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Old 12-09-2017, 06:14 PM   #41
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Franswa View Post
your comment makes me think that there should be another consideration to the usual three number solar equation that has to be worked on when designing/building someone's "optimum" system.....namely "tilt or no tilt"....given the HUGE difference in production between panels angled exactly to the sun's rays and those on the flat

Panels // Storage // Daily Use // Tilt or no tilt

by "optimum" I mean the least expensive way to cover one's 24hour power use without running the battery(ies) down below 12.2 or even better 12.4....

as the price of panels is continuously going down and we generally have quite a sizable amount of flat space on our roofs....I can see a time, possibly in the not distant future, where it might make sense to just cover the whole roof in panels (on the flat) and be done with it...

one could even park in a shady spot at the end of the day if there had been enough power production while driving there...

interesting thread.
Tilting panels may be a good idea depending on your camping season and your electrical needs. We camp 3 seasons, not Summer. If you camp in the warm months you get the advantage of long days with the sun more directly overhead. All that sun makes tilting less helpful. If you camp in the cooler months with the short days and low sun angles I see a better argument for tilt. Our needs just don't require it with our 100 watt panel. We use our battery for LED lighting, furnace and water pumps. The Winter sun seems plenty for us. Other folks have different demands and may need more and larger panels on tilting mounts and generators too. As is often said here YMMV.

Our charging demand could probably be met with a tilting 50 watt panel if I park at the optimum angle to the sun. Maybe a rotating and tilting panel would be best since I try to park with view in mind, not sun direction. But, then this old codger would have to find a way to climb atop the Scamp to do the rotating and tilting. I prefer to stay off ladders as much as possible and the tilting mounting hardware might cost as much as the extra 50 watt capacity that I bought. Plus I wonder if the tilting mechanism is as secure bouncing down the highway at 65 mph.

John
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Old 05-10-2018, 03:34 PM   #42
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Trailer: 2017 Bigfoot 25B25RQ
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Nik,

Not sure if you ever put your solar panels on. Depending on the year and model of your BigFoot, the hard points for mounting and wiring may already be there.

We are the second owners of a 2017 25 RQ. Bigfoot sent me a .pdf file showing the layout of the wood hardpoints under the fiberglass roof for attaching panels, and said to use a stud finder to verify the location.

They also prewired it. The wires are coiled up in the Fridge vent to the conditioner charger, and under the trailer for the conditioner charger to the batteries.

I had the batteries upgraded and had the inverter put in. Unfortunately an unexpected Federal tax bill this year has delayed my solar panel install a few months.
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Old 05-12-2018, 08:00 AM   #43
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I have a 2018 21RB, and a word of warning, the wire from the fridge vent to underside was NOT continuous! I wired up my panel at the roof and when I measured the output at the wire I brought from underneath, I had 0 volts. After a bit of wire tracing, I found that Bigfoot brought the wire into the cabinet by the door and cut the loop. I ended up cutting that extra wire out and splicing it in the fridge area. There was well over 8' of extra wire which I didn't need to have in the system.
So, before you wire up your system, check and make sure the end coming out of the fridge vent is connected to the end under your trailer.

Ben
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Old 05-15-2018, 12:04 PM   #44
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Quote:
Originally Posted by btroxell View Post
I have a 2018 21RB, and a word of warning, the wire from the fridge vent to underside was NOT continuous! I wired up my panel at the roof and when I measured the output at the wire I brought from underneath, I had 0 volts. After a bit of wire tracing, I found that Bigfoot brought the wire into the cabinet by the door and cut the loop. I ended up cutting that extra wire out and splicing it in the fridge area. There was well over 8' of extra wire which I didn't need to have in the system.
So, before you wire up your system, check and make sure the end coming out of the fridge vent is connected to the end under your trailer.

Ben
Mine is cut as well. The wire from the roof goes down the fridge vent to where the charge controller would go, then the other section goes to the batteries presumably from the yet to be installed charge contoller.
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