Solar panels/controller advice

I am old enough to remember how we tent camped back in the 50s and 60s with a bag full of D-CELLS and some white gas...

Now that we use the off-road POPUP trailer I carry the 2KW generator when camping off grid. It is mounted in the tailgate corner of my covered and locked truck bed. It will always work if you gots fuel...

My way to go was to beef up the DC items with smart mode charger, changed over to LEDs, and a bigger battery bank... We can do almost anything we did at the electric sites running entirely off the batteries. Then at 8AM the next morning when allowed to run the generator we can re-charge the batteries back up to their 90% charge state using the on-board converter/charger unit running off the generator... This normally takes three hours of generator run time.

I am just now wanting to add some solar panel and this for me will reduce my generator run time down to around one hours and then I can let the solar panels finish the battery bank charge to it 90% charge state before I lose the high sun...

Granted we could cut way on everything and just get by with low battery drain and use a minimal solar setup to allow us to do this low battery drain all over again for the next day run off the batteries.

Being a Ham Radio I will most likely keep the generator around because I know this setup will work for me. I know I can pull around 25AMPS DC Current from my battery bank at times haha... Been doing it since early 2009...

Here is my battery bank running a couple of fans for a few hours sitting around the camp site at Doris Camp in OKLA Wild Life Refuge keeping the mosquitoes away from us haha... Works good...


Roy Ken

I run my tv and blu ray off 12v it uses very little but it's only a 19" tv

I haven't used any 110v in the TC yet as I'm always in a field and have no genset. I was hoping to avoid one due to weight, storage, being tied to fuel source. If there was a way to do solar for almost everything, I'd be set as long as it can handle 2-5 days off shore power. It sounds like I may be able to go with 1-2 panels for that but my wife wants a TV. I'll have to audit my current usage and then add a TV with conservative usage I guess.

I added Solar and an inverter just to test it out and I've found that it has pretty much replaced the generator for me. Can't run the a/c but we find the fan does ok in it's absence. I have a Honda generator which in theory is quiet... but I still hate listening to them.

bkenobi, Do the energy audit.

I'm not a fan of flexible panels unless they are UniSolar.

I'm glad you enjoyed the articles. Was there anything that you have questions about?

I had a large TC back in the 80's when I'd never even heard of small generators that you could find room to carry with a TC.

I'm in the process of doing solar on my smaller 26' TT (which is really just an overgrown TC) but I'm going to put 400W up there.

You may want to avoid roof penetrations and are therefore only doing one stick-on panel - I urge you to do more if you have the room. 100W is going to no doubt help, but 200W will be a whole lot better (twice at good, eh?).

I have nothing against generators other than the hauling of them and the gas that takes up room, especially in a TC. Try 200W up there before you spend money and room on a generator. And, when the panels are being installed, you might position them to see if there's room to install a third one later.

Bill

40 amp controller might be twice what you need.

Unless you have a special situation I think most get bored with the portable panels and they end up on the roof eventually.

Unless you are going big 24v panels it is not a huge deal to match components. A couple 100 to 160 watt panels and a 20 amp controller will serve you just fine.

https://www.solarblvd.com/products/two-solar-cynergy-100-watt-12-volt-solar-panels-with-y-connector/

https://www.solarblvd.com/products/morningstar-sunsaver-ss20l-20a-12v-charge-controller/

> Members Solar Installations With Pics

Yah, solar if possible, but generator as a backup

bkenobi wrote:
Everyone I talk to says a generator is the way to go (and maybe it is),

Well, it's the easiest, for sure. Solar takes more money and work and understanding.

I do get a bit weary of those who run a generator to watch TV. Good for you on the solar.
200w on TC on luggage rack
100w solar on TC
Mount panels 2011