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?

[CAJW]

Jim, your usage sounds about what we use daily, around 25-30 amps. I had a Renogy solar suitcase which helped, but couldn't quite keep up and we'd resort to running the genset on day 3 or 4 while off the grid. In Feb of this year, I installed a Renogy 150w Mono panel on the luggage rack on our AF 996 and connected it to a TriMetric SC2030 controller coupled with a TM 2030 Battery Monitor. It has been a perfect combination so far with a vareity of conditions from shade, cloudy days and full sun. I built mounts to allow tilting, but it has worked so well that I haven't bothered to climb up on the roof. We have carried the 100w portable, but so far haven't used it. That will probably change this summer when we are parking in shade, but the 150w panel seems to really put out the power, even on days where we don't see the sun. Our Lifeline 6v batteries are very happy and I expect to get many years of service from them as we see 100% charge daily.

[Reddog1]

jimh425 wrote:
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?

I question there being an answer that fits all of us. I think the simple answer is dependent upon your use/needs. For me, one 100 AH batters and 130 watts have done the job since 2005. I found the furnace was a hog. I installed a Wave3 and all but eliminated the furnace. For my local and needs, I am okay. If I added more solar, I would need to add a second battery to use the added solar. I would be fixing something that is not broken. The only benefit would be bragging rights. Some folks may need more solar and more than 100 AHs of battery.

Wayne

[Rickj91]

I have just installed a 150 Watt panel with my 2 24 wet cell batteries that came with the camper. With very little sun it is still keeping the batteries charged. My 30 amp charge controller consistently reads 13.6v with limited usage. Very pleased

[corvettekent]

You should really be asking how many batteries do you need and then from that how many panels. Being that you have a TC you are very limited but I would go with two batteries and two 160 watt panels if you have the room.

[hedge]

I have 300W with 2 grp27 batteries (that's all that will fit). Didn't really need the Solar until I added the Inverter. That's our largest draw as lights are led and we just don't use much power. After making coffee in the morning with the inverter batteries are usually back up by early afternoon.

I'm seriously considering getting rid of the generator, most of the time we carry it around for nothing... and I hate listening too them even if it is a Honda.

[SidecarFlip]

One distinct advantage I have is my storage is in the equipment building and it's heated in the winter so I never winterize the camper. In the winter, I use it for a 'break room' with hot coffee on the stove.

It's outside right now, warm enough here that there is no worry about freezing. As an afterthought I did check the batteries this evening. I had forgotten to check the water this winter and they were right up there. My converter must be doing ok. It stays shore powered all the time.

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.

[kohldad]

My main reason for adding solar was to keep the battery charged while my camper was sitting in storage yard with the furnace running so I didn't have to winterize.

It also benefited while on the road allow me to use the furnace, fluroscent light (2a), plus charge phones and two laptop computers.

All of this is maintained with a single 100 watt panel and PWM controller.

[bka0721]

fpoole wrote:

bka0721 wrote:

fpoole wrote:
So with that in mind, I'd double whatever is recommended due to poor sunlight, shade factors etc...
I might go with another 160, four on the camper roof and as a last resort another set of batteries but I don't think I should have too, for some reason it's just not working as "I" think it should be (dealer installed), so the new controller is the first stop...
Hope that helps...
Solar is nice

Hey Frank!

From the photos I have seen on your system while upgrading your charge controller I would certainly upgrade your cables from your charge controller to battery bank, battery bank to inverter and convertor. Also I would balance your battery bank too. One of your photos shows your batteries separated by 3 feet or more. Also, review the distances between your charge controller and battery bank and invertor. There are maximum distances for optimum performance in these connections.

b

Heyya Bryan,
I know eh?? The controller and Bus are the next upgrade along with the wiring... as noted...
The wires are mixed, thus the bus as I understand it, and I know I loose power due to the various lengths, but not many options on battery storage...
Camper batteries are right below the sink and the controller is right above as with the invertor so they're all cozied up..

I'm sure they'll, installers, will find "Issues" and will be planning accordingly...

Thanks for the info, good to hear from you, 1800watts?? heheh Yikes... fun..
Will catch up soon I'm sure..
Thanks again for the info..

