Portable Solar Panel

[wolfdds]

Thanks. I will definitely take your advice Re: The Victron monitor. Just waiting for my outlet to arrive to start my install.

 

 

[SeaDawg]

Overland, glad to hear you like all the Victron equipment. We are Using Victron in our boat installation this year. We like our BlueSky in the trailer, and love their customer support, but the boating community uses a lot of Victron. Thought we would give it a try.

Unfortunately, it's already getting hot, and the repaired hardtop hasn't arrived yet. Wolfdds, you'll be way ahead of us on your install. We'll look forward to seeing yours!

Sherry

[Raspy]

I have the Renogy portable 100 watt solar suitcase and it is a very nice setup.

 

I installed a plug on the battery compartment door and wired it inside the compartment directly to the batteries.  The plug is a CNLINKO 20 amp plug with cover, found on Amazon for about $16.  I made a cord from a #12 extension cord and made it about 20' long.  This allows me to set the panels anywhere around the trailer and pointed to the sun.

 

Here's a link to the plug:

 

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0795464LP/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

The other end of the cord gets made up with the Renogy male and female connectors that plug into the collector wires already on the suitcase and coming out of it's controller.   All pre-wiring is done on the suitcase and it's simply plug and play.

 

https://www.renogy.com/mc4-solar-panel-cable-connector-pair-male-female/

[wolfdds]

@Raspy, Can you upload a picture of your plug install on the battery compartment door. Thanks.

[topgun2]

wolfdds -

 

I know that Raspy is on the road headed to the 2019 Owner's Rally at the moment.  So, he might be a bit delayed in getting back to you.

 

Bill

[Raspy]

@raspy, Can you upload a picture of your plug install on the battery compartment door. Thanks.

 

Sorry for the delay. Yes, we are on the road and I'll post some pix when I get a chance.

 

Last night was incredible!  The Texas panhandle between Amarillo and Erik Oklahoma.  Twelve tornadoes reported.  Extremely heavy rain and hail.  Continuous lightening for many hours.  People parked under overpasses.  A semi blown over.  And we were tooling along in the darkness.  Excellent!  Love it!  We stopped at the rest stop at Erik, OK and it was full of trucks ducking out of the chaos.

 

I was wondering how strong the wind would get and if Ollie might get blown over.  A lot of it was a cross-wind, and it was pushing us around.  My 1 ton Ram/Cummins is about as stable as they get, but still.......   Ollie was a real trooper and just followed along totally stable with no sway control.  We could not hope for a more stable design!

 

After we stopped for the night, water was sheeting down the windows as Ollie rocked from the gusts.  I sat, with a glass of wine and smiling, while looking out the widows at the proceedings.  Too loud in here to talk comfortably.  Then the power at the rest stop went out.

 

This morning, Ollie and the truck are nice and clean.   We'll press on to Big Piney Rest Stop in Arkansas tonight and then to Florence Alabama for a couple of days on the Tennessee river next to Muscle Shoals.

 

It took us a couple days to get out of Nevada with a stop at Valley of Fire, east of Las Vegas and some on-line business.  But now were cranking out about 450 -550 miles per day.  Had to stop at Meteor Crater for another look and at Rudy's Texas Bar-B-Que in Amarillo.  Fuel is getting gradually cheaper as we go east.

 

Still getting water up into the shower pan each day and don't know why.  The gate valve is closed, we haven't used the bath sink and the pop-up drain is down.  Oh well.

 

See you guys soon!

 

John

[rideandfly]

wolfdds wrote:

@raspy

, Can you upload a picture of your plug install on the battery compartment door. Thanks.

Sorry for the delay. Yes, we are on the road and I’ll post some pix when I get a chance.

 

Still getting water up into the shower pan each day and don’t know why. The gate valve is closed, we haven’t used the bath sink and the pop-up drain is down. Oh well.

 

 

John,

 

Would like to see your photos, too. Been thinking about if I mounted the solar inlet on the battery compartment door, could also strengthen the interior of the door around the inlet with fiberglass, if needed.

 

We had the pleasure of camping at Valley of Fire SP NV last October. Will be camping there next time passing through the area, too.

 

Had occasional water in the shower pan during the last camping trip. Found a 1/2" crack in the bath vent exterior dome cap located where one of the two screws secures the cap, it did not leak during every storm.

