1nolaguy

Kenster, do not think you are alone in thinking about this. My dear wife has been trying to talk me into dragging a portable (blow up) hot tub. Its all about finding ways to bring more of home on the road with you. lol.

I have heard of Valter electronics but not specifically their batteries. Like many of the LiFePO4 batteries out there (namely those made in China) are all coming out of a few factories, or at least the cells are and then the assembly may be done by some one else. First, with regard to LFP batteries, I have 400 AH in the form of 4 - 100Ah units, for the last three years. Two are from SOK and two (a year newer) from LiTime. They play well together and have for the most part performed well. We do not have solar and are generally in parks with hook ups but do occasionally boondock or lotdock. The are used primarily to run electrical, including residential fridge, while in transit. One thing you should note is unlike lead acid batteries that dim as they are drawn down LFP have a different SOC profile. As a result they will be giving you plenty of power one minute and none the next. We learned that the hard way , which is why we added the second two batteries. Second, LFP batteries have continued to improve in quality and drop in price over the last several years. As I recall I paid less than $250 a piece for the the 100 Ah LiTime units. For easiest comparison of cost to value is to convert to $/Ah. In your example 460 Ah @ $1399 is about $3.05/Ah so OK on value because you have less wire connects which are not cheap.. There are some other things to take into consideration. A) Space available. Can you accommodate the physical size of a single or double 460 Ah battery? In my case I could not accommodate 2 - 200 Ah batteries in my battery bay because of available free space. B) what is the maximum continuous out put of each battery? This is generally determined by the BMS used in the battery. For example: If your battery BMS limits continuous out put to 100 amps and you have one 460 amp battery you can only support about a 1200 watt inverter. If you have 4 - 100 Ahr batteries with each having a 100 amp BMS you can easily support a 3000 watt inverter. You should take these issues into consideration when changing from Lead Acid to LiFePO4.

Hi Gweedo. This is a perplexing problem. I have a 05 Safari Cheetah with the same issue.I have tried to find a fix for this for over a year but no joy. I have bought a new switch and radio but have not yet been able to install them as now I have to replace the plastic dash insert that they go in as the corners have all deteriorated. I hope you (we) will find a solution with the help of others in the group.

I have over time replaced about half of the duplex outlets in our 2005 Safari. I concentrated on the ones that get the most usage and for outlets that are used to power high amp draw items, like the coffee maker, air fryer and new residential refrigerator. The OEM duplex outlet designs just make me nervious for regular high amp use. The outlets on each side of the bed , which are only used to occasionally plug in a cell phone charger are less of an issue.

Yes, looks good. On separate note, it looks like you painted over existing sealant. Has that held up s well? (Hard to tell on my phone.)

96 EVO, my quick look on line did not show quite that much difference but no matter. I agree with you, for a project that will likely take me more than one day, start to finish, I would not want to make a mistake to save a few bucks. Been there done that.......... DTom, thanks for sharing your knowledge and experience. If I had an EPDM that information would likely end my speculation.

I am anticipating doing my roof in the next month so this post is timely. I did not think there would be much difference from a heat gain perspective between gloss and semi-gloss but according to https://pickypens.com/the-ultimate-semi-gloss-vs-gloss-comparison/ gloss paint is about 30% more light reflective than semi-gloss so I am thinking it should also reduce some heat gain better than semi-gloss. I do not know if there have been any definitive studies on variation in cleaning, although the same article states that, at least for indoor paint, gloss is more durable and more easily cleaned than semi-gloss. but I would suspect semi-gloss may have somewhat better slip resistance. I could not find any comments specific to Rustoleum Topsail but based on the one article and the fact that there is no significant cost saving one over the other, I will go with Gloss.

I installed a Leviton purchased at HD and have had no issues. Use it to charge phones, tablet, cordless led etc. Previously had a regular outlet with adapters and never an issue with inverter so I assumed no issue with a built in system. I have a 3K AIMS pure sine wave inverter

Linda, I have a 2005 40ft Safari Cheetah so the units may be similar. In my coach the reservoir is accessed either via the last basement door on the curb (passenger) side or on the passenger side via the back right door where you also access the oil dipstick etc.. The tank is not in the back right basement area as that houses the inverter/converter. It is a black cylinder about 8" in diameter and about 12" long with a black cap. Sorry I do not have pictures.

Hi John. Do you have an owners manual? If not look for a copy on line or in the group Downloads section. You may find more detailed descriptions there.

Thanks for the clarification.

CAT Stevens, where did you buy these for $220 and did that include shipping? I could not find them locally and on line, once I include FET and shipping, the tries are about $350 each. With mounting that brings them close to $400-$425 each. That is still a good price just noting it for clarification in this discussion.

