Solar for a fan

I did something similar, bought a battery operated or 12v camping fan at walmart, took the back part off, then replaced the 4 screws in the vent that hold the trim piece up with for lack of a better term-snap screws in the rv. I then mounted the fan on a 14x14 cutout, put the other part of the snap screws on the board and bought a flexible 20watt solar panel and taped it down with eternabond tape. I used a quick disconnect connector and now can snap that fan into the vent to suck the hot air out. That thing can really get cranking.

I did that in our bedroom. In the main part of the fiver I bought a vortex fan that fits right into the vent and put a 10watt solar panel on that too.

I just did this stuff because it gets so hot while sitting there in the storage lot.

I would button the rig up tight for dust and rain, disconnect the battery and add a small 2 stage battery charger/maintainer. Good batteries will last a long time w/o water. I check mine every few months and add water once a year.

Thanks to everyone.

Hi there fellow Tucsonan! You can leave it plugged in and charging as long as the converter has a "smart" charger. If it's a fairly new rig, it probably will have a smart charger, but you can read the information that came with your unit and find out for sure.

I have stored an RV in Tucson for the last 21 years, including the summer. I've never left a fan on, and wouldn't recommend it. The monsoons can hit in July, and driving rain can get inside your RV if you leave a vent or window open. Not only that, if we get a bad dust storm, you can wind up with a lot of dust inside the unit.

Hi,

I would not disconnect anything. Shut off the propane leak detector, so it will not draw to much power from the battery. The 95 watt solar panel will not keep up well with the current draw, so if you can leave it plugged in, that would be fine. The battery will not "Boil dry" as you might think, it will be fine for 2-3 months, just a little low on water when you get back if it has been really hot.

If you have a Fantastic fan, then it's 2.5 amp draw will deplete the battery, and leaving it plugged into shore power all the time will avoid the battery going up and down in voltage, saving some water.

The solar charge controller will see that the battery is at around 13.2 volts, and probably will not turn on. If it does turn on, then the charger will see the battery at 13.4 volts, and stop charging until needed. You can safely leave both connected, they will each do what they need to do, without damaging anything.

Fred.