2017 Thor Quantum GR22

[Nightmare]

We purchased the motor home about 4 months ago. We are the 3rd owner.
It only had 4,997 miles on it and it takes about 2,500 miles just to get the new unit to California. So I'm not sure how much it was used in the last 5 years. Some things look nearly new, but there are some exterior items that definitely show some age on them.

I meant to post on the site, but have just been too busy. So far we have made 5 trips with the RV to some locations in Southern California (San Clemente Beach, Bolsa Chica Beach, Temecula, Newport Dunes). Still trying to figure out storage, what to take, what we don't need, etc. This is a size downgrade from our prior RV (2008 Holiday Rambler Next Level 38 SKS). We could take literally 2 of everything in the 5th wheel and have room to spare. The size of the GR22 is a little challenging. The reason for the change is that we need something that can pull/haul the Jeep and is small enough for my wife to drive if necessary.

With 5 trips completed there are a couple of items I need to address sooner, rather than later. I would love to hear solutions from other owners.

#1 - The 2 x 12v Deep Cycle Batteries are shot. They each had 2 dry cells and they aren't coming back. I plan to get a larger AGM battery to replace them. Something like a 200AH 12v from Victron or something similar. We do have a week with no power coming up, I assume 200AH with the generator will be more than enough.

#2 - There is no Inverter in the RV. I plan to get a 2k Watt Inverter/Charger at the same time as the battery. With 1 AC and 1 microwave, a 3k seems like overkill.

#3 - I don't plan to add solar immediately, but I can't tell if the RV is "pre-wired" for solar. I don't see anything on the RV itself or in the owner's manual.

#4 - TOWING > This will probably be its own separate thread. The RV is built on the E450 (yeah).

The GVWR is 14,500 lbs
The GCWR is 22,000 lbs
The Actual RV weighs 12,300 lbs fully loaded with 4 people onboard
The hitch is rated for 8,000 lbs, but the tongue weight is only 500 lbs
- Rear Axle is rated for 9,600 lbs, fully loaded with 4 bikes on the hitch it was only holding 8,240 lbs. That leaves 1,360 lbs (plus the weight of the bikes) for the Jeep Trailer

Has anyone modified/beefed up the hitch and/or Frame Extension (mine appears to be about 3' added past the original chassis).

8,000 Lbs may be enough for the Jeep (4500 lbs) and a box trailer (2,500-3,500lbs). But I feel like I need at least 1,000 lbs on the hitch to safely tow the trailer.

I'll throw out a little list of Pros and Cons I think at this point in owning the RV. I'm open to any additional feedback or opinions.

I would really like to see/hear about a battery and inverter upgrade. It seems like there is enough room under the dinette seat to install the equipment there. I really hope it is a fairly easy/straightforward install.

Thanks
Keith

Pros
- It is small enough to fit into almost all the National Parks
- It drives more like my truck than my truck pulling a 38' 5th Wheel
- SUPER easy to park at the campsite
- It should be able to tow 8-10k if I can get the hitch figured out. Most are limited to 5k
- I can drive it over 55mph (not that I didn't tow over 55) and I can use the Carpool and 91 Express
- LED lights under the awning and exterior TV are nice
- Interior lights are all LED (vs my 2008)

Cons
- Difficult to manage the MUCH less storage than the prior RV
- The Fresh Water and Holding tanks are MUCH smaller, not a problem with full hookups
- The bed is about the same size, but the lack of walk-around room is incontinent
- The Leatherette material on the seats and dinette is just TRASH. It gets marred up WAY too easily
- The side and rear view cameras are not easy to see on that TRASH radio, the angle is wrong and the operation of the radio sucks. Is there a better radio to replace the Axxera?
- The awning doesn't have a hard metal cover (like the Holiday Rambler) so the exposed part is already sun-damaged. I'll need to replace it or find a 4-6" patch to apply
- The hitch should really have a minimum rating of 1000 lbs for a hitch rated to tow 8000 lbs
- The wrench for the stabilizer jacks isn't long enough. And one of the nuts fell off the end

[Rybie]

Hello, Welcome to the Forum and your Thor Quantum.
We have a 2018 Thor Quantum LF31.

If you do not have a invertor then I assume you have a frig that runs on DC or propane or 120V AC. So the invertor does not need to power the frig.

We put in four 200AH AGM batteries and 400 Watts of solar panels. Ours was prewired, look for roof connectors for panel and the other end was behind/under the fuse panel With our frig 120 V AC only we can usually go close to 24 hours before using the Generator to bring things back up before bed.

Sounds like yours was stored outside without cover. Ours isn't that bad but it lives under a car port when not on the road.

Our biggest issue that took time to understand was the instant hot water tankless system, see posts on this forum to learn about those.

[Rybie]

One other item. The frame on ours was extended by Thor to hold the 31 foot RV. Probably true for yours too.

[16ACE27]

Why do you want to add the extra expense of an inverter/charger? You have a converter charger. Just get a 2000 watt inverter.

500 Lbs should be plenty of tongue weight for a 3500 lb trailer (14%).
1000 Lbs would be way overkill (28%).

10 to 15% is the norm.

[Nightmare]

The Jeep and the Trailer combined will be 7k-8k. So I should have at least 700-800 on the hitch.

Where would I find the existing charger? I thought it was under the dinette seat, but that is just a Transfer Relay. The current "Charger" doesn't appear to check the battery condition and drop to lower amperage. I would like something I can plug into shore power and not worry about overcharging the batteries.

