Rocketman3

I had the same problem - except with one rear jack down and the other rear jack up. The all up and down worked. I replaced those two rear switches and it works MUCH better. The RVA Company wants too much for the replacement switches but what else is new… Good Luck!

I am thinking about installing the FASS pump in my 36’ 2000 Dynasty. What pump and kit did you order?

One area you need to be careful (and think through and test) is how many amps the bms can pass through. The bms is the most important part of the lithium battery and many times one of the cheapest parts. Some/many FET based bms’s can only pass 100 amps per battery (some are 150amps. Many people on Wil’s site like to derate the Chinese bms by 70% (never use more than 70% of the bms value). Considering 100amps throughput- with two batteries- you can only use 200 amps. That will be marginal to run the microwave/ convention oven on the inverter. (Three batteries would be just fine). Does your generator use the chassis battery or the house battery? If the house battery you need to know the amps needed to start the generator and the surge amps needed -so you don’t trip the bms. (Use a clamp meter to get the starting amps). Using the cheap bms’s the boost abilities of the MotorHome will be changed. Because the two batteries can only deliver 200 amps (maybe 400 amps for 10 seconds), that’s not enough to start the big diesel motor. You will need to transfer more power to the starting batteries before kicking on the starter. This is one area you probably need to think about. As far as other equipment - definitely put in the Victron BMV712 or the Victron Smartshunt (I have used both). I feel this is the most important part of my system. The only difference is the 712 has the remote display (which I never really used), it has a relay, and the Bluetooth has a longer (more normal) range and is about $50-$70 more. The Smartshunt’s Bluetooth range is about 8 to 10 feet. The DC-Dc converter- you want the non-isolated one. The isolated one is for vehicles like a truck and pull trailer - where the grounds may be separated. The one downside is it will only charge at 30amps. So after four hours of driving - if your batteries started out low - they would not be full when you arrived. if you want to read my write up on my lithium project (I self-built my own batteries - but much of the other logic is important). I did a write up on Wil’s site. https://diysolarforum.com/threads/batrium-watchmon-install.17539/ Good luck!

I have same tires on a 2000 Dynasty 36’. I like to run Fronts - 105 psi Rears - 100 psi When I first bought the tires the truck stop put all of them at 120psi. The ride was rougher and the steering was not as nice (wandering on the freeways). It’s better with a bit lower pressure. (Although lately I’ve been climbing the pressure in hopes of getting slightly better mpg). The proper answer is get the weights on the tires - axel weights are ok - individual tires are best. Then find the tire manufacturer’s chart for weights and pressure- it can vary by the tire manufacturer. How old are the tires? Look for the date on each and every tire - if older than 7 years - replace - it’s not worth the trouble if you have a blowout- costs too much to fix.

When you said 2/X wire - did you mean 2/0 (I am assuming so). The 130a fuse * 12v - is about 1500 watts. You would probably be better off with a 1000 or 1200 watt inverter, but you probably could use the 1500w inverter- but just not all of it. You may want to have on hand an extra 130a fuse. Just remember that’s everything flowing down that wire - so lights, pumps all reduce the amount of 120v power you can make. also what kind and size of batteries do you have. You may have difficulty pulling that many amps out of your batteries. it is not ideal to run large currents for long distances- you get voltage drop. But you probably could try it - just test with a multimeter to see if you are getting too much voltage drop (and warm wires).

Hello everyone, I just installed the RecPro 3800 (ducted) into my 2000 Dynasty into the rear A/c unit. A few additional points and things that caused us issues. The RecPro will not interface with the old thermostat. That was why we just did our rear unit. Our rig had a thermostat for the back A/c and a thermostat for the heater & a/c for the front unit - they are not connected in my rig. So by just doing the rear unit I don’t have to deal with the furnace (yet - sometime I will). The bolt holes are in different places. We have a 1/4” metal bracket (layer) built into our roof. So we needed to drill that for the new holes. Unfortunately, my new holes didn’t line up as well as I wanted them. I ended up cutting the corners off the black plastic plenum mounting bracket (and just screwing that to my ceiling) with the A/c bolts on each of the four corners. It works fine and is very solid. Ducted. In my Rig, I have ductwork in the roof for the vents. The ducted RecPro directs the air flow out the front and rear of the grill. I solved this by making a rectangular ducting to direct the air flow into my rigs ducts. I did this by cutting up some 1” insulation into the proper size then using 3M silver heat tape, stacking 3 of them plus some weather stripping to direct the air into the ductwork. Hopefully not too much air bypassing the duct and re-entering the A/c (although I am sure some does - because I couldn’t get a complete seal between the two different surfaces). So far in testing it is working very well. (I just completed the project a couple of days ago). It did take me much longer than I thought- but I am a slow builder when I am problem solving as I go.

