Love the vid as I am looking at doing the electrical upgrade this year on my Robbo.. Where did you purchase the crimping tool from? When is the "Roamin in the Robbo" merchandise coming online?
Thanks Rod really appreciate that mate! We have been happy so far with the upgrade, seems worth doing if you can. We borrowed that from our neighbour but I believe he got it from either repco or Sydney tools? Don't bother with a non hydraulic crimper though as they are rubbish. To be honest we have done up some stickers and stubby holders for ourselves for a bit of fun, but never imagined anyone else would want any! We might have to give it some thought 😁
@@RoaminintheRobbo Many thanks for your reply Craig. I think you may be very surprised how popular your merchandise will be when you decide to release to the public. Please produce it before somebody rips it off! 😉
Jason is a world of knowledge and his products are of premium quality. Will always go back Offroad living. Definitely won't regret it, great vids guys.
He is great! Answers any questions you have doesn't make you feel like you are just a sale! We will definitely be going back to them for anything we need. Cheers mate, appreciate that!
I used to believe that the capacity of Lithium batteries and the weight saving were the main advantage when compared to AGM but having used Lithium for past 3 years I now believe that the current absorption is probably the best advantage. Regardless of how many AGM batteries (AH capacity) you have, you're still limited by slow charge rate which makes it difficult to replenish the energy whereas Lithium is phenomenal with it's speed of current absorption. Thanks for the content, cheers
Thanks mate! We agree, we have been so happy with the lithium batteries! Have not had any issues with running out of power, they top back up quickly, so glad we made the switch. Thanks for watching and taking the time to comment we appreciate it 😃
@micheltique7083 thanks mate! Certainly a lot of advantages with the lithium. We have had our in for over 2 years and no problems at all. Thanks for watching 🍻
Good setup. I have the same charger’s but running AGM I have a small 800w generator for those cloudy days. I probably won’t need it if I go lithium. I will change over once the AGM dies.
Awesome video! Just discovered your channel and been enjoying your videos. 2019 Robbo owner here and about to upgrade from the AGM's to Lithium so this has really helped. Just have 1 question about the Redard BCDC charger you installed: I see the model you got was the BCDCN1240D, which is the 'Under Bonnet'' more robust to heat, dust and water. Was that the recommendation? As being installed in the Robbo shouldn't really be subject to those conditions (?), or was there another reason? As the 'In Cab' model is $300 cheaper.
@MrFreofanatic hey mate, welcome to the channel 😊 Just say The projecta charger I removed was an under bonnet one so I kept it the same and just changed it to a lithium compatible one 😊 Thanks for watching!! 🍻
New follower here, love all your videos, practical, no nonsense approach, well done and thanks for sharing. Could I ask you a couple of questions regarding this video please? You mentioned the blue "ignition" wire from the charger routed off to pin 12 on your trailer plug. Where does pin 12 go to on the car side, and, is that a custom thing or is that what pin 12 is used for on any vehicle? The reason I ask is because many of the YT vids on running and anderson plug setup also requires the blue wire to be run the length of the vehicle to an appropriate spare fuse point at the front.
Hey Moike Hunt (nice name...gotta say that one slow while the kiddies are about😂). Cheers for watching and welcome. The ignition wire (becomes live when ignition is on) is only needed if the vehicle has a smart or variable voltage alternator. This allows the dcdc charger to operate at lower voltages. If the vehicle doing the charging has a fixed voltage alternator it's not needed. The camper was pre wired with a 12 pin trailer plug and the dcdc charger's ignition wire run to pin 12. (spare accessories pin) The Everest has a smart alternator so needed an ignition wire run to pin 12 on the car's socket to match up with the camper's plug. I don't know if it's common for pin 12 to be used for this but in my vehicle's case pin 12 was empty, so yes it was a custom job. I'm not exactly sure where it has been taped into as I had an auto sparky run the wire at the same time they installed the electric brake controller. I can see that taping into an unused fuse location that energises when the car is running would be an easy option. In my case I have a feeling the sparky has soldered the wire to something under the dash. I hope this helps and hasn't muddied the water. Let me know if you have any questions and I'll do my best to answer them Craig
@@RoaminintheRobbo Ah cheers Craig for that detailed and comprehensive explanation, I am much obliged and it's actually along the lines of what i was thinking. So only one more question if I could, what might I expect an auto elec here in Perth to charge to run a single wire from plug to front as I do have one of those smart alternators. Or maybe put it to Airtasker? Incidentally, my son set this account up for me as I am too dumb in most matters cyber and would you believe, that's not my pic either lol, he seems to think it's all bloody hilarious. Apparently Mike was already taken lol.
