EG4 28.5 seer-2, 12k btu mini-split heat pump on the upper rear of our motorhome. It's super quiet and cools as well as our 14.5k btu soft start equipped Furrion we have up front. This second phase provides 24/7 off-grid air conditioning and heat from the heat pump. We can run both A/Cs and charge our batteries at the same time on a relatively sunny day, even in the dead of winter. We have a total of 6,000 watts of 120v inverted ac power on hand giving us off-grid electrical self-sufficiency for a total budget of around $11,500, (including the high-efficiency heat pump.) This fit our budget and is only a tiny fraction of a similar sized professionally designed and built system would be. This allows us to keep our aging 5,500w generator in reserve, for back-up use only. Most folks' needs, especially those with vans or smaller RVs, will be served with a considerably smaller system than ours. For instance, our 12v phase which runs everything, but our air conditioning, heat and microwave cost us around $3,500 to build. This is still much larger than most van dwellers need, especially if they are single.

[@dmitrybatishchev2867]

In Bania’s voice “This is gold Ross! Gold i tell ya!”. Thank you. Proper plan and sequence is the the most important part of the build.

[@rosslukeman]

Thanks for tuning in Dmitry! I had to look up Bania but I remember that guy. He was super annoying, but I'm glad you thought this was gold! Thanks for checking it out and leaving your feedback!

[@bgzwlz5119]

Thanks for making your video, they are extremely helpful. It is all a little overwhelming but if I decide to give it a go I will be watching your other videos. If you haven’t done so, maybe you can make a video to explain the general process for installing a 2nd alternator? Where do you install it? What are the pros & cons of doing that? What to look for when buying an alternator? Is this something you can DIY, or should you have it done by a mechanic? Is this preferable to replacing the car’s factory alternator? I know this needs to be done if you go with a 48V system? Can you discuss 12v vs 24V & 48v systems? Maybe this would be a whole separate video? Thanks.

[@stevebrown1997]

Thank you so much for this guide! I bought someone else's project and had no idea where to start. This was perfect!

[@rosslukeman]

Hey Steve, I know it can be hard to tell what to do next sometimes. I'm glad this helped you with your gameplan for the new project. Thanks for tuning in!

[@johnplyler7054]

#31 Be sure it is insured! Just spent the past three years building mine and your layout is exactly the steps I took.

[@rosslukeman]

Not a bad suggestion John! Thanks for tuning in and great to hear this corroborated the process you took for your project. Congrats on getting it completed!

[@brianchetelat6601]

Great job explaining things Ross and i have a couple of your docs already. Question, What is a safe charging current for (6) 12volt 206AH Lithium Batteries? I saw in your one diagram that you had (3) 12v 30amp DC to DC Chargers.

[@rosslukeman]

Hi Brian, thanks for tuning in and also being a student of my program. The recommended charge current for that battery is 40A each, so if they are in parallel, your recommended charge current into all 6 batteries is 40 x 6, or 240 amps. On the 3 x 30 amp chargers, yes we had a internally-regulated 2nd alternator that we were trying to utilize that was previously installed. Not sure if that setup would be what I would go with from the start. Perhaps a single charger or external alternator regulator, etc. Hope that helps, thanks for tuning in!

[@brianchetelat6601]

I should have mentioned that I bought my Transit HD with 2 x 250Amp Alternators. So it sounds like I'm ok with 2 x 30Amp DC to DC Chargers. I won't even be taxing my 2 Alternators.@@rosslukeman

[@rosslukeman]

@@brianchetelat6601 yes you can do up to 175 amps with that vehicle. You might get the new 50-amp Orion XS's, could do two of those for 100 amps. Easy work for those dual alternators!

[@brianchetelat6601]

One last question on that Ross, please. Ford gives at the driver's seat what they call a Customer Connection Point. Do you think that would be a single point that incorporates both alternators or would that just be a connection point for the extra alternator I purchased as an option? It's difficult to get straight info from Ford.@@rosslukeman

[@rosslukeman]

Hi Brian, you have my program so what I would suggest is checking out the "5-Minute Alternator Connection" document for Transit towards the end of the curriculum. It shows the CCP connections. Essentially Ford BBAS has said both alternators run in parallel and output to the CCP. One is the primary unit, and the second alternator turns on if needed (determined by the load and the vehicle computer). But the end user accesses that power at the same CCP location. Hope that helps!

[@briannystrom4767]

Although I'm doing upgrades to an existing electrical system, it's really helpful to see the entire process, so I understand what's involved better. Great job! BTW, you almost made it through an entire video without saying "catch on fire". 😉

[@rosslukeman]

Thanks for tuning in Brian! I'm glad you found that useful for your electrical overhaul project. Yes I can't help myself with the "catch on fire" thing. I guess I'm trying to scare people into doing it right/taking it seriously!