So for the last 2 days I've been trying to chase down an electrical/battery problem.
- On the way home from our last trip the radio (Axxera) would not turn on
- I knew my house batteries were nearly shot
- I went to start the RV and the chassis battery was dead (RV on shore power for 2 weeks)
- I check all the fuses and get the battery charged. Replace the House Battery
- The engine fires right up and now the radio is working again

= I can only assume the radio needs both the Chassis Battery AND the House Battery? So was it partially 'on' for 2 weeks and killed the Chassis Battery?

WHY does the radio turn on automatically with the RV Engine, but doesn't turn off automatically? So I can listen to the radio in bed? DUMB design.

Rybie, I wish I had room for 4 batteries, but I only have the spot under the stairs. I can fit 2 of the larger (100AH) batteries under there. I might swap them out for a single 200AH AGM. But I want to get all the new power stuff at the same time.

[16ACE27]

Originally Posted by Nightmare

The Jeep and the Trailer combined will be 7k-8k. So I should have at least 700-800 on the hitch.

Where would I find the existing charger? I thought it was under the dinette seat, but that is just a Transfer Relay. The current "Charger" doesn't appear to check the battery condition and drop to lower amperage. I would like something I can plug into shore power and not worry about overcharging the batteries.

So for the last 2 days I've been trying to chase down an electrical/battery problem.
- On the way home from our last trip the radio (Axxera) would not turn on
- I knew my house batteries were nearly shot
- I went to start the RV and the chassis battery was dead (RV on shore power for 2 weeks)
- I check all the fuses and get the battery charged. Replace the House Battery
- The engine fires right up and now the radio is working again

= I can only assume the radio needs both the Chassis Battery AND the House Battery? So was it partially 'on' for 2 weeks and killed the Chassis Battery?

WHY does the radio turn on automatically with the RV Engine, but doesn't turn off automatically? So I can listen to the radio in bed? DUMB design.

Rybie, I wish I had room for 4 batteries, but I only have the spot under the stairs. I can fit 2 of the larger (100AH) batteries under there. I might swap them out for a single 200AH AGM. But I want to get all the new power stuff at the same time.

My mistake. I thought towing the jeep was a separate entity from pulling a box trailer at 3500 # GVWR.

[Nightmare]

I spent the last couple of weeks working on an upgrade to the power system. The RV only had 2 x 12v Interstate RV batteries when we got it and they are both shot.

I stopped by the local RV dealer to see what they would recommend. I thought I could just add an inverter, but I guess that requires a sub-panel and a bunch more wiring. They quoted about $2k for the installation, plus parts.

I decided to just upgrade the battery and get a portable inverter for the TV. I can add more stuff later if necessary.

I found a killer deal on a Renogy 170Ah LiFePO - $500
I bought a Victron Smart Shunt w/ Bluetooth - $130
And to charge the LiFePo, a Victron Charger IP6 15A w BT - $160

The actual width of the Renogy 170 Ah is 13.6" or 13 5/8" wide.
The battery is a little bit wider at the top, only 13.25" wide at the base.

Width and Depth are not a problem. I think I could fit 2 in there, but it would be TIGHT and probably more battery than I need.



I knew the height of the battery was going to be an issue. The top raised section is just above the current step height.

BUT the Terminal Bolt is a full 1/2" too high. It seems like a VERY poor design to have the terminals be the highest point on the battery.

I ordered a battery box, but it won't arrive for my next trip. I think I will get a 1" wooden board and router out the location of the rectangle and terminals. It should only raise my middle step about 1".



And finally, the terminal connections on the battery are 1/2". All the current rings are 3/8. I drilled one out to 1/2", but the ring seems a little thin. I tried the local RV shop and the stereo shop, no luck on a ring with a 1/2" hole. So I drilled them both out. Then I had to drill out the terminals for the Smart Shunt, they are just under 1/2" too.



So today I cut a piece of scrap wood, routered it out some, and put everything together.

[Rybie]

Nice job, it looks very good. We have a 2018 so we already have an invertor due to the 110 V AC frig

[txc2936@yahoo.com]

very clean, I actually found that there is a little area to the left of the battery that can fit a 400W inverter. Might be able to charge a cell phone.

[Nightmare]

Thanks.

I might try to find an easier way to open my step. With the board on top, I need to actually remove the rubber step completely (5 screws), then remove the board (2 more) to access the battery terminals.

I did that for about 4 trips in order to charge the battery completely with the LiPo charger.

I picked up a Renogy 100 Watt Solar panel, so I decided to see if I could find an easier access point. If I crawl under the RV, I can clip the positive to the +BUS and the negative to the frame. Seems to work fine. I did the same to charge the battery on the last trip.

[taylorbob1]

Your kitchen & Fridge layout is like mine.

So, for Solar I permanently mounted three 100 watt Renogy panels on roof.
Then I ran 10 gauge stranded wire thru the fridge vent,
Then down behind the kitchen cabinets,
Then mounted the 30 amp Solar Converter on the entry wall.
From there it’s an easy run thru the floor and over to the House battery compartment (under the steps).

For Inverter, do a search on the Forum for the AIMs Inverter.
Like others, my after market 1200/2000 inverter is wired thru the (non-GFCI) outlet line.
My inverter also has a built-in Auto-Transfer Switch.
So professionally installed & wired like OEM.

You may need to do some research to understand the many ways to add an inverter. But, as stated above by 16Ace27 you really don’t need a “Charger” inverter as you already have an on-board converter charger.

[Nightmare]

I need to check my onboard/factory charger. I have heard I may be able to change the output voltage to correctly charge the LIPO. It would be nice if the generator and/or alternator could correctly charge my LIPO