Portable Solar panel kits

[chiwald]

Hello, I did a quick search but couldn't find a thread for this question. I want to add portable solar to our setup and would like to know what others have added. I did read something that said you could not add more than 200 extra watts. ???? Does it need to be the zamp brand? Thank you,

Christi, Matt, and Lucy

[topgun2]

Search further -

No it doesn't have to be the Zamp brand but any that you purchase will have to have a separate solar controller.

Bill

[Frank C]

I added a Zamp port to our Oliver, on the hull near the battery compartment, since it was an easy location to access the correct locations for the positive and negative connections to the trailer 12vDC system, and used a portable Zamp 140 watt panel with an integrated charge controller.  It worked very well on trips for our stays at Harvest Host locations, and our recent stay at the Circuit of the Americas track in Austin TX (plenty of sunshine!) for the Formula 1 race, when no power hookup was available.  The 140 watt panel was about the biggest that I would want to carry.  They are “portable” and they do fold up into a nice suitcase style carrying case but they can still be heavy and bulky to transport. 

[rich.dev]

@chiwald I prefer google search, i.e. "site:olivertraveltrailers.com forum portable solar panels", with portable solar panels being the search words you are looking for at olivertraveltrailers.com 

Here are a couple search results:
- Portable solar panels
- solar panel suitcase

[DavePhelps]

I am eventually wanting to do this as well.
But I am curious why you wouldn't want to connect your aux panels directly into your existing onboard charge controller.

My understanding (uh-oh) is that it is much more efficient for the charge controller to be closer to the batteries than it is for the panels to be close to the controller.
Since the aux panels are usually far away from the trailer (typical cable runs are 20' or more), if they have an integrated controller, then there is greater voltage loss along the longer run to the batteries.
Aux panels without integrated controllers do not suffer this loss as the current to the onboard controller is not as effected by voltage drop over long runs. It is the voltage drop between the controller and batteries that is the issue.
Help me out here. I'm not an electrician but after studying this, it seems like a better option. What am I missing? 

Thanks.

Dave
 

 

[MAX Burner]

We're using the 200W Renogy "suitcase" style portable solar modules - it's rigged with a 10ft 10AWG cable and we've got a 20ft extension cable, if need be.  Granted, it would be more efficient to mount the Renogy solar charge controller inside the battery compartment to reduce the DC line loss especially when using the 20ft extension - this is on the "to do" list, for sure.  But in the meantime, it's still a healthy supplement of DC energy into the BB bank - we'll take whatever we can get!

The portable kit carries well even in the small Tundra truck bed - the downside is the weight of the unit, its not light at about 36#, but still 12# lighter than our Honda 2000!

We installed an SAE connector to the battery bank hatch which is wired to the Victron smart shunt (neg) and main battery bus (pos).

FYI:  We've not brought along the Honda GENSET during our trips this summer/fall - seems that the 340W roof modules and the Renogy portable kit does the trick in topping off the batteries by mid-morning, at least in the SW USA.  😜

Cheers!

[Galway Girl]

Our extra solar panel setup is documented here:

https://4-ever-hitched.com/ggs-blog/f/here-comes-the-sun

 

[Geronimo John]

8 hours ago, MAX Burner said:

We're using the 200W Renogy "suitcase" style portable solar modules - it's rigged with a 10ft 10AWG cable and we've got a 20ft extension cable, if need be.  Granted, it would be more efficient to mount the Renogy solar charge controller inside the battery compartment to reduce the DC line loss especially when using the 20ft extension - this is on the "to do" list, for sure.

Art and I are both using the same solar panel and have connected them up this past summer using the Z-amp 10 AWG Solar Panel Connection as shown in his picture.  Down the road when I get past all the Priority A and B mods, I'll likely remove the Solar Charge Controller and make it portable as John D. did several years ago (See his post for details.)  Short version is he sits it on top of his street side tire and runs a short cord into the batteries.    But with just using the Solar Suitcase as stock, it's not a high priority.  However, if you want to extend the (10') stock cable, then the JD upgrade mod would be more beneficial (B Level Mod).

My only regret is that I purchased the single 200-watt solar suitcase vs. two each 100-watt solar suitcases.   For my purposes, the smaller ones would transport better in my short bed TV.  They would also be easier to move around and get out of the TV bed.  This may require some smarts for connecting two of them up to a single charge controller.  But likely Renogy already has this covered. 

GJ

[SeaDawg]

On 11/19/2023 at 7:44 PM, DavePhelps said:

I am eventually wanting to do this as well.
But I am curious why you wouldn't want to connect your aux panels directly into your existing onboard charge controller.

My understanding (uh-oh) is that it is much more efficient for the charge controller to be closer to the batteries than it is for the panels to be close to the controller.
Since the aux panels are usually far away from the trailer (typical cable runs are 20' or more), if they have an integrated controller, then there is greater voltage loss along the longer run to the batteries.
Aux panels without integrated controllers do not suffer this loss as the current to the onboard controller is not as effected by voltage drop over long runs. It is the voltage drop between the controller and batteries that is the issue.
Help me out here. I'm not an electrician but after studying this, it seems like a better option. What am I missing? 

Thanks.

Dave
 

 

It's indeed possible, with additional equipment,  usually.

 You need to analyze existing equipment,to know if it's capable of new load.