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RE: Verizon or T-Mobile
That the Mobley. I use the same service in a Netgear router.
Yes! That's it!
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Rbertalotto
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02/16/23 09:57am |
Technology Corner
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RE: Verizon or T-Mobile
I have Verizon, T-Mobile and AT&T hotspots......I use AT&T about 90% of the time, Verizon 9% of the time to text and voice and T-Mobile 1%.....Where I often camp, outside city limits, T_MOBILE rarely works. But I only pay $30 a month for unlimited / no throttling service so I hate to give it up. I was a charter subscriber a few years ago on a program they no longer offer. But the AT&T plan was the little device that plugs into your OBD slot (can't remember the name)...Removed the SIM and put it into a Unite Explore router. Works everywhere I've been with either a WeBoost or a Yagi antenna on a 16' flag pole mount...Best part is $23 a month! I'm currently out in the high desert of New Mexico, about 20 miles from the closest tower and watching YouTubes on TV with the AT&T router....
https://media.fotki.com/2v2eQyqfqxeRUw.jpg height=640
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Rbertalotto
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02/15/23 09:05am |
Technology Corner
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RE: DIY Li Battery Heater...A REAL TEST!
I'd have to measure it. But about 5" X 9".....
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Rbertalotto
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12/24/22 03:10pm |
Tech Issues
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RE: DIY Li Battery Heater...A REAL TEST!
Great job! Very clean, well organized. For those planning on doing something similar, they'll find your pictures and videos very helpful. With all this cold weather we've had lately, it's a perfect time to test everything.
One observation. Got to wonder if such a high wattage heating pad is necessary. 78w (6.5ah) is quite a high draw---especially if you're boondocking and trying to conserve. Realize you're trying to heat your 100ah lifepo4 cells indirectly, by heating the exterior plastic case. No doubt there's some inefficiencies at play here.
We've found 4, 24w 80x100mm silicone heating pads (wired parallel/series) have the capability to heat our 200ah lifepo4 battery pack to 60f with an ambient of 0f. I'd guess they could probably maintain the cells at 35f with an ambient of -15f. Since the 4 pads are wired parallel/series they only consume 24w total (2a at 12vdc). This is a portable, completely self-contained battery with everything located inside an uninsulated Group 24 battery box. In cold weather we typically keep our lifepo4 cells at a constant 50f 24/7 so we can safely do .4c charges and .6c discharges at any time. We've found at 15f ambient, the heating pads (thermostat controlled) only draw approx. .75ah while keeping the cells at 50f. That's approx. the same overall draw as our inverter's parasitic, no-load draw.
Agree on the pad size. I bought a smaller, 2amp pad to try in the truck with the one battery to see how it works. Stay tuned!
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Rbertalotto
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12/24/22 01:06pm |
Tech Issues
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DIY Li Battery Heater...A REAL TEST!
DIY Battery Heaters...A REAL TEST!...got down to 7F degrees last night. At 7am the battery compartment is at 35 degrees. Controller is set to turn on at 35F and off at 38F........The batteries are at 90% on the monitor.....Working GREAT!... http://rvbprecision.com/rv-projects/lithium-battery-heating-project.html
http://rvbprecision.com/rv-projects/lithium-battery-heating-project.html
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Rbertalotto
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12/24/22 05:51am |
Tech Issues
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DIY Battery Heating Project...Update
A while ago I posted about my DIY Lithium Battery Heating system. So far, with temperatures at night reaching into the 20s (F), it has been working great. The batteries in the trailer have BMS with Bluetooth and it records the batteries average internal temperature. Staying around 40 degrees day and night. I wanted to know how often during the night the heating pad turned on. I installed a small LED on the outside of the trailer that illuminates when the heater is on. My "RING" camera security system records through the day and night and I can go back and review the video with a time stamp. I can see the light turning on and off. Last night it got down to 20F. The battery heater turned on for 7 minutes every hour +/-.....200ah batteries this morning are at 93%.....I'm very pleased with this performance...
http://rvbprecision.com/rv-projects/lithium-battery-heating-project.html
https://media.fotki.com/2v2eENKT5xeRUw.jpg
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Rbertalotto
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12/13/22 05:16am |
Do It Yourself Modifications and Upgrades (DIY)
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RE: hot spots
We just got back from our trip and were up in Michigan UP and had plenty of areas with zero phone reception so no hot spot would work there. My advice is to see where you will be going a lot and if they have cell coverage, then you can go with what some of the other posters had mentioned. If there is no coverage then Starlink is about your only choice
With the proper support devices, cell booster, mimo antenna or yagi antenna on a 16' painters pole, I've never not had cell reception. Even out in the desert or miles from civilization in a forest. There is always a cell tower somewhere. You just need to reach out to it.
