A few months ago, we traded our truck camper for an 18 ft travel trailer. Our plan is to spend 60% of our summer vacation time on our un serviced country property & 40% of the remaining time on the road. We charge our 12 volt battery with a Honda 2000 generator but the phantom loads can completely drain our battery if we are away for a few days. A solar trickle charger has been suggested to us but we have no idea what size of charger would be strong enough to keep the battery charge healthy. Would really appreciate some help with this.

If you plan to stay off-grid for at least 60% of the time, a 100W panel would be a minimum, IMO. The panels that are less than 100W have an inordinate spike in price and 100W will offer some charging while you are using your trailer. Home Depot had 100W panels on sale awhile back. They also sell the Grape brand charge controllers which are regarded well.

Get a real solar system and don’t fool around with a trickle solar charger. $145 complete except for wire. Other companies are similar. https://www.windynation.com/Polycrystalline-Solar-Kits/100-Watt-12-Volt-Solar-Panel-and-Charge-Controller-Battery-Charger-RV-Boat-Off-Grid/-/366?p=YzE9NDY=

That depends, how much does he sun shine and is the site shaded or full sun all day?

There's a ton of info on this all over the internet. If it were me I'd get a couple of batteries and solar panels capable of charging them in a reasonable amount of time. A trickle charger wont do that. I also would not mount the panels on the roof. But, that's just me. I have spent too much time over the years repairing RV roof leaks. I refuse to do anything to compromise my roof.

With moderate amounts of sunshine, my 30 watt portable solar system keeps well ahead of phantom or parasitic loads on a couple of deep cycle batteries in storage. It would not be enough to keep up with lights, furnace, and other usage related to operating my travel trailer. That is why you have a generator.

Solar trickle charger help | Good Sam Community

25 Replies

TomG2
Explorer
Nov 17, 2017
With moderate amounts of sunshine, my 30 watt portable solar system keeps well ahead of phantom or parasitic loads on a couple of deep cycle batteries in storage. It would not be enough to keep up with lights, furnace, and other usage related to operating my travel trailer. That is why you have a generator.
falconbrother
Explorer II
Nov 17, 2017
There's a ton of info on this all over the internet. If it were me I'd get a couple of batteries and solar panels capable of charging them in a reasonable amount of time. A trickle charger wont do that. I also would not mount the panels on the roof. But, that's just me. I have spent too much time over the years repairing RV roof leaks. I refuse to do anything to compromise my roof.
wing_zealot
Explorer
Nov 16, 2017
That depends, how much does he sun shine and is the site shaded or full sun all day?
Lwiddis
Explorer II
Nov 16, 2017
Get a real solar system and don’t fool around with a trickle solar charger. $145 complete except for wire. Other companies are similar. https://www.windynation.com/Polycrystalline-Solar-Kits/100-Watt-12-Volt-Solar-Panel-and-Charge-Controller-Battery-Charger-RV-Boat-Off-Grid/-/366?p=YzE9NDY=
westend
Explorer
Nov 16, 2017
If you plan to stay off-grid for at least 60% of the time, a 100W panel would be a minimum, IMO. The panels that are less than 100W have an inordinate spike in price and 100W will offer some charging while you are using your trailer. Home Depot had 100W panels on sale awhile back. They also sell the Grape brand charge controllers which are regarded well.

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Solar trickle charger help

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