I need a shopping list and some guidance.

harambe007

New Member
Joined
Apr 20, 2025
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3
Location
winter park colorado
I have a 2007 2720 with the solar kit from the factory. I would like some guidance and help with replacing my solar system to work for my needs. During the summer I live out of my camper. I plan on replacing the refrigerator with a 12v dc refrigerator and I also want to be able to use AC power to charge my phone and other devices. I won’t be using the air condition. I will also be “off grid” and I plan on not using a generator. I don’t need the best but I want to do it right.
Thanks!!!
 
Hi! you can create a configuration be very similar to mine, with just a couple of changes.
But your first step should be to estimate your maximum daily power usage between 4 PM and 10 AM (daylight savings time) - the 18 hours when you will tend to run down the battery, rather than charge it up from solar. About 3 hours on either side of 1 PM will operate at a "profit", with solar power refilling the batteries.

If you will be under trees during that time, your solar production will be severely curtailed. You might also want to double that power figure in order to assure an extra day of capacity to "make up" for cloudy days, or you might bring along a generator to handle those days (partly or mostly cloudly.)
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Your DC-AC inverter will need to be "pure sine wave". Buy an Inverter with twice the continuous power rating which you expect to use for short periods. But I have a special warning regarding inverters: Do not try to use a MICROWAVE OVEN rated at "900 watts" or higher without an inverter rated for at least 3000 watts continuous. Microwave ovens have extremely high "reactance" -they attempt to pull power out-of-phase from the "120 volt, 60 cycle AC power supply, and they also try to kick some of that power backwards.

In a house connected to a gigantic grid, those variations don't matter as much. But in a tiny trailer, where the "grid" is just a small inverter and a few batteries behind it, that reactance can cause the inverter to fail - permanently. If you can avoid a microwave, and also avoid other high wattage DC appliances, you can get by with la smaller inverter, smaller inverter wires from the batteries, and probably smaller batteries as well.
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The "factory solar" of those days had one small panel feeding into a very simplistic "solar controller". The only job of that controller (and others of the same type, called "PWM") was to reduce high voltage power from the panel reaching the batteries at that high voltage. They provide only battery voltage (between around 14.0 and 13.3 volts, depending on the number of "modes" they use), throwing away all of the panel power being offered at higher voltage.

At around 200-300 watts total panel power, it becomes a smarter choice to buy a solar controller of type "MPPT". With these more expensive and complicated devices, extra power being offered from panels at higher voltage is converted into MORE CURRENT at battery-acceptable voltage levels. For example: In the case of a 20-volt panel offering 10 amps (a "200" watt panel), a PWM controller would offer only 10 amps at maybe 13.6 volts (total power of 136 watts), while an MPPT controller can offer about 190 watts. It can raise the battery output current to almost 13 amps, while still keeping the voltage low.

You want that. For the case of multiple panels, you can also wire them in series. In "series", the power into the controller is the current of the lowest panel times the sum of all voltages. In "parallel", the power into the controller is the sum of all currents times the lowest voltage). Wiring in series lets you use smaller solar wires over perhaps longer distances.

You can choose panels according to your possible rooftop mounting locations, their total weight, and the difficult of arranging the wires. So-called "flexible panels" weigh much less (allowing easier shell lifts), but they are easily ruined by hail storms. They cost more, and they tend to die young for no reason at all. Traditional glass-framed panels are much more durable and they cost less per watt, but the weight begins to add up fast.

I own both kinds, with six flex panels on the front shell (rated 600 watts total, though never performing better than about 450 watts maximum due to sun angles versus the flat roof). On the back, I have a single larger glass panel 200 watts, also offering only 150 watts maximum on perfect day in late June. I have huge and very costly batteries, but I run the air conditioner a lot.

I recommend an upgrade to LFP batteries, total size adequate for 2 days usage. Keep in mind the AGM or SLA batteries should only be used over a range of 50% nominal capacity, while LFP batteries can be used more than 85% each day - for thousands and thousands of times. 280-400Ah total size might be adequate for that. But LFP battery cells can only be charged in temperatures above freezing. A decent BMS ("battery management system") must be used and programmed to avoid charing below about 35 F. (The good ones have monitoring and programming from cellphones via bluetooth, and the signal for my BMS units goes right through the aluminum-clad TM walls.) I keep my 2619 battery inside, under the dining bench, to keep it warm in colder-weather camping.
 
