#Trimetric battery monitor installation how to
#Trimetric battery monitor installation full
#Trimetric battery monitor installation mods

#Trimetric battery monitor installation full

If you have a generator, then luck is on your side, however it would still probably take three or more hours to get a full recharge. Such an incident would not only spoil your vacation, but it may also lead to battery damage in short order.

Without any gauges to check if the batteries are charging, you’re likely to be in for a surprise! Think about the food in the fridge, the cold night without the heater on, and the lights, for goodness’ sake.

#Trimetric battery monitor installation mods

You can enter as many mods as you want, at any time.Who wants to have a dead battery bank in the middle of camping nights? Oh, I bet you don’t. If you’d like to enter a modification you’ve done on your truck camper, click here. It is your responsibility to make sure that any do-it-yourself modification project you undertake is safe, effective, and legal for your situation. In my opinion, the skill level of this modification is medium.ĭisclaimer: The modifications above are submitted by Truck Camper Magazine readers. It took me two-hours to complete this modification and cost me $350. In addition, the TriMetric TM-2030 provides a history of the battery’s status.Īs always, running the wires was the most challenging part of the job, and all this was done while boondocking in the jungles of Florida! There is also a light that flashes when the battery should be recharged, equalized, or if the voltage is low. A flashing light indicates when the battery is charging. Successfully installed, the TriMetric TM-2030 displays volts, amps and percentage of full charge. Additional wiring was run between the meter and positive post of the battery, and the shunt to the meter. Per the instructions, a cable was run between the negative post of the battery to one side of the shunt. The lower flange of the box was placed behind the climate control unit with one screw used to secure the box to the wall. Then one hole was drilled in the plastic box to allow the cable to enter the box.

For aesthetics, the meter was removed from the box and painted black. The meter case is a white plastic box and would stand out among the other black panels nearby. I selected the 500 amp-50 mV shunt that provided ampere read out as low as 0.1 amp.

There were two shunts to choose from – the 500A/50mV or 100A/100mV size. The TriMetric TM-2030 system consists of two parts the meter and the shunt. This device taps into the camper’s electronics and checks all of the vital battery characteristics including voltage level, current draw, charging, etc. And all of this needed to be in a system that was easy to use and understand.Īfter considerable research, I chose the TriMetric TM-2030-RV system. I also wanted to be able to accurately gauge the battery percentage of charge, and see the total solar input current and amp hours. Specifically, I wanted to know what our energy use was during the day in amps and watts. As a FYI, the warranty is only one year, and they were just over one year old.īefore buying new batteries or adding additional solar panels, I wanted to improve my ability to monitor the status and charge of my house batteries. It was attributed to too much boondocking and repeated charging cycles. I took the batteries to Interstate for a load test and they confirmed that the batteries needed to be replaced. With an early morning voltage reading either in the high 11s or low 12-volts, our confidence in the system also dropped. However, once the sun went down, so did the voltage during the night. I started to notice that our two one-year old Group 27 Interstate batteries were not performing as they had when newly installed.ĭuring the day our 100-amp solar panel would energize the batteries to 12.8-volts.

#Trimetric battery monitor installation how to

Click here for information about the 2020 Mod Contest, including how to enter.Ībove: The above video shows how and where the TriMetric TM-2030 was installed At the end of the month we’ll hold a reader vote to determine May’s winner. One Medium Mod will be published in every Email Alert in May. Welcome to the fourth entry in May’s Medium Mod Contest.