Easiest Solar?

[FairviewFairyFarm]

Hello, I love this forum! I have a 2006 2619 and want to know what is the absolute easiest way to charge my two 6v batteries with a solar panel? Please help!

[BradS7535]

Look up suitcase solar kits. There are several companies that make them. You'd be hard pressed to find anything easier.

[Lesherp]

Depends on what you consider easy. It takes some work to mount a solar panel but after that you don’t have to do much but park where you get some amount of light. Suitcase kits require no work installing but require you to set them up every time you use them and move them around. I have a friend with a suitcase kit and he I going to mount a panel because he is tired of dealing with it. There are several threads here on solar. Here is the one I started when I was trying to figure out what I wanted to do.

http://trailmanorowners.com/forum/showthread.php?t=13865&highlight=solar+dummies

[Larryjb]

Roger,

I'm glad I saw your thread on solar. I always thought the panels would have to be screwed onto the roof, but I like the mounts I see from AM solar. I might consider this in the future.

[B_and_D]

I just bought one of these:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/100W-2-50W-12V-Folding-Suitacase-Mono-Solar-Panel-for-Camping-Battery-Charger-/351154780987?hash=item51c274bb3b:g:IjcAAOSwax5YnWc x

It folds up really nicely, has a handle and well-built latches, and has a built-in stand and controller. It seems really sturdy.

We don't use a lot of power when we dry camp, I've switched all of the lights to LED except for the one in the hatch over the table. I was disappointed when I received the LED lights because the measurement for the depth was stated to be 1" and it turned out to be approximately 1.7", which doesn't fit into that area. The new LED lights are really bright, almost too bright, but they are double lights and you can turn on one, or both.

We like to camp in the shade, so I wanted something that was portable that I can move around into the sun. We keep an extra battery under the dinette that we can place either in the front to run the whole trailer or inside to just run the TV/DVD.

I'll report back after we go camping and let you know how we fared with just this one 100 watt panel.

[rickst29]

Roger,
I'm glad I saw your thread on solar. I always thought the panels would have to be screwed onto the roof...
Don't use screws through the TM roof. Traditional Mounts, with length 4", hold on great, using VHB double-sided tape. If you really worry about it, buy an extra 4-pack and use 6 mounts per panel instead of 4.

[rickst29]

Hello, I love this forum! I have a 2006 2619 and want to know what is the absolute easiest way to charge my two 6v batteries with a solar panel? Please help!
OT: You have dual 6V batteries on a 2619? They can't fit on mine. But I've got a custom-built swing hitch, which has the battery boxes pushed too far back to handle anything bigger than Group-24. YMMV, if you've got a "standard" swing hitch or a no-swing Trailer.
- - - -
The absolute easiest way to install Solar on a 2619 is to follow this shopping list, and these instructions, to duplicate my own 2619 set up:

Item 1: Two monocrystaline rectangluar panels, from either 'Renogy' or a lower-price seller in Las Vegas: www.ebay.com/itm/Renogy-100W-Watt-Solar-Panel-Mono-12V-Volt-for-Off-Grid-RV-Boat-Battery-Charge-/272016499264 or http://www.ebay.com/itm/GENSSI-100W-12V-Mono-Solar-Panel-Expansion-Kit-for-RV-Boat-Off-Grid-/162552426151

Item 2: MPPT Solar Controller from EBay, this one (the reasons WHY are slightly complex): EPSolar "2215BN" with "MT50" remote. There are highly-rated china sellers at about $135-150, or you could buy from Renogy at about $170. I bought Chinese for another TMO member. I would not buy from a seller with less than 99.4% feedback. You must have the "BN" model ("BN" stands for "Negative Ground"), and you need the remote in order to program it for your fancy batteries.

Item 3: Solar Mounts -at least pieces of 8 of these, 12 if you're feeling "chicken": http://www.ebay.com/itm/Renogy-Solar-Panel-Mounting-Z-Bracket-2-Sets-for-2-Panels-Flat-Roof-Wall-Kit-/281184924183 But you will not! be using the roof-mount screws, only the panel screws.

Item 4: 2 Solar cables (10 AWG with MC-4 connectors): Buy them from Windy: 25 feet might be enough, but buy 30 ft be sure: http://www.ebay.com/itm/1-Pair-Black-Red-Solar-Panel-Extension-Cable-Wire-MC4-Connector-10-or-12-AWG-/262335579237

Item 5: Two of these in-line Breakers: http://www.ebay.com/itm/12V-DC-30A-Car-Audio-Circuit-Breaker-Inline-Fuse-for-12V-System-Protection-30AMP-/321753889063 One goes between the MPPT and "Battery +", the other replaces the bad fuse which you now have between the "Battery +" and the Load Center (at the battery end).

Item 6: A couple of "Cordmate II" cable channel segments (5 ft), and an "outside corner" connector. (Big Box home improvement store).

Item 7: 3m "VHB" tape, type "RP-25": http://www.ebay.com/itm/3M-Vhb-Tape-Rp25-1-In-Width-X-5-Yd-Length-Roll-New-/302352603725 It has to be RP-25, not the automotive garbage. This is your adhesive tape for the Z-brackets.

