Mysterious Electrical Issues

I was under the impression that FR doesn't install ANY batteries; it's a dealer-installed feature. That kind of makes sense, because you don't really know how long a trailer is going to sit around waiting to be shipped, and then shipped.

It may be that Ghost671 did as I did an installed an LiFePO4 battery. The stock converter is made for Pb-Acid batteries, and is not suited for LiFePO4 chemistry. The charging profile is different. What model of power center do you have? That will make a difference in what to look for. The WFCO 8055 has a converter module that can be changed. Other models may not have a separate module.

Originally posted by Giernan You are correct - we have not switched to a lithium battery....

I hadn't heard anything about FR putting Li batteries in rpods. Knowing where they sit in the market I can't see them incurring the cost to do that. I dont see anywhere in this topic where the folks with questions had changed over to Li.

But yes you need a different charging protocol for Li batteries. This is typically done by swapping the charger but there is tvlsst on mm e who has added device in between the charger and then battery. I can't recommend the latter approach.

Some solar charge controller can be set for Li some can't. Check this manual for the ones FR is installing to be sure.

Your battery does sound like it's too small, but the units your friend at the Autozone suggested are wrong. Battery energy capacity is measured in amp hours, not amps. Amps is a measure of how much power can be provided, not how much energy can be provided. Amp hours tells you how much energy. Starters need lots of power, so batteries meant for starting engines are designed to make lots of amps. RVs need energy, so the best batteries for RV house loads are designed for deep cycling at relatively low amp draw.

Many people get dual 6V deep cycle golf cart batteries in order to have more amp hours available, especially if they are running an inverter.It's not the inverter itself that's consuming all the energy, it's the stuff people try to run with it. Dual 6V golf cart batteries wired in series will give you more than 200 amp hours nominal capacity. Since you should avoid cycling batteries too deep, in practice you can get around 100 amp hours. Those are the largest batteries that will fit on the to the rack of an rpod. They are heavy, so you need to keep the increase in tongue weight in mind, which could be as much at 70-80 lbs higher.

But back to your charging problem, you need to sort that out before you get new batteries. If your converter is getting shore power continuously and is working properly
your battery should not be getting drained, solar or no solar, so something is wrong. It's got nothing to do with your inverter, because that is turned off. So, either you have a big 12V load on somehere which is taking more current than the charger can produce or the charger isnt working right. I suggest you get a multimeter with a DC current clamp on so you can troubleshoot more deeply. Make sure you get a DC, not just an AC clamp on, which are more common. The Chinese ones are around 35-40$ on Amazon. Well worth the investment.