Questioning IF we can do a solar install????

[Laurahammie]

Hello everyone! We are new Minnie TT owners and although I have some experience camping, driving...technically we are both babes in the woods. We are researching a solar installation on our TT and just spoke to a gentleman that installs and told us it is not worth it....not enough space on top of our 25' TT....get a generator. Continuing to look for installers (do you know anyone? Will travel!)

I've been reading and it seems to me that if I have 600-750 W on top in panels,(two panels at 350W? Three 200W? What are your recommendations?) a 2000 - 3000V inverter/charger (Victron seems to be recommended?) then we should have enough space on top and power to maybe squeak out some AC time if we are out west in the heat this summer. We have propane fridge...don't need to use a microwave....do need a laptop occasionally....


Ready to throw up my hands and just get the obnoxious generator! Our plan is to leave Florida and travel about two months to daughter in Idaho circling through SW then back through Dakotas. Hopefully My husband (city boy) won't divorce me and we can continue to travel sporadically!

Thanks for any and all advice!

[creativepart]

Yes... and NO.

The installer was correct. If you want to run the A/C and microwave - and charge up your TT's batteries you need a small portable generator... even if you have solar.

Solar is a relatively easy thing to install and in and of itself is fairly inexpensive. Sizing up a system to run the A/C and the microwave is "possible" but would add considerable expense - Solar Panels, Wiring, Solar Controller, Large Amp Hour Battery Bank and inverter.

A generator will be very useful, tackle multiple duties and cost less than $1,000. A scaled up solar electrical system beefy enough to run A/C and microwave will cost three or four times that amount. And, you'd still probably be happy to have a generator for battery charging, too.

You will see YouTube videos of folks that have done what you are asking about. It's not impossible it's just very expensive.

Remove the A/C requirement from you solar plans and you'll drop the cost by 50%. Remove the microwave from your solar plans and you'll drop it another 25%.

You can put a 400w solar system on your roof, add deep cycle batteries to your TT and install a 1000w PSW Inverter to your electrical system for about $1,200-$1,500 and if you do all the work yourself probably as little as $800. It will be a great thing to have and you'll be happy with the results.

It's just the high wattage/amperage demand of A/C units and microwaves (coffee makers, space heaters, toaster ovens and hair dryers) that force you to scale up the system to such high levels that the whole thing gets too expensive.

A 2000w portable generator is indispensable for travel trailer owners that want to camp off the gird.

[Laurahammie]

Thank you! Glad I found this resource and I will be back soon I'm sure.

[powercat_ras]

When it's pleasant weather, no heat or AC needed, a small solar system of as little as 160 watts is all you would need to keep your batteries charged. If you add a small inverter to your TT sized to run your small appliances like coffee pot and toaster, and you use them every day, then 240 or 320 might be the right size to use the appliances and keep the batteries charged in nice weather.

You might consider starting with a ground based "suitcase" solar charging solution. It has the advantage of being able to be placed facing the sun in the sun in a sunny spot and you can park your RV without worrying about the roof being shaded.

You might consider starting out with simple separate inverter fed AC and leave the existing converter-charger as is. Mount inverter close to the batteries in basement or under bed. I find that a lot of TT have dead space above the water pump under the bed to do this. You can start out just running a 14 gauge AC extension cord or cords from the grounded plugs on the front of the inverter to the items you want to use.

[Laurahammie]

Thank you Randy. We have on 100W solar panel that was given to us and will be trying that out. I'm looking at this portable power station also - seems like a good solution since we have an outlet in our Expedition it can recharge on:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...ref_=pd_gw_unk

[Diesel-Lover]

How do? Welcome to an all involving hobby and yea hubby will stay put once he starts to enjoy this new way of life too!


Your trailer should be hooked such that there is a power lead going to it through the connector, if not have that upgraded. That way your power bank can stay put in the trailer, better yet perhaps you can upgrade to high capacity lithium battery or more! Do make sure it has a BMS of battery management system built in so that the charging mechanism is not a critical match for a short time, once you get serious you can upgrade your battery charging technology and monitoring as well when going to battery bank.


AirConditioner running is the big issue as it take a lot of power, but if you can build a battery bank large enough and upgrade the system to generate the current needed it could be done for a few hours a night! But that is a herculean task with out a generator or shore power. Unless you have a very high efficiency air conditioner (inverter based), those are solar power friendlier that the brutes on roof.

[BigWoods]

Excellent advice by creativepart. I went with 400w of solar and 200ah of lithium batteries. Typically, if boondocking I’ll turn on the generator for around 30 minutes when I wake up to make coffee. I let the solar top us off during the day. That’s usually all we need to run fans, lights, charge phones, watch TV at night and also run the fridge in the outdoor kitchen.

[al1florida]

Originally Posted by Laurahammie

Thank you Randy. We have on 100W solar panel that was given to us and will be trying that out. I'm looking at this portable power station also - seems like a good solution since we have an outlet in our Expedition it can recharge on:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...ref_=pd_gw_unk

Based on this description of the power station on the Amazon link:

【COMPATIBLE WITH 80% of HOME APPLIANCES】 The X-Boost Technology’s advanced built-in algorithm enables most heavy-duty kitchen appliances and tools (up to 1800W) to operate. With X-Boost, RIVER can power 80% of essential home appliances and devices, especially those within 1200W for better using experience. The discharging rates and X-Boost mode can be monitored and controlled through the EcoFlow APP.

I would say the power station's inverter is a MSW (Modified Sine Wave) and not a PSW (Pure Sine Wave).

Some 120V electronic devices will not work and can be damaged by plugging into a MSW inverter.

