Major Solar & Power PROJECT 2022 Minnie 2529RG TT - Page 2

No1Hunter · 05-03-2023, 05:17 PM

Well, I placed the finishing touches on my project, excluding the solar panel expansion. I wired up the TT to TV extension and hooked it up to the TV to program the DC to DC charger. The red wire is so I can install a switch in the cab should I wish to (sure wish I would have pulled one when I pulled my 6AWG wires from the engine compartment to the back bumper.

No1Hunter · 05-03-2023, 05:27 PM

I have been looking for some sort of snap-on cable guards to fit over the battery terminals without much success. In the picture above, I had placed black electrical tape over them as a temporary measure. Well, while hiking yesterday and have the issue in the back of my mind, a light bulb went off and I decided just to build my own using some Split Wire Loom and reusable cable straps.

tinglett · 05-05-2023, 10:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by No1Hunter

Well, while hiking yesterday and have the issue in the back of my mind, a light bulb went off and I decided just to build my own using some Split Wire Loom and reusable cable straps.

Wow, that's a nice idea! I've been puzzled why good guards aren't available. I've tried a couple different varieties, and settled on putting the batteries in a plywood box (omitting the sides for lack of room) which at least keeps the wires away from hands and falling objects. If I ever rework my setup, I'll keep this idea in mind!

No1Hunter · 05-05-2023, 10:21 AM

Thanks. The wire loom fits pretty tight by themselves. The cable straps are their for piece of mind only, as I don't think they are really needed. Of course, you need to use the proper size of loom.

No1Hunter · 05-15-2023, 08:30 PM

Well, with us having 90+ degree day, I have not ventured up on the roof to add my second panel yet but did do a few more things.

I sealed all the places where I penetrated the bottom with Rubberized spray sealer.

No1Hunter · 05-15-2023, 08:39 PM

Next, I solved the storage issue for my portable solar panels. I built some racks over the top of my batteries to hold them. I built the side portion of the rack to actually reinforces the wood frame, as I have heard of them coming apart.

I still have access to the main disconnect switch and the Victron Distributor to change fuses, if necessary. I can also remove the middle angle cross-section as they are attached with a bolt and wingnut.

lenore · 05-15-2023, 11:03 PM

Looks great, thanks for the wire loom tip.

TwoFrom93449 · 05-16-2023, 10:51 AM

Bob,

You missed your true calling, AUTHOR!!

Our 12V power requirements are much lower. We will eventually replace our 80Ah stock battery with a lithium battery. Why Renogy 100Ah instead of 200Ah?

We just bought a Bluetti portable power center to cover our TV and Starlink for an evening.

Great idea on hanging the solar panel! Your idea is better than mine of hanging under the compartment lid. Think we will go with Zamp 180W regulated panel to come close to matching the output of the 190W panel on the roof. Our bed collapsed, too many staples missed the mark. So I added gussets. Also a matching cylinder on the right to raise our new mattress (was our first modification!) easily.

Sadly, the quality of this trailer is not on the same planet as the twenty year old Alpenlite it replaced!

No1Hunter · 05-16-2023, 11:50 AM

Quote:

Why Renogy 100Ah instead of 200Ah?

Well, originally I was only going to have two batteries and wanted two 100amp rather than one 200amp in case one went bad. At least I would still have one. Redundancy I guess. But, I kept finding deals on the 100amp batteries and ended up with 4. LOL If I had to do it all over, I would look closely at 2 200amp batteries.

No1Hunter · 06-02-2023, 05:58 PM

Well, I finished up the project with the moving the original 190watt panel and adding another 190watt panel. Big shoutout to tinglett for putting up with all my questions as I followed his lead using strut channel to mount my panels. Unfortunately, I couldn't use the same holes from the original panel and frankly, I question if they were even screwed into the rafters as they did not measurer out. I had to add a piece of sheet metal to the deflector to increase the height of the panels, plus I leveled them.

Over all, I am please with the system. Our test outing was for 3 days and we didn't conserve using power. We watched a couple movies each night, brewed a couple cups of coffee in the morning with a Keurig coffee maker, made toast in a toaster the first morning, used the microwave a couple of times each day, ran the furnace each morning, etc. According to the Renogy app, our batteries were down to 78% (around 320ah) when we left on the last day. We were parked in the trees and only received solar about an hour or so each day.

Plus, it seems we were back to 100% in no time using the solar once we got home. We didn't need to plug in at all.

BobC · 06-02-2023, 06:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by No1Hunter

I decided to post this project under the TT Forum rather than the Electrical | Charging, Solar and Electronics forum as it is specifically for Winnebago Travel Trailer. I suppose there could be some crossover between TT and motor home, but if I received a question, I may not be able to answer it.

This was another issue I had with the YouTube guy and his drawings. He is also in the business to sell wire and other components. His suggestion, and "typical TT drawing" show a negative cable running from the battery to the DC panel, while a typical TT uses the TT's frame. When asked if there was an advantage to using a wire rather than a cable run, he deletes my question from the blog and refuses to answer it. My guess is he wants to sell copper cable!

If the mods feel this should be in the Electrical | Charging, Solar and Electronics forum, they are free to move it. I may post a link to this over there in case someone would like to follow it.

You should definitely post a link in the Electrical/... forum. It's definitely of interest to me and I have a 2002 MH. I suggest you use a more descriptive title on that post. You might also want to see if a moderator can change your current title so future readers/searchers will know what the "Project" entails.

This is an informative, well constructed thread and shouldn't be hidden behind a generic title. Great work. I don't remember how to do it but you might be able to edit your thread's "tags". These are hidden, keywords that the app assigns to your thread to assist searchers, but they're not always great and can be edited.

**creativepart** · 06-03-2023, 10:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BobC

You should definitely post a link in the Electrical/... forum.

Bob, we do not permit cross posting between multiple forums. I do agree on the title change and have changed the title to make this thread more searchable.

I offered to move the thread to the Solar forum but the OP has declined that offer.