Sky King76

Yep…thanks fellas. I bought a 15-20 to 30Amp dogbone plus an electricity management thing I’d researched that is a surge suppressor AND actively prevents damage. Irony was the dealership had this RV on consignment and they took the goodies out AFTER they took the pictures to post on their website, including this exact surge suppressor. Yes, I called them on it.

So…one other thing. On a positive note from all the help here, is that if the A\C is only pulling roughly 7.6Amps of AC current, then when we visit friends we can easily plug in to their 15-20Amp socket and be good without a beefy 30Amp, as long as we turn the A\C off when running the microwave\convection for example. We don’t use hairdryers or the like so this may work out. or… Am I missing something here?

Hum…I looked it up and at this point I can’t be specific about the alternator other than it says a “high output auxiliary alternator specifically designed to charge lithium batteries”. I noticed on the bigger battery packs there is a button you can push on the instrument panel so that when electricity gets below 30% the engine will automatically start and charge the batteries back up to 80%.it will do that five times.I would assume that means it’s perfectly acceptable to idol this thing with no problem… I saw in literature somewhere, something about 170 amp alternator but that may have been on the bigger battery packs or that may be the one I have and there’s even a bigger one. I do have a 3000 watt inverter. Anyway thanks again for your help John it’s greatly appreciated.

I’ll have to look in to that. I think this one pulls 11,500.

Thanks John. I’m gonna contact the guy who did the inspection on an RV that failed and see if he does battery upgrades. We had just looked at a Thor Sequence that was only a year older but had a generator. I did recall seeing a Thor video saying the lithium batteries was an “upgrade” over a generator BUT I missed the part where they were talking about the 800Ah or 940Ah setup NOT the 200Ah, like ours. I guess if we’re going to boondock a lot, batteries are obviously a lot quieter than a generator for neighbors and the like. What confused me and thus my original question, I was looking at a specific EV car a couple years ago and in my research found the older ones were equipment with a gas engine for when the batteries got low but the engine did NOT run the car, it charged the batteries, which still ran the car. Technically I guess we do have a “generator” of sorts, in that I can start the engine which is equipped with a high output alternator. I know as a kid we’d never let a vehicle idle for a long time but I guess the newer vehicles like the RAM 3500 it’s OK. We do have solar…190 and I’m gonna go up and look at the space on the roof for more. I read 380 was pretty common, so I should be able to get at least 1 more panel up there.

Wow…thanks Glenn and Chad…take the rest of the day off…so helpful!!! AND thanks for not writing something sarcastic about how stupid I am. So at 76Amps coming off 2 100 Ah batteries and drawing 75Amps it would make sense the air conditioner is only good for 2.5 hours or less. Our first RV trip will be to Maine in a week to stay with friends who live just outside Acadia National Forest where it’s high 40’s at night and averages low 70’s during the day so air conditioning may not be a big deal. Plus if it’s drawing less than 15Amps of AC power we can connect the shore power to the house and be good to go. Unfortunately, I’m gonna start looking at replacing these batteries with maybe 2 300Ah. These RV’s can come with up to 940Ah batteries depending on your options so there’s obviously room under there with this being front wheel drive.

Thanks Chalkie… 76Amps, 12.6 volts was on the MasterVolt. With the inverter on to run the air conditioner it showed 120V and 806 watts. I thought it was extremely high as well and dumbfounded but I’m learning. Bought it end of May with only 3,000 miles so it’s “new” and maybe there’s bugs or the batteries need to cycle more. I was just concerned how we can plug in to a 30Amp and see 76Amps draw.

So when I plug this B class in to 30Amp shore power, does the shore power charge the batteries and the batteries are running everything either as 12V or through the inverter? Planning our first RV experience for next week and I’m still trying to understand the details here. I went out yesterday and turned on power to the 200Ah batteries, then the inverter, then the A\C and wow…it was pulling 76Amps. So how does that work? If we’re connected to 30Amp shore does the batteries supply the rest of the 46Amps or what? Otherwise, wouldn’t the shore breaker pop? Sorry…just trying to avoid as many “surprises” as possible on our first adventure.