@@moikehunt8928 🤣Bloody kids hey. Mine are still a bit young for the whole, tease the old man thing...they still think I'm cool, little do they know. Sorry mate I'm not sure what they'd charge just for a single wire run. As mentioned mine was done as part of a bigger install. Airtasker might be the way to go or contact some local auto sparkies for a quote. If you need additional sparky work get it all done at once, it'll work out cheaper in the long run. Best of luck.
Hey mate thanks for the vid. Be awesome if you put in links for each product for us who don’t know what they are haha. What charger did you use? I know it’s a victron just not sure the model. We just got an Austrack was tossing up between the mdc and that but I wanted something I could review that no one else had. Electrical system is very similar. I’ve got two 100ah lithiums redarc bcdc and just need a good charger to replace the projecta
Hey mate, Good idea on providing the links. The batteries are 'ALLSPARK 100ah LITHIUM' I probably used the same dc charger as you did. 'BCDC1225D' as for the AC charger I used the 'VICTRON 12V/15A IP65 ACDC SMART CHARGER' I purchased them all from Offroad Living in Wangara (perth) Hope this helps. Thanks for watching Craig
Hi Wallace we paid $1125 each battery, the redarc was $500 and $240 for the other charger. We got all our gear from Offroad living, their website is great to check out and the guys are very knowledgeable. If you are looking at doing the conversion they well worth checking out! We also needed some terminals and heatshrink which all came to approx $30-$50. Thanks for watching the videos!
Hi Wallace thank you for letting us know about the audio on François Peron video! I deleted the video and then realised I couldn't reply to you. Really appreciate you letting us know! 🙏
Great video, I’m not game enough to install the batteries myself but mines going in tomorrow, how are you monitoring the capacity of your batteries given the volt meter will tell you what voltage you are at but as you said with lithium it will keep a high voltage until almost dead. We are getting the victory smart shunt with ours so I can monitor, mainly because of having poor AGM batteries previously I found myself worrying all the time if the batteries would die 😂
Hey Gareth, thanks for watching. I wasn't super keen to do the install myself, but we were on a time limit due to an upcoming trip and couldn't get the Robbo booked in. After picking the brains of the guys we bought the gear from I figured it was within my capabilities (thankfully I was right). A smart shunt is definitely on the list of future mods. While not precise the volt meter will provide a decent enough indication of the state of charge. A google images search for '12v lithium SOC chart' will give a list of voltage ranges and SOC%. Happy camping and here's to no more power anxiety!!
Hey Harry some people don't but I did. lithium batteries charge using a different profile than agm's. If I used the original chargers they will not reach 100% state of charge. So I also installed a new dc and ac charger that have a lithium charging profile. Thanks for watching mate!
Hi, According to the 12v guys I was getting advice from the charger should be changed to one with a lithium profile. Lead acid chargers will work, to a point. But if you want the batteries topped off to 100% a charger with a lithium algorithm is the go.
Thank you mate. Also what made you get the 25ah dc charger instead of the 40ah iam looking at same setup but with a 40ah charger do you know if there’s any issues with the biggest charger?
@Livinn4x4 hey mate the reason we kept the 25ah was at the time we had the Everest and I wasn't sure the altenator would have handled the bigger charger so just went like for like. Kind of wish now we have the Cruiser I went for the 40ah. Cabling may be sufficient though so it would be worth checking with who you buy the charger from it you need to upgrade that as well.
@@RoaminintheRobbo there double the usable power with half the weigh and three times the life… Amazing batteries for sure but people keep buying lead acid batteries because of the cheap price but lead acid are really much more expensive when you consider the extra weight you have to carry around with 1/3 the life… Lifepo4 batteries are a no brainer!
Absolutely agree Brian! Unfortunately it is a big outlay cost wise but when you look long term cost becomes negotiable between the two and lithium have so many other benefits!
I suppose/hope you know that voltage is not a thing to monitor with lithium ( normally). I disnt catch if you had one but If you dont have a shunt, get one. I suggest victron bmv-712 ( since it has a screen and a long range bluetooth) but there are others. But i suppose you know that to. Shunt should always be included in a lithium install. 13.2 v ( resting voltage) all the way from around 20% to 80% really dont give you a clue). I like that trailer.