CAT Stephen, Thank you for posting this information. While some may say 50 miles is not enough for a solid review, Unless none of them were at highway speeds I am confident in your assessment. If there were an issue (save for premature wear or deterioration) it would show up early. I am currently just over 5 years with the 6 Michelin X-line Energy tires that cost me over $6K. They are already showing sidewall issues and I will find out tomorrow if Michelin is going to cover their replacement under warranty or not. If their answer is "NO" I can see no reason to spend more money on their product. I will be giving these a serious consideration.

Not to hijack this OP but reading it brought up a curiosity question. Our 2005 Safari Cheetah grab handle light and step light have never worked. Actually did not know they existed. I looked under the retractable steps and see the light so I am thinking the clear Lucite grab handle may also have a light. Can any body confirm whether or not a grab handle light on the model exists and if so; (1) do they have separate on/off switches or one to control both and (2) where is/are they located?

i am following this thread as i am experiencing the same issue.

Thanks Gary. Wow, a fellow New Orleanian and a Cheetah owner. Thought I was the only one for miles. John commented yesterday about the engine on and I am 98% sure that was the issue. I was running around trying to winterize, exercise the Engine and Genny (just realized I forgot to drain the washer lines) prep the batteries and all. The engine was probably running when I tried to move out the bedroom slide to access the back bath. PM me if you ever want to get together and exchange war stories,

Not 100% sure but that is likely. As I just wrote to John, if that proves to be the case it is another lesson on avoiding multi-tasking with your RV.

I am guessing this is a fuse issue but just in case..... I ran today over to where our 2005 Safari Cheetah is stored to quickly get it ready for a hard freeze. Here is the gulf coast area we generally do not winterize as the possibility of temps below 30 for more than a day are rare. Tonight, we're expecting high 20s for about 6 hours and then a warm up followed by an arctic blast in the high teens or twenties that will last about 48 hours. For that I drain all the water from the system using the low point drains below the wet bay, pull the plug in the water heater, remove the filters, softener and water pressure gauge, etc. While at the RV I took the time to exercise the generator and engine and put some charge on the chassis batteries. The house batteries are LFP at 70% SOC While doing all this I went to operate the slides (3) and none worked. There was no noise, no reaction at the 12v lights, nothing. All indications are no power to the motor. What was perplexing was that all three slides had the same reaction, nada. I am pretty sure these are on on separate fuses and it is strange that they would all go bad at the same time. Likewise I find it doubtful all three grounds on all three would go bad at the same time. All slides worked fine in November when we returned home. Any suggestions on what else I should be looking at?

For what it is worth, the Freedom 458 has several internal "glass tube" fuses. You might was to include checking these as part of your "process of elimination". These are located in obscure locations on CB so it may take some hunting. I discovered these on my old Freedon 458 when trying to diagnose a similar problem. In the end I decided to replace the unit (20+ years old) with a new pure sine I/C.

Merry Christmas Nick and safe and fun travels to all in 2024

Merry Christmas Paul to you and yours, and to all the Monocoers family. Safe and fun travel in 2024.

Recently added Pex tool and clamp as well as a couple of feet of 1/2' pex pipe. Also multi head hand wrench and multiple versions of #2 Rounson aka square head screwdriver bits.

Our 2005 Safari Cheetah also was not designed to charge on shore power, just the altinator. My solution was easy and inexpensive. I have a 4amp digital charger connected to the batteries using ring crimp connectors (not alligator clips). When connected to shore power i connect to the 120v outlet on my inverter, or I can run a 16 gage extension cord from another power source if needed. I have been using this setup mow for 4 years without issue, except do not leave the charge plugged into tour inverter if not on shore power. Leaving it plugged in will eventually drain your house batteries. Note: in a pinch you can also use this system and charge using you genny.VIKING 4 Amp Fully Automatic Microprocessor Controlled Battery Charger/Maintainer - Item 63350

Note: the 6% I mentioned is the max at which a Norcold will still work. I agree 6% is way beyond comfortable. Have used the bathroom door before because we have one on hinges (not a pocket door). The egg and golf ball ideas are good too!

I have tried a variety of thing from the bubble level you reference to digital level on my smart phone, to level mate pro (a sizable expense for leveling). The most sensitive thing in your coach , when it comes to level is the refrigerator. I now use the bubble level for general leveling and then a magnetic bullet level on the front and side of the fridge to double check and fine tone as needed. If you have a Norcold or other RV fridge that does not give you easy access to a flat steel surface just use the bullet level to check for level on the face and door edge of the fridge door. If you are a person that does not like to leave the level controls during the leveling process you can have someone you are traveling with read the level and give you guidance. Leveling does not need to be exact. Owners manual says with in 6 degrees although I find that can still be a bit uncomfortable for some, especially for those with balance issues. As long as the bubble is inside the markers you are safe.