Switching my RVs house battery to a LifePO4

[geoffff]

That makes sense to me. If you are never plugged in, why do you need an AC/DC shore power converter/charger.

For driving, a DC-DC charger will produce the correct charging voltage regardless of engine voltage.

 

[DirtWhiskey]

One more clarification if you guys would?

Does a charger or converter only provide a specific voltage and the BMS provides the charging functions? So if I were to upgrade to the proper converter in my RV it would put out 14.6 volts when the RV is plugged in but on the road my alternator will only be putting out 14.4 Volts and I will only get about 90% charged?

I ask because I almost never am at a place where I can plug in and even then never do figuring the next days drive will top off the batteries. Also I have two NOCO chargers I use to repair, top off my batteries at home and to maintain batteries in the off season. I could use the NOCO to charge my new LifePo battery at home. Maybe my money would be better spent buying a DC-DC charger to ensure the battery is properly charged while driving?

Usual path is to do both. But if you don't ever plug in maybe not. Love thing about the converter is you can run a Genny to get it up to par. DC DC is great. Need to look at possibly upgrading your alternator and for sure a long run thick gauge wire setup, breakers fuses etc.

 

[Martinjmpr]

I swapped both of the 12v lead acid batteries in our 2021 Rockwood Geo Pro 19BH last year so I may be able to speak to this.

I was concerned about the on-board converter not being "rated" to charge lithium, but I can tell you after almost 6 months of experience (which included trips to the Florida Keys, Nashville, the Texas Gulf Coast, and the Ozarks) that both of my batteries show 100% capacity after charging. So either the charger is "lithium capable" or the whole "charging profile" issue is overblown.

Given that we have a 12v fridge, battery capacity is important to us (on the plus side, the 12v fridge is huge compared to the 3 way fridge we had on our previous trailer.)

I spent extra on self-heating batteries since the trailer remains stored at our house and hooked in to shore power when we aren't camping. Our batteries also have a nice Bluetooth feature that allows me to connect to the batteries to check the charge status as well as the load and/or charge that is on the battery.

Overall I'm very happy with them. Given that LiFePo batteries have now basically fallen in price to the point where they are the same price as AGM (if not cheaper) and only a little more than FLA, switching was a no brainer. Losing probably 40lb of weight per battery was also a nice bonus.