Lithium batteries are coming down in price and AGM's are going up. Three AGM's top quality costs about nine hundred--my 200 ampere hour Lithium battery costs about a thousand including the dc/dc charger which also will connect to the solar arrays. The extra battery charger capable of charging lithium cost less than three hundred, but I could have saved that had I switched my existing charger to the CALCIUM setting and put it through the DC/DC charger--but that would have limited the rate of charge, so I bought the extra charger--give the cat another goldfish. I also bought fans and programmable switches to ventilate the refrigerator locker and battery and charger compartments,. Fan plus thermostat switches cost about a hundred each if one includes the essential dust filters and air inlets and outlets and weatherproof grilles.
Het Mike Lithium all the way. When you factor in pros and cons the prices are comparable. I've been contemplating getting some fans for the fridge compartment. It gets pretty toasty in there during summer. Thanks for your feedback
There's no reason why AGM batteries should be restricted to half of their rated capacity. It has zero detrimental effect on the battery's lifespan. The changeover is worthwhile in your case. I'll do mine eventually.
Thanks Glenn that is handy to know, we were just going off what we were advised by the camper manufacturer. We had thought that may of been why the batteries only lasted a year, though I suspect it is more to do with the quality of them 😁
@@RoaminintheRobbo AGM batteries are damaged by leaving them in a discharged state for too long. The actual discharge level is not important. Regardless, the changeover is still worthwhile.
Must of been the quality of battery we had then as the batteries were never left discharged at any point, thanks for the info good to know!! We feel it was the best choice also and look forward to testing them out off grid soon!
@@RoaminintheRobbo That guy doesn't know what he's talking about. Depth of discharge most definitely does have an impact on the life of an AGM battery.
Love the vid as I am looking at doing the electrical upgrade this year on my Robbo.. Where did you purchase the crimping tool from? When is the "Roamin in the Robbo" merchandise coming online?
Thanks Rod really appreciate that mate! We have been happy so far with the upgrade, seems worth doing if you can. We borrowed that from our neighbour but I believe he got it from either repco or Sydney tools? Don't bother with a non hydraulic crimper though as they are rubbish. To be honest we have done up some stickers and stubby holders for ourselves for a bit of fun, but never imagined anyone else would want any! We might have to give it some thought 😁
@@RoaminintheRobbo Many thanks for your reply Craig. I think you may be very surprised how popular your merchandise will be when you decide to release to the public. Please produce it before somebody rips it off! 😉
Thanks Rod! Love your support mate! We have now had a few people asking so going to look into it 😁
Jason is a world of knowledge and his products are of premium quality.
Will always go back Offroad living.
Definitely won't regret it, great vids guys.
He is great! Answers any questions you have doesn't make you feel like you are just a sale! We will definitely be going back to them for anything we need. Cheers mate, appreciate that!
I used to believe that the capacity of Lithium batteries and the weight saving were the main advantage when compared to AGM but having used Lithium for past 3 years I now believe that the current absorption is probably the best advantage. Regardless of how many AGM batteries (AH capacity) you have, you're still limited by slow charge rate which makes it difficult to replenish the energy whereas Lithium is phenomenal with it's speed of current absorption. Thanks for the content, cheers
Thanks mate! We agree, we have been so happy with the lithium batteries! Have not had any issues with running out of power, they top back up quickly, so glad we made the switch. Thanks for watching and taking the time to comment we appreciate it 😃
awesome video, hopefully will do the upgrade to LIthium as well.
@micheltique7083 thanks mate! Certainly a lot of advantages with the lithium. We have had our in for over 2 years and no problems at all. Thanks for watching 🍻
Good setup.
I have the same charger’s but running AGM
I have a small 800w generator for those cloudy days. I probably won’t need it if I go lithium.
I will change over once the AGM dies.
Thanks Neil! Good idea, that's what we did as well. Really think these new batteries are going to be a game changer for us!
Awesome video! Just discovered your channel and been enjoying your videos. 2019 Robbo owner here and about to upgrade from the AGM's to Lithium so this has really helped.
Just have 1 question about the Redard BCDC charger you installed: I see the model you got was the BCDCN1240D, which is the 'Under Bonnet'' more robust to heat, dust and water. Was that the recommendation? As being installed in the Robbo shouldn't really be subject to those conditions (?), or was there another reason? As the 'In Cab' model is $300 cheaper.
@MrFreofanatic hey mate, welcome to the channel 😊 Just say The projecta charger I removed was an under bonnet one so I kept it the same and just changed it to a lithium compatible one 😊
Thanks for watching!! 🍻
New follower here, love all your videos, practical, no nonsense approach, well done and thanks for sharing. Could I ask you a couple of questions regarding this video please? You mentioned the blue "ignition" wire from the charger routed off to pin 12 on your trailer plug. Where does pin 12 go to on the car side, and, is that a custom thing or is that what pin 12 is used for on any vehicle? The reason I ask is because many of the YT vids on running and anderson plug setup also requires the blue wire to be run the length of the vehicle to an appropriate spare fuse point at the front.