I got up and checked… nope - I am 600521. Only six units after your old one! If in info is general in nature- share away!

When I bought my Dynasty, I soon found out the old inverter was dying. So I replaced it with a Multiplus 3000. An inverter is just an inverter- as long as it provides pure sign wave power. We boondock a lot - so some of the items I rate highly you will go - so-what. (Also many other inverter brands have some of these same features). The reasons I choose Victron: Communications with the CCGX (now Cerbo). This puts all the electric into one easy to read screen. The battery monitor and solar, grid/generator and engine power sources all show up in an easy to read area. Helps me make sure I don’t wake up to dead batteries. And I know exactly what is happening to the batteries and why. Power Boost - having the batteries help when I am on a 15a cord and use lots of 120v amps is very nice. Different incoming power amps. I can quickly and easily change a setting so it can be on a 7.5amp power source or 15amp 30amp or 50amp. And I don’t have to worry about it drawing too much power over the cable or tripping the breaker. Future Lithium batteries. My future happened sooner than I thought, but having full control over the charging profile is super great! Reliability - I wanted a great product and not a cheap Chinese product that would die sooner rather than later. Programability- there is a lot you can do with it to have it do something special. (Not that I have done it) The real advantage I believe is the communications when you have other Victron items that also tie into the communications.

Is your salesman switch working? In my 2000 Dynasty- I have two continuous relays attached to the salesman switch - one goes to my 12v fuse box for the interior. The other goes up front to a fuse box that runs the front fans and a lot of other stuff. I had that relay die on me a while back.

It can be - at least for the big generators. If my 7500w Onan were to completely die (repair not an option) - would I replace it - nope! I would pull it out - put a 48v 10000w inverter in (that would power both A/C’s) and a large lithium battery (my current guess 48v 560ah battery (26kw battery) - I would need to do the math - this is a guess). Add a few more solar panels. That battery alone would give me 2-3 days of A/C at someplace hot. It would be slightly cheaper than a new generator. If I needed I could always get a LP “Honda” 2000w generator (hook it up to my propane tank on my rig) but I don’t think I would need it. Now is this a system that I could spend a time somewhere hot (Texas summer) boondocking? - a few days - sure. Then hit a RV park for a day or two - then repeat. The only difference is my friend in a regular MotorHome- would be running his generator the whole time we were out.

I will address the cost: (about 1230 watt system). If you have a lot of room you can get used 250watt panels for like $60 each from Suntan solar in Az. I wish I could have used 5 of those but they were too big for my roof. (Too many A/C’s, fans, vents, fridge, satellite, etc). They are nice panels- I put two of them on my Dad’s 5th wheel. For my 36’ Dynasty, I chose 200watt panels from continuous resources.com (this is also my Victron dealer) when I put my first four on they were $200 each (shipped to me). Now you can get them for $185. When I added my fridge - I added two more 215watt panels for $200. This size fits well. I have heard you can find 200watt panels on sales at Home Depot for like $150. For the SCC (Solar charge controller) I chose Victron- which is a premium controller. You can find cheaper ones ones. I really like the addition info I get from the Victron’s. My first four panels are connected to Victron Smart mppt 100/50 in a 2s2p arraignment My other two panels are on a Victron Smart mppt 100/30 in a 2s arraignment Their prices are $323 and $226. Self-made brackets -probably $250 for brackets and wire and breakers. So yes my system was expensive panels $1200 SCC-Mppt. $550 other $250 Now there is also a Federal US tax credit for solar systems and their related equipment (batteries are included if installed with the solar). I forget the actual credit - I think it is 26% or 24% (it was 30%). So my $2000 cost dropped a lot - because I also installed batteries. (It would have been $600off just for the solar). If you are installing batteries- look at doing a solar system then. so yes an expensive system - but it worth it to me. (The used panels do not qualify for the solar credit - but if you have the room, you can find 330w new panels for great prices!) You can also do it in stages - like I did. This Weight doesn’t matter on my Monaco roof.

