Portable Solar panels
I mostly dry camp in my Class B Roadtrek and even though I have a generator it seems such a waste to run it just to charge batteries. And since I'm usually out on the trails during the day I don't ha...
Forum Discussion
Hi Tom M,
There may almost always be shipping unless you live close enough to pick up the panels in person.
The point I was attempting to make is that with dirt cheap panel prices, enough solar to work well even in shade can be installed.
If I "lay off" using my inverter, my system does 7 amps at solar noon in leafy shade, so my battery bank with the usual loads would be fully charged each and every day. I also get 3 amps in the rain.
I did a little calculating recently and if the temperature outside is 2 c (35 f) and I keep the rv at 20 c (68 f), I can run for 13 days without dropping below 50% state of charge, and that is assuming it rains every day.
Since the OP has a much smaller bank, he needs to have a larger watt to amp-hour ratio. Roadtrek uses 245 watts--so probably so should he.
There may almost always be shipping unless you live close enough to pick up the panels in person.
The point I was attempting to make is that with dirt cheap panel prices, enough solar to work well even in shade can be installed.
If I "lay off" using my inverter, my system does 7 amps at solar noon in leafy shade, so my battery bank with the usual loads would be fully charged each and every day. I also get 3 amps in the rain.
I did a little calculating recently and if the temperature outside is 2 c (35 f) and I keep the rv at 20 c (68 f), I can run for 13 days without dropping below 50% state of charge, and that is assuming it rains every day.
Since the OP has a much smaller bank, he needs to have a larger watt to amp-hour ratio. Roadtrek uses 245 watts--so probably so should he.
