Solar Panel option on 2720QB.

[DawgBite2028]

May I suggest; don't do anything until you decide how you are going to use the trailer. Parks with power, parks and boondocking, lots of boondocking and occasional park. Is a small generator enough? What's your level of DIY ability? Lots of questions you need to answer. We took the deep dive and went crazy. But we can boondock/dry camp for a full day and night and run the air conditioning, cpaps, microwave, lights, hot water, fridge and not run out of power. Probably excessive. But we boondock a night or two to save money then go to a park and charge up and so on till we reach our ultimate destination. Never worry about power. If there is an issue, break out the generator. Lots of different ways to camp. You'll figure out how you want to camp and discover your rabbit trail. Have fun. It's all about the journey.

Thanks!

What you described that you do, is along the lines of what I am shooting for.

I want to be able to run things for a day, or better yet two, on batteries with help from solar and a generator.

How big of a generator do you have, and where do you store it (in your TV or in/on the TM)?

 

[DawgBite2028]

I (or my friends) have never had any issues with the MC4 connectors or wiring on any of the dozens of solar systems that I have installed.

The key is the way that wires are run down the lift arms on the TM.

Also, where did you bring the cables from the panel inside the rig? Did you route them through one of the weather seals, a vent or did you drill and mount one of those solar cable port things?

Thanks again!

 

[Wavery]

Also, where did you bring the cables from the panel inside the rig? Did you route them through one of the weather seals, a vent or did you drill and mount one of those solar cable port things?

Thanks again!

I ran the cables down the lift arm (see pic) then I ran the cables up through the floor of the battery compartment. Then I ran them through the back wall to the solar controller that I had mounted outside the battery storage compartment. I then ran the cables from the solar controller through 2 small holes that I drilled through the back wall, into the battery compartment. It is all 100% weather and insect proof.

 

[Scedergren]

I have 2 2000 watt generators to run in parallel of necessary. That would give me a full 30 amps at 120 volts. At 24 volts 1 generator will run the air conditioner plus a little. A/C uses about 50 to 60 amps at 24 volts. The 1 generator of out 2k watts or 16 amps at 120 volts then run through the inverter to get about 75 amps at 24 volts factoring in losses. So I can get about 14 hours of air conditioning. Without external power.
I ran the solar wires down the driver's side rear hatch under the trailer too the inverter all in one that is mounted outside on the dinette or front fixed wall on a 2720QB. There is enough room there for about a 4" thick inverter and converter and solar disconnect. See pictures. I wasn't quite done with the install yet. But the trailer opens and closes just fine. Protected when closed. Well ventilated when opened. Put up a small tarp when there's bad weather.

 

[Wavery]

Nice job.....

I'm a little surprised that the front roof will close with that inverter up that high. In my TM, the inside cabinets would hit it for sure.

I noticed in your specs that you listed, "1100 watts solar all wired in series for about 200 volts @ 6 amps, 3500 watt 24 volt all in one inverter".......That concerns me and should you. 200V will kill you. I would recommend that you wire in parallel and get the voltage below 60V.

I'm curious what solar panels you have.

 

[Bill]

Agreed. Standards-setting organizations such as OSHA, EPRI, NFPA, and UL (Underwriters Labs) all specify 50 volts as the threshold of danger. As just one example, the closely-regulated telephone industry has always operated at 48 VDC. In the potentially wet environment of an RV, with a lot of mechanical shaking and stress on the conductors and connectors, the danger is likely even higher.
. . The situation is probably even worse when the system's grounding system is inconsistent and can change easily, as it can in an RV.

 

[Scedergren]

I am researching your observation. These all in one inverters-solar controllers-and chargers all seem to require high voltage to even start charging. 80 to start and up to 400 volts total. My system is fused and solar disconnect. I have been thinking about what you said though. Most good mppt controllers exceed 50 volts. Is it just when you exceed OSHA numbers the install becomes more critical and all the math gets way more important with regard to sizing and fussing and circuit breakers etc. my system is as safe as I can make it. Oversized wires, proper high quality fuses and switches etc. Once your past the solar controller everything drops to 24 volt. Great observation though and would appreciate any additional advice. Another rabbit hole to wander down. Thanks

 

[Wavery]

A few observations about your wiring.

*I would use 4/0 cables from your batteries to your 3500W inverter (2/0 minimum for 24V).

*Those plastic circuit breakers that you have running back to your converter have a tendency to melt. Look into "Blue Sea" brand circuit breaker.

*The (black) circuit breaker that you have on top of the battery, that protects the wire going to your inverter also has a tendency to melt before it trips. I highly recommend a "Mega Fuse" https://tinyurl.com/3hh3pvm7
*you may want to consider 8G wire for your 1110W solar panels.

* That battery cut-off switch appears to be one of those cheap ones. They have very thin copper connectors in them and they also tend to melt under heavy current. I recommend this one https://tinyurl.com/2dpwjktm

 

[Scedergren]

From the batteries to the inverter is an anl fuse. The circuit breakers are just disconnects for servicing. Based on three different wire size calculators all wires are 1 to 2 gages larger than recommended. For instance, the solar panel wiring is recommended at 16 gage I'm using 10 gage. Wire size from the batteries to inverter is recommended at 4 gage in using 2 gage pure copper welding wire. And from the inverter to the main junction box in issuing 10 gage where 12 is recommended. I'm opening the trailer up next weekend. I'll attach the completed image. There are also two additional 24 volt 200 amp batteries under the dinnett seat. I have realized that 200 volts from the solar panels can be dangerous. So can 120 volt ac. Which is on most trailers. If installed, grounded and maintained properly 200 volts is safe. It needs to be treated with respect and caution.

 

[Shane826]

Bill- Was it you who told the story of the guy who had solar panels on the bed cap of his truck so he could park the truck where the sun DOES shine and ran cord to the camper?

 

[Bill]

Are you thinking of this one? Good memory if so.

New ideas for solar panel installation

The forum is quiet these days, so maybe I can stir up some action with this. When most of us think of adding solar panels to our camping rigs, we often think we must choose between mounting the panels on the roof of the trailer, or making them portable. This is a different approach. I think it...

www.trailmanorowners.com

 

[Kmikesell]

Just wanted to give an update... I have sold my two Trogen 105 6V batteries and acquired an AFERIY P210 Portable Power Station 2400W 2048Wh. I'm not quite sure what kind of power needs ya'll have... But took the family to the Grand Tetons this summer, and the Aferiy and a 100 Watt solar panel gave me all I needed for the week. I ran the roof fan all day (On low, it consumes about 20 Watts. So my solar panel took about 1/3 of the power during the day), and I had spare to refill the power station from the power I used at night, lights water pump, and toilet. (Almost all my interior lights are LEDs). I found out that for some reason (probably my bad wiring job) there was no power getting to the battery for the first two days. At the end of the week, I still had about 15% of the power station's capacity left. I was very happy with the results.

 

[Kidkraz]

You got my attention, so how did you wire it and pictures please.