rbertalotto

Interesting.....Thank you!

Thank you!......If I have two 100aH batteries in parallel (200ah), is my .5c charge rate 100 amps or does it stay at 50 amps......

Thank you both...Great info! I thought "Equalization" did some kind of pulsed reverse polarity? Or am I thinking Desulfasion (sp?)? I just found out that my PD charger has a jumper to put it into Lithium mode. Then it outputs 14.4v constantly......Some are not a fan of this constant voltage output. Other say Li batteries simply stop receiving the charge once the BMS sees the battery is fully charged...... I think I might just bite the bullet and buy a true Li charger/converter.........It's only money!

BTW...This is the charger/converter I have: A concern might be the "equalization" phase with Li batteries??? The Progressive Dynamics 4600 Series replacement RV converters feature their 4-Stage smart Charge Wizard that greatly increases battery life. The Inteli-Power PD4655 can recharge a battery pack to 90% in approximately 3-6 hrs using their patented Charge Wizard Technology. The Charge Wizard Technology features: BOOST Mode 14.4 Volts – Rapidly brings RV battery up to 90% of full charge. NORMAL Mode 13.6 Volts – Safely completes the charge. STORAGE Mode 13.2 Volts – Maintains charge with minimal gassing or water loss. EQUALIZATION Mode 14.4 Volts – Every 21 hours for a period of 15 minutes prevents battery stratification & sulfation – the leading cause of battery failure.

I have a travel trailer with 420w solar on the roof. Two 100ah Renogy 12v Lithium batteries.....MPPT solar charge controller. Currently the Progressive Dynamics charger/converter does not have a lithium setting but it does have the "Charge Wizard Boost" dongle that can increase charging to 14.6 with the push of a button. I also have a Victron Blue Smart IP22 / 12v / 30amp charger available. Question.... Can I leave the factory installed AGM charger/converter in place connected to the batteries and also connect the Victron charger and solar....and use them all at the same time? Or can I only use one of the chargers at a time? The plan would be to use the PD charger/converter when on RV park power.....Use the Victron from my generator when needed off grid.....And solar when conditions favor it. Any danger in "back feeding" the PD or the Victron from each other? Thanks in advance

I'm seeing a bunch of YouTubes and other posts with workarounds to up the speed dramatically. Example: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1jKLcBfdChCghgdHYS7ieGGhlUBfj7qFtSwHvZKb913Q/edit

Thanks Dutch.....This is interesting. I have two of these 815s Hotspots. One with the AT&T Mobley SIM card and one with the T-Mobile , $23 a month plan. I've had both plans for a few years. (Charter member on both plans)....The AT&T plan works great all over the country. But the T-Mobile plan rarely works well. My understanding is they both use AT&T towers...Or am I mistaken? Could it be this "Band" thing you reference above? I'm looking to change the T-Mobile to Visible. I need dependable streaming on the road. I also have a Verizon cell phone with grandfathered unlimited data, but I can only use it as a Hotspot for 15G...I blow through this in a day or two as I do a lot of YouTube Video stuff. Thank You in advance for anything you can add.

I currently have a Netgear AirCard 815S hotspot running a T-Mobile SIM. Can I use a Visible SIM in this device?

Article I wrote about RAM towing real world..... http://rvbprecision.com/rv-projects/ram-2500-6-4l-hemi-mpg-observations.html

Just as a data point...same 8k pound toy hauler trailer....both diesel 5.9L and gas 6.4L did multiple cross country trips from Massachusetts to California....Diesel got 12-13 mpg at cruise set to 65mph...gas gets 10 mpg. Unloaded both get 17mph at cruise set to 65mph. But, the diesel very rarely down shifts. Even in western mountains. 1800 rpm the whole way. The gas engine sounds like it will grenade when trying to maintain anywhere near 65mph pulling the western mountains and many eastern mountains. Gas engine constantly shifting. Diesel was 2006 with 5.9L/373 gears....Gas is 2018 or 2021 with 6.4L/410 gears.

