Replacement for Univolt in 1971 Safari

[TGK]

What is the best replacement unit for the original Univolt in a 1971 Safari. Electrical needs in this trailer include water pump, lights. Frig runs on propane when dry camping and, of course, electric when hooked up to shore power. I want to keep this as simple as possible. Only other upgrade would be to install some sort of cutoff switch.

[ROBERT CROSS]

I recommend this, a quality KISS unit that is lithium compatible.(that may be in your future) Adjustable for Wet Cell, AGM also.
I used it with our two panel 360w Zamp portable system, with 2 Battle Born Lithium batteries.

Bob
🇺🇸

[CBWELL]

I have had good luck with Progressive Dynamics PD9245 to replace the old Univolts. Have installed several and had no problems in any that I have installed for myself and friends. Get the "pendant" so you can monitor the charge.

[Bill M.]

I replaced the Univolts in my 2 trailers with the Boondocker from Best Converters. Simple job and so far they are good. You will get more useful power from your batteries with a new converter also. Have no idea if these are good converters or not but the 2 I have work fine.

[Can of beans]

I have the progressive dynamics 40 amp charger.

to replace a univolt though you need a 50mv Shunt rated to 50 amps, I got one from Amazon, a fuse block of some sort, and a 12 volt 1 amp wall wart transformer,

The shunt makes the ammeter in the dashboard still work, make sure to keep the 1 amp fuses in the holders, that's the little black and red wires.
the little gray wire gets wired to the 12v + side of the wall wart, the ground gets grounded to the fuse panel ground, then you need to rewire the light at the control panel to work with power and ground. this makes the converter on light work when you plug in the trailer. you will need to add an outlet box to plug the charger in instead of being direct wired.

then whatever fuse holder you want. Some people just pull the fuse panel part out of the univolt and reuse it, I didn't have that part, so I had to improvise.

[A W Warn]

I used Boondocker converters for both of my trailers for multiple reasons:
1. an additional year of warranty
2. multiple charging modes, that helps save batteries (my lead acid battery is 4+ years old and still good)
3. will adapt to lithium (my older one does not but the newer models will)
4. price
5. Got good/helpful advice when I contacted Randy at Best converters. (a forum member)
6. 60 amp (for faster charging when using generator/less run time)

http://www.bestconverter.com/Ask-Randy_ep_18-1.html

[TGK]

Thanks for the input. Forgot to mention that, when I'm boon docking I sometimes clip in a Zamp 140W portable solar panel combo.

[TouringDan]

Originally Posted by CBWELL

I have had good luck with Progressive Dynamics PD9245 to replace the old Univolts. Have installed several and had no problems in any that I have installed for myself and friends. Get the "pendant" so you can monitor the charge.

I agree. I installed one in my 66 Tradewind 7 years ago and no problems. They have a very good reputation and are Made in America, not China.

Dan

[slvr_pickled]

Pardon my ignorance, I've been a YouTube-educated Airstream renovator for the past 3 years but have not tackled any electrical work (it's intimidating!!)

How do you know how many amps to get with your new converter when replacing the original univolt? I'm a full-timer, always connected to shore power but am thinking of selling in a few years so I want to make sure the new converter would be good for the future owner too if they're the boondocking type.

I'm leaning towards replacing my univolt with the Boondocker suggested in this thread because it is so highly recommended, but is this swap out something a novice could handle? I had a mobile RV guy change out my glass fuse box for a modern blade fuse box so it would really be just plugging in the few battery wires, right? Any advice is appreciated. Thanks! -Katie

[rwnash]

TKG
It sounds like your electrical needs are fairly simple and all you need is a basic "smart" charger. The new smart chargers sense your battery condition and adjust their voltage accordingly. I opted for a low current unit (35 or 40 amps I think) because batteries last longer if they are neither charged or discharged rapidly - and the charger (converter) is less expensive. Randy at Best Converter has a good reputation here, I think I might have purchased mine from him.

If you have two batteries I'd use a 4 way switch; you can select either battery, both or off for storage. When on shore power both get charged; when off the grid select one and monitor voltage to see when to switch to the other and head back to civilization for more juice.

Good luck,

Whit Nash

[lojoma]

Originally Posted by Can of beans

then you need to rewire the light at the control panel to work with power and ground. this makes the converter on light work when you plug in the trailer.

Can Of Beans, this was a very helpful comment about the wall wart, but I am not sure what this bit about rewiring the light means. I see in my manual that power comes in via the grey wire directly to the "power on" bulb, and then out from that bulb to the switch for the Battery Condition. Should I make a splice of the grey wire, so one line goes to the bulb and the second to the switch, and then the outgoing line from the bulb goes to a ground connection?