I know this is an older video but I have to say, I really appreciate someone that knows how to make a video without all of the stupid rambling and unorganized crap. This is a really informative and professionally done video that gets to the point and delivers information without boring you to tears. Thanks!
Thank GOD, someone who’s an organized thinker! We don’t have an RV but are researching Solar energy in general & your start was PERFECT! I just wasted an hour trying to find SOLAR 101 Basics, & got aggravated with videos that said NOTHING but a bunch of acronyms & personal experiences. THANKS AGAIN!
It amazes me that so many caravans in England and other European countries have lithium as the standard battery pack and solar three panel systems standard. I can't understand American manufacturers who continue to build junk. Except for a few such as Northwood all I see are ill constructed lite units that are rushed through build and are delivered to the customer broken. You are fortunate to understand the inner workings and can repair most problems and add to the electronics. I would love to buy a trailer to pull but I'm waiting until I can afford something like a North wood product.
Matthew B it’s a difference of approach. We can get lithium batteries in the US, but a 170 ah battery is currently about $1500 compared to a 200 ah AGM battery for $400. Yeah, the AGM weighs 130 lbs vs a 45 lb lithium but the trailers used in North America have a different weight distribution than is used in European caravans. We distribute weight between the tow vehicle and trailer, whereas the weight is over the a caravan’s axle and the tow vehicle is simply a tractor. The Europeans can tow with a lighter weight tow vehicle, but need to tow at a slower speed. When I was in Europe, I was surprised to see such small cars towing relatively large caravans. In North America, we distribute weight differently on our trailers and can tow faster, but we have a higher tongue weight on the tow vehicle so the rig is more stable at highway speeds than the European configuration. That requires a vehicle with the ability to hold a heavy tongue weight. See oppositelock.kinja.com/tow-me-down-1609112611 The point is, we can load the heavy batteries into our trailers. When we “boondock” in public lands (setup your camper for up to 14 days, but you have to bring your own power source, water, etc.) we need to maximize that battery bank capacity. Having a couple of decent AH rated 6V AGM batteries in series is pretty common in the US west.
Randallkoller - I really dislike the “greed and profits” argument. Its lazy, It’s like if I chip my tooth then it’s because of “greed and profits”. My coffee is too strong... “greed and profits”. My milk curdled in my Wheaties... “greed and profits”. Lead acid battery plates get recycled in the US and we actually have factories that manufacture them either here or in Mexico with lower cost land transportation for distribution. Lead plates recycle pretty easily... just melt them, skim off the crud from the top and cast new cells. That easy, available recycling holds down costs as does the lower cost of transport. I’m not aware of much recycling of lithium cells in the US, even so, we’d probably have to ship back to make new cells. Lead acid batteries have a century of developed infrastructure and distribution systems. Lithium is nearly new infrastructure and distribution systems that’s still being developed. I recently bought 4 LiFePo4 cells, BMS and new solar controller from China through eBay for about 3 times the cost of just buying a 90 lb golf cart battery from a local retailer. Another option was to use a BattleBorn battery which is assembled in the US, probably using newly manufactured foreign cells from new, not recycled materials. The BattleBorn is about 4-5 times the cost of the lead acid battery. Still, I wanted to reduce weight and hope to get a 5x life out of the LiFePo4 and so long as I get a longer life then the LiFePo4 might be somewhat less over the long haul. Still, a LiFePo4 is about 20-25% of the weight of lead acid. If I had a big honking motor home that didn’t mind the weight then I would have just loaded up with golf cart batteries, saved money and hassle. The stupid thing is, my lefty, environmentalist brother in law objects to my LiFePo4 setup, telling me to just buy cheap, heavy lead acid batteries at SamsClub instead. It’s like “save the planet” until it’s his responsibility to save the planet. The only greedy ones that I see in that cycle are consumers who only look at the purchase cost of the batteries. I’m still not convinced that I’ll get the life out of the LiFePo4 setup to have made it worthwhile. That’s a 10 year long experiment. Here’s to hoping.
