Forum Discussion

grandmanerak's avatar
grandmanerak
Explorer
Jun 28, 2018

New to 5th Wheel Camping-Need Help

We recently purchased an Ideal 5th Wheel and love it. We have it parked on our property deep in the woods. No electricity and running mainly on batteries and generator. Looking for a more quiet approach. Looking in Solar. We need to purchase new batteries but not sure what to get. Also looking to purchase solar but there too we are not sure how much to get and what is the best.

Any suggestions?

❚ Did you see the "Announcement : ★★READ BEFORE POSTING HERE★★" at the top?
    Forum Posting Help and Support is reserved for questions related to forum posting, signature and photo testing, or reporting member account issues. Please avoid using Forum Posting Help and Support for RV related questions, as doing so can delay responses to your thread. Instead, post your topic in the RV Forum which corresponds to the subject of your topic. Thank-you!
  • 4x4ord's avatar
    4x4ord
    Explorer III
    Jul 01, 2018
    We use 4 six volt golf cart batteries a small solar panel (ours is only 70 watts but I would recommend 200 watt.) a high capacity inverter/battery charger (ours is a Xantrex Freedom 458) and a Honda 2000 inverter generator. The Xantrex is capable of recharging the battery bank in about 4 hours.... Solar panel keeps the batteries charged in storage and lessons the number if times the generator is used. There are times we can go a week without using the generator.
  • donn0128's avatar
    donn0128
    Explorer II
    Jun 28, 2018
    You say in the woods? If by that your meaning trees, then solar will be totally useless. To have an effective solar system you need to have full sun all day. Any shading or shadows and a solar system effeciency drop dramatically.
    As for batteries, you will want deep cycle, 6 volt golf cart batteries are probably your best long term cost effective option. Next you will want to evaluate your useage and do what you can to minimize consumption. Things like LED lights will greatly reduce power use.
  • the_bear_II's avatar
    the_bear_II
    Explorer
    Jun 28, 2018
    Look through the blog at www.rv-dreams.com He has posted information about their solar setup. You may need to search through the blog listings to find it or in the left column it may show under their RV description/equipment post.

    Here's another good source for solar info:
    http://www.jackdanmayer.com/

About Fifth Wheel Group

19,007 PostsLatest Activity: Feb 26, 2025