Progressive Dynamics charger/converter for 2 Trojan T-105’s

Negative terminal to this and from this to a bussbar.

A totally disconnected AGM battery will lose about 7% charge in 3-months of a Reno summer. 100F temps.

Rail Dawg wrote:
For those of you with solar how do you tie all your components together?

Everyone seems to like a battery picture.



Largest cable is 4/0 to the 2000w inverter.
Solar is the red fuse on the left wall #4 wire.
RV connects on the right hand side #2 wire.
Interconnecting cables are 2/0.

Rail Dawg wrote:
For those of you with solar how do you tie all your components together?

Busbars.

This is great stuff.

Back in the 90’s I installed (myself) 10 160 watt solar panels on my home. Used 8 Trojan T-105 batteries and a quality inverter.

Well that was 20 years ago and it’s fun to begin adding solar to my dry-camping setup.

Not sure where to begin with my desert boondocking rig but my biggest concern will be wiring.

When not in the desert the rig is stored indoors in Reno with no way to get solar to it.
It’s a public storage place and we don’t live in Reno we just travel there every month or so to gold prospect in Northern Nevada.

So I’m going to go ultimately with 4 Trojan T-105 AGM’s and thanks to you guys will be installing probably an 80-amp Progressive Dynamics charger/converter.

Will be beefing up the receptacle wiring to 20-amps for the charger/converter.

I’m assuming we’ll have to also beef up the wiring from the PD to the batteries correct?

I may have installed my own solar way back when but I’m kind of back to square one in installing solar panels, a charge controller and tying this all into the PD system.

Yes an inverter at some point.

Is there by chance out there a unit that is not only a 110v charger/controller but also a solar power regulator/charger?

For those of you with solar how do you tie all your components together?

This is enjoyable to discuss and your ideas/suggestions are appreciated.

Rail Dawg

Take a moment and take a dose of MPPT type solar panel technology. Very high voltage feeds a special MPPT controller which acts normal toward 12 volt batteries.

The issue is WIRE SIZE running into your coach and it is possible to double the amount of amps safely using the same size wire. Plus nearly all panels these days are higher voltage.

This deserves it's own new thread using your personal criteria. You need to find out the Gauge of the wire the factory fed down from the roof. Ask the dealer or post a picture with your finger alongside for perspective.

Adding to remind you of the two parts to the equation.

Your power and charging capabilities, and Your power requirements.

Whatever setup you use, having LEDs, efficient appliances, inverter, whatever is the first step to successful boondocking ;)

Most I see doing a lot of extended boondocking have 4 6v batteries and some sort of solar setup.

We boondock in the woods for a week or so at a time, but not often. So no solar for us (yet).

In the desert the rumor is there is lots of SUN. LOL.

It does seem that low amp, long top up final charge is the "least efficient" for chargers and generators, but ideally suited for most solar setups.

If you can't do enough solar now to handle all your needs (budget, priority, etc), a generator can handle the bulk recharge stage and a little solar can likely handle the last stages and some of the usage.

Some really sharp battery/solar people here, don't hesitate to ask your questions ;)

Good luck!

When I had my previous RV with a pair of 6 volt golf cart batteries, I used the PD4655V with no problems. In my new RV, I have a pair of 12 volt AGM batteries and another PD4655V.

BFL13 wrote:

Rail Dawg wrote:

BFL13 wrote:
I posted a reply that answered all that this morning showing third reply at 1017am on my feed. Apparently nobody saw it? Did anybody? (I have been having problems with missing posts in threads for months, but this is the first where one of mine seems to be missing.)

Thanks--Unless of course, nobody sees this one either!

Yes I saw your reply this morning and that was helpful.

You think the 55 amp is enough?

Ok, that's good it showed up! Yes 55 amps is near 25% of 217AH capacity of the two AGM 105s, so it is about right for generator recharging. BUT that is only true if you actually get the 55 amps to the battery.

That depends on using the PD Charge Wizard to force 14.8v and also by having fat enough or short enough wires between converter and battery.

BTW note that PD 80 amper is supposed to have a 20 amp plug so you need a receptacle in the RV that it can plug into with the sideways slot. That needs to be on #12 wire, not #14, to a 20 amp breaker.

With only the two batteries , there is no point whatsoever in getting a higher amp charger than about 60 amps. A 75 will only save you a few (under 10) minutes of generator time doing a 50-90 compared with a 60.

There are several brands of converters and chargers each with its own set of pros and cons. You get to pick which most closely meets your needs.

EDIT--no overkill but don't know how much you will use. You can't get to full off grid using a generator and charger. Takes forever to get from 90 to 100. Stop the gen at 90. You can get higher from there on solar. Depends on the time of sunshine in the day if you ever get to 100.

Once home you must do an equalization to 16 volts to clean up from not getting to full after each recharge while camping.

Hey thanks for all this it’s appreciated!

Great point about the wiring size for a larger charger.

I can wire in a 20-amp receptacle and breaker no problem if I decide to go with 4 T-105 AGM’s and want the bigger charger.

Need to stop by the RV dealer shop and find out the biggest solar I can put in with the existing pre-wiring.

We dry-camp in the desert need to take advantage of the solar.

Thanks again!

Rail Dawg wrote:
Are 4 T-105 AGM’s overkill?

Not if you have a big inverter, which I haven't seen mentioned yet.

It's much nicer to watch TV with silent power rather than a generator.. especially an 8,000w one.

Rail Dawg wrote:

BFL13 wrote:
I posted a reply that answered all that this morning showing third reply at 1017am on my feed. Apparently nobody saw it? Did anybody? (I have been having problems with missing posts in threads for months, but this is the first where one of mine seems to be missing.)

Thanks--Unless of course, nobody sees this one either!

Yes I saw your reply this morning and that was helpful.

You think the 55 amp is enough?

Ok, that's good it showed up! Yes 55 amps is near 25% of 217AH capacity of the two AGM 105s, so it is about right for generator recharging. BUT that is only true if you actually get the 55 amps to the battery.

That depends on using the PD Charge Wizard to force 14.8v and also by having fat enough or short enough wires between converter and battery.

BTW note that PD 80 amper is supposed to have a 20 amp plug so you need a receptacle in the RV that it can plug into with the sideways slot. That needs to be on #12 wire, not #14, to a 20 amp breaker.

With only the two batteries , there is no point whatsoever in getting a higher amp charger than about 60 amps. A 75 will only save you a few (under 10) minutes of generator time doing a 50-90 compared with a 60.

There are several brands of converters and chargers each with its own set of pros and cons. You get to pick which most closely meets your needs.

EDIT--no overkill but don't know how much you will use. You can't get to full off grid using a generator and charger. Takes forever to get from 90 to 100. Stop the gen at 90. You can get higher from there on solar. Depends on the time of sunshine in the day if you ever get to 100.

Once home you must do an equalization to 16 volts to clean up from not getting to full after each recharge while camping.