Micro Minnie Thread

[TroutBum1971]

Originally Posted by Marine359

Agree with you about the cheap outdoor speakers. My 1972 VW Beetle had better speakers. I’ve been using a small Bluetooth speaker that sounds much better. I’m ok with the tv, as we really don’t watch much while we’re traveling.

I have a bluetooth speakers as well but it would be nice to use my sound system without crackling..

The TV the dealer put in it is horrible. I don't watch much tv either but would like a smart TV in there with nextflix for my son.

[Marine359]

The tv that came with my 2108 has hdmi inputs. I just plugged in a Roku and it works fine. A lot cheaper than buying a new tv. Most smart TVs have horrible browsers. Easy to cast web pages to the Roku. Casting video and sound can be done too, but it doesnt work too well.

[TroutBum1971]

Originally Posted by Marine359

The tv that came with my 2108 has hdmi inputs. I just plugged in a Roku and it works fine. A lot cheaper than buying a new tv. Most smart TVs have horrible browsers. Easy to cast web pages to the Roku. Casting video and sound can be done too, but it doesnt work too well.

my dealer put some super cheap POS tv in it....

Vizio 32" $128 at Wally World.

[woodsyowl]

You have received lot of great answers to your question about boondocking power, and all make a good sense. Lithium batteries are the way to go long term, but they are very expensive. I do a lot of forest service camping without AC and have found my pair of 6volt golf cart batts do a great job. I have the GoPower suitcase one panel solar and two additional panels and can produce about 350 watts on a sunny day. This runs all but microwave and even that if there is bright sun hitting my three panels. No problem running lights, water heater, TV, and satellite dish until we fall asleep. My 1500 watt solar inverter has a remote control so I don't have to go outside in the dark to shut it off. One more panel and I could run the microwave. You have to have a lot more to do your AC. I see a lot of responders have generators Although I have one, I don't carry it any longer because of how irritating they are in a primitive campground. Solar is all but free once you have the stuff. Free and silent. FYI Marine, I am a former army special forces guy from Vietnam era. Solar would have been great there!

[tinglett]

Originally Posted by Marine359

Hey gang,
Here’s what I’m thinking,
2 x 100ah LifePo4 batteries in parallel
Replace the stock converter with a 30 amp auto switching inverter charger.
Maybe have 100amp portable/foldable solar panel
Daily charging with Honda EU2200i inverter generator.

We don’t use hair dryers. Maybe use the microwave occasionally. Biggest draw is for the 12v fridge, and furnace blower when running, and/or roof vent fans. We make coffee with a press.

This is more-or-less where I'm ending up, except I have the LPG fridge so I have a little less to worry about for the daily power draw. I got the honda and went with the LPG conversion from Hutch Mountain that works very well. I've never run it on gasoline so it doesn't stink and can be stowed in the SUV without trouble. I plan to get 100 watts of portable solar also, so hopefully it'll be rare that I need to pull out the honda.

You will need to replace the WFCO 8955 converter (assuming it's still stock) with one that can do LiFEPO4. I went with the PD4655LIV which I purchased from Battle Born with my batteries. I show the install here: https://www.winnieowners.com/forums/...iv-359008.html

I haven't seen a point to install an inverter. I can see a teeny bit of value for running a TV, laptop, and maybe a CPAP if you can't get suitable 12v power bricks, but otherwise what would you use it for? The microwave and A/C certainly aren't suitable for the battery, and you already have your coffee under control I see!

[tinglett]

BTW, I don't mean to imply the WFCO 8955 can't charge lithium batteries. It just won't do a good job as it misreads the battery state via the current draw of the battery. The current draw is different between lithium and FLA (my understanding of the problem). The net is that it takes much longer to charge as the charger thinks the battery is charged earlier than it really is.

The PD4655LIV is hard-wired for lithium (the "LIV" part of the model number). There also exist chargers that have settings can be tweaked. I like the hard-wired aspect, but it is not suitable for lead acid batteries so you can't go back. E.g., if you sell your rig and want to keep the batteries.

[TroutBum1971]

Battery disconnect....

when you turn it to off, everything should not work, correct? When I turn mine to off, my slide still gets power and my tongue jack still has power.... however, with the tongue jack switch flipped to the off position, my jack still works too? any thoughts on WTF is going on?

