adding solar before trip

[mpoulsen]

So I got a Renogy RNG-100D solar kit to get started,but I have a question,the wall in my 2007 Okanagan says it's prewired for solar what does that exactly mean to me. I have changed all the bulbs to LEDs and have two 6 volt batteries. We're going to the Hauser Geode Beds Wiley' s Well District north of Blythe,Ca. We will be in the Desert for the week before Thanksgiving and then to Deathvalley for Thanksgiving. So i am excited to try out the solar will be installing it this weekend, I think that I will add second panel later, thanks

[bigfootford]

Don't buy another panel later, buy it now... They may not have these 21x47" panels much longer. That is not a common size.

I have 200 watts of solar and 1 100ah AGM Lifeline battery.

We have led lights, a wave 3 heater, LED tv.... We use 15-20 ah a day.
We only use the furnace for quick warm up, It gobbles battery amps.

We watch tv about 2 hrs a night, read for an hr or more, charge our laptops/cell phones etc.

Unless we are in a dense forest or dead of winter and heavy cloud cover we easily recover our used AH by noon or better.

We do have our honda 2000 if needed.

We do not charge from the truck although I can... Just throw a switch.

Jim

[GeoBoy]

We just picked up our AF 990 and were in Green Bay for 3 days using our water pump, radio, TV , furnace, refer on propane and our factory 100w panel kept the batteries, 2 Lifeline 6v AGM's, fully charged. The controller is a 30w Zamp.

[Golden_HVAC]

Your 'basic' load on the camper is 35 amp hours a day to run the refrigerator, CO detector and propane leak detector. This is about what your 100 watt solar panel will make on a good day. So don't be to surprised if the solar barely keeps up with the loads placed on it.

Yes the second panel will come in handy to keep it full. Yet even the 100 watt system will keep the battery full all the time if you have the Propane detector off, and refrigerator off. This really helps out and keeps the battery at it's full amp hour rating all it's lifetime. .

Fred.

[Golden_HVAC]

I think you should check with a local dealership, and ask about the solar pre-wired thing. They might be able to sell you a water tight plug to fit the connection on your roof, if your model year included such a connector.

And show you where to look for the wiring in your RV. Yet I would avoid having them install it for you, it is not all that complicated, it only took me about 3 hours to install my solar system, including running the wiring. 3 hours shop time in many areas would run well over $300. Might as well save the labor costs.

Good luck,

Fred.

[Vinsil]

Buzzcut1 wrote:

pianotuna wrote:
Prewired means there is a wire that runs from the roof to the battery bank.

or as in the case of Lance there is a two pin socket on the roof with wires that run to under the kitchen sink to attach a charge controller and another two wires that run from there to the battery compartment

Northwood does the same.

[Buzzcut1]

pianotuna wrote:
Prewired means there is a wire that runs from the roof to the battery bank.

or as in the case of Lance there is a two pin socket on the roof with wires that run to under the kitchen sink to attach a charge controller and another two wires that run from there to the battery compartment

[pianotuna]

Prewired means there is a wire that runs from the roof to the battery bank.