North Americans want things cheap and cheap usually means cheap. Of you want a better built RV, Northwood like you said or Lance. The majority of us won't or can't afford to spend double or more for a better built rv especially if its something you use a few weekends in a year.
This is a GREAT Video... You know what you're talking about... I just wished I knew what you were talking about... LOL. This is total Greek to me... and I am a chemical engineer. I wished I was an electrical engineer right now... LOL Please NOTE for people like me. You KNOW what you're talking about... We don't (at least some of us). If you would SHOW us at the SAME time you're talking... We can SEE and Hear you at the same time... and that teaches us better. Thank you for sharing this video... I really need to learn this, because I am needing to do this on my Travel Trailer.
Well done ! .... I spent about a year studying up on solar. After a lot of overthinking, calculations & trying to decide how big to go; I jumped in with just a simple 100W glass panel & PWM. The goal was to charge two 6v golf cart batteries at this point. I'm really glad I did as I found unless you are in direct sun you get very little amps. We camp predominately in shade or treed areas, I was doing a lot of chasing the sun with the panel. Against my original objectives I did buy a small inverter generator for the days that solar isn't going to work or I'm not "chasing". Surprisingly in the last 6 months I've only used ~3 gal of gas. I'm about $750 total all in. It's all working great for our needs. You hit the nail on the head; start small with the basics to add on later, you don't need to start out with a $5k-$12k system. I am not a full timer so my needs are simple.
@@carriesings4life No, we are not full timers. We go out about 1x a month for 4-5 days, a couple of 10-15 day trips in the Summer. The past couple of years we've taken a 6-8 week trip to the S.W. during the Winter. We prefer to boondock but when it's snowing or really cold we will get hookups. I have aded a 2nd 100 watt panel (still not attached)and a small 600 watt converter to charge laptops and ipads. In the Winter down in AZ desert the two 100watt panels are perfect for us. place them in the sun early morning and by 12 or 2:00 we're all charged up 100%. We don't use a lot of power but we don't watch it closely with our lights at night I don't like sitting in the dark. For us its crazy to spend $10 - $15k for a full system like some of our friends have done. But we do not work from the road either or watch any TV. Once in a while we fire up our small Generator for the microwave or hairdryer or watch a movie. On a rare occasion charge the batteries. hope that helps
Thanks for the video. There are a lot of videos on this topic but many of the presenters are too hard to watch. This is a nice straight-forward walk through. Thanks.
That was the most helpful solar on your rv video I have ever seen and I've seen a few. It's for people like me who are just starting out. I appreciate your service to the RV community. Safe travels.
thank you for this video. this was my first video as my husband just passed the other day and I'm trying to pick up where he left off. He tried to finish the rv before he passed so I would always be able to have a place to live off-grid.
Hello great video.. I am Installing a new roof on my 5th wheel. Thought I’d pre-wire for solar while I have it tore apart. Went searching RU-vid. Behold I found your video right away. 1st time watching, it went way over my head. I’m back for a second viewing and making a lot more sense after educating myself a little about solar and terms. The problem is I am now more confused than before
Second part of my post. I’m looking to install the same system you have. 4 panels , 30 amps. What size wire do you run from the panels to the Rover? What design lay out did you decide? 2p2s or something different? Greatly appreciate your input into my install?
As always awesome information my wife and I are picking up our newest 5th wheel toy hauler in a couple weeks and Solar is one of the first upgrades we want to do. I have watched several of your videos regarding solar and I appreciate your information.
Great video! I also chose Renogy after much research. My system is super small, but love it. I did decide on the MPPT charge controller. Great tip about the inline breaker. Wish I had known and had them install that! Thanks for the awesome informational videos!!!
Thank you. Some great and simplistic information ......truly appreciate you sharing your knowledge. Like James a couple comments earlier I would like to have more information on charging your batteries from your tow vehicle especially if you have lithium. Keep up the good work and thanks again.
