How Much Solar will Fit on a 19' FC?

[Sport 16 STL]

I believe it is drilled but there is so much caulk it is difficult to tell.
I am in the process of adding a second Zamp port to the trailer and wiring directly into the existing controller for a suitcase. I did not want to have any issues with using two controllers.

[pegjust]

we have 2016 19ft international and just put 300 W using renology curved panels. Love them and the low profile

[CanonFan]

OK, all of you have given me some good ideas about how I maybe can get up to 200 Watts on the roof. Looks like it is possible and I will start planning the panels and layout. Thanks!

[TouringDan]

CanonFan



I didn’t want to put solar on the roof of my vintage Airstream. I did put 400 watts of solar on the roof of my bed cap. It works great.



Dan

[CanonFan]

TouringDan -



I had considered your option, also. I think it is a good plan - except . . . it requires the TV to be at the trailer while solar charging. I am rarely at the trailer during the day while I am parked at a campsite. I tour around a lot. So, that option just isn't ideal for me. I wish it would work for me because that would solve a lot of my problems.

[AndyKeene]

2014 Ram 3500 with contractor shell, 1000 watts on roof, 6 24 volt Lithium batteries, Outback 80 Amp controller and 60000 watt inverter charger all mounted in bed of said truck. 50 amp plug under rear bumper. I plug our 27 ft AS directly into truck and relax. a 5800 mile trip from California to Minnesota and back was completed without a single RV park or plug in to anything other than the truck.

The installation leaves the AS untouched, uses the same shore power cable as before and makes my solar install really portable. Living in California and having the electric grid shut down for days at a time, and I just park my truck in the driveway and plug the house in for power.

Yes, there is a cost to it and installation time but anyone can do it.

[lakemaiden]

Andy, I own a 1966 Caravel 17 and have been trying to sort whether solar is even an option spacewise and even if it is, whether I want to add the panels to this trailer. Your solution seems quite brilliant...your TV is essentially a powerhouse [pun intended] I get the plug picture...tho I wondered about road water getting into it. Any trouble there? What I am struggling to understand is where the batteries etc are stored. Are they in the truck or the trailer? Would you be open to sharing a pic of the back doors of the truck bed open? Thanks.

[AndyKeene]

I have received a few questions about the layout of the equipment that are components of the solar generator. I will attempt to give you a mental picture and follow it up with some actual jumbled shots of the the truck bed. In any picture that you see of the bed, there is a long blue component, that is the 48 volt, 6000 watt inverter. I hangs from the bed rail off a bracket horizontally. (I will find a correctly oriented picture). The black box hanging forward of the blue box is the Outback charge controller that receives the voltage directly from the panels and converts it into usable charging voltage fro the 48 volt batteries. The six 48 volt lithium batteries at bolted to a panel and wired together to form a large 48 volt battery bank and sit in the truck bed directly behind the passenger compartment. In some pictures there is a piece of white polyester laying on them so that I could work in the area and somewhat protect me from shocks and from dropping tools. I wired the batteries into place while sitting in that area and did feel the the 48 volt tingle on my bare arms many times.

I bought all of the components online, through either eBay or from other regular suppliers. I have been buying solar panels from various suppliers on eBay for years and have a number of panels mounted on my two off grid shops located on our property in rural Northern CA. Batteries are Chevrolet Volt storage batteries from a seller locally (approximately $850 each) They form an approximate 12 KV battery bank when joined.

When we are on the open road I plug a dummy 50 amp male plug into the outlet, it is basically a plug that I sealed with silicone. I used to live in Washington State where it did rain a few days of the year and now tend to try to waterproof everything. Now living in Northern California, I can use the truck as my silent generator when PG&E shuts off power. I use additional solar panels from my off grid shop to supplement the incoming power

Some of the pictures are construction pictures when all of the components are not yet in place. Additionally, the pictures clearly show that I am a pack rat and my truck carries sufficient spares and "stuff" to try to handle any problems we have while away from home.

We do look funny with a shore power cable running from the Airstream to the underside of the bumper of the truck and watching a movie or popping popcorn out in the boonies.

If anyone has any questions feel free to send a private message, I will try to answer all.