[@briannystrom4767]

@@rosslukemanI'd say you're doing a good job of that...and everything else.

[@rosslukeman]

@@briannystrom4767 Thanks, I appreciate that!

[@warrenscorner]

Why didn’t any of those power panels have a Linx Distributor? I thought that device was a must. You convinced me that I needed one so I’m planning on using one. I think it makes the electrical system much neater with less connection points.

[@sweetlifeadventure7]

I think it's just customer personal preference. To me, the Lynx is cleaner, but some people prefer to see the "guts" and see the power flow. This install seems to be featuring the wires and layout, the Lynx would hide some of them. Everything a Lynx does can be done a different way.

[@rosslukeman]

Hi Warren, the systems shown are from 2017-2022 and I didn't use or see the utility of the Lynx items at that time. But I use them today.

[@rwilson5601]

Excellent guide thank you

[@rosslukeman]

Thank you for that! Really appreciate it, thanks for tuning in!

[@OdisseiaMundana]

Thanks for one more amazing video, Ross. Let me ask you, what about these portable power station as Ecoflow and Bluetti? I see many campervan owners using them. Could you make a video talking about them? Thanks.

[@rosslukeman]

Hey there, thanks for tuning in again, and thanks for the suggestion! I will keep that in mind. I do not have extensive experience using those, as they have not delivered the power I want in the past. However I know they are getting better and this is a popular topic, so thanks for the suggestion!

[@bgzwlz5119]

You said you aren’t a huge fan of roof racks, but don’t you need some kind of rack to attach the solar panels to? I have seen some people build a rack out of 8020, attach the solar panels to the rack and use brackets to bolt it to the roof. If you don’t use a roof rack how would you attach the solar panels? I assume other exterior items like lights/light bars would also be installed in step two and wired by punching holes in the roof?

[@adassociates8235]

Hi Ross, what is happening of charging if we had (4) 12v 228ah in parallel and plan to to add (2) 12v 280ah ? Thanks for all informative videos👍

[@rosslukeman]

Thanks for tuning in! In general if you add batteries of different capacities, they will charge and discharge at different rates. It's not really recommended...I would try to get the same-capacity batteries as what you started with. Hope that helps, and glad you're enjoying the videos!

[@tbarrnes]

Ross, have you done any videos addressing the differences in quality in various LiFePO batteries? Why does a Battle Born cost around $1000 for 100ah and some of these other companies are selling 12.8v 280ah for $539? Cheap quality control?

[@flynryan3053]

1:12 Step#1 Remove Factory Floor 1:33 Step#2 Install Shore Power Inlet

[@Creelyblades]

With the advent of things like the ECOflow Delta Pro 3 and competing products, wouldn't it make more sense to just install one of them? 4100 watts of output, 2600watts of solar would serve most rigs really well at a fraction of the price. The solar part would be the same, but these solar generators make that part of the install way easier, and if you change rigs its also easier.

[@RogerLaPointe-v3m]

I have a truck camper with solar panels on the roof. Thinking of using portable solar panels to have more solar. Should I connect them with a separate charge controller? Or just get a combiner box and join them that way. I heard if you just add more panels if they’re not the same voltage, you may diminish what you’re already have. What are your thoughts and if you have any ideas or suggestions it would be really appreciated . Thanks in advance Roger.

[@dje7335]

I have a permanently parked travel trailer. Two panel arrays of differant wattage. I run independant controllers to eliminate the losses you mentioned. ✌️

[@AaronGeller]

Another masterful video! Hope to catch up soon

[@rosslukeman]

Thanks for tuning in Aaron, glad you found it helpful! Yes hope to catch up soon-

[@seniorLu48]

Another great video. Thank you.

[@rosslukeman]

Thank you!

[@ZaneAhmed89]

Thank you so much

[@rosslukeman]

Thanks for tuning in Zane!

[@tinkering123]

Good video. Gotta save this one.

[@rosslukeman]

Awesome, thanks for tuning in, I'm glad you got something out of this!

[@alexvauxal7075]

thank you !!!

[@rosslukeman]

Thanks for tuning in!

[@luedog8385]

$50 to $100k 😳 damn i building a system and i thought it was expensive just buying the parts. now i feel alittle better but it still hurts 😥

[@rosslukeman]

I'm glad that made you feel a little better! Those were "van conversion" prices, not necessarily power system prices. But yeah even the electrical parts alone can be pricey! You will thank yourself when you're cruising the highway though. You can do it! Thanks for tuning in-