I've had both......My trailer is a bumper pull of 8K pounds.....No way I'd pull anything over 10K with a gas. The 6.4 Hemi I have now is a great tow truck...But it ain't no diesel! For around town, non towing...I love the gasser....But everytime I tow, I miss my diesel.... BTW, I'm on my second 6.4. I had a 2018 and now a 2021. The 2018 had a surging problem that the dealers (two of them and 12 weeks in the shops) couldn't fix. At 40K miles I traded for the same truck in a 2021. Well at 15,000 miles is started doing the exact same thing....It does it unloaded and much more prevalent while towing......I finally figured it out...High Test Gas....While on a long trip I decided to use High Test to see if it made a difference. After two tanks the surging was gone! And the truck is WAY more responsive and much quicker when not towing! So now the less expensive fuel, compared to diesel is a wash...UGH! Come spring, I think a Diesel is in my future....Again!

On a cross country trip, coming back from California......Within three days....I had a trailer bearing go bad and wipe out the entire axle. Fortunately it happed right outside a trailer fabrication/manufacturing facility. They had me back on the road in a couple hours. Next morning a universal joint was making noise. Pulled into an independent repair shop and back on the road within a couple hours. Next morning the new U-Joint failed. They installed the wrong one. While trying to get to the shoulder of the road, a piece of retread truck tire skin hit my radiator fan and destroyed it!. Had to be flatbedded 50 miles to another independent repair facility. The very next morning while stopping for fuel, the front of my trailer was covered with transmission fluid! The brand new BD Diesel transmission I had recently installed had sprung a leak!........Drove home, checking fluid often and had it fixed once at home.........

We are renting a house in Ft Meyers FL for January, February March...... I need a place to store our 20' travel trailer in the Ft Meyers area when not being used as the HOA will not allow it at the house we are renting.......Any help is appreciated Thanks

I recorded a video this morning of a walk-around of my solar and charging system....Hope you like it! It is in two parts: Part1 Part 2

I just received a facebook ad about a service called SKY MOBILE.....$149 a month with zero throttle. But in their FAQ they say they are using Verizon network then a few questions later they say they are using AT&T. Just about every option on their "store" page is Sold Out......Only one Router option remains. Anyone know anything about this service......It appears it might be a European or Australian company

Here is why you need multiple services.....I set all hotspots up here at home and did speed tests... Home Cable 61Mbps Down 40Mbps up T-Mobile 21 4 AT&T 20 2 Verizon No service

STREAMING.....You need good internet connection. Streaming is NOT WiFi at an RV park....I've never seen this work. To get good internet you need a good system. I have a WeBoost that is used 80% of the time when in rural locations. And a 16' extendable mast (painters pole) with a long range yagi antenna for remote locations. You need an app on your phone showing where the various cell sites are located so you can point your yagi antenna at them. You need to do this while you still have cell service before you get to your remote destination. I've been streaming for 7 years, all over the country. Mostly boondocking. I've never, repeat never, not been able to watch TV. I use one of three services....T-Mobile ($23 a month and unlimited data for DirecTV/AT&T, Hulu, Netflix, Amazon Prime and many more)....AT&T Mobley ($36 month and so far I've used hundreds of G a month and not been throttled)....Verizon phone hotspot ($55 a month, 15G before throttle as hotspot, otherwise unlimited grandfathered and cast from phone to TV) I use AT&T about 95% of the time. T-Mobile has extremely limited service in the outback areas I camp. If AT&T doesn't work I'll use Verizon. I just hate to give up that charter membership $23 a month service... 🙂 The T-Mobile and AT&T SIM cards are in 2016 vintage Netgear Aircard 815S hot spots. (Still working great, but looking to upgrade to hotspots with more channels) I use Roku devices on two TVs...Work great as it is an all in one remote with volume for the TV. Recently we cut the cord with cable and now stream ALL TV at home through TCL brand TVs which have built in Roku. Updates to all streaming services are offered regularly. During CoVid we replaced 6 TVs in the house with TCL. Could not be more happy. Bought them through B&H or Amazon. I worked for 40+ years in the consumer electronics business and the last ten in the VoIP world (Video over Internet Protocol) . I saw the demise of satellite TV years ago. Just a few more years and the remaining DTV satellites will expire and streaming will be the go to method. "AT&T/TV" just recently changed their name to "DirecTV Streaming".......Getting folks ready for the future. All we need is Elon Musk's satellite internet delivery to be fully functional and then all of this becomes extremely easy! Hope this helps someone trying to decide.... PS...I see folks referencing plans that offer 10g per month! or 15G per month......To watch TV, you will average about 1G an hour, depending on service and TV resolution. After you reach your 10G to 15G you will be throttled to the point where you won't be able to watch TV. "Streaming TV shows or films on Netflix uses about 1GB of data per hour, for each stream of standard definition video, up to 3GB per hour high definition video, and up to 7GB per hour of 4K Ultra HD video." And what type of download speeds will you need.... "As a general rule, the recommended internet speed for streaming in standard definition videos is 3–10 Mbps (Megabits per second). To stream Hulu, Netflix, and Sling TV, you'll want a minimum download speed of 25 Mbps. For more devices and users, you'll want a speed closer to 50 Mbps."....https://www.attsavings.com/resources/internet/speed-guide/what-internet-speed-do-i-need-to-stream/

