Grand Design Imagine XLS 23LDE
System Schematic

Basic Parts List

Installation Notes

This installation was completed in October of 2024. The customer contacted me from a recommendation from a previous customer.  The customer had a small travel trailer and had purchased some Victron components, but he wanted someone to complete the installation.  The customer had a Multiplus II 12/3000/120 Inverter charger, VE Bus Smart Dongle, and a CHINS 280 AH Lithium battery.  The customer had bench tested the equipment he had, but had not installed it in his trailer.  The trailer had a factory installed 180 watt solar panel with a Furrion solar controller.  The customer wanted to have the equipment he had installed and wanted to upgrade the solar on the trailer.  We discussed options and finally came up with a plan.  The customer purchased an additional CHINS 280 AH lithium battery and brought the rig to me for the installation and solar upgrade.

The installation was completed in two days. I added four 200 watt solar panels to the roof of the trailer.  The new panels were paired to a new Victron SmartSolar MPPT 100/50 Solar Charge Controller.  This more than quadrupled the original solar capacity of the trailer (the original 180 watt Furrion solar controller and solar panel were removed so the customer could use them elsewhere).  I installed the batteries and the Multiplus under the bed inside the trailer.  This was the most convenient location because the manufacturer ran a loop of 10 AWG wire from the breaker panel to this area as an inverter prep option.  I utilized this wire, but not as the manufacturer intended.  I used a junction box behind the main breaker panel to connect the incoming shore power to one end of the loop.  I then connected the other end of the loop to the main break in the breaker panel.  The breaker panel was actually divided into a main panel and a sub panel in the same box.  There was a 30 amp breaker in each section of the panel that the loop of 10 AWG wire was originally connected to.  I added jumper wires between these two breakers and the separate neutral bus bars to turn the divided panel into a single panel (the ground bus bar was already combined into a single unit).  This wiring change allowed me to wire the Multiplus between the incoming shore power and the main breaker so the inverter could power the entire panel.  The customer also built a small rack for the batteries so they could be strapped down.  I installed this under the bed and mounted the batteries to it.  I added a SmartShunt to monitor the status of the battery bank.  I removed the OEM battery connections going to the A-frame of the trailer so the customer could later remove the battery and box.  He planned to utilize that space to mount other equipment.  I added Victron Mega Fuse holders with properly rated Mega fuses to add circuit protection for the Multiplus, the new MPPT and the OEM 12 volt connections.  I replaced the Furrion solar controller in the front pass through storage with a Victron MPPT 100/50 and mounted it to the rear wall of the compartment.  I utilized the existing wire run from the roof to connect the new solar panels to the MPPT.  I also added a Micro Air Easy Start to the rooftop air conditioner.

The installation was pretty simple and straight forward.  After everything was installed, I tested all the equipment, including running the air conditioner from the Multiplus.  Everything worked as expected.  Once the customer arrived to pick up his rig, I went over all the equipment and showed the customer how to use the Victron Connect app to interact with everything.

Grand Design Imagine XLS 23LDE