I just watched most of the three linked videos above - let me give you my opinions (as a full time boondocker in a Class A with much the same equipment). I happened to be in Quartsite this winter too. But I didn’t need to run the generator. I have 1200 watts of solar (same as they have) and that might be enough for them, however here are the differences: they installed two Multiplus 3000’s. I only have one - but that’s another 30watts 24/7 - which will mean they should have one more 200watt panel to cover that load. The one video shot I noticed from overhead showed flat panels. When I tilted two of my panels I got 100 more watts. It’s winter here with the sun low - panels need to be tilted or you need a couple more. Batteries - they said they installed four Lion batteries - I believe those are 100ah batteries. My batteries are 540ah (or so) of lithium. One or two more batteries would help them a lot. To me it looks like they did not do all the math at the beginning of the project for winter solar. Now as they get into summer and the sun is up more they will probably be fine. If they park their rig in the proper direction and tilt their panels- they may have enough to get by in the winter. (But one or two more panels and batteries would really make it go from watching everything constantly to only watching on low solar days). Just my opinion- but I like to run my rig so I don’t have to constantly think about power. It is also really nice not to hear the generator running.

I kinda don’t get how people get don’t get solar…. I think most people don’t do the math behind their system and don’t understand their real usage. (That is the real reason). On my 2000 Dynasty, when I bought the rig the inverter was dying, so I replaced it with a Victron Multiplus 12/3000. I also added 800watts of solar and new lead-acid batteries. That worked great! I run the microwave off the batteries (lunch as long as needed - dinner less than 5 min). A few years later, added a residential fridge and 400 more watts of solar and a 540ah lithium battery (self made) and went full time. (Now no limit on microwave- I also use the convention baking in the microwave- plus instpot & toaster - but just one high use item at a time. in January in Arizona if I don’t tilt the panels I need to run the generator every three days for an hour. Once I tilted one set - that gave us enough to not run the generator- unless cloudy all day. Tilting adds a lot of extra power. Currently I only tilt one of the three sets of panels. (Getting the other two to be able to tilt is a project on my to- do list). The residential fridge uses a lot of power, but the solar fills the batteries. Last night(mid-March) in AZ, the solar is basically over by 5pm. We fixed dinner (leftovers - microwaved) my wife was on her computer until late and I read my book (lights on) until midnight. The rig uses 20% of the batteries at night (electric blanket, fridge, etc), so I woke up with my battery somewhere around 65% (didn’t look this morning). At 10:40am it is now at 73% and the solar is producing 750watts - with 525 going into the batteries. I will be back to 100% by 2 or 3pm. We can handle one cloudy day - if we get two in a row (in the winter) - the generator needed ran anyway. If just partly cloudy- three days until the generator needs to be ran.

When I bought my rig, the prior owner had a Scanguage D installed. I used it until I decided to replace it with a VMSpec That company has been sold - now I would at the Bluefin (or it’s something like that). Anyway, yes (the Scanguage) it did help me resolve an engine problem. We just pulled into a little Alaska town and just stopped at the one stop sign. As I pressed on the accelerator the motor didn’t rev up, and I just putted through the intersection and then pulled over. A warning light was on. While trying to figure it out I managed to reset the TPS (throttle position sensor) by accident. Later I looked at the scan Gauge and saw the error code it was something like TPS sensor out of calibration. I looked up the error code on IRV2 and it told me how to reset the computer and TPS sensor. I realized I had managed to do it by accident. Anyway, I kept having the same issue about every 2,000 or so miles. I finally replaced the TPS sensor on the accelerator and so far it has not gone off again. (In 600 miles). I really like seeing the error code - so I have a chance to fix it. Also, it gives me actual temperatures on engine, transmission, etc, Hopefully it help me drive my rig better.