Solar power is great when there is a need. Charging batteries, off the grid in the RV, and saving on residential power Bill's. We dont need it but if we did I would recommend this channel for how to advise
I don't get it... just about every solar DIY'er on youtube is mounting 100 watt panels on their RV roofs. And the cost for these range from $1.00 - 1.90 per watt generated! Why would you not use something like the Mission Solar 315 watt panels? They would take much less mounting area, and cost about $0.70 per watt ?
Glenn Beattie that’s incorrect with the appropriate charge controller you can have much higher voltage going in and the controller will charge the batteries appropriately.
I put one 400 watt panel on my van conversion roof and hooked it into my 2200 watt power station. I bought a like new used panel for $200. Beats 4 100 watt panels on my opinion
That help a bit more from your last hooking up solar. How do I figure how and where to run the wires? How does the solar panels hook to the batteries if there aren't mounted?
Here's a few things to help others, new dual function type solar panels, heat water at same time, keeps panels cooler, last longer, hot water can be used for domestic to either pre-heat or keep water hot in tank if not using a tankless system, in some cases it could be used for interior heating as well. A guy in NJ has them on his house, get over 100 fahr. in winter. Small quick attach, pole mounted sail boat wind generators for the days with no sun, night etc.. Use all 3 type of passive energy. Yinlang lto lithium cells.... new tech, last you a life time, light weight, huge temperature operating range -40c to 65-c and if not clearly stated before, HUGE cycle rate, over 50,000 if I remember correctly, easily bolt together, no special tools, no special training, no topping up water... build any voltage pack you want, any capacity, any SHAPE to fit your needs rather than a square factory built unit... I think the 40 amp hour cell can do 400 amps discharge.... dont quote me but I know it's higher than most, way higher. Using a charge controller for each panel rather than one large one, makes the system more efficient as it allows for the differences between panels and can make the most of the panel. Luna cycles has some really nice heavy gauge wire, good flexibility, 8g,6g, nice 200 amp bullet connectors too, although personally I use the ones from castle, 6.5mm bullet connector with 200 amp limit, polarized plugs, cannot be plugged in the wrong way. Silicone wire, has much better flex, current rate, lower resistance and higher temp resistance than most common wire, Deans wire but they dont do heavy gauge, Amazon, Ali Express, easy enough to order silicone wire. Ripping 50 to 100 amps dc for RC motors is very common, so they have some very nice DC wire and connectors. I build ebikes, off road, 2 wheel drive, trailer with motors, batteries in trailers and solar panels to recharge them, so I have a bit of an idea... every stove and dryer I see, I rip the power cords off for the 8g wire in them :) Hopes this helps some people. Oh between the bike and the trailer, I have 7 battery pack, 100 amp hours @ 36 volt with over 140 amps discharge constant, 200 amp burst, I can run the 2 motors on my bike as high as 5,000 watts each, trailer motors for about 3,000 each if needed, 4 motors, 4 controllers, brake lights, turn signals, alarms, yes plural alarms, bike and trailer + each controller, LED motorcycle head lights, all custom wired. Just so you understand, I actually work with this stuff too. And please dont forget, dielectric grease for plug connections exposed to the elements.
Super content and advice. Maybe a topic for a future video would be for those of us with the famous "Solar Ready Z-AMP" connectors and how they might integrate into a growing solar system. Thanks!
Thanks for the good information. Could you please talk about charging your batteries from your tow vehicle while traveling. Any mods need to be done to the factory set-up for charging Lithium batteries?
I’m considering putting a fan on the roof of my work truck to see how much power I can generate as I drive it’s the same concept that is used for passenger airplanes and some cargo planes to
Great video. Thanks for the clarification. I thought connecting to an existing system would be more difficult than building one from the ground up, but your video makes me think that it is quite the opposite.
I hope that you had better luck with that Renogy charge controller then I did I had A Renogy Rover 40 amp charge controller but that silly thing only lasted a little bit over a year and quit working so I changed over to BougeRV
My biggest question is how do I determine exactly where I can mount the panels on the roof? I have a 2019 Keystone Hideout 177LHS, plenty of room for 4 panels but I only have 1 on hand right now. Any ideas or resources would be appreciated. Great video, thanks!
