SOLAR PANELS

[Mr Lynn]

Are you portable users not concerned about having them stolen when you're not around?

[AlanKilian]

Originally Posted by Mr Lynn

Are you portable users not concerned about having them stolen when you're not around?

Nope.

I'm not interested in being afraid of my fellow human beings.
It takes too much fun out of life and I can't be bothered with that kind of thinking.

If someone is in such a tough situation that they need to steal my solar panel then I'll replace it and hope that they can improve their desperate situation a little. You've got to be in a pretty bad place in life to go into a campground and steal a solar panel, so I hope it helps them even if only a little.

[Gordon in Idaho]

Chain and padlock.

[Perryb67]

Originally Posted by Mr Lynn

Are you portable users not concerned about having them stolen when you're not around?

Of course!

I have a steel cable and a decent padlock to prevent opportunity theft. Professional thieves can steal anything and I'm not going to obsess about them.

Enjoy,

Perry

[Bill L in PA]

We just got a Renogy 100w Solar Suitcase (with Voyager Controller) which we connect directly to the battery. Generally we find this to be a relatively fast and convenient method of keeping the battery topped off (although we don't use a great deal of energy in the camper other than interior LED lights and the Fantastic Fan.) I wouldn't mind having some kind of hard-wired port to plug into, but it's not much trouble to remove the battery holder lid before charging.

[mbriney]

Originally Posted by Gordon in Idaho

My 13' Scamp resembles one of the Mars Rovers with 3 100 watt panels on top. I have not yet deployed the fourth panel, the weather in the desert has been dreamy and there hasn't been any shade to hide in anyway.
But the solstice is still a month away, and rain won't hold off forever. I'm certain I'll use the forth panel on those lean solar days ahead.
None of the setups I've read about here are wrong It depends mostly on needs. Just don't skip the controller!
Power on.

Anyway I can see how you have those 3 panels attached to your roof??

[Gordon in Idaho]

Mike,
I couldn't post a picture, but I can describe it for you. The roof of a Scamp, or Boler have a mild trolley shape so two panels are pitched outward on either side of the escape hatch, and the third panel is centered foward of the hatch and is angled slightly toward my tow vehicle. So, when I drive, one panel is always doing more work than the others. I'm not sure if this is better than all flat, but this is how you mount three panels on a small curvy roof easily.
I used well nuts for attachment. No leaks.
Good luck!

[mbriney]

Originally Posted by Gordon in Idaho

Mike,
I couldn't post a picture, but I can describe it for you. The roof of a Scamp, or Boler have a mild trolley shape so two panels are pitched outward on either side of the escape hatch, and the third panel is centered foward of the hatch and is angled slightly toward my tow vehicle. So, when I drive, one panel is always doing more work than the others. I'm not sure if this is better than all flat, but this is how you mount three panels on a small curvy roof easily.
I used well nuts for attachment. No leaks.
Good luck!

Sounds about exactly how i'm thinking of having mine setup! Having a 13' scamp doesnt give me much terrain to work with, but id imagine even with the slight angles if they're wired in parralel, the efficacy wont be hindered too much. And you used well nuts eh?!? Thats pretty genius and I def wouldn't have thought of that! haha Thank you sir!

[Gordon in Idaho]

Hey Mike,
Not my genius... that's what the Renogy manual Told me to do!
You need to drill holes twice as big as the bolts, and l' m sure that strikes fear in the heart of many a FGRV owner. But they do the job well and I don't have to worry about killing somebody when I roll down the highway. Also, the panels can be removed and the holes can be filled with just a bolt.
One tip: use plastic acorn nuts inside to prevent head injury and condensation drips.
All for now.
Gordon

[Youlanzhe]

Your configuration–type of trailer, 5 gallon bucket, attached cables, 100W panels– is the same as my own. The only difference is that rather than garden hose I use foam pipe insulation. The set up works well for me.

Originally Posted by slowpat

I connect to the battery. The drawback is that the battery compartment door is open and I guess, somebody could steal the battery but then they might want the solar panels as well.

I have a Casita Spirit Deluxe and the battery compartment is quite small. At first, I took the battery out and put it on a 5 gallon bucket and then hooked up the solar. I have since put some cables onto the battery that I can reach in and hook up to the clips. I made some covers for the ends of the cables out of garden hose to use when not hooked up to the solar.