That sounds like what happened to me in Alaska as it got cold. (And we were going south). I also noticed the voltage drop a lot when the lights got dimmer. What I finally figured out (I believe) what the diesel grid heaters we coming on and cycling because it was so cold. (Trying to warm the cold air intake). Those draw a LOT of power. So the alternator cycles up to max and the engine slows down. When the engine got up to working temperature- that behavior stopped. Maybe next time you need to move it - take it for a 20 min drive - so it can get fully warm and see if it stops.

In watching my rigs temp (2000 Dynasty), I have the silver leaf setup watching the ecm. It “appears” to me the dash warning light and buzzer are taken from the cooling tank overflow (or somewhere else in the coolant lines) and not from the ECM. There seems to be a difference between the temperatures the ECM reports and the warning buzzer and light. The warning buzzer and light slowly ramps up from no sound - then a little - more sound and the light starts to flash intermittently - to finally full light and full buzzer - then goes back down the same way. Don’t know if that helps - or even if I am completely correct.

I only have those heaters turn on when it’s cold - starting the motor in the 30’s. When it turns on the chassis volts drop - the alternator volts we’re cycling from 14 down to 11-ish up and down every 15 seconds (as I remember). Kinda freaked me out the first time. they never kick on except when it’s cold.

Ok that’s interesting… if you shutdown your rig - flip your main isolation switch off - does the stuff coming off that panel still run? On my 2000 Dynasty the wire for the front Domestic hot fuse panel went through the salesman switch relay.

Then that is probably a different issue than mine was. I didn’t have power to fans (and some other stuff). Or Monaco changed the wiring is your relay bad - probably not ? what year is your rig? If you post all the details maybe someone with a close year can help more.

What year of rig do you have? in my 2000 Dynasty there is a continuous relay back in the rear electrical panel (connected to the salesman switch) that relay sends power to the front panel. That relay went bad, Causing my fans to not work. Replaced the continuous relay in the back, and everything started working. good luck!

A post I read said, These rigs should come with fuel, boost and egt gauges, would make troubleshooting much easier. This is something I have been thinking about adding to my rig. I use VMSpec 4.0 to monitor my chassis computer. Boost - I have a Turbo Boost (same thing right?) This shows up as an analog gauge on my dash and also on my VMSpec. Fuel Pressure: I am considering adding this kit: https://isspro.com/products.php?productid=1284 plus maybe a analog gauge back in the engine on top of the fuel filter. I like that kit because it matches my original gauges pretty close. EGT (exhaust gas temp): what does this gauge do for me - why is it useful? How do you install it? And where do I get it? ( I don’t think it was on the isspro list of gauges). Also how do these three gauges help me know what’s going right or wrong with the engine. I am considering doing these when I add a FASS Pump. My engine ISC350 built in 1999 Thanks

If you are going to tow a Jeep Wrangler- look at Rockhard 4x4’s bumper. You can have the hooks attach right to the bumper. Easy! Plus it’s a nice wheeling bumper too.

I have six 200watt solar panels and a 500ah of 12v lithium (self built battery). If the sun is out - no need for the generator- if it gets cloudy for two days - the generator needed the exercise anyway. The solar is awesome! We prefer to boondock so that’s why we have that size of array.

Great Job! Where did you get the furniture from?

I just installed the Fisher and Paykell - gotta say I LOVE IT! We mostly boondock. Make sure you have a great battery monitor- I use a Victron Smartshunt (or BMV712). You need to know exactly what the state of your batteries are. I also have 1200 watts of solar four 200watt panels (2s2p) into a Victron mppt 100/50. When we replaced the fridge, we replaced the 85w original solar panel and pwm controller with two more 200watt panels (in series) and a Victron mppt 100/30. I replaced my inverter (when my inverter died) with a Victron Multiplus 12/3000. I believe that would work well with four or six (or eight) 6v GC2’s. i have added lithium batteries 540ah, that is really nice. I still have to run the generator if the solar is having bad day.