Hi all, Ive got some questions. Ive been reading ALOT of posts and trying to gather knowledge of what other rvers are doing and using. I have calculated my useage while boondocking and have decided to purchase the GOPOWER 120w portable kit. Other than the propane fridge, the occasional water pump and the led bulbs, we have a 600w inverter to run a tv and dvd player. I have 2 group 31 lifeline agm's. My question is in maintaining while rv is in storage. Rv is parked outside but has a cover over it and is pretty far from shore power. I would like to charge/maintain using a small solar setup with either a single or dual station float charger. Dont want to have to set up the go power kit and leave it out for weeks or months at a time. So will one small solar panel and float charger be ok or am I better off taking cables loose seperating the parallel connection and using two different chargers, one on each battery. Looking to maintain the batteries the best way to get as much life as possible. Thanks

I bought a two decimal point voltmeter from China and connected it to my positive/negative distribution points inside the camper. In the fall, I charge my batteries, park the rig, and disconnect one side of the batteries.About once a month I go check on things, connect up the batteries, check the voltage, check storage cabinets outside. Been sitting for months now, batteries are at 12.60 still. If I have to, I will take my Honda 2K generator over to it, and run it for an hour.

Thanks for that. I just purchased this class c. My 5th wheel had 80w on the roof. Never had to mess with or worry about it. This one has no solar at all and will be covered. Wanting to set it up in the best possible way. We boondock in heavy forest alot so thats the reason for the portable solar. My rv storage is at my inlaws property about 15 miles from me. No problem doing like you stated. I do know that a constant 3 stage charge maintainer is the best for the batteries so I was thinking Id try to set that up via small solar panel that I could set up outside the storage cover while parked.

champdog wrote: so I was thinking Id try to set that up via small solar panel that I could set up outside the storage cover while parked.Keeping the batteries FULLY charged is the best way to "extend" their life. If they are indeed healthy (that is don't exhibit a large self-discharge) then simply disconnecting is good enough for 3-4 months. If they are AGM, you can extend that to 6 months and beyond.Then.....I see absolutely NO reason to buy two solar chargers. A really good one will automatically drop to "maintain" and they are made to be outside 100 precent of the time. Don't make this more complicated than it needs to be.Edit: Just re-read your original post. Since there are two batteries in parallel, and you don't know their condition, you should individually charge each one once, let them sit disconnected for about 24 hours and then check the voltage and specific gravity of each. This will tell you a lot about their general health. If they match and appear able to hold a full charge, then back to the two suggestions above.Batteries in parallel need to be similar in size, capacity and health. Mis-matches can be problematic.

Champ, I'm trying out a 15 watt solar battery maintainer and so far it's keeping my two T125s fully charged while the 300 watt WindyNation system sleeps under a cover.

Thanks for the replies. Im still green when it comes to solar but Im reading enough that its making me want to dive head first into being as solar efficient as possible. I have another question. In learning how mppt works it sounds like its way way better for actually recharging a battery bank. Do the mppt controllers work like a good 3 phase type float charger and if I have 12v panels on the roof in series with a mppt isnt that going to be way better than my roof panels wired parallel with a pwm controller? I have 2 group 31 agm batt's and would like to get as close as possible to never have to worry about charging with the genny or ruining my batt's. If a mppt would always be a better choice to try and achieve those goals Ill opt for the mppt. Are 24v panels a better choice than 12v if your using mppt? THANKS!!!!!!

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