MarkMaxPayne
RVF Supporter
- Joined
- May 24, 2023
- Messages
- 183
- Location
- Beaverton, OR
- RV Year
- 2013
- RV Make
- Newmar
- RV Model
- New Aire 3543
- RV Length
- 36'
- Chassis
- Spartan
- TOW/TOAD
- Fiat 500 Turbo
- Fulltimer
- No
When I did the upgrade, my dealer charged me for the 3rd battery, a 3 way combiner as the Y cable used for 2 batteries is now worthless, and then the time to install both and update the SilverLeaf settings to know the new total amp hours. It would make for a very easy plug-n-play DIY upgrade but Newmar will not sell nor ship to customers directly. Lithionics, now part of Winnebago, won't either.
Criminal that they won't let owners do it themselves as it really is easy plug and play. In fact, I hated how my dealer did the install as they created a homegrown mounting platform for the 3 way combiner and suspended it over the batteries, completely blocking the bus bars and fuses! Ugh!!!
This weekend I ripped out the entire install, including pulling out the batteries, mounted the 3 way combiner out of the way on the basement floor behind the inverters, and reconnected all the cables. I even discovered the factory wired 12V connectors for the built-in battery warmers had never been connected by the factory nor the dealer... Easy peasy.
First pic is their install with the over engineered floating platform blocking access; next 2 pics are my reinstall.
Best,
-Mark
Criminal that they won't let owners do it themselves as it really is easy plug and play. In fact, I hated how my dealer did the install as they created a homegrown mounting platform for the 3 way combiner and suspended it over the batteries, completely blocking the bus bars and fuses! Ugh!!!
This weekend I ripped out the entire install, including pulling out the batteries, mounted the 3 way combiner out of the way on the basement floor behind the inverters, and reconnected all the cables. I even discovered the factory wired 12V connectors for the built-in battery warmers had never been connected by the factory nor the dealer... Easy peasy.
First pic is their install with the over engineered floating platform blocking access; next 2 pics are my reinstall.
Best,
-Mark