full electric rehab

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aeh56

Member
Joined
Aug 7, 2022
Posts
16
Location
Florida
about a 2010 4Winds 32 ft mh with Onan 5500 etc..
If you had one of these and wanted to keep it although it was somewhat beaten down...do you think it would be worth it to fully gut the electric system and replace with modern high quality replacements and change to 24 volt while you were at it??
I mean 2 100 ah Battle born Lithium 12 volts ,in series or parallel.. new 3k inverter/converter, controller, transfer switch, new buss bars here and there and full new monitoring...everything Victron. I know it would be expensive but if you had the money.....
what do you think? And do you know a drive in shop that could do it like this...????thanks
 
Also, why go to 24 volts and complicate the job of adding equipment to your rig? 24 volt system will give you many headaches just like when some cars were six volt and some were 12 volt. Chances are you were not around to go through that but talk to some "old timers" and ask them what having an oddball voltage can do to your plans.
 
What problem is this solving? If the goal is to create a cutting edge electric coach that operates equipment you can't have any other way, then you can have whatever you can afford. Otherwise you're money and trouble ahead to keep and use what you have.

Mark B.
Albuquerque, NM
 
I recently upgraded the electrical on a 04 sunvoyager class A and feel it was worth the cost. I stayed 12v but upgraded to 50amp service, a Victron multiplus-ii and 3- 200ah renogy agm batteries. Currently replacing the roof but when finished I will be adding 2 300w solar panels and a Epever deoracer controller. Was going to use a victron controller but the EP has main full output and a secondary 1 amp"starter output" to keep starting battery maintained. The victron was biggest investment and I have about $2500 total invested all in
 
I recently upgraded the electrical on a 04 sunvoyager class A and feel it was worth the cost.
For you as an individual that may be true but for me as a retired electrician, it would not be. Don't ever check to see what you would recover of your costs if you were to sell the RV and unless you have an agreed upon vaue with your RV insurance, you won't come even close to getting what you have in it if it should be destroyed.
 
For you as an individual that may be true but for me as a retired electrician, it would not be. Don't ever check to see what you would recover of your costs if you were to sell the RV and unless you have an agreed upon vaue with your RV insurance, you won't come even close to getting what you have in it if it should be destroyed.
True if you only look at it in a monetary value way, but what do you value your enjoyment and comfort? I went from tent camping to rv camping for comfort, with the electrical upgrade i can now run both A/C units at the same time, and the microwave, and TV without having to run the noisy generator. The solar allows me to keep my house and chassis battries maintained in the off season without a 120v connection, replacment battries add up very quickly. First trip for me with my rig was on stock 30amp service in July in LasVegas,Nv and Laughlin,Nv avrage mid day temps 110-115 deg. On 30amp you get 1 A/C unit with full power from pedestal, sites we were at had power sag from the heat so that 1 A/C is overworking and under volted, blew the run start cap,replaced and had to run genset for a/c... Nope not again, dont have to worry now as I have 50amp and if pedestal voltage sags or surges the Victron corrects the voltage, if I only have 15 or 30amp service available the Victron will boost to cover startups so I can run both a/c. To me the convenience is very worth it evenif I dont recover the initial cost if I sell.
 
A 50 A upgrade makes sense, but I don't see the point of going for 24 VDC.
Higher wattage at lower amps. Makes sense for an off-grid setup, but don’t know about an RV because of the need to down convert to 12V. Do-able of course.
I know of several off-gridders running 48 volts or even 72 volts. More efficient than 12 volts. Less loss to heat.

My home solar is 72 volts out from the panels to the charge controller to a 24 volt battery bank. I couldn’t run anywhere near the rated 1400 watts at the nominal 12-16 volts per panel.

Kevin
 
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24 volt. Most all the "Stuff" that you put into an RV.
The Fridge, The Water heater, Air Conditioers, Fans, Lights..
The TV antenna (Any satellite antennas) Radios (Other than 120 volt)
Are designed to run on 12 volts.. Now lights can easily be changed in most cases.

But the other stuff.. NOT SO EASY
And using a voltage reducer is wasteful of watts

I'd stick with 12 volts.
 
Also, why go to 24 volts and complicate the job of adding equipment to your rig? 24 volt system will give you many headaches just like when some cars were six volt and some were 12 volt. Chances are you were not around to go through that but talk to some "old timers" and ask them what having an oddball voltage can do to your plans.
The advantages of 24-volt are that half the current will be drawn, extending charge life, and smaller-gauge wires can be used. Not worth it, though.
 
If you apply 24V to a 12V appliance or light, twice the current will be drawn and it will probably destroy what you are using. Have you never heard of Ohm's law?
amps = volts X resistance
Sorry, but Ohm's Law is:

I=V/R
V=IxR
R=V/R

Oops, Pedro Dog beat me to it... ;)
 
If you apply 24V to a 12V appliance or light, twice the current will be drawn
I think he means 24V to a 24V lamp. That would be half the current of 12 Volts to a 12V lamp of the same wattage.

To keep it simple, 24 watt lamp:

24 watt bulb=12 volts times TWO amps=24 watts.

24 watt bulb= 24 volts times ONE amp=24 watts.

About the same power to lamp either way, but 24V could be slightly better because of the resistance of the wiring will waste less heat at the lower current required for the higher voltage to get the same power to the bulb.

-Don- Reno, NV
 
Lots of good info in this thread and some goofs as well.. Tempted to post a photo of a key tag I have
One of the concerns if you go to 24 volt is finding "Stuff" most stuff made for RV's including the water heater. Fridge. AC Controls. and even the Roof top over the air TV antenna.. All are designed for 12 volt. Some of this stuff they do make a 24 volt version but very hard to find and expensive.

Sticking with the standard 12 volt way cheaper.
 
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