2017 4X4 2500 144 High Roof Lithium Based Stone Grey

[Backcountryguy]

I received the below reply from Kenny @ Aluminess WRT their rear bumper. We'll need to take this into consideration. Anyone with the C04 option may want to think about it as well. I'm leery of disabling any manufacturer safety feature.

We probably won't use the parktronic at all, but disabling any sensor and obstructing sensors is a consideration.

Something not mentioned is I'm also concerned about weight at this point, as well as the possible exhaust modification required.

I do very much like the idea of the spare mounted on the rear and the galley box A LOT, but think this is something we can add in a year based on our experience and use.

What we might do is go with the cage modification by Agile for our 275/70/17 tires, and see how we feel about adding a rear bumper later.


" Thank you for your interest in Aluminess Products. The parking sensors can be installed in our bumper, but they do not function properly and are normally turned off by our customers. Most of the time they will read the tire and box hanging off the back of the bumper. Even if they didn't read the box, the tire and box hang back further than the face of the bumper so the usability of the sensors is greatly diminished.

Our bumpers work with all of the other sensors including the lane change, blind spot, and collision sensors.

Thank you,

Kenny Gorham
www.Aluminess.com
Aluminess Products Inc.
619-449-9930 "

[TomH]

I need to contact Kenny. I'm thinking of putting a tire carrier on the driver rear side (unsure if swing gate or door mount), but no box and no bumper. Most parallel parking is done to the passenger side. Only rarely on one way streets do I parallel park on the driver side. If the tire alone interferes with the sensor, I wonder if we can disable the sensor on the driver side, leaving the passenger side sensor active and functional. (I am assuming 1 sensor to each side. Am I wrong? Is there a single sensor in the middle?)

[Fitz]

We do not have the Parktronic feature. What we do have is a camera front and rear and the few times we have parallel parked (I can count the number of times in the last year and a half on one hand) they have both served well. I have the spare and the Aluminess box on the back, in my opinion I get far more use out of them then I ever would of the Parktronic.

We do have the front collision sensor and we find that we turn it off most of the time. It activates at about 20 mph and it does a really good job of alerting you of obstacles in front of you, oftentimes too good of a job. For example, in freeway traffic at speed it lets you know when someone brakes in front of you and on windy two lane roads it lets you know when there is a guardrail or signs in front of you, but in both cases those are the times when we are very much aware of what is in front of us and we find the alarm sounding repeatedly annoying and sometimes distracting. Where we do find it valuable is in fog, both day and night. The valley tule fog here in central CA can be amazingly thick, at those times the front sensor is always on. BTW, there is a convenient dash mounted switch to turn these sensors on and off.

And while I’m at it, the lane change and blind spot sensors are wonderful, I can’t say enough about how they improve the safety and drivability of the van. If you are undecided about this feature I strongly advise you order it.

[Backcountryguy]

Fitz/TomH,

Good information. I've reached out to Kenny @ Aluminess again to ask if the bumper needs to be special ordered with a long lead time or if it is an on the shelf item. I'd like to make this decision both during my drive down from Fresno after delivery to El Cajon and after conversations with John Brindle and Kenny on-site. Since Agile and Aluminess are across the street from each other this will be easy. We do have the full suite of safety features incorporated into our van, including blind spot and lane change.

I'm also thinking we will not use parktronic. But in the vein of having every available safety/convenience feature to enhance the comfort/ease of my wife Alison driving the vehicle (perhaps even occasionally on her 60 mile round-trip commute to work), I had them installed. We even have the heated windshield and heated steering wheel for winter use! But that was more because we'll be @ ski areas frequently in winter. Although in retrospect I think the windshield is a $2,000 replacement item if it takes a heavy hit from a rock...

[Fitz]

Originally Posted by Backcountryguy

We even have the heated windshield and heated steering wheel for winter use! But that was more because we'll be @ ski areas frequently in winter. Although in retrospect I think the windshield is a $2,000 replacement item if it takes a heavy hit from a rock...

I can’t speak to the heated steering wheel, but I can tell you that the heated windshield works amazingly well. Set the deductible on your insurance accordingly and enjoy it. And BTW, Laura’s favorite creature comfort feature on the van is the heated seats!

[Backcountryguy]

Fitz, We have heated seats as well! After first getting them on my VW Golf TDI, I'd never go without again! They are the first thing that warms up in winter upon start-up. We also have them in my 4Runner and Alison's Subaru!

Thanks again for all your excellent input. I do admit the heated windshield is going to be a really nice feature. No more scraping the front windshield or removing a heavy layer of snow after a day on the slopes!

[Fitz]

Originally Posted by Backcountryguy

I've reached out to Kenny @ Aluminess again to ask if the bumper needs to be special ordered with a long lead time or if it is an on the shelf item. I'd like to make this decision both during my drive down from Fresno after delivery to El Cajon and after conversations with John Brindle and Kenny on-site.

I have two LED lights mounted in the Aluminess rear bumper, controlled by a switch on the dash. They work great and I highly recommend them.

Suggestion: Have a switch installed and wiring run to the back of the van for this purpose as part of the build. That way when/if you decide to install the rear bumper the wiring will be there waiting for you. Not a big deal if you don’t use it, really nice to have waiting for you if you need it.

