now researching solar power

Super_Dave wrote:
I originally wanted solar and a generator but could only afford a generator to start. 6 years later, the generator has been all I needed. A little run time at meals has been enough to keep the batteries charged and run the 110v appliances. Hard if not impossible for solar to keep up with running 110v.

Before solar, in our other TC, every morning I had to go outside and start up the genny to grind coffee. Then it's "Honey, I need to dry my hair. Can you turn on the Genny?" which ran full throttle. Later on "I want to make some marguaritas in the blender. Can you run the generator?"

She can't have breakfast without toast. There I go out again and fire the genny up again only this time it's running at full throttle.

Leave the TC for awhile on the beach while we go sight seeing. Get back and after a few days off the truck, try to raise the TC with the remote. Batteries dead. Back to the generator.

Want to make some pop corn or warm up some left overs. Not the genny again. Hey, we have to charge all of the our small electronic appliance batteries like cellphones, cameras, Ipad and laptop, guess what, they all are 120V so again have to start the friggin generator.

Oh, I forgot the 120V TV. "Lets watch a movie tonight and get cozy, honey," she says. So, guess how much fun it is watching TV and listening to the genny at the same time. Ya real intimate.

Fast forward to now. All of the previous 120V appliances are powered by inverters(2000W and a smaller one) and almost entirely, the power is coming from solar and the alternator when travelling.

Just to muddy the waters a bit, an AC/DC, 7.5cuft fridge/freezer is running 24/7. No A/C.

Some numbers for the nay sayers:

180: number of nights camped with present TC
2: nights with electric hook ups.
3: hours Honda 2000 with present TC

We are smart with our electric consumption but we do not live in a cave.

Dave

campn4walleye wrote:
...replacing bulbs to all LED.

LEDs for truck campers and other RVs

I have a solar system by AM Solar. I've been very happy with all my upgrades - solar and LED lighting.

I originally wanted solar and a generator but could only afford a generator to start. 6 years later, the generator has been all I needed. A little run time at meals has been enough to keep the batteries charged and run the 110v appliances. Hard if not impossible for solar to keep up with running 110v.

campn4walleye wrote:

.....Anyway, I guess solar is in our future. Will it keep the batteries fully charged? We try to be frugal with our power, so I was surprised that this happened, as we have 2 grp 27 batteries.

Any insight or experience is appreciated. Will start reading everything I can, so that I can have a good starting point.

We had a great experience at AM Solar. We wrote all about it on these blog posts at our site:

http://www.walkaboutwithwheels.blogspot.com/2012/10/waiting-area-at-am-solar.html

http://www.walkaboutwithwheels.blogspot.com/2012/10/tuesday-at-am-solar.html

http://www.walkaboutwithwheels.blogspot.com/2012/10/wednesday-at-am-solar.html

http://www.walkaboutwithwheels.blogspot.com/2012/10/wednesday-at-am-solar.html

http://www.walkaboutwithwheels.blogspot.com/2012/10/our-first-full-day-using-solar-power.html

http://www.walkaboutwithwheels.blogspot.com/2012/10/am-solar-enters-customer-service-hall.html

http://www.walkaboutwithwheels.blogspot.com/2012/10/a-quick-summary-of-our-solar-system.html

We will be lifelong customers............

What many of us are refering to as kits might be termed special order dealer packeged units made of our chosen componets. We used their check lists.

AMSolar advised me, then used my measurements to supply the # 8 wire, the # 10 wire, the type of mounts, the solar panels, the temperature compensated controller... every thing... and gave me a price. The componets came in 3 box's.

Then I had a total price to compare with others... they were competitive and I had no waste.

You are lucky... there are several good companies to chose from.

When I installed my system...

I had Bigfoorford looking over my shoulder every step of the way... he is my Guru and my coach... Jim is the most knowledgeable person in electronics that I have ever met.... and where I worked I met a lot of the worlds best.

I was lucky... Reddog1 already paved the way... I had him to look to for answers too.

bigfootford wrote:
...That said, here is a great kit, even includes the roof mounts, from a great company:

Solar Blvd 200 watt kit. Panel size 44"long and 26" wide.



Jim

Although I am always suspect of solar kits, this appears to be a good kit at a good price. I definitely would consider it.

Wayne

More solar info.

There are better charge controllers than the one in the kit.
It would be up to you to decide to spend more $.

The only step up I would consider is a Temperature compensation feature. This raises and lowers the charge voltage as the battery changes temperature. Cold batteries do not charge well, hot batteries can be destroyed when charging at too high a voltage.

This controller and remote display then adding the temperature compensation cable is the answer. You will have to discuss the wires and mounting hardware with Solar Blvd folks. They are great!

Morningstar Sunsaver Duo, with remote meter.

Here is what the temp comp looks like:

http://www.solar-electric.com/prosremtempr.html



Jim

First you need to look at the top of your camper and see how much room you have.

You should get as much solar capacity as you can comfortably put up there. Most of us TC'ers run 160-200 watts. 2 panels are way better than just one. If one gets shaded the other will still perform.

Once you have decided to do solar, get a piece of cardboard, cut it to size of the panels you want, get up on the TC's roof and find the location (s) that will fit.

That said, here is a great kit, even includes the roof mounts, from a great company:

Solar Blvd 200 watt kit. Panel size 44"long and 26" wide.



Led lights, Genny 2000 watts, LED tv and if you do cold weather camping a Wave 3 heater or Platinum Cat heater and you will put all your battey (s) worries way behind you.

I justified my Genny by using it for power tools around my property, welder and a power outage food saver!

Jim

EDUCATION: I think that we can never be too educated... and the following is my personal favorite site for

your PVSolar Education

See, you are already learning a new word "PVSolar"... Photo Voltic Solar.... as opposed to hot water solar, or passive solar heat, or...

I don't really mind where you buy your solar components...I do agree with others that you should buy from a business that routinely deals with RV's. And for goodness sakes don't waste money on "battery minders"

I bought all of my PVSolar system from AMSolar.com, I recieved exactlly what I needed... every bit of it... matched for best results.

I bought about everthing else from "Randy" at BestConverter.com... Trimetrics, inverter, ATS (automatic transfer switch), etc.

- - - - - - - - - - - -

Find a way to mount your PVSolar panels flat, on the roof... they'll be making electricity when you are in a theme park, grocery store, state capital, driveing down the road.... for a minute, and hour or a day... all of the timethat the sun shines... even when there is enough light.

It is a fun project

sleepy

bka0721 wrote:
Oh yeah. I love my solar! But I have lived without it too. But if you are only going out for long weekends or short vacations, skip the solar unless you have a big checkbook. Reading how to manage your batteries, better quality batteries, better charging technique, battery monitor, fresh batteries fully charged before leaving home and better power consumption habits/technique might surprise you how you are able to extend your House batteries.

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