Hey Moike Hunt (nice name...gotta say that one slow while the kiddies are about😂). Cheers for watching and welcome.
The ignition wire (becomes live when ignition is on) is only needed if the vehicle has a smart or variable voltage alternator. This allows the dcdc charger to operate at lower voltages. If the vehicle doing the charging has a fixed voltage alternator it's not needed.
The camper was pre wired with a 12 pin trailer plug and the dcdc charger's ignition wire run to pin 12. (spare accessories pin)
The Everest has a smart alternator so needed an ignition wire run to pin 12 on the car's socket to match up with the camper's plug.
I don't know if it's common for pin 12 to be used for this but in my vehicle's case pin 12 was empty, so yes it was a custom job.
I'm not exactly sure where it has been taped into as I had an auto sparky run the wire at the same time they installed the electric brake controller.
I can see that taping into an unused fuse location that energises when the car is running would be an easy option. In my case I have a feeling the sparky has soldered the wire to something under the dash.
I hope this helps and hasn't muddied the water.
Let me know if you have any questions and I'll do my best to answer them
Craig
@@RoaminintheRobbo Ah cheers Craig for that detailed and comprehensive explanation, I am much obliged and it's actually along the lines of what i was thinking. So only one more question if I could, what might I expect an auto elec here in Perth to charge to run a single wire from plug to front as I do have one of those smart alternators. Or maybe put it to Airtasker? Incidentally, my son set this account up for me as I am too dumb in most matters cyber and would you believe, that's not my pic either lol, he seems to think it's all bloody hilarious. Apparently Mike was already taken lol.
@@moikehunt8928 🤣Bloody kids hey. Mine are still a bit young for the whole, tease the old man thing...they still think I'm cool, little do they know.
Sorry mate I'm not sure what they'd charge just for a single wire run. As mentioned mine was done as part of a bigger install. Airtasker might be the way to go or contact some local auto sparkies for a quote. If you need additional sparky work get it all done at once, it'll work out cheaper in the long run.
Best of luck.
Great video guys. The day is coming for us as well, very helpful 🍻
Cheers mate! When the original batteries died we figured it was a good opportunity to upgrade. Certainly lots of pros to them!
Hey mate thanks for the vid. Be awesome if you put in links for each product for us who don’t know what they are haha. What charger did you use? I know it’s a victron just not sure the model. We just got an Austrack was tossing up between the mdc and that but I wanted something I could review that no one else had. Electrical system is very similar. I’ve got two 100ah lithiums redarc bcdc and just need a good charger to replace the projecta
Hey mate,
Good idea on providing the links.
The batteries are 'ALLSPARK 100ah LITHIUM'
I probably used the same dc charger as you did.
'BCDC1225D' as for the AC charger I used the
'VICTRON 12V/15A IP65 ACDC SMART CHARGER'
I purchased them all from Offroad Living in Wangara (perth)
Hope this helps.
Thanks for watching
Craig
@@RoaminintheRobbo yes thanks so much for the information very helpful I’m hanging to get all the gear in with the help of your video!
@dibattistasimon good luck mate, hope the install goes well!
Craig can you detail the cost of the batteries, DCtoDC redarc and charger? (and any other costs) thx
Hi Wallace we paid $1125 each battery, the redarc was $500 and $240 for the other charger. We got all our gear from Offroad living, their website is great to check out and the guys are very knowledgeable. If you are looking at doing the conversion they well worth checking out! We also needed some terminals and heatshrink which all came to approx $30-$50. Thanks for watching the videos!
Hi Wallace thank you for letting us know about the audio on François Peron video! I deleted the video and then realised I couldn't reply to you. Really appreciate you letting us know! 🙏
Great video, I’m not game enough to install the batteries myself but mines going in tomorrow, how are you monitoring the capacity of your batteries given the volt meter will tell you what voltage you are at but as you said with lithium it will keep a high voltage until almost dead. We are getting the victory smart shunt with ours so I can monitor, mainly because of having poor AGM batteries previously I found myself worrying all the time if the batteries would die 😂
Hey Gareth, thanks for watching. I wasn't super keen to do the install myself, but we were on a time limit due to an upcoming trip and couldn't get the Robbo booked in. After picking the brains of the guys we bought the gear from I figured it was within my capabilities (thankfully I was right). A smart shunt is definitely on the list of future mods. While not precise the volt meter will provide a decent enough indication of the state of charge. A google images search for '12v lithium SOC chart' will give a list of voltage ranges and SOC%. Happy camping and here's to no more power anxiety!!
