Solar or Generator??
We are going to have some short boon-docking trips (3-4 days). I do not know my actual energy needs right now, but the DW and I are conservative when it comes to water and power. I really just want ...
Forum Discussion
Eventually I'll mount my solar but it may not be these panels. Using these portable will give me the best idea of what fills our needs without a lot of investment.
Mounted vs portable? 6 in one hand, half a dozen in the other.
Portable is cheaper as it doesn't need to be mounted and it takes half as much to fill your needs tracking the sun all day. This can mean more on those days that your chance to catch some rays is early or late and cloudy days. Trade up your rig, no worries, just take the kit with you.
The pain with it is storing it, worrying about it and the fact that it doesn't charge on the road or in storage.
Mounted panels are always up there and doing their job. You can tilt them for better exposure but most are flat and hands off. There is also much less chance of them walking off.
The downsides include having to buy twice as much panel as well as a more expensive controller to handle them. They have to be mounted and that cost if you don't do it yourself. Sell the rig and the panels are likely to go with it.
So far the 230w's met our needs with ease, even left flat for a week. I'm not ready to call it good because our needs have grown considerably since getting it. It takes a while to get use to using these new fangled toys when you are use to a tent. I don't want to be remounting or adding panel later.
Mounted vs portable? 6 in one hand, half a dozen in the other.
Portable is cheaper as it doesn't need to be mounted and it takes half as much to fill your needs tracking the sun all day. This can mean more on those days that your chance to catch some rays is early or late and cloudy days. Trade up your rig, no worries, just take the kit with you.
The pain with it is storing it, worrying about it and the fact that it doesn't charge on the road or in storage.
Mounted panels are always up there and doing their job. You can tilt them for better exposure but most are flat and hands off. There is also much less chance of them walking off.
The downsides include having to buy twice as much panel as well as a more expensive controller to handle them. They have to be mounted and that cost if you don't do it yourself. Sell the rig and the panels are likely to go with it.
So far the 230w's met our needs with ease, even left flat for a week. I'm not ready to call it good because our needs have grown considerably since getting it. It takes a while to get use to using these new fangled toys when you are use to a tent. I don't want to be remounting or adding panel later.
