Hello from two new M380 Owners.

[RVinCT]

Hello from Karen and Todd.

I thought I'd introduce ourselves. We're on the road right now, about 50 miles from home (CT). We're returning after flying down and picking up the coach in GA. We spent a year recovering and another year looking for a coach that would meet our needs before choosing the M380.

Ah ... "recovering" you ask? Read below for the story of how we lost our 1973 classic Sportscoach.

https://www.rv.net/forum/index.cfm/f...d/28963598.cfm

One major reason we chose the BB of this support forum. Thanks for the help we've received.

[Dc2x4drvr]

Glad you’re bringing your 1 of 2 2007 M380’s home, are you coming to WOG?

[MarkYuma]

Welcome aboard

[DW SD]

Welcome - I'm new to M380 (3 months) after 8 years of bliss with my old PT36.

I read your link. Glad you survived! Life can change real fast.

If you are in to dry camping (I surmised from your other screen name), you'll appreciate the homework Van did on his solar install and electric conversion.
I also installed solar on my using Magnum Energy gear so everything is managed from their slick remote.

You can find a link of the installs with a little poking around.

Unlike Van, I kept the 620Ah lifeline house batteries as I still have the propane fridge / appliances. My system is scaled accordingly.
Enjoy,
Doug

[RVinCT]

Originally Posted by DW SD

Welcome - I'm new to M380 (3 months) after 8 years of bliss with my old PT36.

I read your link. Glad you survived! Life can change real fast.

If you are in to dry camping (I surmised from your other screen name), you'll appreciate the homework Van did on his solar install and electric conversion.
I also installed solar on my using Magnum Energy gear so everything is managed from their slick remote.

You can find a link of the installs with a little poking around.

Unlike Van, I kept the 620Ah lifeline house batteries as I still have the propane fridge / appliances. My system is scaled accordingly.
Enjoy,
Doug

We're definitely into dry camping. Finding a non-electric coach with a decently large propane tank was part of why we ended up with the M380. The Lifelines were dead (despite dealer promise they were only 2 years old and in great shape) so we're thinking about lithium. Fast charge, light weight, deeper discharge and the fact that they are sooooo inexpensive (not) are real attractions. Solar is nice, but for many of our tree covered high latitude favorite sites in the Northeast and Canada, it isn't as practical as out West, so we're going to hold off on going solar.

(Any lithium battery suggestions are greatly appreciated. We need them soon.). We're thinking 500 to 600AH in 2 or 3 8D size replacements.

[DW SD]

That sucks on the lifelines. seems like some dealers will say whatever they need to to keep money in their pocket.

Have you been following Badandy's PT modernization thread?

If it was me, I'd hack some of the EV car batteries and assemble your own lithium bank. Too bad you have the brand new MS2812 (12V) inverter charger. Otherwise, you could install a 24V or 48V house battery bank with DC to DC converter to step down to 13.2V.

I guess you could still swap the inverter probably for less than the difference in battery costs.
I plan to go (or at least research heavily) this direction when my lifelines fail. Hopefully, that is quite a few years out, though.

[Dc2x4drvr]

Originally Posted by RVinCT

We're definitely into dry camping. Finding a non-electric coach with a decently large propane tank was part of why we ended up with the M380. The Lifelines were dead (despite dealer promise they were only 2 years old and in great shape) so we're thinking about lithium. Fast charge, light weight, deeper discharge and the fact that they are sooooo inexpensive (not) are real attractions. Solar is nice, but for many of our tree covered high latitude favorite sites in the Northeast and Canada, it isn't as practical as out West, so we're going to hold off on going solar.

(Any lithium battery suggestions are greatly appreciated. We need them soon.). We're thinking 500 to 600AH in 2 or 3 8D size replacements.

I would load test your house batteries before making a decision...

[NoGas]

Karen & Todd

That’s quite a story! Big guy upstairs was looking after you that day for sure. You should let your friends on RV.net know your status and that some RV sunshine is once again in your lives. We’re glad you chose a Wanderlodge. Everyday, BB owners appreciate how well they’re built and stories like yours highlight how important that is when disaster strikes.

When choosing batteries, you may find the All-Electric M380 Conversion thread to be a good place to start. With prior experience converting a scooter to Lithiums, I REALLY wanted to go that route. For several reasons I didn’t and that thread covers why. However had this multi-part thread on Beginning From This Morning been out there, I might’ve taken their path. It’s one sweet system! You may find it interesting...

All the best and safe travels!

Sad pic of your baby reposted below for others:

[RVinCT]

Originally Posted by DW SD

If it was me, I'd hack some of the EV car batteries and assemble your own lithium bank. Too bad you have the brand new MS2812 (12V) inverter charger. Otherwise, you could install a 24V or 48V house battery bank with DC to DC converter to step down to 13.2V.
.

I considered going 24 or 48 volt when I chose the inverter, but it just wasn't practical for us. The cost of a step down converter capable of handling all the 12v loads plus the efficiency losses in stepping down the voltage made it not worth the effort in our situation. It makes sense for those with a big solar array, but we may never go solar, and if we do, it will be a small system.

[RVinCT]

Originally Posted by DW SD

If it was me, I'd hack some of the EV car batteries and assemble your own lithium bank.

I may go that route, but time is a factor, EV car batteries are often just a lot of 18650s wired together, but you need to ruggedize the mounting system, then ensure massive discharge wiring and come up with a decent battery protection circuit. A lot of that is off the shelf for an EV battery, but they are no cheaper than RV batteries AFAICT. The popular DIY route is to buy a few million old computer batteries, which are available in bulk, then ID the good cells and rewire. I've got a battery tab spot welder I built for that job, but with so many jobs to do on the new coach, and time concerns, I'm leaning towards just buying a dropin 8D size lithium to fit the M380 battery box.