Forum Discussion
msiminoff
Oct 30, 2013Explorer II
Hi Ripit,
There are a lot of ways to skin this cat, and what you have proposed is entirely reasonable... assuming you can tolerate the additional weight, space, & $$$ cost. My personal opinion is that you can probably get by comfortably with much less.... He's my 2ยข:
If I were in your shoes, the very first thing I'd do is make a power budget. I'd really want to know is how much power the fridge is using... after that I'd evaluate the daily use of the lights, microwave, furnace, etc. I don't own a Tundra, but I'd bet that thing consumes ~30A/h per day in hot weather which means that your single 120W panel should be able to keep up with clear skies/no shading.
Definitely add the TriMetric! While this device isn't necessary, it is cheap & handy and will help you to keep tabs on your battery SOC and how much power you're using.
Replace all of the incandescent and fluorescent lights with LED's. This is a fairly expensive undertaking and will probably never pay-back the initial $ investment, but if you are trying to shave Amp-hours then this simple lighting upgrade is low hanging fruit. I bought mine at LED Trailer Lights. I have never had an LED fail and I'm happy with the (warm) color temperature I selected... of course there are lower price sellers out there. Caveat emptor.
Get rid of those Powervolt batteries! That said, four T-105's is a lot of weight and space in a pop-up truck camper and it's hard to imagine that you need 400+A/h (again, make a power budget). I think that you'll find that ~200A/h is sufficient and that you can get by with two T-105's or two 12V deep cycle batteries. You have a large (MSW) inverter and microwave, can I assume you would like to power the micro' from the batteries?? If that's the case then you may want to consider AGM's instead of FLA's as they will have less voltage sag during this kind of high-current/short-duration use.
Keep the BlueSky 2000e. It's a very good solar charge controller and more than adequate for your current solar system and future upgrades.
If your power budget indicates that you need more solar (you probably do) then I suggest that you start by adding only one more 120W panel. A total of 240W should be more than enough for your TC and would be a good match for the ~200A/h of battery I previously recommended. Since you already own the generator and 100A charger you can re-charge quickly on days when you don't get enough sunshine on the panels.
If you camp in cold weather get a catalytic heater. They're compact, safe, and efficient.
When you go shopping for a TV I suggest that you choose a 12V one. It will be more efficient than a 120V one and also because you have a MSW inverter which may affect image quality.
Hope this helps.
Cheers,
-Mark
There are a lot of ways to skin this cat, and what you have proposed is entirely reasonable... assuming you can tolerate the additional weight, space, & $$$ cost. My personal opinion is that you can probably get by comfortably with much less.... He's my 2ยข:
If I were in your shoes, the very first thing I'd do is make a power budget. I'd really want to know is how much power the fridge is using... after that I'd evaluate the daily use of the lights, microwave, furnace, etc. I don't own a Tundra, but I'd bet that thing consumes ~30A/h per day in hot weather which means that your single 120W panel should be able to keep up with clear skies/no shading.
Definitely add the TriMetric! While this device isn't necessary, it is cheap & handy and will help you to keep tabs on your battery SOC and how much power you're using.
Replace all of the incandescent and fluorescent lights with LED's. This is a fairly expensive undertaking and will probably never pay-back the initial $ investment, but if you are trying to shave Amp-hours then this simple lighting upgrade is low hanging fruit. I bought mine at LED Trailer Lights. I have never had an LED fail and I'm happy with the (warm) color temperature I selected... of course there are lower price sellers out there. Caveat emptor.
Get rid of those Powervolt batteries! That said, four T-105's is a lot of weight and space in a pop-up truck camper and it's hard to imagine that you need 400+A/h (again, make a power budget). I think that you'll find that ~200A/h is sufficient and that you can get by with two T-105's or two 12V deep cycle batteries. You have a large (MSW) inverter and microwave, can I assume you would like to power the micro' from the batteries?? If that's the case then you may want to consider AGM's instead of FLA's as they will have less voltage sag during this kind of high-current/short-duration use.
Keep the BlueSky 2000e. It's a very good solar charge controller and more than adequate for your current solar system and future upgrades.
If your power budget indicates that you need more solar (you probably do) then I suggest that you start by adding only one more 120W panel. A total of 240W should be more than enough for your TC and would be a good match for the ~200A/h of battery I previously recommended. Since you already own the generator and 100A charger you can re-charge quickly on days when you don't get enough sunshine on the panels.
If you camp in cold weather get a catalytic heater. They're compact, safe, and efficient.
When you go shopping for a TV I suggest that you choose a 12V one. It will be more efficient than a 120V one and also because you have a MSW inverter which may affect image quality.
Hope this helps.
Cheers,
-Mark
About Travel Trailer Group
44,056 PostsLatest Activity: Dec 27, 2025