Thread: Camoer trailer battery management

Hi all. I’m rejigging the hard to camper’s battery management and electrical locker. My OCD brain doesn’t like how things are currently done.

Trailer’s usage: fridge, diesel heater, stack of USB charge points, led lights, Redarc 2000w inverter, twin cigarette point (to run twin camping electric blankets - kids get cold in their swags!)

Currently: 2 x 100amp lead/crystal batteries (may go to LiPo in the future), 30amp elcheapo Chinese crappy 240v charger, victron blue inverter (can’t remember model/size - maybe 10amp?). I’m adding 2 x Redarc 180w panels and have a 160w folding panel. Looking at wiring the inverter up to the internal power points and having the 240v mains input only going to the battery charger.

Thinking of:

Own/reused fuses and rocker switches with either:

Redarc manager 30
Some sort of Victron combination (love Victon but don’t know much more than their solar controllers are great)

Thoughts on which way to go?

Maybe this thread should be in the Trailer and Camper section.

But to help give it a bump…..

I would definitely draw up a scale plan first and layout what you want to have installed. Makes it easier to then work out the simplest wiring diagram.

Big fan of Lithium batteries - preferably LiFePO4. They just seem to be much better value for money these days as they have higher usable capacity, lighter weight, and longer life. Even 2,000 cycles is a lot of useable life.

You may want to consider adding into the mix a Portable Power Station as when not being used for camping these make for excellent home backup power. I now have both fridges at home connected to a backup power station - one runs a small 12v freezer for 2-3 days, and the other the main 300L fridge/freezer for 12 hours. Power black outs are no longer a concern.

The Renogy inverters are neat in that they allow for pass through AC when connected to the grid. Which means you can make up a UPS type backup with a lithium battery, one battery box, and the inverter. I use a dedicated lithium battery charger on a timer to keep topped up.