[TomH]

Originally Posted by Backcountryguy

....in the vein of having every available safety/convenience feature to enhance the comfort/ease of my wife...I had...installed...even..the heated windshield....Although in retrospect I think the windshield is a $2,000 replacement item if it takes a heavy hit from a rock...

God, you just gave me a flashback. Sorry for getting off topic, but I just have to tell this.

We have a Sienna that can tow about 2500 lbs. I used to have a tilt trailer and a Kubota tractor. I towed the tractor to the shop and back many times with the van.

A couple of years ago Nancy was watching as I drove up the down-tilted trailer at an ultra slow creep. I had the front end loader partly elevated in order to clear the top of the trailer on beginning the angle of approach. Up and up I went ever so slowly, a millimeter at a time.

I did not realize it at first, but reaching the point of COG passing over the fulcrum point, there must have been some unusual resistance in the pivot hinges. Just as the pivot began at a very slow speed, I suddenly realized that the tractor had inched forward more than usual before the pivot began.

The pivot began in relatively slow motion, but both of us could visualize the end result long before it happened. It was like one of those slow motion disaster-in-progress scenes that you see in a movie. In a length of time that seemed to take forever, the bed, tractor, and loader bucket rocked forward. The lip of the bucket seemed to have ever so slowly kissed the glass, but in great contrast, now absolutely no time passed whatsoever. There was no indentation. The first nanosecond that contact was made that glass burst into a hundred thousand pieces and flew everywhere. We looked at each other with giant eyeballs for a full eight seconds and then Nancy doubled over in uncontrollable laughter. Damn that was embarrassing!

[Backcountryguy]

Below is the latest from SMB West for lithium offerings. This greatly expands what is available for lithium set-ups. They are not cheap, but I believe the advantages are numerous. We will be going with option #2 below. I just received this from SMB West this AM, so it probably isn't public yet. Below is the exact wording from Brian @ SMB West. Please also understand we already had some required items in our build, such as 2nd alternator, etc:

Xantrex has bought out at least part of Lithionics ( or partnered with them, not totally sure of the exact relationship). So Xantrex has now developed “packages” to sell to RV manufacturers for Lithium batteries in different size ranges. This is nice, except that getting the parts through them is now more expensive because they have become a middle man in the process. Xantrex also now has exclusive rights to sell particular Lithionics batteries including the single 600 amp/hour battery that you had wanted. Having said that, here are the three best options we have to choose from:



1. “Go Lithium Now” set up: This is a company that our Texas facility had been using with good results and offers the most economical version for 600 amp/hours. To go with this set up we would need to add the following to your build:
- 2 x 300 amp/hour batteries - $3595 each = $7190
- Remote reset on/off (installed by us) – basically a momentary switch to allow you to “wake up” the batteries when they have been shut down for too low of a charge left: Cost - $200
-Total additional cost ( There are other parts needed, but they are already on the Order Entry attached) - $7390

- Main benefit to this system would be lower cost


2. “Lithionics” package: for this we would get the parts needed directly from Lithionics:
- GTR12V300A-5D-DIN Battery x 2. Cost: $4100 each x2 = $8200
- CTRL400-12V-FCC-RR-SOC-ACSense-DIN (Basically battery management system w/ built in sensor to put power to “wake up” batteries if turned off due to low state of charge): Cost: $1650
- Combiner box (2 port) –Cost: $925
- Jumper for Combiner box – Cost: $120
- SOC Meter (Optional, but really cool) – Cost; $350 ( this gives you an advanced battery meter that tells you specific state of charge at any one time, including how many usable amp/hours are left and how much power draw the system is currently using
- Remote Reset on/off Lithionics – Cost: $175
- Need to switch to a Xantrex Freedom 3012 - 3000W inverter: cost $1085
- Xantrex Freedom Combox – Cost: $300
-(Other parts needed you already have in your Order Entry sheet)
- Total Cost to upgrade: $12811
- Main benefits: More advanced system in terms of battery protection and monitoring ability

3. Xantrex package with single 600 amp/hour battery:
- 600 A/H Lithionics battery – Cost: $13,440
- 400A BMS w/ DIN and remote – Cost: $2730
- Upgrade to Xantres Freedomd 3012 – 3000W Inverter- Cost: $1085
- Xantres Freedom Combox – Cost: $300
-(Other parts needed you already have in your Order Entry sheet)
- Total Cost to Upgrade: $$17,555
- Benefit: I think the only benefit here would be if we really needed to have just the single battery, but we should have plenty of space to fit the two batteries in the Lithionics package above and it actually gives you a better monitoring system with the optional SOC Meter.

[TomH]

Good Grief. Brian told me these changes were coming, but the jack up in price of the battery by Xantrex (>$5k) is ridiculous. I have some more thinking to do now.

Some questions:

1. How much extra volume is the "combiner box" going to occupy?

2. Does it have vent pipes or does it use that proprietary Lithionics coupler/controller that prevents a lead/acid battery from being attached (the thing that convinced UL and RVIA to give their blessing to not using a vented box)?