This discussion is turning into the primo example of the consequences of Roadtrek not putting any kind of useful battery monitoring system in the Lithium batteries systems. All that can be really concluded, I think, is that none of us has a clue how to tell how much power is left, except at the single data point where a module shuts down. Personally, I think this is unacceptable in a unit that is touted as having as much power as you would ever need, especially when people do run out of power.
The argument is often made that most people don't really care as long as things come on when they flip the switch, just like at home, and I am sure there are some folks that fit that "on/of/volume" type user. If they are moderate power consumers and have driving and shore power use camping patterns that get them recharged often enough, they will be happy with the system (except maybe for having to turn on and off modules all the time).
The units are also advertised heavily as being good for running the AC off the batteries, and for those that want to do that, especially if they need to cool pets, not knowing their capacity state is really pretty important. My bet is that no matter if you have Warp Core or smaller systems, you can still run them out of power easily with the AC, except you won't know when until they go dead with no monitoring system. I think many of the customers for these units fit that category.
Long term dry campers, who don't drive often and don't want to idle, would also need to know how much power they have left.
Of course then there are the ones like me, who like to know what is going on and if the systems are working correctly.
I wouldn't be surprised if we don't see any real monitoring out of Roadtrek until the at least get their parasitic losses under control, as a monitor system would quickly show the customers just how much power is being wasted every hour of every day. After that, maybe, but Roadtrek and many other builders have always used only the most basic, and useless, idiot lights for battery monitoring, so I wouldn't hold my breath. If folks can't see how poorly systems are working, they won't be bugging the manufacturers to fix them. :hide:
I like Marko's idea of ARV coming up with a real monitoring system for the Roadtreks. At that point, at least you would get the true and complete information of what was going on all the time. It would be very, very, interesting to see how Roadtrek would react to such a modification though
The more all this kind of stuff comes out, the more I like the idea of a complete system from a third party vendor being used. ARV's looking at the Volta 48v system would be a prime example. If everything from alternator to bms to batteries to monitoring are all integrated as a unit, by folks that do that kind of work for a living, you have a much higher likely hood of good performance and reliability. It also puts all the responsibility for the system in one place, so finger pointing can be nearly eliminated.
If companies like Volta choose to get into the RV business in general, and not just do single company agreements, the entire field of high end battery systems in all the brands of RVs suddenly would get very flat, competition wise. Then buyers would be able to concentrate on the more easily understood and seen issues of build quality and convenience to make their purchase decisions. Kind of like the fact that nearly all generators are Onans, so no RV builder has any advantage over another in that area.