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I figured I would be using about 850 watt hours.
Converted to amp hours at 12.8V that's only 68 Ah, but I have my doubts - my own 12V fridge (a very good one) uses about 20 Ah minimum all by itself, increasing to about 30Ah with high exterior temperatures. Water pump, lights, phantom loads, etc all add-up, even before you being using anything based on 120-VAC.

After we dividied by 85% (maxuimum usable and add some aditonalp safety factor, you're still below 100Ah cell size if LFP cells are used. 220 Ah cells would last at east two days in that scenario. Waverly has used that size for several years,

After switching to all "280-sized cells" (I have 12 cells in a single compression "box", using 3 BMS units to run as 3 parallel battery packs). I have some brand new 220h cells and a good JK BMS I could ship to you as a battery pack. See PM, maybe phone me. later.
 
I plan on not using a generator.
Good plan - but not infallible. Even in the high country of Colorado it is possible that there will be a few days in a row when your solar can't keep up. The most likely situation is cloud cover, but other failures are possible, such as an electrical failure in the solar system itself. When the batteries die, the situation quickly escalates to a near-emergency, especially at night. No refrigerator. No heat. No lights except a flashlight, no water pump, no computer. You get the idea.

I very much recommend carrying a small inverter generator, with the expectation that you will never use it. For several years I carried a Honda EU600 - sadly no longer made. Very small, very light, very quiet, and very reliable - first pull start every time. I wanted a propane fueled unit, but nothing (and no conversion kit) was available, so I relied on gasoline. I never put gas in the thing until I needed it, and when I was done, I dumped out whatever was in the tank and ran it dry. I carried a couple quarts of gas in a small tank on the rear bumper.

As the old saying goes, if you prepare for a problem, the problem will never occur. It's lack of prep that will do you in. Just my thoughts.

Bill
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I am with Bill WRT adding a small generator. Not sure about whether "propane capable"could work at your altitude, even with changed jets they don't like to start above 8500 feet.

If you add an an LFP type battery, the old WFCO converter board can't charge it (at home). You would need a new converter board or a stand-alone converter - one which can suipply higher voltage the Lithium-type batteries. If you go with a "stand-alone", try to find a constant voltage voltage with more than 14.2 volts, less than 14.6, and let the BMS board take care of actually controlling the charge limits.
 
I think I’ll be fine with not having a generator because I was fine all last summer with no electricity. I was wondering if I should just get VEVOR WF-8955-AD-MBA as my converter and I would need an inverter for just changing up phones and ecollar etc. I won’t be using a microwave. I will be replacing my fridge to a dc fridge but that’s about all I use my electricity for. I don’t use electricity for the lights because I use battery powered lights.
 
The WF mainboards (which are OEM in most models of TM since late 2006) advertise Lithium capability, but they don't do a very good job of supporting them. LFP batteries are best "managed" by providing constant voltage of either 14.4 or 14.2 volts all the time, but almost all of these MBAs all use complicated "3-stage" or even "4-stage" algorithms, quickly dropping the voltage down to levels which you don't want to have.

If you won't be plugged in to either the grid or a generator, a smaller but properly programmed "power converter" might be a better way to go. A "lab-quality" unit as small as 300 watts (10 amps) would be fine if you only maintain the batteries at home, without need for a larger power converter. Like this one: Amazon "lab equipment" power supply
 
harambe said:
I also want to be able to use AC power to charge my phone and other devices.
If your only use for AC is to run low-power devices like phone chargers, a laptop computer, internet modem, or similar stuff, they are all available in 12VDC input versions. You could skip the cost, complication, and electrical power loss of an inverter entirely. Phone chargers running off 12 VDC are a dime a dozen. For computer power bricks, do a Google (etc) search on "12 VDC to computer power adapter" - Amazon has a number of them. Same for modems. TVs. And so forth.

A DC-to-AC inverter, even a small one, even while it isn't powering anything, uses (wastes) a small amount of power which, over 24 hours or a few days can add up. If you are truly off-grid with no backup, it might be wise to avoid doing this.

Bill
 
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For me, I've used 2-26,800 mAh battery packs. If you need to recharge a laptop, I would suggest something like this with the solar panel included. I have this without the solar panel and have been very happy with it. It also allows for pass thru charging.


 
I'm with the others who suggest charging devices off of 12 V. Why go through all the machinations needed to create 120 VAC, only to downconvert back to about 5 VDC for USB? My 2025 TM comes with USB outlets in multiple locations. Shouldn't be hard to mod your older TM to have the same capabilities.
 

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