Innovative, environmentally-friendly power with less noise than a generator
More than ever, RV users are searching for new, innovative and environmentally-friendly options to power their Class A, Class B, and Class C RVs. Whether they want to get rid of the noise of the factory-installed generator or they are looking for more power to live off the grid, RV owners are turning to Holland Motor Homes to install our Volta systems.
Recently, Holland Motor Homes and Volta Power Systems teamed up with those goals in mind; this time retrofitting a 2019 Mercedes Benz Leisure Travel Van.
Bought with a Volta system in mind
With the goal of exploring National Parks across the United States and Canada, the owners of the RV purchased the vehicle without a generator or batteries, ultimately deciding to instead go with the most energy storage we’ve ever put in a Class B RV.
Many National Parks require you to book a shore power site in advance of 6 months or more. Further reinforcing the value of a Volta Power System that’s able to charge via the alternator or solar power.
As with each retrofit, the goal is to install the new lithium-ion system in a way that looks factory installed, while also maintaining the usability of the RV. To accomplish that goal, Scott Vroon, service manager at Holland Motor Homes, said his team first analyzed the RV, planning out how much power was needed and where the system could go.
On the Leisure Travel Van, that meant transforming the space where the generator and storage areas would be behind the back right tires to build a custom-made box frame to house the Volta battery. The unit has 18 kWh of useable energy storage and almost 20kWh in total storage.
With this system, the owners have enough power to run all the appliances on the vehicle including A/C simultaneously for the better part of a day or fully through the night.
“Each retrofit project offers unique challenges but ultimately, the goal is to find available space to put the system in without interfering with its functionality,” Vroon said. “The other challenge with this job was the use of solar panels. While that meant additional wiring, we accomplished our goals and have this RV ready to hit the road.”
With Volta, the RV has more power…
Ultimately, Holland Motor Homes equipped the RV with 3600W of pure sine 120V power with one inverter giving the owner the equivalent of 30 amp shore power all the time. With this system, the owners have enough power to run all the appliances on the vehicle including A/C simultaneously for up to eight hours.
Generation & Auto Start
To ensure the RV was capable of meeting all the owner’s needs, Holland Motor Homes installed the 180A 58V Volta alternator that provides up to 8,000 watts for charging while driving or idling.
One of the unique challenges on the vehicle was enabling it with an auto start feature, which idles the main engine to charge the system when power gets low. Navigating the complicated integration between the Volta system and the vehicle’s starting controls, the team was ultimately successful in installing the first power system auto start on a 2019 Sprinter.
Each Volta retrofit project also includes our custom made State of Charge (SOC) gauge, an easy-to-use on and off switch and an inverter display. Each component was installed with a factory-installed look by Holland Motor Homes.
For more information about retrofitting a vehicle with a Volta system, visit Holland Motor Homes at www.holland-motorhomes.com.
