Adding Solar to a trailer

[Cevy]

Has anyone added Solar to a trailer that didn’t already have solar?

If so, was it worth it?

How much Solar did you install?

Is the install pretty straight forward?

Any recommended all in one kits?

 

[M Rose]

1: Has anyone added Solar to a trailer that didn’t already have solar?

2: If so, was it worth it?

3: How much Solar did you install?

:4: Is the install pretty straight forward?

5: Any recommended all in one kits?

1: it’s been done a million times
2: depends… What do you need solar for?
3: depends on what your specific needs are… I when with 1500 watts, but I live full time in an RV and run an AC 24/7
4: yup… positive to positive, negative to negative
5: I don’t recommend kits… they are always over priced, under built, and not very add on friendly down the road.

 

[Cevy]

1: Has anyone added Solar to a trailer that didn’t already have solar?

2: If so, was it worth it?

3: How much Solar did you install?

:4: Is the install pretty straight forward?

5: Any recommended all in one kits?

1: it’s been done a million times
2: depends… What do you need solar for?
3: depends on what your specific needs are… I when with 1500 watts, but I live full time in an RV and run an AC 24/7
4: yup… positive to positive, negative to negative
5: I don’t recommend kits… they are always over priced, under built, and not very add on friendly down the road.

Thank you so much!

 

[eriefisher]

Best thing to do is come up with a plan. Figure out what you'll be using it for. Decide how big you need to go. You can find panels for about a $1/watt +/-. You can at least double that for all the associated wiring/hardware/mounting etc. Then there are the batteries. Lithium is expensive to purchase but over the life of the system work out to be less expensive. The installation is just nuts and bolts and plugs. How you connect the wiring, series or parallel, depends on your end use and the charge controller you choose. It's not a difficult task and there is plenty of instructional videos out there to help. Good luck on your adventure.

 

[Viking1204]

Check out Will's site below, he outlines solar builds of all sizes and was a great help when I added solar to the roof of my truck!

I should add my setup is a Rich Solar 100W solar panel running through a REDARC DC-DC charger charging a 138ah Lithium battery I picked up slightly used off of Ebay.

Mobile Solar Power: Made Easy! DIY Off-grid Solar Power!

 

[grubworm]

Has anyone added Solar to a trailer that didn’t already have solar?

If so, was it worth it?

How much Solar did you install?

Is the install pretty straight forward?

Any recommended all in one kits?

yes. i have a small camp trailer that came with rhino track and cross bars. i took two pieces of aluminium angle and mounted to the track under the cross bars so that the panels are up off the roof 1/2" and still below the cross bars should i need to use them.



it was worth it. the panels are $100 each, the controller was $30 and the battery was $130. for under $400, i have decent power. 200w runs my 65qt dometic chest and lights and even a fan. i have a 2000w inverter hooked into the system, but havent used it. we can be off grid indefinitely as far as having power to operate these few loads.

really dont need a kit. the panels come wired with connectors and i just hooked up to the panels and ran the +/- to the corresponding connectors on the controller and then ran +/- from the controller to the battery. done. it was so quick and easy that after the install, i looked and still had ice in my gin and tonic...