I put 4 Battleborn batteries, 200 watt of solar panel and Victron solar controller also a 3,000 watt Victron inverter and color control monitor in a class B, 2017 Mercedes Benz sprinter motor home. Love it, works great. In the morning I can make coffee without having to start the generator. My neighbor's are happy campers, no noise.
10 grand in batteries alone! I love watching these videos, but without a sponsorship, it's out of reach of most of us working folk. Nice video though, and I enjoy you guys. Well presented.
Yeah if was paying I'd probably go with SOK at about half the price per watt hour. Battle born makes a good product but its not worth double the cost vs what is still a very good battery to me.
I have to say you did a great job for never doing that install. I would know because I own 2 of the best Electronic Installation Companies in the world! (Not just my opinion)!
You are the ‘Tim the Toolman Taylor’ of things RV. Urg Urg Urg…..Great, great presentation as always….Thank you for doing these love watching you guys!
Thanks for your command performance Chad. Nice to see that the respective manufacturers are getting great ideas from you & are implementing them for the benefit of all RV Platforms. Hats off to you Chad.
So much Knowledge……and cash for your system. Just the Batteries alone. I learned a ton. I love the fact you said I want AC to perform all the the time. Me too. Design the system around Heat and AC for Boon-docking!!!!!
I'm so far behind..got it on the 98 38ft bounder ..was learning for the upgrade..I'm a tree service.. wronged skillset...lol.. I weld,build(ingineering) do inverters on my trucks..4000 watt. But no battery storage on them..alternator runs those...Rv came with 2 100 watt??..can I add battery's and pannels? Nobody has answers so far..I didn't install them so no idea whats there except pics I took
Wow. Great job and an even better presentation. I worked as an IT consultant for 35 years and one of the biggest challenges was how to communicate a highly technical solution in a way that made it understandable for non-technical people. You accomplished that in a way that was clear without coming across as condescending. BZ.
I'm guessing you stayed with a 12 volt system only because you already had a 3Kw 12 volt inverter installed. One thing I would recommend when you buy your new Victron inverter would be to switch to a 24 volt system and add a DC to DC converter for your 12 volt loads. 1000ah of battery is a bit much for a 12 volt system and you'll have less loss with high amperage loads on the inverter with a 24 volt system
Having extensive low voltage experience from thirty years in the custom A/V industry. I can say this is one of the best solar how to videos I have seen. Thanks for the concise information.
That's such a clean job, I find it so cool yall can be in the middle of nowhere and be able to use all your amenities with out a noisy generator. Thanks for the Video!! I'll be looking forward to the boondocking with solar video.
That’s crazy!!! Just watched the install and 🤯🤯 I just bought a new keystone avalanche 365mb and it had that tape on the roof. I asked the dealer what happened to the roof🤷🏻♂️🤷🏻♂️. They didn’t know anything about it and had said it must have happened at the dealer but it’s still covered under warranty!! Mine also has solar prep as well. So now I’m thinking that’s what it is!! I really appreciate your videos I’ve learned a lot and bought a lot of stuff that you use thanks again 😊😊😊
You are a great instructor Chad. I have a short in my unattached garage. The problem may be under the new cement that was just laid for our RV. Instead of digging a new line 75' I was thinking Solar panels. Seeing this I understand more what is needed. Garage door opener, 3 over head lights, 4 outlets to run occasionally air compressor for tires, miter saw and connect to our 30amp RV. Wish my dad and grampa, both electricians were still here. Safe travels. When you were in Cleveland, you ran close to us, nice to see.
This is kayak Mark from lake Powell, just traded to a DRV Mobile Suites two weeks ago and I put that same inverter in 2,000 w of solar on the roof, and 4 170 amp lithium from Big Battery so far working great.
Completely impressed Chad. You are a stud when it comes to stuff like this. I’m not sure I would have the courage to tackle a project like this. Great job…
That Military Training came in Handy, makes that solar install go much smoother, on the electrical side nice job on making the cables, professional job, loved the schematic layout it easy to understand the process, I followed how the system was setup very easily, my military background as Electronics Technician I was able to keep up on how you were explaining the process. looking forward on the updates how the system preformed.
All I can say is that I am so humbled and inadequate to take this on, that I will never be able to do this addition. I have so much to learn…thank you and so cool to watch for sure!