Frank you are doing fine. The first two years Fulltiming I did much worse, but learned from it and make it a point to help others learn from my mistakes and save some money.

Safe travels!!

b

[GeoBoy]

We have 1 Zamp 160 watt panel, with 2 Lifeline GLP-4CT batteries and it works fine for our needs. I think the optimum would be 200 watts, 1 panel or 2, depending on your roof situation.

[Snowman9000]

You'd be pretty happy with 100 watts and very happy with 200. On a cloudy day, neither one would be much good.

[SidecarFlip]

Interesting. I have none at all. Been considering some, but my little Invewrter Genny seems to do just fine without leaving much of a carbon footprint. Besides, it's expensive and I'm retired.

[fpoole]

bka0721 wrote:

fpoole wrote:
So with that in mind, I'd double whatever is recommended due to poor sunlight, shade factors etc...

I might go with another 160, four on the camper roof and as a last resort another set of batteries but I don't think I should have too, for some reason it's just not working as "I" think it should be (dealer installed), so the new controller is the first stop...

Hope that helps...

Solar is nice

Hey Frank!

From the photos I have seen on your system while upgrading your charge controller I would certainly upgrade your cables from your charge controller to battery bank, battery bank to inverter and convertor. Also I would balance your battery bank too. One of your photos shows your batteries separated by 3 feet or more. Also, review the distances between your charge controller and battery bank and invertor. There are maximum distances for optimum performance in these connections.

b

Heyya Bryan,
I know eh?? The controller and Bus are the next upgrade along with the wiring... as noted...
The wires are mixed, thus the bus as I understand it, and I know I loose power due to the various lengths, but not many options on battery storage...
Camper batteries are right below the sink and the controller is right above as with the invertor so they're all cozied up..

I'm sure they'll, installers, will find "Issues" and will be planning accordingly...

Thanks for the info, good to hear from you, 1800watts?? heheh Yikes... fun..
Will catch up soon I'm sure..
Thanks again for the info..

[work2much]

bka0721 wrote:

work2much wrote:

bka0721 wrote:
To answer your question, directly; I have 1,860 watts of Solar.

On a TC? That's impressive. How did you manage that?

Probably the best way to answer this question is just a link, that will also help answer some of the questions in this thread too, is just provide a link to an article in Truck Camper Magazine;

RV Solar Systems Charged and Challenged


Then if you are thinking of installing 200 watts or 300 watts on the roof of a Truck Camper, here is my Cooking Recipe for doing just that.


Ready to Unplug and Go Solar?!!

Great, thanks. We have a 500 watt system now and I could get 300 more. I will look at the links and see how 1,800 watts was achieved.

[bka0721]

work2much wrote:

bka0721 wrote:
To answer your question, directly; I have 1,860 watts of Solar.

On a TC? That's impressive. How did you manage that?

Probably the best way to answer this question is just a link, that will also help answer some of the questions in this thread too, is just provide a link to an article in Truck Camper Magazine;

RV Solar Systems Charged and Challenged


Then if you are thinking of installing 200 watts or 300 watts on the roof of a Truck Camper, here is my Cooking Recipe for doing just that.


Ready to Unplug and Go Solar?!!

[Joe417]

We have 2 Group 29 batteries and have had no problems staying unplugged for 4 days at a time until a Mar trip to southwest Texas. We had to move to the generator section after 2 days.

Once home, I installed 165 watts of solar. It came with a 20 Amp controller. Haven't had it back out to see if it keeps up with us while using it. We're fairly conservative so I'm hoping it will.

I've had the camper unplugged for several weeks with it sitting under our camper "port". There's about 3 feet of space from the panel to the roof of the cover, so no direct sun, and it's keeping the battery up with the small loads from the CO detector, gas detector, charge controller, and the radio memory.

Currently the only thing I think it needs is a battery monitor. I installed a cheap battery monitor a couple of years ago and am finding that it is not accurate enough to be worth while with the solar. I ran some tests and found it only accurate at the calibration voltage and current. So when the voltage and current rises above or drops below the calibration point, it's not measuring accurately and therefore the state of charge info can't be trusted.

Bottom line, if you want a trust worthy battery monitor you may have to spend a few extra dollars. Interesting that an accurate battery monitor costs more than the whole solar install. It's something you don't have to have.