 

Have a new one on order from Etrailer.

 

https://www.etrailer.com/RV_Vents_and_Fans/Ventline/BVA0502-03.html

[Overland]

Last night was incredible! The Texas panhandle between Amarillo and Erik Oklahoma. Twelve tornadoes reported. Extremely heavy rain and hail. Continuous lightening for many hours. People parked under overpasses. A semi blown over. And we were tooling along in the darkness. Excellent! Love it! We stopped at the rest stop at Erik, OK and it was full of trucks ducking out of the chaos.

 

I was wondering how strong the wind would get and if Ollie might get blown over. A lot of it was a cross-wind, and it was pushing us around. My 1 ton Ram/Cummins is about as stable as they get, but still……. Ollie was a real trooper and just followed along totally stable with no sway control. We could not hope for a more stable design!

 

After we stopped for the night, water was sheeting down the windows as Ollie rocked from the gusts. I sat, with a glass of wine and smiling, while looking out the widows at the proceedings. Too loud in here to talk comfortably. Then the power at the rest stop went out.

You must not have been too far behind us.  We were going to stay the night at Black Kettle Grasslands but the weather pushed us on.  We ended up in Clinton for the night.  Then they closed the interstate in front of us because of a big accident the next morning.

[Raspy]

Exterior solar plug pictures:

 

This is a very nice and compact 20 Amp exterior plug.  It has solder connections to gold (I think) terminals.  Comes with screws, gasket and chain.  I posted a link to it in an earlier post.

 

The male end fits a #12 exterior extension cord and has a strain relief nut.  The plug has a twist-lock design and will not fall out. It also keeps the connection dry while plugged in.

 

https://www.amazon.com/CNLINKO-Industrial-Connector-Receptacles-Waterproof/dp/B0795464LP/ref=pd_ybh_a_26?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=9EBPJGFS22DYCSBDBBGV

 

 

[wolfdds]

Thanks @Raspy. That is a nice simple idea.

 

Well I have to say drilling a hole in my brand new camper was filled with anxiety but it was just about the easiest to drill hole I have ever cut.

 

I decided to install the Furion solar plug port above my existing shore power port My plan was to use rivets to mount it but the rivets I had were not long enough. I think you would need 1 inch grip rivets to get through the plastic port and the thickness of the hull. I decided to through bolt it which worked but would be impossible with out a patient partner because the top through bolts were just under the lip of the inner hull; this made threading the two top nuts very tricky!

 

At any rate the job is completed. I will post the pictures here and then add the final wiring install pictures when I get to that step.

 

 

[rideandfly]

Question for everyone, if you were going to install one Solar receptacle on an Ollie, where would you install it? Like the looks of wolfdds installation, but also looking for the optimal location from folks experienced with solar panels.

 

Getting ready to cut a hole in Ollie this week to mount a Furrion receptacle. Currently have 25' of  exterior 12/2 cable to place the 100W Renogy Suitcase panel where needed. Planning to mount the waterproof Renogy solar controller in the battery compartment with the AGM batteries.

 

Can also install the receptacle on the front of the LP gas cover, there's enough room in the existing hull loom hole under the LP gas cover for two more wires without cutting another hole in the hull.

 

Thanks,

 

Bill

[wolfdds]

Question for everyone, if you were going to install one Solar receptacle on an Ollie, where would you install it? Like the looks of wolfdds installation, but also looking for the optimal location from folks experienced with solar panels.

 

Getting ready to cut a hole in Ollie this week to mount a Furrion receptacle. Currently have 25′ of exterior 12/2 cable to place the 100W Renogy Suitcase panel where needed. Planning to mount the waterproof Renogy solar controller in the battery compartment with the AGM batteries.

 

Can also install the receptacle on the front of the LP gas cover, there’s enough room in the existing hull loom hole under the LP gas cover for two more wires without cutting another hole in the hull.

 

Thanks,

 

Bill

 

Bill,

 

 

 

As nice as my install looks, it was very, very difficult to get the bolts on the top screws!! I would not recommend this placement  if you are planning to use through bolts.

[rideandfly]

 

Bill,

 

As nice as my install looks, it was very, very difficult to get the bolts on the top screws!! I would not recommend this placement if you are planning to use through bolts.

