Interested in any solar advice

[Brettmm92]

First of all, I oughta say I've learned a lot from this website and am really into it. Well right now I'm looking for some information on how to go solar from someone semi ignorant about the subject. I know that you absorb energy from the sun, store them in batteries, somehow convert it to ac with an inverter (I think). But I would love to hear information from ya'll to help me figure out what I need to do to turn to solar energy (even though I'm blessed to have a direct electircal hookupat this moment.
Thanks in advance to anyone who adds there 2 cents

[pianotuna]

No the battery is not charged.

I had solar for 5 years as a part time rv'er and did not even own a generator. They are in a flat fixed installation and have given me zero problems since 2005.

I wish I had spend the money to upgrade my solar instead of buying generators. So far the genny's have cost about $9000.00

wrenchbender wrote:
Buy a good generator and avoid the BS. I dry camp away from the maddening crowd, when the crowd shows up I move. It almost became a game with me watching people trying to set up the solar panels for most exposure. If you are staying in one spot for a year maybe it may pay off, otherwise get a Honda or a Yamaha.You run it for 2 to 3 hrs a day the battery is charged.

[rbpru]

I think before I spent the really big bucks for boonedocking, I would go back to my tent and canoe in the wilderness.

We bought our TT to tour the country not to avoid people or conveniences. I will admit there are times when we would like to stay a few days longer or non-electric was the only option; but it does not justify a larger expenditure.

As already mentioned, one was to really evaluate their overall camping objectives. I $100.00 generator might will go a long way for an extra day or so off gird. Serious boondocking is a bigger step and can be expensive; but so is a serious wilderness tripping canoe. 🙂

Good luck.

[GrandpaKip]

I can't stand maddening crowds, either. When I can, avoid them I do.

[mike-s]

wrenchbender wrote:
away from the maddening crowd

Wrong reference for all intensive porpoises, but maybe that's a mute point.

[wrenchbender]

Buy a good generator and avoid the BS. I dry camp away from the maddening crowd, when the crowd shows up I move. It almost became a game with me watching people trying to set up the solar panels for most exposure. If you are staying in one spot for a year maybe it may pay off, otherwise get a Honda or a Yamaha.You run it for 2 to 3 hrs a day the battery is charged.

[pianotuna]

I part timed for 5 years with no generator and ran what ever I wanted. Charging batteries with a generator to 100% full is extremely expensive. No one would do it unless they had no other choice.

JCR-1 wrote:
Always have a generator. Quick and easy to use A/C, Microwave, and charge house batteries quickly.

[westend]

I run a 120V dorm fridge, 120V stereo and TV, and all the other typical 12V devices (fans, pumps, lights, charging phones, laptops, etc) with my solar system. I don't have any parasitic loads nor a furnace or water heater that uses 12V.

My system: two battery banks, one 2 X 6V GC2, 215 AH, three 12V AGM batteries, 100 AH. Total battery capacity-around 300AH. A single 235W panel mounted on the roof with four-way tilt (if needed). A single Morningstar 15A MPPT controller. A Xantrex 1000W pure sine inverter. I have a generator but have never used it with this trailer.

My future plan is to add a second panel on the roof, add or upgrade the solar controller. Add a movable, smaller 100W (or so) panel to be used in shade parked conditions. Change the AGM bank out for larger AGM batteries, increasing the capacity by 200 AH. Replace inverter or add a larger one. This upgrade should allow me run microwaves, coffee makers, and a small window air conditioner for a few hours.

[JCR-1]

Always have a generator. Quick and easy to use A/C, Microwave, and charge house batteries quickly.

[rbpru]

It has been my observation that it is a matter of how much money you want to spend for the conveniences you want.

I like my microwave, toaster, television and AC. But I am perfectly willing to do without them for a few days to enjoy a great campsite or two. So far I have managed to get by with for two or three days on battery power and LP.

For more than a couple of days, particularly if it is warm, a fan and outdoor cooking become a must or you have to start looking at some rather expensive solar options or of course a generator.

[ktmrfs]

Wizbangdoodle wrote:
OP, as you can see, there is a lot of great advice out there when you talk about solar. I hymned and hawed about what I was going to get and finally just dove in. I spent a lot of time trying to nail down all the power needs I had.
I have found that if you are just running 12vdc devices, you can get by with a pretty small system. If you want to watch a lot of tv and toast some bread and vacuum the floors and do a load of laundry, you'd better get some serious battery storage and panels, not to mention a decent inverter. I would guess that if you are just boondocking for an extended weekend and don't spend a lot of time in the trailer, 200-400ah of batteries and 200-300 watts of panels would be more than enough.

pretty consistent with my boondocking experience. I now have about 500W of portable solar. my camping buddy has 320W of portable solar.

we both have 4 GC 6V batteries, around 500AH. He only runs stuff of 12V, including exhaust fan most of the time to keep trailer cool or furnace in the morning and can keep batteries above 75% charge for several weeks of boondocking even with several days of clouds/shade.

With my 500W on our last outing, we ran the portable ice maker all day off the inverter, use the microwave for heating tea, veggies etc. and using the hotel 800W kurig for coffee, etc. and we were able to keep the batteries again between 80 and 100 percent charge for 7 days. that also included running two exhaust fans for cooling for about 6 hours for cooling and the furnace in the morning for an hour or so.

the only time either of us use the generator is for running the AC or in the case of my buddy when he needs the microwave.

and from experience, the haze from forest fires while not seeming real significant can put a big hit on solar output!! the days with clear skies gave great output, the hazy smoke days were as bad or worse than similar cloud cover.

note I said portable solar. portable solar can be aimed for max output, while rooftop is usually horizontal and depending on time of year and latitude can have quite diminished output.

On our last trip in August and early Sept near 45 degrees latitude, laying the panels flat vs angled reduced output by about 30 percent.

but then rooftop panels will charge driving down the road and don't grow legs. but rooftop panels mean parking in the sun instead of shades.

No perfect solution.

[Wizbangdoodle]

OP, as you can see, there is a lot of great advice out there when you talk about solar. I hymned and hawed about what I was going to get and finally just dove in. I spent a lot of time trying to nail down all the power needs I had.
I have found that if you are just running 12vdc devices, you can get by with a pretty small system. If you want to watch a lot of tv and toast some bread and vacuum the floors and do a load of laundry, you'd better get some serious battery storage and panels, not to mention a decent inverter. I would guess that if you are just boondocking for an extended weekend and don't spend a lot of time in the trailer, 200-400ah of batteries and 200-300 watts of panels would be more than enough.

[theoldwizard1]

The FIRST thing you need to figure out is how much battery storage you need ! To do that, you need to know what your loads are. If you want to run a 5,000 BTU A/C from sundown to sunup, you are going to need a LOT OF BATTERIES !

The panels hook up to the batteries vis a solar charge controller.

The batteries can be hooked to an inverter to provide 120V AC power for things like a residential refrigerator. Not the prettiest, but certainly the simplest and cheapest way to connect your inverter to your RV is a simple extension cord from the inverter to your normal shore power inlet.

[profdant139]

If you want an easy and inexpensive way to try solar, get a portable panel -- mine is 120 watts and it fully recharges our batteries every day. It is plug and play -- very simple. But we are very frugal with electricity -- this would not work for everyone.

Then you could later upgrade to a larger roof panel. The roof systems are better, more expensive, and more complicated.

[Lwiddis]

"and good chance you never get above 80% while off grid"

I disagree, Val. My smallish system regularly recharges to 100%.

And Tom...me too! No noise for me and my neighbors.