Looking for an RV solar vendor in So Cal
I'm having trouble finding someone who installs solar on RVs in the L.A. area. Can anyone here recommend a vendor they've used? Thanks!
Forum Discussion
I just realized that it's been slightly over a year since we added solar to our fiver. This is one of the best investments we ever made.
We've spent probably 4-5 months out of the past twelve in the RV and the constant solar made a huge difference. We hardly use our generator anymore except for a little top-off in the evenings when we're boondocking in the winter.
I typically turn on the inverter at the beginning of a trip and leave it on the whole time--partly because I'm too lazy to turn it off and partly because there's always an iPad or something charging. I also like to set the clock on the microwave as a way of showing me if there have been any power interruptions. I couldn't run the inverter this much though without the solar.
I love it that the batteries are always fully charged when I pick up the trailer from storage. I love it even more that I don't need to deal with plugging in the shore power cord to charge up when we bring it home to pack.
I haven't gone up on the roof to clean the panels, but we drive through the Blue Beacon truck wash every other month or so to wash the fiver, so the panels get a good bath.
I think the only fault we've had so far was that the bluetooth module stopped working. There's no on/off switch to cycle it, so I had to remove the cover to the controller and unplug/replug it to restore connection. That bluetooth module and app are amazing. It's fun to lie in bed and see a crack of the sun coming up and check the monitor to see the system already beginning to charge. The signal is strong enough that we can monitor it from outside in camp or in the truck on the road.
All in all, I couldn't be happier with this. I wish we'd done it sooner.
We've spent probably 4-5 months out of the past twelve in the RV and the constant solar made a huge difference. We hardly use our generator anymore except for a little top-off in the evenings when we're boondocking in the winter.
I typically turn on the inverter at the beginning of a trip and leave it on the whole time--partly because I'm too lazy to turn it off and partly because there's always an iPad or something charging. I also like to set the clock on the microwave as a way of showing me if there have been any power interruptions. I couldn't run the inverter this much though without the solar.
I love it that the batteries are always fully charged when I pick up the trailer from storage. I love it even more that I don't need to deal with plugging in the shore power cord to charge up when we bring it home to pack.
I haven't gone up on the roof to clean the panels, but we drive through the Blue Beacon truck wash every other month or so to wash the fiver, so the panels get a good bath.
I think the only fault we've had so far was that the bluetooth module stopped working. There's no on/off switch to cycle it, so I had to remove the cover to the controller and unplug/replug it to restore connection. That bluetooth module and app are amazing. It's fun to lie in bed and see a crack of the sun coming up and check the monitor to see the system already beginning to charge. The signal is strong enough that we can monitor it from outside in camp or in the truck on the road.
All in all, I couldn't be happier with this. I wish we'd done it sooner.
