Solar charging while trailer stored inside

[IdahoHunter]

We recently had a 42'x35' metal building put up to store all our trailers and some other equipment out of the weather and hot Idaho sun. Obviously, the roof mounted solar panels on our 2108DS don't work very well inside, and I didn't feel the expense to run power to the building was necessary.

So, I installed two 100W panels on the South exterior wall of the building. Replaced the bracket hardware that had plastic knobs and wing nuts with SS bolts, washer, lock washers, and nylon locknuts. Also added a piece of 1" square tubing across the bottom of both panels, and it is bolted to the 4 supporting brackets to add further rigidity to the protruding bottom end.

One panel directly feeds the Micro Minnie's controller that's mounted inside the pass-through by the exterior solar port, which is where the solar feed plugs into the trailer. All 10 gauge wire from the panel to the trailer.

The 2nd panel feeds a 2nd controller mounted inside the building, and it keeps my atv and pasture mower batteries charged. Zero maintenance, and zero cost after the initial purchases. Nice.

 

[wyocamper-WO]

That's beautiful, and it looks like you can adjust the tilt angle to follow the sun's height.

 

[IdahoHunter]

That's beautiful, and it looks like you can adjust the tilt angle to follow the sun's height.

Thanks, and yup. I opted to set the angle for the best year round setting (36 degrees), and I’ll leave it at that angle instead of changing it between summer and winter angles. The load isn’t that heavy just to maintain the batteries. So, I don’t need it working at max efficiency.

 

[Lv2Roam2]

Very nice!! We use a roof-mounted solar array to charge our batteries in outdoor storage - never a worry about battery abuse. Thanks for sharing!

 

[IdahoHunter]

The one thing I wish I’d done is put some angled snow diverters on the roof to keep snow and ice from sliding down the roof and falling on the panels. I can still do it, but I’ve run out of time since I have total knee replacement surgery in the morning. So, I’ll just have to hope for some good luck until I can climb a ladder again.

 

[Four Seasons]

Nice job! Thanks for posting.