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Old 11-23-2021, 09:26 AM   #3
ShrimpBurrito
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Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: Sunny Beaches of Los Angeles
Posts: 3,239
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I went through this same thought process several months ago, and looked at the Renogy suitcases as well as several others. Ultimately, I decided that if I was going to do solar, I was going to do a permanent install on the roof. As long as you do the install yourself, which I would do, it would actually be cheaper, and further, it would be one less thing to pack in the car, store at home, and setup and tear down at camp. Plus, you get charging while driving, and during periods when you may not want to setup a suitcase. Unless you simply don't have room on the roof, which I don't see being the case in a Trailmanor, I just don't see a reason to go the suitcase route. It's only advantage is that it's ready to go out-of-the-box, but that's a short-term advantage.

You don't really like very many large electrical loads. The water pump and toilet are negligible and not really worth taking into account because they're on for such short periods. Likewise for charging phones, unless you're fully charging multiple phones a day, or more than once a day. The biggest battery drain BY FAR are incandescent lights, followed by fluorescent lights, so you'd so yourself a huge favor in swapping those out if you haven't already. I recently saw these in action, and really liked them: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B084T73X46

The furnace is also a significant drain, about 2.5 amps (about 2 incandescent lights). If it runs for an hour, that's 2.5 amp hours. If you do that for 9 days, that's about 23 amp hours. If you have a "standard" battery as what the factory installed, you've probably got 50-60 amp hours available, tops, on a fully charged battery in good condition.

If you are really set on solar suitcases, check out the semi-rigid panels. Here's an example of what I perceive to be a higher-end brand, but there are other off-brands that might be just as good: https://www.amazon.com/BLUETTI-Stati.../dp/B08XB4FW2H

They're far lighter and easier to manage, but certainly more expensive. I get the sense that they might not be quite as durable as aluminum-framed rigid panels, but they might be good enough if you take care of them.

Dave
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2000 2720SL & 2007 3124KB
2005 Toyota Sequoia
Twin Battle Born 12v 100Ah LiFePO4 (BBGC2) batteries, 300W solar on rear shell, Link 10, Lift kit, Maxxis 8008 225 75/R15 E tires
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