You did a great job of explaining the process and you used language we all can understand along with the diagrams very useful 🥳 can’t wait for your updates
Bravo, great video, ton of editing work too. Thanks! Love the uses of CAD (Cardboard Assisted Design)... Thanks for the inspiration and keep on trucking!
As always, very informative and not so steeped in technology that the average owner can follow and not be lost. Kudos, Chad! (And fantastic editing job and great music, Tara :-) ) This gives me a far better understanding of the simple system on my rig and what options I could look at if so desired to increase it safely.
I'm sure Chad wants to provide the best for Tara. I have no doubt she feels the same towards him. I remember Tara told us about being flat on her back for days with her horrible Lime disease. This has be a lot of his motivation. Not ever meeting or talking with them, I still think of them as friends. We all need to put in a little prayer time in for both. And, if you don't believe, it still wouldn't hurt to do it for them. We all luve you both:-) -keith
We’ll done Chad. You did a great job showing YOUR install. Jealous of your system. Looking forward to your video on how this system is performing for your needs Again. Great video editing from Tara
Wow!! Is about all I can say. What an incredible solar system. I thought I was a genius hooking up our micro-air easy starts to the AC's 😆. With you being the grand electrical sorcery wizard that you are Chad.....I'm sure Micro-Air would gladly give you and Tara a partnership for tossing those on your rig and lesson your amp draw on those AC's. Especially with this new kit you whipped up. Maybe be able to run 2 if not all 3 AC's with the Micro-Air's all talking to your system......
Having put 400W and 400Ah of LiFePo4 with a 3kW inverter charger in my little 21ft trailer just a couple months ago, I can appreciate the effort you put into your massive system. I love being able to stop for a break and run the AC or microwave without any worries about power or breaking out the generator.
Thanks for putting out all this informational vids. I just picked up the Mobile Solar Power book and started watching his videos. SEEING how these things go together goes a long way for all of us! Please keep up these videos :)
Nice to see you do it correctly … from kill switches to breakers, to wire gauge. I’m a huge fan of welding but cable, and often get asked if it isn’t an overkill. Well worth the money. My system isn’t as elaborate, living in a cooler climate, but I still the have power when I need it. Well done on your presentation!
There is one positive offshoot of installing solar panels on any roof and especially RVs you created a lot of shade because the solar panels are suspended above the roof and underneath them is shade which is a lot of roof that’s now not in direct sunlight and probably makes your AC a little more efficient as you’re not getting as much radiant heat coming from the roof I’m curious what an infrared thermometer would see if you look at the ceiling inside the RV and the differential between where a panel is installed and We’re direct sunlight is hitting the roof?
Big Bo, Things will get better, it might take a little time,but they will. The sadness in your voice, is very genuine. I will will keep watching. Take Care. Hugs to You and Your Family.. Smile Always....Reeba
When you are in Florida the solar panels give you orange juice!! The manufacture should know you need plenum rated cables and wire if it is going in the air duct, they should not bring the solar in the air plenum at all. Glad it is working well for you. Stay safe and healthy.
Thank you for making this seem a bit simpler than I imagined. My next RV will have solar. Our current one is 7 years old and I fear “other” things will be needed.
Awesome video. Thanks for sharing. We are a family of 5 and going to spend the winter in our trailer down south. You guys inspired us to give it a try 😀. We bought the same trailer as we feel the layout is perfect for us. I have a solar installer doing a 48v victron solar system with 13,000wh of batteries and a 5000w converter to run both legs at once. Very similar to your setup with similar goals. You video is well timed as it will help our installer. Your learnings around running the wire from the roof down will be insightful for sure. Thanks again.
This was so interesting. I use to work with my brother who is a Master Electrician. I’m familiar with the language and you made this really easy to understand. I too need A/C so if I ever were to boon dock I’d have the same set up. Very well done. Enjoy!!
I love it! Would definitely want to see the Victron Inverter! I'd also really be interested in seeing the whole Victron ecosystem working together with the Victron Cerbo GX and the touchscreen!
Like the setup! We spaced our panels a bit closer together than yours to get 2,800 watts on our roof so far this week. Running one/two AC all day (and part night sometimes) will pull the Lithium battery(s) down fairy quickly since the solar panels never really produce STC. We wanted to make sure we can run the AC’s Dryer etc...straight off the solar array and have enough amps coming in to concurrently charge our Li PowerWall. We also added low profile flexible panels on our slide outs to help with solar storage intake and save the middle isle on the roof. We posted a small video on our channel if your curious how it works.