5mps even if using your phone as a hotspot?

I currently have a Netgear 815 hotspot that is running the $23 a month T-Mobile unlimited service. In the last year or so I've used it exactly zero times as I have another 815 running AT&T Unlimited which works great most everywhere I go. T-Mobile has very spotty reception and very slow speeds once you exhaust the highspeed part of the plan. (My third option is my phone is Verizon with a 15g limit on hotspot streaming) I'm thinking about going with visible. Will it work in a Netgear 815 HotSpot? Thanks

How come when I'm using my AT&T hotspot to stream DirectTV Streaming it is constantly buffering. Yet when watching YouTube or Peacock or HuLu or any other streaming service it never buffers? I'm using ROKU streamers in my RV with a AT&T or T-Mobile or Verizon HotSpot. Happens on either of them, all with excellent connections.NEVER! Sometime the DirectTV will be playing for ten to fifteen minutes and then buffer, come back on for a few minutes and then go out again with the message that "Something went wrong, try again later!"....This has never ever happened with other streaming services. Interestingly, and not to be political, but it happens way more often while watching Fox News. I watch Fox News, CNN and MSNBC, and FN buffers much more often.

I ordered four Goodyear Endurance tires from Discount Tire. Two days later I was informed that they could not fulfill my order as the GY Endurance were out of stock and did I want to look at substitutions. I requested a full refund. And hour later I received an email that they found a set of Endurance for me if I still wanted them to ship to me.......I told them to "Ship Them".......Havent heard anything since. We shall see!

I'm planning a big trip in a couple months. I use Goodyear Endurance 205/75R15 tires on my 7000pound travel trailer (15" wheels). Can't find these replacements or even the 225 size anywhere. Don't want China tires Thinking about going LT Michelin truck tires. Comments? Advise?

I'm parked at a friends house in Montana for a few days. I couldn't get my hot water heater to heat the water to the usual blistering degrees. I'd run the hot water to drain the tank down with fresh water entering and it wouldn't start. I checked voltages, connections, gas supply....everything was fine. Then I went into the bathroom and tuned on the COLD water and the water was very hot. Turns out the dark green, 100' hose from my friends house, laying in the hot sun, was heating the supply water to the hot water heater to just above the turn on thermostat setting. I was so relieved as I have 2600 miles to go to get home! This morning, upon turning on the hot water heater that wonderful, familiar "click" and "flame roar" was so welcomed! Hope this helps others that might find a similar situation.

Well, five stops in Sioux Falls SD and no parts available at any RV place. There was a facility most RV shops use, but closed until Monday....A few miles out of town I remember passing a farm place with lots of utility trailers out front. We drove over and BINGO! They had a spring....and they let me use any tools I needed to install it! A fantastic ex-marine helped after his shift was up at noon. We had to force money on him as a tip. He wouldn't take it. I told him to donate it or take his wife out to dinner and my grandson forced it into his hand. Wonderful people out here in the west! On to My Rushmore!

I'm 2215 miles from home (Massachusetts), between Sioux Fall and Mitchel South Dakota and my trailer broke a leaf spring. It broke right at the shackle so I'm able to jury rig it to get me to a repair facility or a parts supplier. Dual Axle, 3000# axle, 19' toy hauler....Forest River , Grey Wolf 19RR Can anyone recommend a trailer supply near Sioux Falls or Mitchel SD that would be open on Saturday? Thanks!