Portable Solar Solution?

My portable solar experiment lasted 2 days. They are now on the roof..

Someone mentioned that an RV takes 35 amp hours per day. That may be typical, but some of us get by on a lot less -- we use about 17 a day, except in very cold weather. You need to measure your actual usage to know for sure.

TUCQUALA wrote:
I think you can double tow in CA!! Try this:

It looks like it folds, and would be portable, so I guess you could call it a suitcase, a very large suitcase. That may run an air conditioner!

I think you can double tow in CA!! Try this:

I'm also in the "Q" (been here since November) and have both rooftop panels (1 - 95 watt & 1 - 100 watt) as well as a Solar Blvd 160 watt folding portable feeding a pair of 6V, 232 amp hour batteries.

With all three panels, I have been able to keep up throughout the winter without a generator. Typically use 35 - 40 amp hours per day, more if I use the toaster of make a pot of coffee.

The advantage of the portable (not necessary here in Quartzsite) is I can park the trailer in the shade, and put the portable out in the sun. If I'm not lazy, turning it a couple of times in the day will provide even more amps...

93ToyTruck wrote:
I'd bite the bullet and mount them on the roof. They'll produce energy all of the time and it will be less hassle in the long run. Get an MPPT charge controller so that you get the most out of your panels.

And when mounted on an RV, they are portable solar! I started with LED conversion and battery upgrade (Grp 24>Grp27>dual Trojan 6V) and then a Renogy suitcase. I scoffed at those too lazy to set up a portable when needed, but came to realize the portable did no charging while driving down the road, etc, so I added panels to the roof and keep the suitcase for when camped in the shade.

profdant139 wrote:
I'm using a Chinese knockoff of the Renogy 120 watt portable -- it is wonderful. I have a Honda 2000 and hate using it, even though it is quiet -- I like silence!

The advantage of the portable is that we park our trailer in the shade. The cord allows me to find a sunnier patch for the panel.

I upgraded the cord to 25 feet of ten gauge wire, but otherwise this is the stock unit. I bought it from a private party, someone else here on this forum -- he wanted more power.

We are minimal power users -- LED lights, no television, etc. We have two group 31 batteries at 110 amp hours each. The panel kept the batteries topped off for days on end, even in the winter.

My only regret is that I did not do this sooner.

I'd have kept that foldable panel set I sold you, if I had bought the 160 watt version instead, as it is so convenient to fold up suitcase style for storage.

I am in a 21 foot TT, and use a 150 AH AGM battery, but it's just me in the TT. I use the TV and charge up lap top and phone daily. The 150W panel upgrade I bought was just enough upgrade for me to stay on top of getting my battery into absorption charging by about 1 pm in spring, summer and fall.

It's a bit different in Quartzsite, AZ in winter this week, days are short, nights are long, run more juice... I may have to cheat a bit with the generator for an hour each morning to be fully caught up, the Telecom surplus AGM I bought only charges at about 21 amps per hour max, so an hour of generator might be mandatory first thing in the AM to get a jump on things charging catching up.

If you don't already have LED lights everywhere in your TT, get them installed ASAP, incandescents are battery burners, they hog the amps.

Why worry about putting a hole in the roof? You have an air conditioner, ceiling vents, antenna, maybe a skylight? All of these holes are in the roof, and normally do not leak, if properly sealed.

It is probably much less expensive to install the system properly to the RV than to buy a portable unit, especially if someone takes a liking to your portable unit, and you have to buy it's replacement.

You can buy a 140 watt solar panel for $229 at this place a few weeks ago. SunElec.com

Your RV will consume 35 amp hours daily just to run the CO and propane detectors and the refrigerator. This is about what one 120 watt solar panel will put out in one day. By using a much lower cost PWM controller, you can install a system for much less than a $900 Honda generator, and it will charge in silence, will not likely get stolen, will not need an oil change or replacement gasoline.

And it is lighter! You will not need to think about it once installed. IF you get 280 watts, you will have full batteries all the time, towing it or not. I enjoyed camping for 3 weeks at a time (if I brought in extra water while out sightseeing) with my 415 watt solar system, without tilting the panels or fiddling with them. .

Who wants to spend 15 minutes each time you set up camp or leave to fiddle with the solar system? And mine will charge the battery while driving, so the battery is always full, even helping out the alternator in my motorhome produce up to 20 amps of power.

Good luck,

Fred.

Hi Gjac,

Amps in parallel double, so it is entirely possible to have greater amp-hour capacity using 12 volt jars as compared to 6 volt ones.

The OP should use up what he has first, and then evaluate his needs.

Gjac wrote:
It would look at replacing your 2 12 v batteries with 2 6v GC batteries wired in series, you will double your amps from 110 to 220 amps.