I am curious to know if Newell Coach will make the same jump that Liberty Coach made and change over to Lithium Batteries.
Liberty Coach has announced that it will be incorporating an eco-friendly battery system into all newly constructed motorcoaches.
After exhaustive testing and research with the new battery system in Liberty Coach’s H3-45 triple slide, Frank Konigseder, vice president and co-owner of Liberty Coach, said in a news release, “We are happy with its performance and have made the decision to incorporate it into all our new models.”
With the introduction of a lithium iron phosphate battery system, several environmentally friendly advantages have occurred. The new system uses a non-toxic disposable battery that also has a much longer lifecycle than the previous battery system. Also, because fewer of these new batteries are required to power the various on-board electronics and other systems, there is a tremendous weight savings as well, making the coaches more energy efficient.
“By changing to the new lithium iron phosphate battery technology, we were able to eliminate 1,150 pounds of total weight from our H3-45 triple-slide model,” said Konigseder. “Additionally, whereas the older batteries typically would last about three years, these new batteries have on average a 10-year life cycle.”
While Liberty Coach is very happy with the performance and environmental benefits of this new system, the initial expense is more than traditional batteries. However, some of this additional cost is offset by the battery’s increased life expectancy which also helps save money when getting a coach ready for resale.
Many high-end motorcoach owners trade in their coaches every two or three years. Up to now, when a coach was being made ready for resale, typically the batteries were one of the first things to be replaced, which may not be necessary going forward.
With this new system, all batteries communicate on a proprietary network which continuously monitors each battery cell. The status is displayed on an output monitor that enables Liberty Coach to utilize the generator automatic starting system more efficiently by controlling the start/stop of the generator based exclusively on amp hour usage.
“The history of each battery is maintained in a non-volatile log which can be retrieved at any time,” Konigseder explained. “This may eliminate the need to replace batteries on used coaches in the future since we now have an accurate way to determine the need based on the actual usage of the batteries in each coach.”
Liberty Coach continually researches and tests new systems, materials and components to make sure the most reliable, user-friendly, and technologically advanced systems are being incorporated into their products.
Later this summer, for example, Liberty Coach will introduce the Apple iPad into their built-in, on-board electronics. The iPad will be integrated into every coach’s Crestron Control Touchpanel system which controls seven zones of audio, video, lighting, HVAC, shades and even the outdoor awning, in addition to monitoring and managing the fresh water and waste water, power generator, air doors and locks. Additionally, the Moritz Octoplex system controls the air conditioning circuit breakers and more than 100 dimmable and programmable DC breakers for lights, valves and other mechanical systems.
The company has facilities in Stuart, Fla., and Chicago.
For more information about Liberty Coach please visit
www.LibertyCoach.com or call (800) 554-9877.
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Liberty Coach Adds Eco-Friendly Batteries | RV Business