Most all laptops, TVs and desktop computers will work with MSW inverters.

The power station is equivalent to a 30AH lithium battery, or a standard group size 24 battery, which is not a lot of power.

It would run the TV in the evening and charge your laptops and phones just fine though.

[al1florida]

Not many people try to run and air conditioner from battery, takes far to much power for only 2-3 hours of run time. Plan on about 150AH for each hour or 450AH of battery for a 3 hour run time.

However, a 2000 watt inverter with 400AH of battery and 600watts of solar will run a microwave to heat things up, or defrost something. It will also run a coffee pot or hair dryer.

About putting 650-700 watts of solar on the roof. If you can find room for a pair of 72" X 50" to 60" (approximate size) 325-350 watt panels they would work great. Try to leave room to walk around the solar panels so you can get up on the roof and walk around to clean the solar panels. Dust & dirt reduces the power output.

Our RV has 400AH of lithium and 650 watts in a pair of the large solar panels. We have no problem running the microwave for things I described above.

The battery & solar setup is not inexpensive even if you go with lead acid golf cart batteries.

[Marine359]

Originally Posted by Laurahammie

Thank you Randy. We have on 100W solar panel that was given to us and will be trying that out. I'm looking at this portable power station also - seems like a good solution since we have an outlet in our Expedition it can recharge on:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...ref_=pd_gw_unk

It all boils down to how much power you consume every day that you’re not on shore power. Multiply this number in amp hours times the number of days you will not have shore power, and this will tell you how much battery capacity you need. Battery capacity is the most important part of the equation. If you have enough capacity, you don’t need solar or a generator, or an inverter for that matter. If you don’t, the most cost effective solution is a small generator which can be run to recharge your batteries. Your MM runs nearly everything on DC power. If you don’t use the microwave, don’t use hairdryers, don’t use a coffeemaker (use a French press instead), and you have an absorption fridge, you can boondock comfortably on 25 amp hours per day, or less, DC only. This assumes no use of air conditioner. If you need AC, a properly sized generator is a must have. Good luck on your new adventures.

[Laurahammie]

Marine 359 you've explained our energy needs - propane for the necessities...want energy for laptops and phones occasionally and if we end up in a hot environment AC would be nice, so a generator is probably our best bet. I was in the Army and learned to live without a hair dryer.

It's definitely a learning experience and I appreciate all the tips!

[Marine359]

Laura,
Thank you for your service. Some of my best friends were Vietnam era Army vets.

By your description, you really don’t have any need for ac power. Phones can be charged from your MM USB port. USB provides 5v at up to 0.5 amps. If you have a late model laptop or an iPad, you can probably run it from the USB port. You have to check your computer manual to be sure. If not, just buy a cheap dc to ac brick for less than $150. Plug it into the dc cigarette lighter port. It will provide enough ac power to run your laptop or tv. You didn’t say what battery you have, but I presume you’ve replaced the marine deep cycle wet cell that came with your MM with a better battery with at least 50 useable amp hours.

If you plan to pull the trigger on more solar, it will be money wasted unless you also upgrade your batteries.

[Morich]

When I see a suggestion that you might want to take a couple months to "circle through the SW", I totally move away from any thoughts of not needing air conditioner!
While one can possibly get by with making enough changes to go solar, I would consider a generator to be the only real option to avoid a full time job of figuring how to stay reasonably pleasant, short of going to a motel!
Since you do mention being new to the game, there are literally hundreds of things to figure out on the first try and adding to that the really big headache of getting set up on a really challenging process like solar, is not going to make it a nice trip!

But looking at it from a different view, I might ask why you feel compelled to make life hard? Or is it just that you lack the experience to see what other options might work better?

What if one modified the first trip to go a lot easier on yourself by staying at sites which do have some of the "modern" conveniences like water and electricity? If you fork up the $25-40 a night to do the easy thing and stay at state and federal parks, etc. where they are developed, it will take a very, very , long time to cost as much as the expenses of solar or generators!
Meanwhile you will also find there is help nearby if things go wrong and the parks are much nicer places to stay than out in the boonies with no facilities----like places to dump the tanks and fill with water.
Small things like having a picnic table to eat on when the weather is nice and a fire ring to set by a campfire at night can really make a big difference in how you feel about the trip.
How much is a secure campsite worth versus having a few things stolen when not protected? Not all the folks hiding out in the woods are nice folks!

[Marine359]

Morich the Master can be right if you’re old like me, and you prefer “glamping”. My best camping ever was 35 years ago, 3 kids who smelled bad, and a very limited budget. We camped all over the Southwest with our vintage (read: well used) 26ft. Revcon MH. We had an onboard generator but the roof ac didn’t work. No matter, we carried two small tents in our Mitsubishi toady, one for the smell bad kids, and one for mummabear and me. We never had hookups, and we only slept in the Revcon when it was raining or cold. Bottom line is, you can have all the comforts that a commercial campground affords, or you can have most of the comfort plus 100% of the camping pleasure, with no hookups and a few small investments in upgrades. Bon voyage soldier. Take a few trips, then decide where on this continuum you want to be.

[Laurahammie]

Thank you Gentlemen. I'll take your advice and skip the solar for now. I'm a country mouse but my hubby is a city mouse and this is new for him. I'll skip the solar confusion/headache and go with the flow. Since campgrounds are pretty booked and overwhelmed we might not have an option but to "rough" it (and roughing it for hubby is a hotel without cable. For me it's taking a bath in a steel pot in the woods with a gallon bucket...) but I think he will manage. If you see headlines "Man pushes woman off cliff after cross country trip" then you know. LOL!