My BaseStation

[Base23]

Made up some mounting/storage points for the Bos370 jockey wheel attachments and 19mm socket that I use to wind down the legs.
They are now stored.in the front tool box for easy access.
I used 2 bits from a kinchrome 1/2 inch socket storage rail and secured them to my gas bottol slide frame and 2 spring clips for the Bos.handle.
Quick, easy and everything in it place.

 

[Base23]

Had a rear awning made for the Basestation. It is just a roof and one mesh side wall for a bit of wind protection.
Made sitting on the fold down rear door very pleasant while camping and watching the V8 supercars and the Bend motor sport park.


View of race track from the back door of the Basestation

 

[Basestation2019]

Hey mate, love all the work that you have put into this!!
With the toolboxes for underneath, do you have part numbers for them? I thought i seen them written on here a while back, but i can't seem to find them now, i have just bought a 2019 Outback and it has the external kitchen in the tunnel storage, so i don't have any external storage and i hate having a messy back room haha

 

[Base23]

Hey mate, love all the work that you have put into this!!
With the toolboxes for underneath, do you have part numbers for them? I thought i seen them written on here a while back, but i can't seem to find them now, i have just bought a 2019 Outback and it has the external kitchen in the tunnel storage, so i don't have any external storage and i hate having a messy back room haha

I got the tool boxes through Australian Caravan Co. (All RV parts and Accessories) in Adelaide. Ph 08 8293 1000
Part number on receipt is JAC1057L storage box 700mm sikverline outback.

Hope this helps as it was quite an effort for me to get the parts department to find them.

Cheers

 

[Basestation2019]

I got the tool boxes through Australian Caravan Co. (All RV parts and Accessories) in Adelaide. Ph 08 8293 1000
Part number on receipt is JAC1057L storage box 700mm sikverline outback.

Hope this helps as it was quite an effort for me to get the parts department to find them.

Cheers

Legend!! Thank you for that, it helps alot!!

I am going to ring Jayco Newcastle tomorrow to see if they can sell them to me, and for what price and compare to this place in Adelaide, as postage will be a bit more having to get them shipped up here

 

[Base23]

The basestation batteries have been struggling to supply the power I need to run the inverter and in fact they have only been lasting for about and hour whilst drawing only 20 amps, So I have decided to fit some lithium batteries.
I went for the I techworlds latest version of their battery the 120X, They are not cheap but I feel they will suit my purpose a lot better that the GEL batteries I had before. The lithium's should work perfect with my 2000 watt inverter and should last for many years.

The old GELS,


The new I Techworld 120X

 

[Bellbirdweb]

I have one of the Itech batteries as the auxiliary in the 200 series. Pretty happy with it so far.

I’m also looking at replacing the gel battery in the van with 2 of them as well when funds allow

 

[Brente1982]

Ive looked long and hard at those itechs, but the more i read, the more dissattisfied people seem with them overall. Yeah they're nice and cheap, but they don't seem to be close to their stated capacity.

So instead ill go for a couple of Solar Kings from a local distributor that has them cheaper than anywhere else.

 

[Base23]

Ive looked long and hard at those itechs, but the more i read, the more dissattisfied people seem with them overall. Yeah they're nice and cheap, but they don't seem to be close to their stated capacity.

So instead ill go for a couple of Solar Kings from a local distributor that has them cheaper than anywhere else.

I also had been looking at all sorts of lithium batteries for a long time and for every good post on any brand of battery there was also a bad post.
It's so hard to know what brand to go for but the latest itech 120x now has a Bosch BMS and prismatic cells.
As for the itech being nice and cheap, I think the solar kings batteries are about the same price as the itech.

 

[Drover]

With all this talk of Lithium I went for another walk in the lithium world, a short walk and I reckon my GELs have plenty of life......be nice to have though.

 

[Boots in Action]

The basestation batteries have been struggling to supply the power I need to run the inverter and in fact they have only been lasting for about and hour whilst drawing only 20 amps, So I have decided to fit some lithium batteries.
I went for the I techworlds latest version of their battery the 120X, They are not cheap but I feel they will suit my purpose a lot better that the GEL batteries I had before. The lithium's should work perfect with my 2000 watt inverter and should last for many years.

The old GELS,
View attachment 65153

The new I Techworld 120X
View attachment 65154View attachment 65155

Just a little info on the use of GEL batteries vs AGMs vs Lithium @Base23 . Gels are NOT suitable for high current use - better for long use of smaller current.
AGMs are best for high burst demands of current for longer periods and so superior in that regard. Of course, Lithium surpasses both in current supply and recharging time...but at a cost! If you have been using your 2000w inverter even for short times, your two GEL batteries (and even IF you had AGMs) , that would place a huge load on battery system. From previous posts on this forum, I am led to believe that using a 2000w inverter would need up to 200 AMPS while in use. I don't think too many batteries could handle that for long. IMHO.