[backtrack15]

Originally Posted by TroutBum1971

Battery disconnect....

when you turn it to off, everything should not work, correct? When I turn mine to off, my slide still gets power and my tongue jack still has power.... however, with the tongue jack switch flipped to the off position, my jack still works too? any thoughts on WTF is going on?

This is normal. The slide has its own power switch to turn it off. The tongue remains powered.

[TroutBum1971]

Originally Posted by backtrack15

This is normal. The slide has its own power switch to turn it off. The tongue remains powered.

thank you. so is the tongue jack on/off switch only for the light? because with the switch off and the battery disconnect off, the up/down button still moves the jack.

[tinglett]

That switch is just a jack light. It took me a few times to notice that too!

I'm baffled why the slide is on the "wrong" side of the battery disconnect switch. I suppose one could argue that it allows setup to happen without going to the switch. But it still seems silly to me.

There is also a more obscure thing that can happen due to this wiring. If you remove your battery for some reason or other (e.g. winterizing), remember you need to turn on the battery disconnect switch in order for your slide to get shore power from the converter. Electricity goes both ways! This had me stumped for a bit. If you are on shore power and your battery is out and your slide won't turn on, this is why.

[TroutBum1971]

Originally Posted by tinglett

That switch is just a jack light. It took me a few times to notice that too!

I'm baffled why the slide is on the "wrong" side of the battery disconnect switch. I suppose one could argue that it allows setup to happen without going to the switch. But it still seems silly to me.

There is also a more obscure thing that can happen due to this wiring. If you remove your battery for some reason or other (e.g. winterizing), remember you need to turn on the battery disconnect switch in order for your slide to get shore power from the converter. Electricity goes both ways! This had me stumped for a bit. If you are on shore power and your battery is out and your slide won't turn on, this is why.

Crazy! Thanks!

[backtrack15]

My understanding is the slide should be powered when towing so that the motors act like a brake and prevent it from extending as you drive. Having it powered separately gives you some flexibility at the cost of one extra switch to flip. I'm pretty happy that two switches kill everything except the jack and jack light.

[TroutBum1971]

Originally Posted by backtrack15

My understanding is the slide should be powered when towing so that the motors act like a brake and prevent it from extending as you drive. Having it powered separately gives you some flexibility at the cost of one extra switch to flip. I'm pretty happy that two switches kill everything except the jack and jack light.

I'm good with it too, I was just under the (wrong) impression that the disconnect killed everything.

[Tbear]

Went down to Fort DeSoto Park, FL, near Saint Petersburg for a couple of nights.

Upon arriving, a ‘ neighbor ‘ from the adjacent campsite came over and being friendly started chatting with me while I was hooking up my Micro Mini. ( that’s my excuse for what I did ).

While a bit distracted with my friendly neighbor, I accidentally connected my fresh water hose to the black tank flush instead of the fresh water inlet that is right next to it. ( I know one is black and the other is white but.... ).

A few minutes later I hear my wife yelling ‘ shut off the water ‘. Luckily she was in the camper when water began coming out of the toilet. Also luckily, we hadn’t used the toilet yet since we were just arriving although I had put a chem pack in it and water before we left the house.

My wife mopped up the floor in the bathroom but I was worried that some water might have seeped below the floor and was caught in the underlayment under the trailer. So I took an ice pick and poked a small hole at the lowest point and sure enough there was a trickle of water.

I’m bearing my soul here because I was careless and such a dumb a— and by confessing I hope no one else will accidentally do the same. Thank goodness my wife was in the camper when the tank began to overflow through the toilet.

In any case, we had several beautiful days at the park and the rest of the trip was uneventful. ( Although a tornado went right over the Howard Franklin Bridge about two hours after we drove over on the way home. The tornado then hit Pinellas County damaging 25 buildings which also wasn’t to far from our route. )

I’m hoping any residual water trickled out of the little hole I made in the underlayment from the movement on the trip home. The weather is pretty mild here in Florida ( 65 - 75 degrees ) and I’m also hoping any residual moisture will just dry up without turning into mold.

Any advice of anything else I should do is welcomed....

