How to install solar power on a RV.
I have added an update after 9 months at the end of this description.
I only found out that people were using solar energy to charge their RV batteries a few months ago when I was searching for a solution for my batteries going dead when I was out boondocking (dry camping) in the cold weather and running my furnace at night. I spent many many hours researching and planning my own upgrade to solar before starting. I decided that if I was going to go to all that expense and work I might as well document it. This video is the result of that.
As the video will show, I bought the solar panel from Homedepot.com because it was both convenient with free shipping to my home and as good a price as I found anywhere because I was able to apply my military discout. (So even though I say in the video I paid $374, that was the price before the discount.) Unfortunately they did not have the other parts I wanted/needed including an MPPT controller with remote display and so I found that and the Z brackets and MC-4 connector wire on Amazon.com. The other little attachment parts and wire to go to the battery I bought at my local Home Depot store. I found the in line fuse holder and fuse I talk about in the video at a local car stereo sales and install shop.
I got lots of good help by asking questions on the RV Dreams forum at:
http://www.rv-dreams.com/
Bill & Linda Napier and Jack & Danielle Mayer were especially knowledgeable and helpful.
I also got help on the Good Sam Club forum at:
http://www.rv.net/forum/
UPDATE May 2014: I’ve had the system on for about 9 months as I make this update, though many of those months the RV was in winters storage and not in use. Several have asked how the system is working so I’m answering here. First I don’t regret for one minute adding the system, it works very well and recharges my batteries very quickly even in cloudy conditions. If anything, a 250 watt panel may be bigger than I really needed, but I’d rather have bigger than too little. One other action I plan, probably this summer, is taking out my two 12 V batteries which are wired in parallel and provide about 130 Amp hours and replacing them with two “Golf Cart” 6 V batteries wired in series which will give me 12 V and about 240 Amp hours. I’m also in the process of switching out all my light bulbs from incandescent to LED, which I understand operate on about 1/10th the power. I have already put in four of the LED and they are a little more true daylight color and it seems to me about the same brightness of the incandescent. Some people don’t like the more blue shade but as a photographer I like it very much. I keep thinking I should add an inverter to run at least the microwave and some chargers, but I want to do a true sine wave one when I do and they are considerably more expensive than the modified, so I’m still thinking about it.
Post time: Jan-09-2017