Great question. Just bought a 2022 Thor Sequence and all the way up to the walkthrough I didn’t know it was lithium, I thought it had a generator because I’d just seen one earlier in the day that was a year older. Thank God Thor has some really good videos on YouTube about these models, in hour long detail. When I realize it ran on lithium, I remember seeing one of the Thor videos and the reps said the batteries were an upgrade over the generator AND you could run the A\C all night easily on the batteries. They were NOT talking about the little 200Ah setup we have. We don’t anticipate being part of the RV lifestyle to any degree and wanted to boondock as much as possible but as someone said we’re go aftermarket for way more amps. Compare the cost of adding after purchase vs already on the vehicle. I know they use some better batteries on the bigger setups. No clue if we’ll replace or add or even how that works. Oh…for example I went out and turned on the power, inverter…and A\C. It was pulling 76Amps! I didn’t even know that was possible. So if I would have left it on…I don’t know what temp the A\C was set on, it showed about 2.5 hours of battery before I’d have to start the engine.

We purchased a B class RV this week as our first RV and despite the endless research over the past weeks, I failed to realize the BMPro controller was a stripped version because of the chip shortage in 2022. This is a Thor motorcoach. There was a black strip over the bottom of the controller when I had seen buttons and a read out in a 2021 Sequence that I had seen earlier in the day. I stupidly assumed it was and “upgraded”version. It was the exact opposite.I actually ran my finger across the strip and could feel the buttons underneath but it still didn’t register. I sent RVMaster an email asking if they plan to replace the chips or do I get a full version of the controller. Has anyone else got satisfactory resolution to this? I can tell you this, we will look into this legally from every angle. The wife just retired as a lawyer, so this will give her something to do😏. That doesn’t mean there’s a legal way to force them but if there is we will find it.

Same with the RAM Linda but I’d forgotten…thanks. Think I’ll put a sticker of some sort on the button as a reminder. I saw a YouTube video from a really sweet couple who travel full time with a trailer and they suggested putting a sticker or card on the dash with the RV height, so you can glance at it on a moments notice. No doubt there will be many of those tips we’ll learn on here as well.

Yes…the batteries run the A\C. I’m pretty sure this one has the “standard” 200Ah so I’ll have to boondock a few times to see how well it holds up. The one solar panel is good to run the lights I guess. I believe in one of the videos a Thor engineer said it puts out about 9 amps?? I now see you can get a 400Ah and I believe 800Ah setups on this rig. I did go back late yesterday and asked the sales guy WTF…there’s no generator. He acted surprised at my question. Said he’d never seen a Thor Sequence WITH a generator. Huh??? I just saw a 2021 with a generator. One thing he did say that made sense was the RV actually does have a generator…it’s the engine itself. I will have to check this particular unit but from all the videos and everything I’ve seen, there’s a button you can push somewhere on the dash when parked so if the battery levels get below 30% the engine automatically starts and runs the battery up to 80%. It will do that up to 5 times.

I’m very tempted to go back over there…only about 15 minutes from here, and ask where our damn brand new hose is AND based upon one of the manuals, I’m going to tell them to search this RV top to bottom until they can find the expensive surge protector. Yes I know they stole it from the prior owner but I’m furious. I’m still mystified over that sticker still being on the glove box after 3,000 miles.

Thanks Elia! I think the Thule type is what we’re looking for. Only problem with that one is it probably won’t tilt down enough to completely open the back doors. Yeah Linda, I haven’t been concerned about weight and balance issues since my flying days but will keep that in mind. Plus this unit is front wheel drive. I’ll continue looking for a box that swings away.

That’s right Linda. If the sales person listened there would be less time wasted showing things that are not of interest. I did learn at this New Jersey location a huge chunk of their business is trailers or I guess fifth wheelers, I’m not sure what that is but trailers. They only had 4 B class on the whole lot. They said their sales are chiefly for people who take the trailer to a Jersey shore RV and leave it there for the summer. They said B class RV’s are all over the south for some reason.