Camping always seems to be an adventure!!

[GaryS]

Originally Posted by Tbear

Camping always seems to be an adventure!!

"Adventure is never fun while it's happening."

-Yvon Chouinard,

[backtrack15]

Originally Posted by Tbear

...I’m bearing my soul here because I was careless and such a dumb a— and by confessing I hope no one else will accidentally do the same.

Thanks for sharing this story. The Grand Design forum has a very popular thread with page after page of stories like this (camper confessions). You are certainly not alone.

[Marine359]

I had to make a dozen phone calls to find an RV service shop with reasonable pricing and experience greater than my DIY skills. Trying to find somebody reliable to install LifePo4 battery and inverter charger in my pass through. I can do the DC side myself. The AC side gets dicey because cables have to be routed under the floor to the breaker box which is under the fridge,

First place I called said that kind of complex job would cost me at least $1,200 labor only. I couldn’t stop laughing when I hung up (it ain’t complex). I tried several others before calling Camping World, which quoted a ridiculous price of $800. More laughing, more calls. Finally found a small shop who said they do lots of these kind of installs on travel trailers, and that it shouldn’t take more than 3 or 4 hours @ $100/hr. Only problem is this shop is booked through the middle of January. Seems lots of folks are doing LiFePo4/inverter/charger upgrades because prices have come down so much, and people want to boondock because of Covid. They already knew the Winnie has an enclosed underbody that might have to be dropped to pull cables. I never trust my first instinct so I did a quick drive by, and found that their bays were indeed full and the lot was jammed with about 30 pretty new motor homes and trailers. So, I made an apt for Jan 18th, which gives me plenty of time to get my components, or would it?

I really wanted a Bigbattery 170ah power block. Website says they’re back ordered, and nobody answers the phone when you call. Good response from Xantrex though. Anybody else have experience installing batteries/inverter/charger in pass through?

[splitley]

Originally Posted by fmouse

We have a 2017 Micro Minnie 1700BH. It has a fresh water holding tank, somewhere. The entire underside of the trailer is covered with fabric or similar material, so I can't see what's there, but a little sleuthing indicates that the tank is probably above or just forward of the single axle.

The question I have is how do I drain this tank? There's a tube hanging down through the fabric on the starboard side with a valve on it, just forward of the axle. There was water in the tank, and I managed to get this valve open, with some difficulty, but nothing came out. When I tried to close the valve, it broke. I managed to get it closed with channel-locks; however, I don't know what this tube and valve are for. Any advice? Any clue on the spec for the valve, which will have to be replaced? And where, oh where, is the drain for the fresh water tank??? I've read posts about red and blue tubes with valves draining low points in this tank, but don't see any.

We ended up just running the pump until the tank ran dry, but this puts unnecessary wear on the pump, and I'm sure this isn't recommended way of draining the tank, which will have to be done FULLY and properly before winter comes here.

Any help or advice will be appreciated.

Open drain valve, turn on kitchen sink valve, you have a vacuum

[Amazonica]

Just finished reading all 22 pages of this thread. Thank you to everyone who has asked, and answered, various questions. I pick up my new-to-me 2019 2108DS on Monday and have two questions come to mind.

1. Has anyone installed a Fridge Defend ARP for the gas powered fridges? I have heard that besides safety, it also helps with corrosion.

2. Is it safe to drive down the road with the fridge on propane?

I am a fulltime traveler and have been living in a smaller trailer that has a fridge that only runs on electric, but has 190 watts of solar to help keep the batteries powered. As others have mentioned, my install date for lithium batteries and solar is January 11th. So until then I’ll be trying to get by with one puny 12v. I do have a Champion generator. I’m no pro and really appreciate learning from you all.

[Marine359]

Hello Splitley,
My fresh water tank is in the same place as yours. It’s a real pain to reach it. When I opened it some water came out and tank level was zero, but I’ve never put water in the tank because of fluctuating temperatures. We just carry fresh water in jerry cans until the weather warms. Could be what water remains in your tank is frozen. Shouldn’t be an issue if you leave valve open so water can drip out as it thaws. Don’t forget to remove your deep cycle battery and bring it indoors, unless it is LiFePo4 which can stay out in the cold if disconnected.