It would be easier with just a plug, but that's beyond my skill level.

My solar set up is a suitcase 100 watt panel. The controller is built into the panel.

[Larry C Hanson]

Hello,

One way to protect your portable panels is to make them look
home made and UGLY... Paint them... Put a name on them...
Thieves like to sell what they steal so lowering their market value
seems a good strategy to me. My old 150W panel has been exposed to
sticky fingers for years... (Hope I am not jinxing myself.)


Uncle Larry

[Gerry]

Originally Posted by Perryb67

Of course!

I have a steel cable and a decent padlock to prevent opportunity theft. Professional thieves can steal anything and I'm not going to obsess about them.

Enjoy,

Perry

I have the same set up with a drilled hole though the frame of the 100 W solar panel, I loop the wire though my wheel rim and then pad lock onto the frame.

[RogerDat]

Using a portable suitcase 100 watt panel I install a 12 volt SAE plug on the ends of the panel leads. Then for any attachment such as battery clips or 12 volt male plug I attach a matching SAE plug.

The battery has a short lead with one so I can just plug in the battery with the wire coming out from under the battery box cover (tongue mount).

https://www.amazon.com/Sea-Dog-Polar...?tag=hyprod-20

I didn't purchase this specific listing. I believe I bought a bag of 4 so I had the matching plug to solder onto the original connection options as well as one for the house battery.

Going down the road I have a charging line for the 7 pin plug to keep the house battery charged by the alternator of the tow vehicle.

My battery use has not been sufficient to warrant needing more panel capacity. Perhaps when I retire and use camper more I will find myself drawing down against poor solar conditions for long enough that I need to consider adding more solar to the roof. Current panel was purchased as much for it being a size I could velcro to a wall in a storage location as it was for total wattage.

I was able to run the furnace overnight at 50* thermostat and recharge the next day to fully charged on a cloudy northern Michigan day. I was around to move panel to aim at sun periodically during the day for maximum charge.

What I didn't do was check to see at what point during the day did the battery reach full charge. I checked at end of day to make sure I could run the furnace again the next night. Set at 55* because my goal is to see it working at around 63* which will be very comfortable for sleeping and ok for waking up. My other goal was to not have it run out of power in the middle of that night. :-)

It really does depend on how many amps you draw from the battery in normal use. More you use the more you can justify the additional panels or need for a supplemental portable panel. Use tells you how many rainy days you can manage, how many cloudy but some sun days or if "chasing" sun alignment is even needed on sunny days.

Totally agree with those who put a lock on to discourage opportunistic theft but not worrying about either the professionals or the more determined thieves. Not worth it. On the other hand I'm not leaving my camp set up in the middle of the National forest while I take off for a day of sight seeing. For that sort of gone all day stuff I prefer to have the camper around people and rangers and such. Paid sites in parks or commercial campgrounds for that sort of use.

All depends in the end on how much power you use and how essential that power is to your enjoyment as to if you need 1 or 2 or 4 panels. With nothing but 2 LED bulbs and a laptop I was fine with a 40 watt suitcase panel. With a blower furnace and modern fridge that requires 12 volt to run even on propane the 100 watt seems sufficient until it proves itself not enough.

Plus 1 on the 3M VHB tape to mount hole free on roof. Very High Bond double sided tape indeed. I had an awning track installed with that stuff that never budged an inch. High winds and all, never an issue.

I will be interested to see if I can use my small electric coffee pot and a toaster to make a couple bagels and coffee for breakfast without drawing battery down too much. Or maybe just decide the heck with it I have a percolator and coleman toast stand to make this same breakfast on a stove so why add more panels to make breakfast?

[Gordon in Idaho]

Roger Dat
Pan fried toast and aeropress for coffee.

[JoelInTexas]

I use a portable 100 watt panel, connected to the trailer's house battery through the existing 7-pin hitch connector - No drilling or modifications to the trailer whatsoever.



The charge controller is a $20 Renogy "Wanderer", and the enclosure is a $13 Harbor Freight "Apache 1800" weatherproof carrying case.