[scrubjaysnest]

Check here for various owner solar installs. http://www.trailmanorowners.com/forum/showthread.php?t=16973

[rickst29]

Check here for various owner solar installs. http://www.trailmanorowners.com/forum/showthread.php?t=16973Yep. from that link the 'rickst29 first install' is the job you're somewhat duplicating. Here's the key post, with some pictures: http://www.trailmanorowners.com/forum/showpost.php?p=102764&postcount=9 But there are a couple of changes to note:
(1) That "first install" used a really bad PWM controller (which never worked well.) Your MPPT Controller should probably be installed inside - it's a bit tempting for "evil persons" to rip off from the outside. My own MPPT is a discontinued Rogue Controller, nearly identical to the one I recommend for you. (I've used your exact model with my TM as well, while testing a set of "Solar plus charge from TV Upgrade" parts for another TM Owner.) I've got it mounted on the lower part of the front "box", underneath the table. Only downside with my location? I can no longer "fold and store" the table in the original way, so we just leave it assembled all the time.

(2) I have subsequently added a 135W semi-flex panel between my two glass panels. It is somewhat difficult to lift the front shell with 35 lbs of panels up there (and I've got the torsion adjusters turned to maximum lifted power); you can't add a 3rd solid panel in the same shell. In absolutely perfect conditions, the panel output exceeds the MPPT Controller maximum output Amps and Watts (~14.5V * 20A = 290W). But the Controller simply refuses to "accept" excess solar power, it happily runs at 290W output for as long as my batteries and fridge are in a situation to use it - exactly as it wouldn't "accept" even 200W when the batteries are full. If you're piggy for electrical power, like I am, you could add this right at the start. A smaller semi-flex panel (100W) would not "match" your solid panels as perfectly as the 135w panels, cutting perhaps 20 Watts from the total power of the array. (You gain 80 watts when adding a "100 Watt" semi-flex.) But their costs are much more reasonable.

(3) You could also use 3x 100W semi-flex panels, very light weight, at an unknown cost in durability (think HAIL) and projected lifespan. They'd match perfectly, yielding all 300W.

With MPPT, the panels (two, or three) should all be wired in series. (Voltages add together, lowest Current value of the individual panels governs the maximum power of the group.)
- - - -
Now the instructions: At installation time, you wire the Controller to the batteries first; then the MT-50 Display/Programming module; 3rd, you program the Controller to match your batteries (if neccessary for AGM, or if your're real finicky about the charge-voltage timings. The defaults are OK for most SLA, but don't run "bulk" for very long.)

Then you clean the TM roof.

If solid Panels: Attach the Z-brackets to any "solid panels" while indoors ; cover the solar cells by taping on black plastic "lawn bags". Attach RP-25 tape to the bottoms of the Z-brackets - but leave the TM-side of the tape segments covered (so that they don't yet stick). Set a panel on the TM roof, with 2 short segments of 2x4 framing wood holding it off from the TM surface. Now go up the ladder, align the panel, and remove the tape anti-stick layers, and then remove one of the 2x4 segments (the "inside" one first), and lower that panel side to touch the roof. Remove the other 2x4 segment, and press all of the Z-brackets into the cleaned, dry roof. Repeat for 2nd panel.

If flex: Unroll the flex on a blanket indoors, face down, attach your RP-25 tape to the panel back, in about 4 full-width rows, and also a couple pieces along the long edge (between rows). Leave the expose sides of the tape covered while you do this - you'll peel that off when you're on the roof. Roll the panel back up, take it up to the TM shell - and unroll it into place, removing RP-25 "cover tape" strips as you go. Be sure not to trap the MC-4 connectors underneath the edges.

Next: Wire your panels together, "+" to "-", leaving a "+" connector free on the first panel and a "-" connector free on the last panel. Now, using your long wires, figure out routes to the the edge of the shell, and either and Place a segment of "Cordmate" channel vertical, along a vertical side long of the shell (I used "street side"), ending near a lift bar hinge.

Now, because the Cordmate tape won't hold up in roadway wind and bad weather - open up the Cordmate, and use some small sheet metal screws (stainless steel) through the middle of the cordmate base to firmly attach the Cordmate into the side of the shell. Figure routing for your cable from panel ends to the fixed, vertical cordmate segment (I wrapped these small on-roof segments with more cordmate), attach the cables up high, and route them into the tube.

At the other end, leave a bit of freedom (to handle the transition from shells-up to shells-down) and run them down the lift bar some kind of cable wrap is a good idea, I used more cordmate and held it in place with a bunch of zip ties.

Now, your two cables are at the bottom of the TM frame. find some convenient frame "holes" to keep them from falling loose, and twist-tie or loop around existing cable and cable support loops - bring them to the front of the shell, into drilled holes leading to your MPPT terminals. Be sure to line the sharp parts of the holes (strain reliefs), and seal them up with 3M 4200 sealant.

Go inside, connect the PV terminals ("-" first). Then back outside, remove your sun shades from the panels. You're done, and it should be working.

[B_and_D]

We need to buy some longer wires to place the solar panel on the beach in our campsite and run it to the T-105 batteries on our TM. DH says that there is a roll of Romex in the barn long enough to reach where we want it to be. Would this work? I'm thinking it would work, but I'm not educated in electrical applications.

[Padgett]

Romex is interior plastic sheathed wire not designed for outdoor use. For one 100W panel I'd just buy a 14 or 16 ga outdoor extension cord and modify the ends. (Home Depot or Lowes should also have outdoor wire by the foot.