It shows you enjoy doing this kind of stuff. I hope that some of the suppliers see your video and send you stuff. Personally, I would like to see a demonstration done with Volta systems. I hear these are on the high end but compared to what? Thanks for what you do Jared
i’m thinking while my RV which is park next to my house that I might want to cover the solar panels from time to time. Does anyone ever cover their solar panels and if so what are good reasons to cover them? What are you using to cover them obviously it Hass to be somewhat waterproof.
It seems always when I am searching youtube for my RV renovation questions, I always come back to YOUR channel, Thanks for your GHrrrteat explanations!. Question, I am in the process of replacing the entire roof on my 5th wheel. I intend to install solar next year (when I can afford it, lol!) but while I am ripping off and replacing the roof, is there anything you suggest I do in THIS project to install brackets or whatever to allow me to more easily install a solar system next year when I can get to that project? Thanks!!!
Jared, great video as always! I'm in the process of installing solar on our RV roof and also have a 100W portable suite case. Did you wire the portable panels into your MPPT charge controller or do you hook them up to the batteries with a separate MPPT charge controller?
@@AllAboutRVs Thanks for getting back to me on this. Thats good to know. I also heared you could also operate with teo charge controllers. But would much rather do it with just the one as your doing. Thanks again.
@@AllAboutRVs Thank you for responding to Jim B. Now that I looked more carefully, I can see the wiring going into your compartment. Looking forward to watching your upcoming videos. I've gotten a lot out of the solar videos you have done in the past. Thank you!
I have a Winnebago Micro Minnie and want to change over to lithium batteries. The easiest place for me to put the batteries is the storage under my queen bed. Should I be concerned about sleeping above the lithium batteries safety wise? Thanks in advance!
Ok, how about integrating a inverter with your converter that comes with your trailer, which in turn drives everything, or do you have a answer for that.😊
I am planning on a solar system but do not need AC so not going to use an inverter. Solar will go to controller, controller to batteries but how do I connect the DC system from my camper into the batteries. Right now it ties in with two wires at the tongue of the trailer and those two wires can also charge the batteries from the truck vis the 7 pin connector. My new batteries will be inside and next to the charge controller and then I need to connect it to the camper DC. Please let me know ideas on the best way to do this.
I've watched a lot of these videos... Where do I plug in my shore power converter charger for when solar isn't enough, or do I just need a transfer switch?
Love the videos. Thanks for info. I have 200w portable suitcase mppt20a 700w inverter 12v 100ah lithium battery, but unsure best way to connect to travel trailer fuse box, converter Any help /recommended reading would be appreciated. Thanks
What length of screw is strong enough to hold heavy panels a typical Class C roof (e.g. from Thor) without punching through to the interior side of the ceiling? I thought most roofs are a TPO thin membrane over 1" plywood sheet?
I bought a used RV with just one house battery…a Winnie Drop 170s. Part of the used deal came with a 100 watt panel, charge controller and a bunch of wires in a bag. How/where do I connect this panel to the house battery? I do understand the basic setup of a charger controller. But what is the load? Or do I just need to charge the battery and nothing goes on the load? I can’t really tell where the previous owner connected to the battery. There is an after market terminal block in the bathroom area that goes out to a storage compartment. But I a am not sure where the other end of the terminal block goes. Any ideas? Thanks!
How’s those screws to the roof holding up? They look more like a sheet metal screw. My uninstalled kit has them as well and was wondering if I should use something else. Roof is 7/16” OSB.
Just over a year in and they have been very solid. Just inspected the he roof not long ago and no problems. These are similar to the screws we used on the last RV for years with no problems
Great video I’m pretty handy on everything I do but when it comes to Solar, I don’t know nothing. Your video clarified that it’s not as hard as it looks. So I subscribe to your channel to walk me through the whole procedure I purchased a 2020 holiday rambler vacationer 35p it already has one solar panel on the roof. My question is if I buy the kit you have listed 400 W can I connect those panels to the existing panel that’s already on the roof Would love to hear your input and two cents on this installation that I will be starting in the next month. Thank you once again.
