2021 Interstate GT

[SSr2rivets]

Ok. We have had trailers up to now. Just picked up out GT van a couple of days ago and now reading manuals....ugh. One question we can’t answer online or in manuals...where are the house batteries located? Any help is greatly appreciated!

[Pahaska]

There are four batteries underneath the coach, just behind the rear wheels, two on each side.

[Mlmeshay]

If you have received your 2021 24GT after the factory changed/upgraded to 2 Lithium batteries, the Lithium batteries are now relocated in exterior battery boxes, one box under the driver seat and one box under the passenger seat.

[JoanneAZ]

Originally Posted by Mlmeshay

If you have received your 2021 24GT after the factory changed/upgraded to 2 Lithium batteries, the Lithium batteries are now relocated in exterior battery boxes, one box under the driver seat and one box under the passenger seat.

I am the first at my dealer to get the Lithium Upgrade on my 2021 AI GT. Does this mean I don’t have any AGM coach batteries? Thank you for the info.

[SSr2rivets]

Originally Posted by Pahaska

There are four batteries underneath the coach, just behind the rear wheels, two on each side.

Thank you, Pahaska. Can’t see them there. Thinking now that we received lithium on order and can see covered boxes under at each side of front. When received it dealer presented van as having regular house batteries. Now confused. Guess we should call Airstream to find out. Continue to be surprised at how uninformed dealers/service staff are.

Safe travels!

[SSr2rivets]

Originally Posted by Mlmeshay

If you have received your 2021 24GT after the factory changed/upgraded to 2 Lithium batteries, the Lithium batteries are now relocated in exterior battery boxes, one box under the driver seat and one box under the passenger seat.

Thank you, Mlmeshay. I think that is exactly what we have. Nice surprise! Safe travels!

[Mlmeshay]

Did you also get the upgraded kitchen sink with the external regular style faucet. I have heard from others who just received their 2021 GT that the sink/faucet was a nice surprise.

Safe travels in your new ride!

[wachuko]

Lithium batteries standard on the new AIs? That is great!

How much capacity from those?

Is the inverter still a 1K or did they finally upgraded that?

[Mlmeshay]

The new battery package is 2x 100 amp BattleBorn batteries with the same 1000 watt inverter. TheY have added a Victron MPPT battery charger and an additional 100 watt solar panel to charge the chassis battery.

[rowiebowie]

They should upgrade the inverter to 2000W PSW so you can run the microwave. We do that with 2 x 100AH Renogy lithiums.


EDIT: Our "750W" microwave pulls over 1200 watts. Don't know where that other drain comes from.

[JoanneAZ]

Originally Posted by Mlmeshay

Did you also get the upgraded kitchen sink with the external regular style faucet. I have heard from others who just received their 2021 GT that the sink/faucet was a nice surprise.

Safe travels in your new ride!

Yes, I have the upgraded sink and supposedly a more quiet Oman generator which is still noisy when combined with AC fan noise.

[rowiebowie]

Originally Posted by JoanneAZ

Yes, I have the upgraded sink and supposedly a more quiet Oman generator which is still noisy when combined with AC fan noise.

Congrats on the new GT. I've heard others say the combined noise of the generator and ac are worse than either one alone. But I've not found this to be the case. Instead, I find they cancel one another and I only hear the loudest of the two, which from inside is the ac fan.

Newer ac's are generally (not all) getting quieter and more efficient. And the more quiet generator is a bonus too. I think you'll find them to be worthy improvements, but give us an update once you receive your new rig.

[SWH]

Originally Posted by JoanneAZ

Yes, I have the upgraded sink and supposedly a more quiet Oman generator which is still noisy when combined with AC fan noise.

I have not read anything about improvements with the generator for 2021... I know they added the resonator back in 2018, which marginally improved the noise. If there is really an upgrade to the generator, that is welcome news.

Airstream seems to be adding improvements to the 2021s that weren’t quite ready when the model year was introduced... even today neither the brochures for 2021s, nor the Airstream website, shows the new sink or the lithium tech pack. https://recreationalvehicles.info/20...h-brochure.pdf

[mike2016]

I also just took delivery of a 2021 Interstate GL

when i placed the order in June, the dealer offered a "tech pack" for $2200, and i agreed to add it. but later i was told my unit did not get it due to production issues.

i looked under the rear of the van, there are no batteries.

it has 4 solar panels on the roof.

maybe I got the upgrade??

the owner's manual doesn't mention clearly where the house batteries are, but they recommend removing them for winterization??

i'll look under the front tomorrow

[Amg]

They say the lithium batteries are inside the van by the front seats

[Rocinante]

It's my understanding that at this point, the "Tech Pack" is a mandatory option, which means it's not really an option. It's a sad little upgrade, but at least you get a couple of lithium batteries out of it.

[Amg]

Why did you think it is “a sad little upgrade”

[Rocinante]

So, after a quick call to Airstream customer service back in August, this is what they told me was in the Lithium Tech Pack. I have yet to see this information on any website since:

• A pair of 100AH Lithium Batteries
• Generator Autostart feature that only works off battery voltage, but does not work off the air conditioner thermostat. Ironically, the voltage coming off a Lithium battery pack does not decrease steadily over time as it does for lead-acid batteries.
• This pack does not change the inverter, which stays at 1,000 watts.
• It throws in 50 watts of solar to charge the chassis battery and 200 watts of solar to charge the house batteries
• It includes a dogbone adapter for 30-15 amp
• It adds some kind of fancy digital media receiver / radio in the rear.

For me, the biggest disappointment in this package was that they did not upgrade the inverter.

[mike2016]

This was the original letter sent out from Airstream, regarding the "Tech Pack" option....

The rear media receiver - it's a Sony player, with bluetooth. nothing special

[Rocinante]

fYep, consistent with what I learned last August, with the addition of extra solar wattage on the Atlas.

Woo, a 15-30amp dog bone adapter. Get out the celebratory fireworks.

For additional clarity, compare this kit with what comes standard on a comparable Pleasure-Way camper van. Theirs isn't a whole lot better, but at least it comes with a 2k watt inverter/charger.

You do realize that less expensive camper vans come with far larger lithium battery banks and 3K watt inverter / chargers, right? Examples include Coachmen Beyond (Ford Transit), Coachmen Galleria (Sprinter), and Winnebago Boldt (Sprinter). I'm not saying I like these other vans better on every front, because I don't, but it's important to understand what's out there when it comes to "Lithium Tech Packs" that absolutely blow Airstream out of the water. So, all of these issues lead me to call Airstream's Lithium Tech Pack a "sad little upgrade."

Meanwhile, In a month and a half, we're going to upgrade our unit to what Airstream's new vans should be offering today as a minimum bar: 400Ah of Lithium batteries, 3k watt inverter charger, and 400 watts of solar with a better quality solar controller, a genuine battery monitor, real "Big Red Switches" that make it easy to manage and kill parasitic draws as desired, and so on. To complete the package, when our generator finally dies, we'll also replace that noisy beast with Cummins' new quiet version of that generator so our camping neighbors won't hate us if we have to use it as a last ditch backup when all else fails.