5th Wheel Solar Install
I am new to RV.net, but participate in several other forums regularly. In another thread here, I was asked about my solar set up on my rig so I said I would start a new thread to give the details. H...
Forum Discussion
2oldman wrote:
Sorry, I meant you kept it all wired up as 12v. 12v inverters.. etc.
Yes, I kept everything 12 volt except the solar panels. They are wired in series parallel for higher voltage, but the MPPT charge controller reduces that voltage back down to 12 volt for the batteries. The reason I kept everything 12 volt is because all the other components in the trailer are 12 volt. If I had gone to a higher voltage battery bank and inverter set up, I would have had to get a step down converter in order to interact with these other components. There are some decent step down converters out there, but very few if any of them can handle the high amperage draws required by the hydraulic pump for the slides and jacks or the electric slide motors (I have both hydraulic and electric slides in my 5th wheel). You can get more efficiency in a higher voltage system, but you still need to account for the existing 12 volt components in a typical RV.
