Solar

[Nwilder]

Hi all!
My wife and I just recently purchased a 1974 Sovereign 31' with rear bath. I attached a battery yesterday to check interior wiring and everything seems to be working. We hope to install solar at some point (probably a ways away) and my question is if we are planning to do this will we need to take off the interior skins and rewire things? Or will the original wiring work if it is functioning?

Any help would be appreciated!

[dbj216]

Hello from Colorado and welcome to these Airstream Forums and the vintage Airstream hobby. I have a 75 Overlander and I'm working on a friend's 76 Sovereign this winter. You'll have to post a few pictures of your Sovereign.

I know little about solar generated power. I know Airstream Life and I'm sure others sell "portable" solar panels that you haul in the back of the truck, set them up when parked, and they will charge the battery. But wait, no 120 volts to charge a phone or laptop.

I know bigger solar systems involve roof mounted panels, controls, a DC to AC inverter, and you can generate some wattage from the sun. These systems are quite expensive. Folks take pride in their investment as they are "off the grid".

Me, I start up my generator and charge the battery as well as our devices. I can also make coffee or run the microwave. This is easier and cheaper for me.

You can read all about folks who have installed solar systems in their vintage Airstreams here in these Forums. The common systems don't involve a lot of rewiring. The elaborate system do.

David

[daleyocum]

Nobody pulls off the interior skins just to do solar, even the fanciest systems. If you have the skins off for other reasons, sure, you can make things easier.

Solar can be as complicated and expensive as you like. The easiest, as was mentioned, is to get one or more portable suitcase panels and put them on the ground. Be sure to get a suitcase with a controller with at least 100 watts. You can have more than one or get bigger 200w versions if that’s not enough. Renogy is a popular brand.

Once you decide to put something on your roof and build it into your trailer you can go on quite a trip down the rabbit hole. Mine is a 500w system with 500ah of lithium batteries along with a Victron hybrid inverter and associated electronics. That cost about $10k for the parts, I did the installation myself. www.amsolar.com has some good videos and tutorials about these high end systems.

Having a built in system with the batteries and electronics to go with it is truly liberating. We don’t have to think about power. We run induction cooktops, hairdryers, tv, coffee makers without a thought. Whether it’s worth it to you is a personal choice.

[Can of beans]

I've Had this thought about installing solar, and I decided not to wire for it when I had the skins out, I didn't have the wire, and it seemed like a hassle for me. I don't get that much vacation time, so it would be easier to just use a generator.


I started to think about it though, and the main charge wire (blue) in my 1972 trailer is the same wire that powers the vent fans and is also located for the optional Vent fans that weren't installed. it's 10 gauge, and located at each vent opening. You could put a couple panels on it, and it's easy to access by pulling the rivets around the vent openings. If I ever get a mild solar bug, that's my first choice.