How much solar power do you have, wish you had?

[jimh406]

I'm thinking again about adding solar to my truck camper. I generally don't need it, but still, it would be a nice to have to keep the batteries charged. I have LEDs and this would be mostly to charge batteries for running the furnace at night and minimal fan use during the day.

So the inevitable question comes up. How big should I go? This is important with minimal space on the roof that isn't otherwise occupied. I'd like to be able to go on the roof as needed with taking the panels off.

How much solar power do you have, wish you had?

[PatrickA51]

On my Class-C I have (3) 100W Panels. I have (6) 6v Lifeline AGM 220ah batteries in series.
For a total of 660Ah. I switched from flooded to AGM last Thursday.

[3_tons]

Depends on how much you camp off grid and how much seasonal sunlight is typically available.... We camp mostly off grid, and have two 6v batteries wired in series...

I started out with 200w but decided that more was needed due to occasional inclemate weather conditions, so added another 100w and found this to be generally acceptable depending on how long the poor weather last...After that I fully automated our electrical system to make DW happy and a passive hotel like (120v) off-grid experience using a high power sine wave inverter. Quite naturally, our electrical usage went up a bit so I added another 140w.....For now this amount (440w) works well as our sweet spot...

So lots of variables depending on the user, but my advice is to always err on the high side, and plan on wiring sizing for future needs...JMO

3 tons

[SidecarFlip]

You can get rid of the 'watt eating furnace' pretty easily with a catalytic unit. Camco sells them and they take no power to run. Even have Piezo ignition.

Had the same issue with my Lance (tinky battery box). My new camper had a plastic battery box under the front step with the electrics, pump and FW tank. That went to the landfill. I built a sealed wood box for twin batteries and incorporated the existing vent hoses.

Like I said way back, where I camp, sunlight is at a premium do I need a 46 pound boat anchor, but then I also take a chainsaw and extra fuel and bar oil as well.

[jefe_4x4]

The topic has been pretty much covered. Seems to me that we have enough solar. We learned to live without solar by carrying around a Honda 2K generator. We used it very sparingly. Once i was talked into a Renogy 200 W solar package and LED lighting a couple years ago, the whole scenario changed. No need at all for the Honda since we kept our watt miserly style going even after the solar/LED upgrade. So, the 46 pound boat anchor stays at home where it lives on a wagon that I haul around that powers an electric blower to blow the leaves off our 200 foot driveway before company comes.
Having the space to put the panels is another thing. This varies considerably. In order to have the tree dragging all on one side, the driver's side, ours are off set to the right, as evidenced by the missing railing on that side, and splayed to get the best sun exposure.

However, we do have some differences in application. We use all three, matching group 27 batteries (2 truck, 1 camper) in parallel to run everything. Sadly, only one grp. 27 fits in the tinky Lance battery box. The other difference is that we are basically travelers and do not spend more than a night or two in one place. The difference here is that the truck's 140 Amp alternator makes up any difference, since we now run the fridge exclusively on propane. No air conditioner. No micro wave. Only run the watt eating furnace for a few minutes in the AM after cold nights. Just enough time to pull your pants on and put on the coffee pot. Additionally, two cell phones; a digital camera; a GPS; an iPad; a MacBookPro all need charging which is done from the cab of the truck some with a plug in inverter.
We just returned from a week in Death Valley and even after using some power at night and in the AM, both green lights on the solar controller were on again before midday. Oh, yeah, it didn't hurt that it was sunny for about 14 hours a day and there was no shade.
jefe

[Paradox123]

I have two 100 watt panels charging two group 27 AGMs. The system works great for us. Our roof does not have room for any more panels.

[Camper_Jeff___K]

We have an eighty watt panel feeding two group 31 AGM batteries. In bright sun we can see a charge of 3.6 amps and 14.2 volts for 51 watts best we've ever seen charging. It's a slow losing battle but better than nothing. We have 4 gauge wire direct from the alternator via solenoid charging the batteries back up about as well as a Honda eliminating the need to haul around a Honda. We just don't need big AC power camping. A 400 watt inverter takes care of all the various charging needs as do 12 volt power ports. Eventually the plan is to install 300 to 400 watts of solar up top. As an option, you can also install a power port beside the battery to plug in a portable solar setup that you can move around to get sun. Just keep your eyes on them.

[SidecarFlip]

My issue with solar power is, where I camp mostly (my own property in Northern Michigan), there isn't a lot of sun because it's in the woods with a substantial canopy overhead. Driving down the road, it would work but camping, not really. In my case, I don't believe the investment would work too well.

[DWeikert]

400 Watts. Main power draw is the DC compressor fridge. Also have a Dish Tailgater, tv, laptop, tablet and phone. Then there's the furnace on those colder trips. Before the next trip I need to replace the 2 grp 31 batteries. I previously had 275 watts and that wasn't quite enough to top off the batteries unless I had a full day of full sun.

[bighatnohorse]

200 watts - works plenty good for charging batteries to full in almost no time - works good on cloudy days too.
I'm selling my little Honda 1000 as it stays home all the time since getting solar.

[towpro]

I have always read 1 watt solar for 1 watt battery reserve. I two 27 series AGM's for 180Ah, and 200w solar. Some times at night I have been going out to camper in driveway and streaming 2 movies on TV (plus heater has been running).
Next day batteries charge right back up. But in about a month we start boondocking long weekends so we will see.

I laid out the current wiring with plans of adding one more panel. All I would need is the mc4 adapters to plug it in. my wiring will support 300w current.

[lakeside013104]

SidecarFlip wrote:


My opinion about keeping it inside during the winter is, it will last a lot longer not being out in the weather. Might be all wet on that, not sure.

I believe your are correct in thinking by keeping your camper out of the winter elements it will last longer. I too, store my TC inside.

Lakeside

[Ski_Pro_3]

I'll answer the OP's question first, then go back and read if anyone already addressed it;


First, I have 240watts of solar feeding 2 6 volt batteries of 220amps each. It's plenty.

BUT...

I live and camp in California where there's probably 300+ days of sunshine a year. I would bet the same set-up in Seattle wouldn't find my solar generation plant to be adequate.

[deltabravo]

I have 300 watts. I consider 200 watts a minimum.

[Tizi]

I have 2 group 27s in the camper. We can usually go 2.5 days before running the Honda. My cargo trailer has 2 6v Duracell with 150 watts of solar. I just installed them and they are keeping the batteries at full capacity. More usage will tell the story for me. I'm planning to add 2 100 watt panels to the camper soon. I am interested to see others responses.