 

 

Wolfdds,

 

Receptacle installation on the front LP gas cover with a 1/4" UHMW plastic backing plate and through bolts would work for initial testing. If I find the need to place the panel behind Ollie, could always add a second receptacle on the rear of Ollie, too.

 

Thanks,

 

Bill

[Raspy]

I do not see any reason to have two solar receptacles when one at the battery box will allow the panels to work anywhere around the trailer with only 15- 20' of cord.  If you put the receptacle at the front or the back, you have to route wires to the electrical area or the battery box.  If you go straight into the battery box, that problem goes away.  The Furion requires a very large hole.  The one I show only requires  a 7/8" hole.   When installed in the battery door, you can reach both sides to install the nuts and the wiring is very easy.  If you want to put the controller in the electrical area, under the port side bunk, you can get to that area from the battery box, so again, the battery door works well for the plug.

 

Use a conventional #12 exterior extension cord and cut it to the length you want, for the solar extension cord.   These are fine stranded, weather resistant and resistant to damage from getting stepped on or run over.  Plus they are cheap and easy to get.

[rideandfly]

John,

 

Our battery compartment door seems too thin/flexible to me to mount a receptacle on, probably would be fine, but was not comfortable with that location.

 

Going to look at Ollie in a few minutes at possible install locations from input and installations shown here, planning installation later this week.

 

Thanks,

 

Bill

[SeaDawg]

We installed the Furrion port because of the more durable cap. My sister's zamp plastic and flimsy cap connector broke within a year.

 

It's a tradeoff, though. There are adaptors out there for renogy or other portable panel brands to zamp. For furrion, you have to buy an aftermarket male socket and solder it into the cable of the portable panel. Tedious, and a pita, but doable. And, cutting the wires and adding the furrion compatible male end would likely void a warranty. Using the zamp adaptor would not make a physical difference...

 

Furrion and zamp ports now both have big market shares in other rv brands, so I suspect (or hope) someone will come up with a furrion adaptor in the next year or two. Zamp just got in first with big stickbuilt players.

[rideandfly]

Finished installation today, used some ideas shared here. Our Ollie does not have solar charging system installed by Oliver.  Already had a Renogy 100W suitcase portable solar panel. Used plastic cutting board as interior backing plate for the Furrion port. Also made two 12 1/2 foot solar cables out of 12/2 cable from Lowes with CNLINKO two pin connector to the Furrion port. Connected cables and solar panel together with MC4 connectors.

 

 

 

 

[rideandfly]

Tried out the 100W Renogy suitcase panel earlier this week with Ollie in the shade. Used three 12/2 cables about 12.5' each connected together with MC4 connectors measuring about 37' total from the panel to Ollie's Furrion solar port. Moved solar controller from solar panel to Ollie with about 2' of cable from the controller to the batteries. The system is working fine with two Duracell group 27 12V AGM batteries. Needed that much cable to reach an area out of the shade.

 

Appreciate ideas shared here!

 

 

 

[John E Davies]

Bill, do you have any kind of cable lock on the panel? It would be so easy for any passerby to unplug it, fold it and stroll away.....

 

Thanks,

 

John Davies

 

Spokane WA

[rideandfly]

John,

 

In the last photo we were not using a lock, but we use a 10' bicycle type heavy cable with padlock to the suitcase carry handle. The panel can be locked to Ollie or picnic table.

[wolfdds]

I am attaching pictures of the final install for the portable solar panel connection. I used the Blue Solar 75/15 with the Bluetooth Dongle which I mounted on a new piece of plywood attached to an existing backer board. I added an inline switch to turn off the Solar Controller when we are not using the panel just to save battery. I used crimped connectors with heat shrink shields. I also made a custom sealed port to run the wires into the battery compartment. The port was sealed together with 5 minute epoxy The pictures make it pretty self explanatory. As I said before the only thing I would avoid in my install is where I positioned the outside Furion port. It was just really hard to get it through bolted.

[Patriot]

We purchased this Zamp 90 watt mobile suitcase and the 25’ extension for our previous camper and never used it. The controller is preset for AGM batteries. The carrying case is very well made for storage and travel. The waterproof controller is preset for AGM batteries from the factory. 
 

I do like that ZAMP is US made. 🇺🇸

-David

 

 

Edited February 22, 2020 by Patriot