Hi matey , did you need to replace the 240 an 12v projecta to be able to run the lithium ?
Hey Harry some people don't but I did. lithium batteries charge using a different profile than agm's. If I used the original chargers they will not reach 100% state of charge. So I also installed a new dc and ac charger that have a lithium charging profile. Thanks for watching mate!
Hi mate why did you upgrade the 240 volt charger. You can still use the old charger on power supply mode for Lithium
Hi,
According to the 12v guys I was getting advice from the charger should be changed to one with a lithium profile. Lead acid chargers will work, to a point. But if you want the batteries topped off to 100% a charger with a lithium algorithm is the go.
Thank you mate. Also what made you get the 25ah dc charger instead of the 40ah iam looking at same setup but with a 40ah charger do you know if there’s any issues with the biggest charger?
@Livinn4x4 hey mate the reason we kept the 25ah was at the time we had the Everest and I wasn't sure the altenator would have handled the bigger charger so just went like for like. Kind of wish now we have the Cruiser I went for the 40ah. Cabling may be sufficient though so it would be worth checking with who you buy the charger from it you need to upgrade that as well.
Awesome vid mate! We are so looking forward to having lithium in our van.... when it eventually comes around!
Thanks mate! It really seems to be the way to go! Cant wait to try it out next week. Your van will be worth the wait!
Yea… just got two Lifepo4 100 amp batteries… there amazing!!!
They make such a difference dont they! We got to use ours recently and we were really impressed!!
@@RoaminintheRobbo there double the usable power with half the weigh and three times the life… Amazing batteries for sure but people keep buying lead acid batteries because of the cheap price but lead acid are really much more expensive when you consider the extra weight you have to carry around with 1/3 the life… Lifepo4 batteries are a no brainer!
Absolutely agree Brian! Unfortunately it is a big outlay cost wise but when you look long term cost becomes negotiable between the two and lithium have so many other benefits!
I suppose/hope you know that voltage is not a thing to monitor with lithium ( normally). I disnt catch if you had one but If you dont have a shunt, get one. I suggest victron bmv-712 ( since it has a screen and a long range bluetooth) but there are others. But i suppose you know that to. Shunt should always be included in a lithium install. 13.2 v ( resting voltage) all the way from around 20% to 80% really dont give you a clue). I like that trailer.
Thanks Bjòrn for watching and your feedback we appreciate it! We will be eventually installing a shunt, it is definitely on the list 😁 cheer mates 👍
Any reason other than maybe cost you didn't go with a Redarc Manager 30 to replace both the 240 & BCDC into one unit?
Yeah mate couldn't justify the extra expense, even though the units do look great!
Lithium batteries are coming down in price and AGM's are going up. Three AGM's top quality costs about nine hundred--my 200 ampere hour Lithium battery costs about a thousand including the dc/dc charger which also will connect to the solar arrays. The extra battery charger capable of charging lithium cost less than three hundred, but I could have saved that had I switched my existing charger to the CALCIUM setting and put it through the DC/DC charger--but that would have limited the rate of charge, so I bought the extra charger--give the cat another goldfish. I also bought fans and programmable switches to ventilate the refrigerator locker and battery and charger compartments,. Fan plus thermostat switches cost about a hundred each if one includes the essential dust filters and air inlets and outlets and weatherproof grilles.
Het Mike
Lithium all the way. When you factor in pros and cons the prices are comparable.
I've been contemplating getting some fans for the fridge compartment. It gets pretty toasty in there during summer.
Thanks for your feedback
There's no reason why AGM batteries should be restricted to half of their rated capacity. It has zero detrimental effect on the battery's lifespan. The changeover is worthwhile in your case. I'll do mine eventually.
Thanks Glenn that is handy to know, we were just going off what we were advised by the camper manufacturer. We had thought that may of been why the batteries only lasted a year, though I suspect it is more to do with the quality of them 😁
@@RoaminintheRobbo AGM batteries are damaged by leaving them in a discharged state for too long. The actual discharge level is not important. Regardless, the changeover is still worthwhile.
Must of been the quality of battery we had then as the batteries were never left discharged at any point, thanks for the info good to know!! We feel it was the best choice also and look forward to testing them out off grid soon!
@@RoaminintheRobbo That guy doesn't know what he's talking about. Depth of discharge most definitely does have an impact on the life of an AGM battery.
@andrewford80 that was our impression as well. Regardless they failed and it was for the best as the lithium is much better for us and our set up 😁