2619 from 2006, with Solar? I've got one.
I think that I'm the best "TM expert" WRT to Solar on a 2619, and can advise. First thing for Solar: Figure out how much battery power you want to consume per day, when plugins are NOT present. Then: Make another post and ask for advice within in the "Solar Power" section. Don't forget to become a full member within 30 days, or you'll lose access to the "technical" forum topics.
But before doing anything else, I think that you should upgrade the existing "Charger/Converter" with something better. If it's WFCO, like mine, then you can buy an upgrade "Boondocker" upgrade converter board (size 55A), while keeping the existing DC wiring board and case. It's pretty easy to do an "upgrade", in comparison to replacing the whole thing. My old WFCO failed me at the worst possible time, over a thousand miles from home... and it died young. Neither model did a good job of maintaining batteries, and probably killed the old ones (if it wasn't a case of simple "old age").
If it's not WFCO, then it's the probably the older Magnetek/Parallax "7300 Converter", which didn't even pretend to be a "3-stage" charger. That one can be upgraded too. IMO, "bestconverter.com" is a great store for both of these upgrades, and has superb support. Amazon has some alternatives too, but no after-purchase support. (Trailmanor used two different models of Converters in building 2619 Trailers during year 2006.)
- - - - -
The brains in a Solar system resides in the "Solar Charge Controller". When the Converter is plugged in, the Solar Charge Controller will see that the batteries already have correct charging voltage for their State-of-Charge - and it won't "pile on" more. But, when driving down the road or sitting in camp, the battery terminals will not be at charging voltage - and the Solar Charge Controller will try to draw power from the panels, and push it into the batteries. A few TM owners get buy with as little as "80 Watts" of panels on the roof, but most have 200 Watts. Some, like me and BrucePerens, have much more. (I have 330W, and a very tricky set of equipment to use my 4Runner as a 280W Solar panel when it's dark or cloudy.) There are great diagrams, discussions, and pictures in the "Solar" section of the forum: it's separate from the "electrical" section.
The "Solar Charge Controller" connects to the batteries on it's own set of wires, and doesn't go "through" the AC/DC Converter unit.
- - - - -
I won't advise about batteries. I personally get by with cheap ones - but I've got a bunch of fancy electrical equipment to accomplish that "charge from the 4Runner" trick. It took many hours to design and install, and a really good Solar configuration is prerequisite for putting that stuff in.
__________________
TM='06 2619 w/5K axle, 15" Maxxis "E" tires. Plumbing protector. 630 watts solar. 450AH LiFePO4 batteries, 3500 watt inverter. CR-1110 E-F/S fridge (compressor).
TV = 2007 4runner sport, with a 36 volt "power boost".
|