Solar for the rig portable what are you uasing

[JCR GD]

Zamp Solar 120. Comes with ballistic nylon case and rides nicely on top of my gen compartment in the front compartment. It's on the expensive side but good quality. (Got mine at Nor-Cal rally in 2016 for a discounted price)

[SC Flyer]

How do you guys hook up the charge controller to the camper? I have a magnum ms2012 charger/inverter with an integrated battery monitor shunt and 2 6V golf cart batteries. Would you run the negative to the charger/inverter side of the shunt and the positive directly to the battery at the end of the series? Or is there an easier way? I’d like to maintain the SOC accuracy when using solar.

[jbarnes4868]

You for sure want the negative on the shunt to keep your monitor happy. I’d connect the positive to battery connection on the inverter if it’s easier.

[bobnoth]

Would like to get a briefcase style solar to keep the 2 rv batteries charged we do a bit of boondocking would like not to have to run the Gen. to charge the batteries , what are you using thanks DEDennis

We got this Zamp briefcase unit several months ago for occasional use. It seemed to work well the few times we used it.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[donandann]

I am retiring at the end of this month, and I hope to do some dry camping. I know I am probably being over cautious, but my initial investment in the project is a Champion 3100-Watt inverter generator, a Renogy 100 Watt suitcase solar kit, and a Renogy 100AH LiFePO4 battery. I plan to start off with some two nighters close by and work out from there. Wish us all luck.

[Mudflap]

We have the GoPower 130 watt suitcase portable charger with integrated controller for our 2020 273 MK. It did a good job of recharging the two 12v batteries on the days the sun was out. We stayed a week at a Vermont state park, no hookups. The new 273 MK doesn’t have the Zamp connector. They run a wire to the roof for roof mounted solar instead. I got the accessory connector that plugs into the trailer / truck umbilical plug. All in all a good charger. It puts out 6 to 7 amps in full sun.

[donandann]

My 22RBE has the Zamp connector on the side. I just fabricated a short adapter with a Zamp on one end and MC4's on the other and plug in directly to the trailer.

[Mikec557]

Would like to get a briefcase style solar to keep the 2 rv batteries charged we do a bit of boondocking would like not to have to run the Gen. to charge the batteries , what are you using thanks DEDennis

All of the advice has been good. But the especially good advice was to figure out how much power you need to get through the night.

I was amazed to see that we use 40-50ah thru the night. And that's without running the furnace nor any room heat. But it does include using one side of a queen sized electric mattress pad for a few hours a night. And 8-10hrs of a cpap machine.

Remember your daytime solar charging has to completely replace your night time usage as well as your daytime usage. If it does not replace your daytime usage too, you'll begin the night with less than a full battery.

[Technojerry]

Make sure if you have Furrion backup and/or side cameras, they are on 24/7. The side cameras can’t even be cutoff with the pass through compartment cutoff switch, only the rear camera with the rear of the rig’s power. GD2930RL and most have too much left on for efficient dry camping. Some modes have to be done.

[DaveMatthewsBand]

Don’t know if this has been mentioned but keep in mind the Zamp solar connections are a proprietary connection and if you connect any other brand solar panel to it you need to first connect a reverse polarity SAE adapter.

On the other hand if you have the standard Furrion solar connector (like my Reflection has) you can use Renogy or any other solar panel brand and a standard SAE connector.

Most solar panels have MC4 connectors so you’ll need a cable that is MC4 on one end and SAE on the other to plug it directly into any of the above.




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