Thank you so much... picking up my rig on Saturday. I love how easy you explain everything. I am curious if both the Victron and Renology Charge controllers who showed photos of use the app? You didn't state which one you used and I feel it is because you use both products... I may be wrong.
Great video. I am trying to start a small system on a shed I have that in not tied into our house’s electric system to run a few tools. Will search your site for that info
You will need an inverter for that. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-kBYgkN1_r8Y.html This is my first pick and this one is more of a budget option. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-bsooDvbwD5g.html
Question; I have a camper with shore power or power via my truck alternator, charging the batteries now, Therefore do I have to shut off the solar power when connected to shore power as there would be 2 different power sources charging the batteries at the same time?
That's good to know all I have on my 85 fifth wheel is a 50 watt solorpanel and a lead acid battery and a small inverter to get me by for now any tip would help thabks
Did you connect to your existing RV batteries? If so, and I want to upgrade to lithium, will the original charger on the RV still work with the new lithium batteries? Will anything conflict with my RV charger? I'm confused about this.
We are in the middle of a van conversion and are concerned about our auto insurance. I am pretty sure our insurance company won'tb accept the modifications we have made. We have done nothing out of the ordinary. The most ambitious things are a new seat in back of van and solar on the roof. What auto insurance so you use for your converted van?
Which Dicor product did you use? Can you send a link? Also with the Rover charge controller. Is that located in a cabinet in your RV? Do you have enough ventilation?
Do you think this takes away the need for a gas generator COMPLETELY? I have a small area in my RV where a generator is intended to go but I think it’s a great place to house my batteries for the solar setup. I live in a very sunny area but I understand that I won’t be getting an input of solar energy during the night. I’m also not looking to use a lot of energy through the night: just a few cell phones and maybe a laptop.
What I have found useless about all rv solar installs videos (not this one so much) is when you go much higher in wattage, like long runs for 12v 600watts plus. When you need 4 or 6 gauge wire but you can't find MC4 connectors that you can put on a 6AWG wire to plug into your panels. You almost have to go to a 48v panel because the current gets so high in a parallel setup.
I just bought the Renogy kit from your link. I love the idea of adding the circuit breaker. Why did you use a 30 amp circuit breaker when the controller is 40 amp? Thank you.
SOOOOO.....our house just went on the market, so we will hopefully be in the RV full-time soon! I have no idea how to do the solar and cannot seem to find a video for what we have. If anyone can help explain or have resources for what we have would be great. So we bought a used, 2008, class C coachmen. We wanted to do portable solar so we could move it around. We bought a 200 watt renogy portable kit, a 2200watt pure sine inverter, and will be getting 2 deep cycle 6 volt batteries. Now what the hell do I do with this stuff haha?? Neither me nor my husband are mechanically inclined. I would like to hook it up so that all the plugs are "hot", but am not sure we can do that correctly and just do not have the money to pay someone. If we cannot hook it up to the "whole" RV, I would like to put the inverter somewhere permanent with an outlet strip plugged into as a second best option. Does anyone have any advise or good step by step resources that we could use to do something ourselves?? Thanks for any help!
With a limited budget I guess you will have to read, research and do the old trial and error method. And watch MULTIPLE RU-vid vids, so all the terms are second hand to you both! And your wiring setup is a glory to behold--- NOT a total mess of wires, of unlabeled, mixed colors and of questionable gauge! And once you are done pay to have it THOROUGHLY checked by a LICENSED technician! Think of that cost as insurance! So you don't loose EVERYTHING!!!!!
Hey...thanks for your videos. So...I am planning an install of two 200W panels on the roof of my new 6x10 trailer conversion. I also have a portable set of panels I normally have used to charge my portable Jackery. I will be joining the two sets of wires from the panels into one set using a y-connector. I would like to install another Y-connector later in that short cable run to my Renogy controller. That would allow me to, on occasion, plug-in my portable panels if I wanted to gain a little more input. Sound like a workable plan? Thanks.
Great video, are you able to go boon docking on just your batteries using solar power to recharge the batteries. Not sure if you are able to run AC. Can you advise?
