Atlas Power

[AUTiger59]

Just picked up my new Atlas in April. So far we have taken it for 2 extended trips. It is a great ride and have no complaints except for the power system.
We have boondocked at a few state parks and the battery system with solar just doesn’t last as long as it should.
We have 2 Lifeline batteries, 300 watts of solar on the roof, and the Magnum MS 1012 inverter charger that comes standard from the factory. The batteries drain fast even with solar. Over night we ran a few house lights, the fridge, and a small fan. Is this normal?
Atlas is pricey and I’m just wondering if it is under powered.
I have considered changing to lithium but was told I would have to change the inverter and the solar controller.
That is expensive option and I would think as much as it cost for new Atlas it would have a better power system.
Any ideas to help boost the electrical would be appreciated.

[Brasspearl]

if ever you run your coach batteries down so low that even battery assist will not work we found that the small battery tender trickle chargers will take forever to recharge your coach batteries. in that case under the chassis in the area of the passenger seat you can access your coach batteries and attach a regular charger and fairly quickly recharge your coach batteries. Our batteries were so low that even the battery assist option in the cab area was insufficient to activate an internal switch to transfer power from the Chassis battery to the coach batteries.

[nvestysly]

There are lots of things to consider... somewhat in priority order:

1) Have your batteries checked. As mentioned above, if they've been discharged one or more times to below 50% they may be permanently damaged.

2) Be sure your inverter is off when you're not using it. There is probably some sort of switch to activate/deactivate the inverter. If the inverter is on (active) it's working and using battery power even if you're not watching TV or using the inverted outlet(s).

3) Don't know the system you have installed in the Atlas for monitoring battery State Of Charge (SOC) but you need something that gives a true indication of the battery voltage, and power going in/out of the batteries. Typical RV battery monitors only show some sort of LED or 25/50/75/full readout. This is not a suitable means of really understanding the power in/out. If you have the simple system you need to upgrade.

4) RV manufacturers are required to install various safety devices in their products. Things such as carbon monoxide and propane detectors. These devices are certainly important when you are in the RV. But when you store the RV (long term storage) it doesn't do much good to power the detectors. Many RVers take time to install a complete battery disconnect, not just the store/use switch installed by the manufacturer, in order to fully disconnect the batteries when the RV is in long term storage. This is related to your battery drain issue because these phantom or parasitic drains are always present in your system unless you install a means to turn them off completely.

[batman]

A refrigerator is a huge draw electrically. I would consider using propane for the fridge. The inverter itself is also drawing power from the batteries when not in use, unless you are able to turn it off.
The inverter is a very in-efficient way to use your battery power while boondocking. I would only use it for short periods of time and only when I had enough sun time to recharge the batteries.

Ditto on the battery issue. If the batteries have been drained past 50% (12.2V DC) too many times you may also have to replace them.


-Dennis