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It's time to upgrade the solar power and house battery charging system. Technology has improved since I first installed it and the charge controller I was using was designed for lead acid batteries, with too few settings for LiFePO4 batteries that I use now. This article focuses on mobile solar power for RV, camper, van and trailer use. Most of the electrical system components that I'll be recommending below are VICTRON brand. Their products might be a little more expensive t

Self-heating LiFePO4 batteries are necessary for use in non-climate-controlled areas that go below freezing. Charging LiFePO4 batteries below freezing will damage them and reduce their capacity and lifespan. At a minimum, the batteries should have low (and high) temperature cut off (the BMS should control this, but not all do). Even with a low temp cut off, the battery can't be charged without heating it up first, so you need to add a heater pad or some heat source to the bat

Table Of Contents DIAGNOSTICS COMPUTER TURBO RESONATOR REPLACEMENT AUXILIARY ELECTRIC COOLANT PUMP TRANSMISSION SERVICE - Every 60k miles TRANSMISSION REPLACEMENT SERPENTINE BELT IDLER PULLEYS - Every 100k miles SERPENTINE BELT TENSIONER - Every 100k miles REPLACE SERPENTINE BELT - Inspect Every Oil Change, Replace at 50-80k miles REPLACE ENGINE AIR FILTER REPLACE CABIN AIR FILTER DIFFERENTIAL OIL CHANGE COMMON OIL LEAK LOCATIONS FUSES ATTACHED TO BATTERY REPLACEMENT AIR VENT

The T1N Mercedes / Dodge / Freightliner Sprinter van dash air vents are notoriously horrible. I haven't bothered replacing the dash covers because I'm concerned that the new ones will break just as easily. I was searching for Android Auto options and came across this Sprinter Forums post where someone was showing their setup, and had interesting swivel vents. They said that they 3D printed the adapters for the swivel vents, and had to Dremel the vent out a little for it to fi

If you have an RV fridge that needs a new gasket, but the manufacturer no longer makes spare parts for it, you will need to get it custom made. I have a Dometic Coolmatic RPD-0110U that is 15+ years old, and could not find a replacement gasket for it anywhere. The original gasket has become hard and brittle, and no longer seals well (there are some gaps that a piece of paper will pass through). I contacted Domestic, and they told me that first of all my fridge is a European m

The WeBoost Reach does a decent job of boosting weak cell signal using the stock external antenna, but if the signal is very weak, it can't do much at all. A directional antenna will make a big improvement if you are able to aim it at a local tower. For mobile use, like RV and camping, the antenna needs to be robust enough to not get broken when traveling, setup and take down. A directional antenna won't be able to be left up while traveling, so you will need to make it easy

I've designed some cots that hang over the front seats of the van. They were designed primarily for kids but they can easily hold 200 lbs and span the width of the van. The cot could be built as a folding or non-folding cot. For simplicities sake I went with non-folding first just to get something that is functional. I designed a folding frame that collapses into a stick (still the full length of the cot, but easier to store. DESIGN INSPIRATION Cabbunk Camper Van Hammock Bunk

It never fails. If we leave the rear doors open on the Sprinter van at night while sleeping, it will rain. Guaranteed. I installed a screen door on the rear opening, so it's nice to leave the doors open for fresh air and to hear nature like you would in a tent, but it always ends up raining when the doors are open. I would like a very easy, inexpensive way to cover the doors, and if possible, allow for the doors to be opened and closed without having to remove the cover. This

The AGM house batteries in my Sprinter based RV are starting to perform very poorly. It's time for an upgrade, and I don't want to go the AGM lead acid route again. I've been keeping an eye out on LiFePO4 batteries because 4 cells in series works well with a standard 12V DC system. An eBay seller had an interesting packaging for a 12V 100Ah pack. He was putting them into metal ammo boxes PA-19, and including a balancer and a battery voltage meter. Specs for the PA-19 ammo

These solar panels have been one of the best additions to the Dodge/Mercedes Sprinter camper van. Each panel is a high quality 100W Renogy Solar panel originally intended for residential solar installations, but work great on mobile installations too. The first step of the process was to install a roof rack rail system. I didn't want to permanently install the solar panels on the roof, whether through drilling and screwing it in, or permanent adhesive mounts. Ultimately I wil