Shown above:
Red Power moved to the right (so if the fuse blows the unit will still have power to the PCB).
White Fuse detection moved to the left so that the shunt will know if no power is passing across the fuse.
Black PCB Ground moved towards the battery side (like the power).
Green and Orange Voltage Sense wires were swapped to reverse the reporting values across the shunt to accommodate the change in battery position.
Nate:
Thanks for posting the design information, I’m just finishing up the Victron training, and I’ve been struggling to figure out how to handle the 15, 30, 100A input variability at the power pole. I like your solution.
I had a couple of questions if I may? With your tractor, I don’t know that pinweight is a big concern for you, but for a normal tow vehicle (F-450 DRW), it sadly is. Do you know how much your pin weight increased after install? I noticed you were able to put the system slightly back in the pass through versus the front basement so that it isn’t 100% pin weight. Your design is close to the system I want to put into a new ToyHauler, and I’m trying to figure out if I have enough pin weight margin, or if I need to scale down my design before I realize I can’t carry any potable water or food in the camper.
Secondly, I was wondering if the 5500 is enough to power your full rig? I’ve been looking at the generators that seem to come with the 5th Wheels, and by my math, I think the generators are undersized for 3 ACs @ 1.3kW each. Do you end up Power Assisting the Onan?
Last question…I’ve got my nose pressed against the screen trying to follow the wiring diagram, did you bond neutral and ground in your system, and if so, where?
The two inverters and 4 batteries plus misc equipment and cabling added about 800 lbs. (Split that across both the axles and pin and we saw about 300# added to the pin, 500 on the axles.).
We used to tow with a 3500 dually but swapped it out to the MDT (Freightliner) because we wanted to double tow a Jeep and wanted more load control.
As for the generator…
Yes, the onboard Onan does not like to run all three air conditioners. In fact, the RV came with a power control system that will disable one of the three ACs specifically when on generator. I bypassed that when I installed the inverters.
The battery bank and two inverters easily run the three air conditioners by themselves. When I want to run all three ACs I usually run the generator too, to keep from digging too deep into the battery Bank. As the three ACs cycle on and off, and the generator running , the inverter system will assist during compressor start-up, or when other loads are present, etc. as needed.
The Earth/neutral bonding happens inside the inverters.
There is a setting, a checkbox to enable it.
When on shore power, there is no need for it as that function is performed upstream. When inverting, a relay in the inverter closes the connection between the Earth and neutral.
Nate:
Doh! I forgot about the bonding switch inside the MPs.
Thank you so very much for the information about the pin weight and generator. The 5th wheel I’m looking at will most likely have to have the batteries in the front basement, so I think I’ll plan on a 50% pin weight impact. That’s much better than the 100% I was planning on.
You did a great job getting 4.5kW of modules on your roof. Even the builds coming out of the NRVTA solar workshop are only fitting closer to 2.5kW.
Thanks again. Safe Travels.
~Matt