Solar panels should produce 80% of STC mounted flat on a sunny day. If anything less than that, you're suffering from shading from A/Cs and vents and if you connected any of them in series, those panels lose power as well. All RV and yacht systems should be connected in parallel. You should be seeing about 2,240w of solar when the batteries are under a load.
Excellent work Chad. I'll be going through the same install soon. Being an electrician myself I'm going to add a smoke detector or better yet a remote smoke detector to the hole just in case something goes wrong. It could give you valuable minutes to get out.
Not gonna lie, In my humble opinion these folks have more money than they know what to do with. Which is great for them. And the benefit is they can do the things we've been dreaming about, so we can kinda see how stuff is done or what might be stuff to work towards.
My husband and I saw you all yesterday. We were looking down from the bridge. We hope you enjoyed your visit. Can't wait for the videos from both you and You, me and the RV.
GREAT JOB !!!! By Far the best laid out video that I've seen. This is the same system I'm getting ready to install on our 39' Diesel Pusher with the Multiplus II 2x120. Once again, well done!
We have lived off grid on our ranch in the boonies for over 20 years, and most of our power is solar. We do have a generator to charge the batteries on cloudy winter days, We are a bit more spartan than you are in that there is no furnace (wood heat), and our only AC is an ancient evaporative cooler, but we have most of the other modern conveniences. You will like your new solar system!
Thanks much for this video, Chad. I just completed my first solar install, and I studied this video like I was cramming for finals!!! It has been a tremendous help! We are part-time RV'ers, usually out about 5 days per month. So when it's in storage I watched forlornly as my battery slowly died. Now when I see the battery getting low, I just flip the solar breaker and watch it charging up! Never thought watching a battery charge could be so much fun!!!
Thanks for this video chad,as an ex tank mechanic,I appreciate anyone that can do this themselves,were sitting on 1200wts of solar waiting to go on our roof.....keep up the good work....go army
What a phenomenal video, Chad. So much info in one place. And from someone who’s not an expert, you sure sound like one. I can imagine the added convenience that solar will provide y’all now. Superb explanation and great editing, Miss Tara. 😉 This vid just became a prime resource for RV solar. Looking forward to the follow up. Thanks guys. Oh yeah, ahem, been missing a certain “redhead” named Lucille! Just thought I’d mention it. 😜 Troy
❤ I have seen videos on people running there ac off solar. They have installed what is called a soft start on there unit. I guess rather than max power suddenly (hence the name soft start) the power ramps up. You may want to look into it. Just thought you would like to know.👍👍
This is a fantastic very detailed video. Just what I was looking for. I am about to purchase a trailer, and want to go all out on solar. I have two smaller systems in my house, so I'm already somewhat familiar with it. Thanks for all the detail. I will watch it a couple times.
The only thing I did different. I ordered directly from a china battery manufacturer. 4-200 ah lithium batteries with BMS. $3900. delivered to my door. Great batteries for less than 1/2 price. www.rj-lithium.com/
I watching several of your previous electrical videos, I wondered if you were an ET lol 🤣 I guess an AT is similar but on airframes lol. Thanks for your service shipmate! 🫡
Well done Chief! I'm struggling with four acid batteries and trying to keep them healthy. I just got a new Converter/Charger so hopefully that solves the overheating/overcharging problem.⚓
#4 This is about cost. I love Victron equipment - well designed, rugged, reliable, marine grade - it's just a little too expensive for most people and they nickel and dime you on all of the parts you need to make a complete system. For yacht installs, that's all I use, but for RV use and especially those on a tighter budget, I select lower priced/equal quality brands designed for RV use and design the entire system around their electrical goals. For my own trailer, I'm going with a hybrid solar controller/inverter/charger which cuts way down on parts and cabling. I'm also using a 24v battery bank, which makes the equipment cheaper and I lose slightly less power in cabling. Anyhow, love you guys and love your channel! Take it easy!
if you get a compressor fridge solar runs them fine, i have 100Ah AGMS, 600 watt solar and keeps my apartment fridge up all the time (uses 120w vs 500watt rv fridge)
Ive been watching a TON of these videos as i am in the beginnig stages of the journey to DIY solar, and the wife needs her AC while boondocking. This was by far the nest I've seen. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!! I really appreciated the timelines in particular. So many of these videos make it seem short and easy when it is obviously anything but. Thanks again!
