Battery Charging on Truck Camper

Certainly if you have a higher voltage and high output module, you have to use a MPPT controller. The sky is limit if you want complexity. I thought the OP just wanted to keep his battery topped up. Actually with a smaller wattage panel, the MPPT consumes a significant amount of the output. As you correctly stated PWM is simpler and harvest the maximum amount of energy available. During the peak of summer the battery is likely to be full by 11:00 am if understand his use case correctly.

rtk2 wrote:
Solar is not complicated. Get a 12 volt solar panel (80 watts will suffice), get a cheap PWT charge controller (10 amps will work) and fuses if you wish. Mount the charge controller close to the battery (connect with 12 awg wire is fine). Mount the solar panel on the roof using Z brackets, then run the same 12 gauge wire and connect to the charge controller. That's it.

except don't get a cheep PWT (PWM actualy) controler, get a good MPPT one(more efficient and not much more money, and measure for the biggest panel you can aford. I got my 325 watt split cell 24V panel out of sask but I picked it up at one of there wearhouses out here for 200 3 years ago. other than that ya its easy. I cut out a carboard chunk the size of my panel and played around on the roof till I found where to put it. have room for another later.

Solar is not complicated. Get a 12 volt solar panel (80 watts will suffice), get a cheap PWT charge controller (10 amps will work) and fuses if you wish. Mount the charge controller close to the battery (connect with 12 awg wire is fine). Mount the solar panel on the roof using Z brackets, then run the same 12 gauge wire and connect to the charge controller. That's it.

mkirsch wrote:

StirCrazy wrote:

mkirsch wrote:
Solar is quite an investment, especially if you install enough solar to handle charging from heavy battery use. That's assuming you have enough roof real estate.

The sun doesn't always shine either.

I don't know why people think it is such an investment, and what i heavy battery use? as long as your not trying to run an AC then it is far from an investment, well, maybe if you buy it from a rv dealership and have them install it for about 10X the price if you source and install yourself. for me it was haf the price to put my solar on than to buy a 1000watt honda generator.

Heavy battery use is running the battery down to minimum capacity overnight. Something VERY easy to do unless you are judicious about your use of the modern conveniences. Running the furnace all night, for example, instead of putting on an extra blanket.

Yeah maybe you can install some solar for 1/2 the cost of a Honda 1000, but you have to be a "solar nerd" able to design your own system right down to the wires, and you know all the secret places to get the components, cheap. Most people want a plug and play system.

Charging from the truck on the road costs $0, handles any level of discharge, and doesn't depend on the sun to shine.

a different discoussion all togeather, but I camp in my cmper at 0 degrees F quite often, I have two 6V batteries in it, run the furnace all night and part of the day and have one 325 watt panel on it and I never run out of power. granted I have no 120V in it as I dont have an inverter yet, but I am not judicious at all with my power. I was just guessing when I bought my parts and installed them granted I did a lot of reading on solar forums first, but I am not any solar nerd by any means haha. I do agree a dc to dc charger for anything but a normal car battery is a smart investment also though. I can only go three days with out sun right now, soon to be 10 to 12 days. but yes it is nice to have an alternate method of charging even when your solar has never failed to have you back up to 100% before noon except when there was no sun one time.

Keep in mind that the wire gauge in the trailer connector is not a large enough gauge to do high amperage charging.

If the wiring of the plug is standard, the charge wire will already be there. Here is the standard pinout of all 3 types of plugs:
https://www.dieselhub.com/towing/trailer-wiring.html

#1Flyboy wrote:
Put a solar panel on the TC roof & your batteries will be charged on the road, at your camp spot AND when it’s parked at home…. My batteries are fully charged EVERY day by sunlight…….

That doesn’t tell much . What size panels , for how long , to replace how many amp hours

StirCrazy wrote:

mkirsch wrote:
Solar is quite an investment, especially if you install enough solar to handle charging from heavy battery use. That's assuming you have enough roof real estate.

The sun doesn't always shine either.

I don't know why people think it is such an investment, and what i heavy battery use? as long as your not trying to run an AC then it is far from an investment, well, maybe if you buy it from a rv dealership and have them install it for about 10X the price if you source and install yourself. for me it was haf the price to put my solar on than to buy a 1000watt honda generator.

Heavy battery use is running the battery down to minimum capacity overnight. Something VERY easy to do unless you are judicious about your use of the modern conveniences. Running the furnace all night, for example, instead of putting on an extra blanket.

Yeah maybe you can install some solar for 1/2 the cost of a Honda 1000, but you have to be a "solar nerd" able to design your own system right down to the wires, and you know all the secret places to get the components, cheap. Most people want a plug and play system.

Charging from the truck on the road costs $0, handles any level of discharge, and doesn't depend on the sun to shine.

mkirsch wrote:
Solar is quite an investment, especially if you install enough solar to handle charging from heavy battery use. That's assuming you have enough roof real estate.

The sun doesn't always shine either.

I don't know why people think it is such an investment, and what i heavy battery use? as long as your not trying to run an AC then it is far from an investment, well, maybe if you buy it from a rv dealership and have them install it for about 10X the price if you source and install yourself. for me it was haf the price to put my solar on than to buy a 1000watt honda generator.

Solar is quite an investment, especially if you install enough solar to handle charging from heavy battery use. That's assuming you have enough roof real estate.

The sun doesn't always shine either.