[Billy]

Generally speaking, the simplest Li conversion to make is where you have two house inverter/chargers, one for each side of the coach. Leave at least one lead acid battery in the system and install two new Li house battery banks.

Connect the alternator charging to that/those lead acid batteries. Be sure any DC isolators or combiners are attached only to the lead acid battery(ies). Use two B-to-B chargers, one connected to each of the two house Li battery banks, to keep them and the start battery bank charged from the alternator. Connect each inverter/charger to one of the Li house battery banks.

The two B-to-B chargers will keep the Li house battery banks charged while driving. The two inverter/chargers will keep the each of the house Li battery banks charged while on shore/gen power and also will keep the Li and lead acid batteries isolated from one another at all times.

Use two separate MPPT charge controllers connected to the DC side of the inverter/chargers to solar charge the Li house battery banks while parked. If you feel the need to keep the lead acid battery charged while parked, add a simple AC to DC battery converter/charger connected only to the lead acid batteries.

Again, generally speaking, the most difficult Li conversion will be where your existing set up allows you to run one or more AC units from the house batteries while driving or where you are now wired for the house battery bank(s) do load sharing with the incoming shore or gen power lines.

When selecting the necessary electronic components, be sure to keep in mind the possible amp loads you will be putting on those components. Over engineering here will be a blessing. Under engineering here can lead to premature failure. Also, keep in mind the fact that Li batteries experience very little self discharge so they do not need to be connected to a charger while parked unless you leave the inverters on and one or more AC loads on. Your residential refer, incandescent light bulbs and any form of resistance heater will be the largest potential loads so make sure they are off, not just turned down.

Jerry

[Billy]

Ours is fully lowered to enter shop which has 12′ doors and 12′ trusses. If I want to center sat dish between trusses it can go to ride height or full up, otherwise just leave it lowered. No issues so far since Dec. ’18.

[Billy]

First, get a decent quality volt/ohm meter or multi-tester. Fluke is good but there are others.

Then whenever measuring electrical values rely in the tester. I have two identical gauges in my coach measuring alternator output and they are different by one volt. That does not sound like much but it is.

The Prevost service manual for our coaches provides the proper voltage value to a correctly adjusted regulator. It is around 27 volts give or take a few tenths (going by memory) and at the specified voltage level it will not damage batteries, house or chassis.

[Billy]

1. Just a little curious the need for a series 60 stiffener kit ,most problems were with freightliner trucks that had a horton air fan of which we have neither. Just looking for imput .

[Billy]

Royale put a rubber clear hose from top to bottom of tank to see level and it’s always correct. On my black tank the Tecma toilet has it’s own sensors stick on tank half full green led turns orange when full 1 inch from top it cuts power off so it won’t flush

[Billy]

I lived and worked in Yellowstone driving a tour bus there. Many of former coworker are having a real tough right now. We were planning on going up for transportation reunion over Labor Day weekend. I know its too early for a decision, but knowing the area, it doesn’t look good. The Lower Loop will probably open first from West Yellowstone, MT to Old Faithful. Then perhaps up to Norris. Considerable damage to the upper loop road. Cooke city and Silver Gate MT are isolated from each other the outside region by road washouts. Gardiner, Yankee Jim Canyon, Cimmaron Basin, Corwin Springs are all isolated by high water on roadways, or damaged or missing bridges.
Theres been a washout of road in Hayden Valley so Lake are to Canyon is impassable

The road from Mammoth Hotsprings to northgate town of GardinerMT travels thru region of mudstone. Normal rainy days its greasy with small slides. Now the Gardiner River has washed away and under cut the road completely in numerous spots. Most supplies/personnel HQ enter park from North Gate.

[Billy]

Spoke with a lead Engineer from SoftStart this afternoon. They are developing a 50 Amp SoftStart Up version that can be used at the electrical post…and will not only help with Cruisair compressors, but also residential refrigerator compressors. It will also serve as a surge protector (one unit will serve the entire Coach vs. individual unit per AC).

They currently have a SoftStart Up – but, it requires a 50-30 Amp converter…and, therefore, only provides a single 30-Amp service (meaning you would have to manage power usage…and, likely couldn’t operate multiple Cruisairs – much less Dryer, multiple TV’s, etc.).

The 50 Amp SoftStart Up is currently going through 4-6 months of systems acceptance/field testing and they are expecting it will be commercially available in @6-months.

Could be great news to us with Cruisairs…and, helpful to rooftop units, too.

[Billy]

I am not sure where to post this, just wanted to show how people think that by adding Prevost to the name it will get more eyeballs?

[Billy]

Do you guys actually Burn $1,0000 of fuel a day traveling in your Busses? Seems Like 1K per day should be plenty?

[Billy]

My Bus does that when I have an external compressor connected to the port above the chassis batteries and the Engine running. I noticed this phenomena when I was troubleshooting some air leaks initially, had the bus connected to my shop compressor, and when the Bus Sneezed it dropped the pressure just like what his is doing.

[Billy]

I am totally in favor of saving money on fuel, especially if I can make that savings come about with zero effort. For me the greatest advantage of improved mileage is it cuts down on my need to go into a truck stop. If my visits are reduced in number, and as a side benefit they cost less, even better.

But can we all agree “saving money” is a phrase that just does not apply to bus ownership? I cannot speak for others, but not including a penny for driving the bus I spend a lot of money per year just to own my bus. When I include depreciation, insurance, loss of earnings on invested capital, tires, batteries and any other costs required just to have the bus sit in my garage my annual costs have been at least $20,000 at the low side.

Newer coaches are going to be more, older coaches less, but at that cost I can spend more than 2 months in expensive motels eating fine meals. If I add in the costs of driving the bus meaning fuel, wear and tear, needed repairs and maintenance, RV park costs, etc. the number of days I can spend in a hotel goes up a whole lot.

Our coaches are all about not having to share a bed, toilet seat, or coffee cup with hundreds of others and having to travel with what you can pack in a suitcase. This is proven by the fact only a very small percentage of PC members think the TSD savings are worth signing up for.

[Billy]

Jeff, what did you use to insulate generator bay? Sonic and heat protectors?

Thx

[Billy]

OTR Prevost AC Compressor’s usually look like this “Carrier O5G 41CFM”. Got one in the shelf if anybody needs one. Straight from Carrier.

[Billy]

I am not familiar with that type toilet, but if there’s a rubber gasket, try a bit of Vaseline on the mating surfaces and see if that helps. They can get dried out and that will work until you can get a replacement.

[Billy]

I replaced my ISRI with a flex steel captain’s chair – and kept the air ride!

I was able to easily remove the pedestal and air scissors unit from the ISRI and then attach it to the captain’s chair. I get the flexibility of the electric adjustments, the air ride, and don’t have to drill new mounting holes in the floor.

Feel free to PM me if you need pics.