I was installing my solar system today and had the same experience as Chad when tightening the battery interconnects with the stainless hardware on my Battle Born batteries. The stainless hardware locked up and I had to cut one of the bolts off. I think the stainless hardware is so soft I think I stretched the bolt.
Awesomely complicated video, I almost followed you to the end. My takeaway is that Solar is great but NOTHING really replaces a generator. $10k of batteries and solar panels = $5.28 in gas on a Generator. LOVE your channel and videos.
I gotta agree with Chad on this solar vs generator topic. Solar is silent and odorless, if high end expensive for front end installation. Generator is noisy and stinks and must be kept fueled with a non-renewable resource. For folks who don't boondock or live in their RV's full-time, this extensive of a solar system wouldn't make any kind of sense, it would never pay for itself. But for full-timers committed to a life on the road and being able to live off-grid and as self-reliant as possible, it makes total sense, IMO. When I buy my RV, I plan to have a comparable solar system installed...
Great video as always guys. Really good information presented in a professional yet easy to understand. I have a very similar background to you with over 42 years in the Avionic/Electrical Engineering of Aircraft. I just wanted to clarify a couple of areas where you may want to correct for your listeners 1. There is no such thing as Watts Law. James Watt (a fellow Scotsman) and whom the Watt is named after is calculated using in a similar way to ohms law using amps x voltage 2. The Watt is unit of Power not Energy 3. The unit of Energy is the Joule. It is calculated using Amperage, Power and voltage. This is NOT a criticism merely an observation in the internet of accuracy. Love the channel!!
Ive been wanting to add solar to my old 1987 class a. As an electrician, it has driven me nuts with the limited info available for setting up solar in an rv. I have reached out to multiple people to no avail. This is one if the best videos that I have seen, explaining the different peices of equipment.
@@ChangingLanes I agree and there doesn't seem to be any standard as far as things like where you need a mean of disconnect. I've seen systems smaller than yours with 5 or 6 shut switches and yours is one of tge few that I've seen breakers installed (which makes sense to me)
Thank you Chad for sharing all of your knowledge. I just installed 200ah BattleBorns with 200 amp solar panel and it is exciting to see you gain power on your system while the frig and other power is on.
WOW nice job. Both on the solar and on the explanation. I have installed 800 amps of Battleborn and 1400 w of solar but I'd have everyone so confused they'd have positive and negative leads hooked two ME if I had to explain it.
I SELDOM see MOUNTING RAILS like they do on houses. Random mounting anywhere leads to many points being on unsupported areas which leads to leaks. If you put a cheap mounting system rail you can dril into 2x2 FRAMES and then mount your panels on the RAILS, not on unsupported non frame areas. ALSO you can move, repair or replace panels without further damage to roof
With big systems like this it's worth considering going to higher voltage on the battery bank and inverter. Solar controllers can handle more watts at a higher output voltage, and you don't need that humongous wire. Use a buck converter to get back to 12v for your RV systems.
Wish I had remembered when you said that the battery bolts would seize if you went to quick. Well I only ran in to it once. But man was that a pain in the butt! 😂
Great job, well done. Let me know when you have an appointment time ands place in mind so I can have you do our system as well...lol. Thanks for the invite, it is always appreciated. Just a side note, glad there were no fireworks.
Hello Chad and Tara Thank you for the review on the Lectric ebike . Well you guys look like you were having a lot of fun so we took a ride from Arcadia California too Phoenix Arizona where Lectric is based. Took the bikes for a test ride. Well you know what happened. Yes, we ordered two bikes and some accessories. Thank you for the promo code. Can wait to get them. Thank again Be safe hope to see down the road
Really great job on the install. You really educate yourself to a professional level and then pass on your knowledge! I appreciate it very much. Two questions for you. 1. I presume you wired your battery bank at 12 volts because you were reusing a 12 volt inverter. If you were starting from scratch would you go to 24 or even 48 volt battery bank? 2. What do you think about a DC to DC charger charging powered off of the tow vehicle’s battery? Even with a big cable your upper limit would be 70ish amps. But on days with little solar gain it would be a nice addition to the battery level. Always enjoy and learn from your videos. Thank you!
Thanks! 1. Yes. I'm not sure about 24 v or not... Lower amperage might be worth it but not sure there's that big of an advantage. 2. Those are a great idea, but with 1000Ah now, we can run the fridge on travel days no problem.. even if we didn't have solar.
