New Swift!

[OscarOverlanding]

Super excited to enjoy my Swift camper after some initial charging issues! Camper made it through the night in 10 degree weather with the heater running for 12hrs and still had 57% battery life! Turns out the Redarch controller was not compatible with the Expion360 132ah battery. Pacific Upfitters here in Oregon worked with Expion360 to source and install a Victron unit that now works with the battery in sub 35degree temps and properly charges and manages inputs and outputs. I can't thank Pacific Upfitters and Expion360 enough for their help.

 

[Vic Harder]

Can you provide more details on "not compatible?" Curious that Redarc was unable to get this to work.

 

[OscarOverlanding]

Yes. The Redarc would not control the charge of the Expion360 battery. It would also shut the battery off in temps below 35 degrees. I would charge the battery to 100% off of a 110 outlet in my home and the battery would be at 40% after a 2hr drive (only charging my Dometic fridge) which in turn would kill the battery after running the heater, fan and a single LED light in about 3hrs. There was also a faulty crimp connection for the “hot” line running from the starter battery to the Redarc. I bought this camper brand new and this is how it had come from the factory. Expion360 recommended the Victron controller and Pacific Upfitters repaired the improper wiring. I come from a RTT background so this lithium battery stuff is all new to me so my ability to explain this is limited. Thankfully I know some great people that helped get this figured out!

 

[Vic Harder]

Thanks, and I hope you have many trouble free travels going forward~

 

[Wyo4Life]

Glad you got it figured out. I hope you shared all of this with FWC so they can make the appropriate changes on their end at the factory.
Good luck going forward and have a great time using your camper.

 

[pnwlife]

I have a Swift with a Redarc BCDC 1225D (which is likely what OsacarOverlanding had) and a Dakota Lithium battery. The below ~32ish not charging with the Redarc 1225D series is a "feature not a bug" designed to protect lithium batteries from charging at lower temperatures. Unfortunately for those of us with smart/self heating lithium batteries that ends up not being helpful when it gets down to freezing.

There are a couple of fixes if you don't want to buy a new unit - the latest Redarc BCDCs now allow for lithium charging below freezing.

You can find the wire coming out the back of the Redarc that determines the charging profile and install a switch on it to allow you to temporarily tell the Redarc that it is no longer charging a lithium battery. The Redarc will then revert to a lead acid profile that will charge below 32; it won't fully charge the battery (it'll likely stop at around 80%) but, allegedly, won't hurt it over the short term either. Or you you can figure out a way to keep the Redarc warm.

I went for option 2. My Redarc is under my sink which is a pretty small area that is usually full of our cookware. Our rig is garaged and the interior of my Swift stays between 40 and 50 in the winter so I'm not starting out from really cold. So, I bought a two pack of rechargeable hand warmers from Amazon (Amazon.com) for about $25.

I put one of those in the cabinet right under the BCDC before we roll or during the day when I am looking to charge via solar while camping. I don't have a lot of data points, but so far one of those hand chargers (on the lowest setting) will run 6 - 8 hours and keeps Redarc above freezing while the outside temperatures are around 32.

Pacific Upfitters are good people - I worked with them extensively on getting my Tacoma's suspension and brakes ready for my Swift (I came from an RTT too). And, FWIW, my wife and I were out in 10 - 16 weather for a couple of nights earlier this week and used ~25% of our battery capacity and 30% of one propane tank per night with the heat set to keep the interior at 68+ when we were awake and 40 when we were asleep.

The Swift is an amazing thing after years of RTT life!

 

[OscarOverlanding]

Wow! That’s awesome that your battery lasted that long. I’m running the Expion360 132AH battery with a Victron controller and after 13hrs keeping the camper at 65 I had 57%. It was supposed to get to 8 the next night so I decided to come home. I’m sure I would have been fine for a second night but I don’t fully trust the battery yet. New solar panel arrives soon and I think I have a dit more confidence after it’s installed!


Thank you for sharing your charging and FWC experience!

 

[pnwlife]

Wow! That’s awesome that your battery lasted that long. I’m running the Expion360 132AH battery with a Victron controller and after 13hrs keeping the camper at 65 I had 57%. It was supposed to get to 8 the next night so I decided to come home. I’m sure I would have been fine for a second night but I don’t fully trust the battery yet. New solar panel arrives soon and I think I have a dit more confidence after it’s installed!


Thank you for sharing your charging and FWC experience!

Your energy usage sounds about right.

By keeping the interior at only 40 degrees overnight we don't burn near as much energy as you are going through. We stay very warm (as in kicking off layers warm) in our double sleeping bag and it only takes a few minutes for the camper to warm up in the morning when we get up.

We don't keep the heat on during the day when we are out and about.

And, yes, a good solar source will make a huge difference.

 

[OscarOverlanding]

That's good to hear!

I meant to bring a "zero" bag but only had a down comforter and a Pendleton blanket.... And Oscar (my dog) does not snuggle. That's some valuable intel though! Thank you.

I turn off the heat and leave one of the fans on low pushing air out while I was out fishing. Worked really well to reduce and almost eliminate condensation.

Panel arrived yesterday. Now I've gotta figure out how to install it...

Thank you for the great feedback and information.

 

[pnwlife]

Most welcome!

We deal with condensation by making sure that any time we are in the camper we have one of the fans on exhaust - usually the lowest setting will do (and in cold weather we manually dial the fan lid down so it is only about an inch or two open) and one of the Velcro windows peeled back enough (maybe four square inches) to allow outside air in. When we are sleeping we make sure the fan set to exhaust is the one over our heads.

This does mean more energy use, but our camper stays bone dry inside which is worth it to us.

Another trick with a MaxxFan in the winter, for when you are up and want to maximize your heat, is to set the fan over your seating area on intake (usually at the lowest or second lowest level) and manually dial the hatch completely shut. Now you have a ceiling fan to help circulate the heat.

 

[Wandering Sagebrush]

Try cracking open one of the turnbuckle doors. I think it moves more air through the camper.

 

[OscarOverlanding]

The fans are such a huge help for all things heating, cooling, cooking and dehumidifying! I'm so glad I went with the two fan option!!!

Thank you for all of the great ideas and information!!!