 

[Base23]

Just a little info on the use of GEL batteries vs AGMs vs Lithium @Base23 . Gels are NOT suitable for high current use - better for long use of smaller current.
AGMs are best for high burst demands of current for longer periods and so superior in that regard. Of course, Lithium surpasses both in current supply and recharging time...but at a cost! If you have been using your 2000w inverter even for short times, your two GEL batteries (and even IF you had AGMs) , that would place a huge load on battery system. From previous posts on this forum, I am led to believe that using a 2000w inverter would need up to 200 AMPS while in use. I don't think too many batteries could handle that for long. IMHO.

Yes I have since learnt all of the above and that is why I have now gone to a lithium set up.

 

[Base23]

Decided to replace the battery charger and solar charge controller in the van. The factory Setec charger seemed to charge the lithium batteries OK but the lithium batteries hold a higher base voltage once charged and that was throwing a fault with the Setec charger. (the power light would begin to flash after the charger had been on for 24 hours and fault light would also flash)

For the new charging system I went with Victron products as they seemed fair priced, had good reviews and have bluetooth as standard.
Battery Charger is the IP67 12v 25amp unit
it will charge the Batteries at 25amp and can also be used as a power supply.

The factory charger is still in the van as that is the fuse box for the vans 12volt systems but is turned off at the power point. ( can still be used as a back up charger)

The solar controller is the smart solar 100/30 MPPT unit.

I have the panels wired in parallel at the moment and will see how it all works next time out in the sun.

They both can be configured for lithium and are both able to be monitored by an app on my phone so I can see exactly what is happening with the Batteries.

 

[Boots in Action]

Decided to replace the battery charger and solar charge controller in the van. The factory Setec charger seemed to charge the lithium batteries OK but the lithium batteries hold a higher base voltage once charged and that was throwing a fault with the Setec charger. (the power light would begin to flash after the charger had been on for 24 hours and fault light would also flash)

For the new charging system I went with Victron products as they seemed fair priced, had good reviews and have bluetooth as standard.
Battery Charger is the IP67 12v 25amp unit
it will charge the Batteries at 25amp and can also be used as a power supply.
View attachment 65203View attachment 65201
The factory charger is still in the van as that is the fuse box for the vans 12volt systems but is turned off at the power point. ( can still be used as a back up charger)

The solar controller is the smart solar 100/30 MPPT unit.
View attachment 65204
I have the panels wired in parallel at the moment and will see how it all works next time out in the sun.

They both can be configured for lithium and are both able to be monitored by an app on my phone so I can see exactly what is happening with the Batteries.

Hi @Base23 , I do not think that the Setec would be compatible with charging Lithium batteries. In the first instance, it has a max charge voltage of only 14.0 volts and the BMS for each lithium battery would require a higher charging voltage to suit its own algorithm.

 

[Brente1982]

Very nice upgrades. Curious why you went with the blue smart ip67 12/25 instead of the blue smart ip22 12/30 which would have given more juice for roughly the same price.

 

[Base23]

Hi @Base23 , I do not think that the Setec would be compatible with charging Lithium batteries. In the first instance, it has a max charge voltage of only 14.0 volts and the BMS for each lithium battery would require a higher charging voltage to suit its own algorithm.

The recommended charge voltage for the Lithium batteries I have is 14.4 volts. But Itechworld say most charges will work. I noticed a problem with my setec charger and also thought the lithium's should have a higher charge voltage so that is why I changed the charger.

 

[Base23]

Very nice upgrades. Curious why you went with the blue smart ip67 12/25 instead of the blue smart ip22 12/30 which would have given more juice for roughly the same price.

I went with the IP67 12/25 because it suited my mounting location size better , It also has no fan so it is completely quite at full 25amp output.
Seem like a very well built charger, very solid and large cable size.

 

[Brente1982]

The problem with normal chargers is that they don't have a lithium charging algorithm, so you'll never get a completely full charge out of them.
Its complex but these companies that claim their lithiums can be charged by agm chargers are short changing you.

 

[Brente1982]

I went with the IP67 12/25 because it suited my mounting location size better , It also has no fan so it is completely quite at full 25amp output.
Seem like a very well built charger, very solid and large cable size.

Yes, victron do make some quality gear

 

[Base23]

Fitted a new Victron BMV712 Smart (battery monitor) and temp sensor to monitor the Lithium batteries. The factory drifter control panel has a shunt and worked OK with the gel batteries but seemed to quite a bit out when monitoring the lithium.
I went with the Victron BMV712 as it has built in Bluetooth, I can see what the batteries are doing from my phone and it also talks to the victron solar controller that I fitted last week. The BMV712 sends battery temp and volts to the solar controller giving it better information for charging the batteries.
The Battery Monitor is configurable for lithium so it give me a very good reference to the state of charge of my batteries. As well as being able to see the information on my phone it also has a digital display that I have mounted next to the drifter control panel for quick reference as I walk in and out of the Van.