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Rbertalotto
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08/26/22 06:53am |
Technology Corner
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RE: hot spots
I have two Netgear Unite Explore hotspots. One on unlimited AT&T Mobley and one on T-Mobile 20g . these are vintage hotspots but have all the features I need and are still working 100% where ever I travel. They have great battery life, dual antenna input and excellent WiFi distance reception. Until Star link gets 100% up and running, ill keep using these devices.
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Rbertalotto
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08/25/22 05:16am |
Technology Corner
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RE: Sumo Springs on my Toy Hauler
Have them on my truck & trailer, never a problem in 4/years
As we sometimes say in the world of engineering...."PFM"!
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Rbertalotto
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08/22/22 06:35am |
Travel Trailers
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RE: Ramp Trim
Can you post a picture of what you are talking about?
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Rbertalotto
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08/22/22 06:21am |
Toy Haulers
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RE: My AGM to Lithium conversion
I used to say itinerant1 could have done equally well with 500 AH of AGMs by swapping them out as required. Now it is not so clear.
The difference now is that he is taking advantage of the LFP high draw ability to run his air conditioner.
It may be that the AGM option would only do that at higher SOCs while the LFP will at lower SOCs
That and the shifting money side where replacement AGMs are going up in price is tilting the balance for his scenario IMO.
How it plays out for recent RV LFPers will not be known for several years yet whether their LFPs were worth it vs another five years or so with another set of FLAs.
considering a 80AH agm is over 450.00 bucks up here, and have been for over 4 yers now, I wouldnt say there was much of a cost risk. two of thoes in my camper would give me 160AH total for about 1K including taxes.. for 900 I did 300AH of LFP, droped from 130 to 49lbs, and was able to put it in the original battery space for the old camper freeing up my outside storage space which was taken up by the GC2's
Steve
The quicker recharge is well worth the investment for how I use the trailer. Now that Li price s have dropped dramatically, it might just be a "no brainer"....
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Rbertalotto
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08/22/22 06:12am |
Tech Issues
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RE: My AGM to Lithium conversion
Itinerant1,
A bit off topic, but how often does the generator get used? Once a month? more? less?
My travel trailer is 99% used as a means c to an end. We almost never "camp"... we use it to attend events c where we are usually in a field or a parking lot with no shade. Having such great sun exposure I have not used a generator in four years! And we would be considered energy pigs. TVs on all the time. Computers running constantly. Charging cameras. Radios. Phones etc. Toast and Kureg coffee .....
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Rbertalotto
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08/22/22 06:07am |
Tech Issues
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RE: My AGM to Lithium conversion
Rbertalotto,
Very nice install.
How did you decide on 13.5 for absorb charging?
I called Renogy
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Rbertalotto
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08/22/22 06:00am |
Tech Issues
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RE: Sumo Springs on my Toy Hauler
Two hundred mile trip yesterday ....and in a word..."FANTASTIC". Hard to believe how four urethane cylinders could improve the ride of the Tow Vehicle. No more jerky jerky when going over bridge expansions. No more bucking on washboard roads. This trailer is a toy hauler. Designer to carry a 1000 pound toy. When unloaded the suspension is very stiff. These Sumo springs smooth the suspension right out. I bought them from Amazon so I could return them if they did not work as advertised. But I'm starting to believe they might be the best $500 I've spent bon the trailer.
All the internet engineers on this thread might be disappointed that they actually work. Sorry about that.
As far as the post about them not contracting the chassis. Watch the video again. That picture was with the chassis jacked up and the whole spring system hanging. When you install them. You add spacers to maintain about 1/2" of compression.
And as far as the comment about the Sumo springs bending or otherwise damaging the frame rails..... Totally ridiculous..... And I AM an engineer!:)
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Rbertalotto
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08/22/22 05:48am |
Travel Trailers
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Sumo Springs on my Toy Hauler
I bit the bullet and spend $500 on four small rubber type things to augment the suspension on my Forest River RR19 toy hauler. Check out my you tube video here...https://youtu.be/xSDd5Se4z2E
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Rbertalotto
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08/21/22 07:03am |
Travel Trailers
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RE: Poop Tote Carrier
Yes, the wheels simply pop off on this tote. Takes all of 15 seconds to put them on or off. As far as ground clearance. I relocated axles below the springs lastbyear. I have plenty not ground clearance.
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Rbertalotto
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08/14/22 05:14pm |
Do It Yourself Modifications and Upgrades (DIY)
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Poop Tote Carrier
How do you transport your portable waste tank (Poop Tote). I really didn't want it tied on the back of the trailer and I certainly didn't want that nasty thing anywhere near living quarters. So I built a Poop Tote holder under the trailer....(sorry for the out of focus )
A video describes it best:
https://youtu.be/gmVUOAVuKyA
https://youtu.be/gmVUOAVuKyA
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Rbertalotto
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08/13/22 12:26pm |
Do It Yourself Modifications and Upgrades (DIY)
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