Is solar the way to go?
Looking for some input from those of you that use solar to charge your battery. What are good kits to buy that are affordable and portable? How long does it take you to charge in all conditions? Is so...
Forum Discussion
We are primarily National Forest/BLM boondockers and solar autonomy is important. We have had Bull Moose fighting (at least they were sparring for 45 minutes) within 25 meters of rig, Coyotes, Deer, Elk, etc walk right past or under (Coyotes). This would probably not occur with a generator running. So we try to figure where we can get solar in morning (rig headed north so the awning shades in morning) and shade in the afternoon. We have gotten 1320 W charging in mid-summer so half a day of solar is sufficient.
With solar, as several have noted, you have to be sure that you are not in shade much of the day. We were on Olympic Peninsula and I called the Mora CG in the NP about an open spot for solar and was mildly chided "Sir, this is a rain forest, your panels will not do you much good!" So a backup small generator is a good idea. We have a 1 kW generator which we have only used to make sure it is running over the last two years. We did last six days in the rain forest with 9.6 kW-hrs of LFP and were down by about 50% (-5 kW-hrs) so we were good for another 3 days. We were still "harvesting" around 500 W-hrs a day through the 150' tall trees. We do have 1.4 kW of solar, 9.6 kW-hr of LFP and a 4 kW Magnum PSW inverter. Ran the fridge on AC yesterday (we just returned from 3 months in Ecuador/Peru and are checking out the rig before leaving tomorrow to see family and hopefully make it to Labrador/Newfoundland this summer) and harvested 5500 W-hr.
We know a guy who does have hinged panels on his pickup/camper and motorcycle carrying (BMW) trailer. I think he will have a total of around 2 kW on the combination. This is sufficient for the air conditioner on his pickup/camper. We have run a/c on our rig for 3.5 hours as combination of solar/batteries. We have discussed putting another 470 to 700 W on the 5th wheel for full a/c power but figure we would just rather go north or up in elevation to avoid the heat.
With solar, as several have noted, you have to be sure that you are not in shade much of the day. We were on Olympic Peninsula and I called the Mora CG in the NP about an open spot for solar and was mildly chided "Sir, this is a rain forest, your panels will not do you much good!" So a backup small generator is a good idea. We have a 1 kW generator which we have only used to make sure it is running over the last two years. We did last six days in the rain forest with 9.6 kW-hrs of LFP and were down by about 50% (-5 kW-hrs) so we were good for another 3 days. We were still "harvesting" around 500 W-hrs a day through the 150' tall trees. We do have 1.4 kW of solar, 9.6 kW-hr of LFP and a 4 kW Magnum PSW inverter. Ran the fridge on AC yesterday (we just returned from 3 months in Ecuador/Peru and are checking out the rig before leaving tomorrow to see family and hopefully make it to Labrador/Newfoundland this summer) and harvested 5500 W-hr.
We know a guy who does have hinged panels on his pickup/camper and motorcycle carrying (BMW) trailer. I think he will have a total of around 2 kW on the combination. This is sufficient for the air conditioner on his pickup/camper. We have run a/c on our rig for 3.5 hours as combination of solar/batteries. We have discussed putting another 470 to 700 W on the 5th wheel for full a/c power but figure we would just rather go north or up in elevation to avoid the heat.
