Popular Post Jps190 Posted January 3 Popular Post Share Posted January 3 Ever since getting my Oliver I have loved modifying different aspects of it. I have done a bunch of stuff to the electrical system such as going mostly Victron for all components except for the inverter. Here is my latest mod which consisted of building an aluminum rack and adding 3 200 watt Newpowa solar panels for a total of 600 watts onboard. They will feed into a Victron 100/50 SCC. Just got the panels installed today and will be working on the connections tomorrow. I also need to fabricate a bracket for the front panel for a little more security but overall it is very solid. 😛 14 1 John and Kim 2021 GMC Sierra 2500 AT4 6.6L Duramax 11350 GVWR 3048lb Payload 2021 Oliver Elite II. Hull #887 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators SeaDawg Posted January 3 Moderators Share Posted January 3 Wow! That's great! I'm very excited for you. We put 600 watts on the boat several years ago, and ditched the cord. 400 watts a few years ago on the Elite,,and rarely have to break our the genset. (200 watts portable solar, in addition.) Any more photos of brackets? Did you have solar before the 600? I'm really looking forward to your reports. 3 2008 Ram 1500 4 × 4 2008 Oliver Elite, Hull #12 Florida and Western North Carolina, or wherever the truck goes.... 400 watts solar. DC compressor fridge. No inverter. 2 x 105 ah agm batteries . Life is good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jps190 Posted January 4 Author Share Posted January 4 I replaced the original zamp panels installed by Oliver. I used 1/8 inch thick aluminum angle. I used 1 1/2 inch for the cross bars that I mounted to the existing Oliver installed brackets. I framed the panels with 1 1/4 inch angle down both sides. This frame was then bolted to the 2 cross bars. I’ll grab a few more pics tomorrow. 1 4 John and Kim 2021 GMC Sierra 2500 AT4 6.6L Duramax 11350 GVWR 3048lb Payload 2021 Oliver Elite II. Hull #887 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jps190 Posted January 5 Author Share Posted January 5 3 John and Kim 2021 GMC Sierra 2500 AT4 6.6L Duramax 11350 GVWR 3048lb Payload 2021 Oliver Elite II. Hull #887 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Morris Posted January 5 Share Posted January 5 Looks like a landing pad! 😀 Are your three panels the NPA200S-24I, like the ones supplied by Oliver? ----- Steve - Northern Ohio, USA Wandering around on occasion, always lost. 2021 Toyota Land Cruiser - 2023 Oliver Elite II Twin Hull #1360 “Curiosity” Facebook - Instagram Camped in Curiosity = Green —— Visited with Curiosity = Gray Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jps190 Posted January 5 Author Share Posted January 5 3 hours ago, Steve Morris said: Looks like a landing pad! 😀 Are your three panels the NPA200S-24I, like the ones supplied by Oliver? I went with the 12 volt version. They were about $40 cheaper per panel and I have them in series so it wouldn't make much difference. John 4 John and Kim 2021 GMC Sierra 2500 AT4 6.6L Duramax 11350 GVWR 3048lb Payload 2021 Oliver Elite II. Hull #887 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jd1923 Posted January 5 Share Posted January 5 Agreed, need more support up front. Looks like the one small front bracket is taped to the fiberglass, or temporary not yet mounted. Make 2-3 of these brackets, mount with 3M VHB and you're there! Awesome installation @Jps190, and there are a few of us who feel as you do, where you wrote, "Ever since getting my Oliver I have loved modifying different aspects of it." 2 Chris & John in Prescott, AZ | 2016 EII #113 | '01 Ram 2500 Cummins! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wandering Sagebrush Posted January 6 Share Posted January 6 3 hours ago, jd1923 said: Agreed, need more support up front. Looks like the one small front bracket is taped to the fiberglass, or temporary not yet mounted. Make 2-3 of these brackets, mount with 3M VHB and you're there! Awesome installation @Jps190, and there are a few of us who feel as you do, where you wrote, "Ever since getting my Oliver I have loved modifying different aspects of it." If you use VHB consider applying a self leveling sealant around and over the foot of the base. I believe AMSolar has some YouTube videos on this. 3 Hull #364 - The Roadrunner 2023 F350 CCLB SRW 6.7L Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jps190 Posted March 12 Author Share Posted March 12 Finally getting some higher sun angles. All is working well! Pulled in just under 3 KWH the other day. John 2 John and Kim 2021 GMC Sierra 2500 AT4 6.6L Duramax 11350 GVWR 3048lb Payload 2021 Oliver Elite II. Hull #887 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jd1923 Posted March 13 Share Posted March 13 4 hours ago, Jps190 said: Finally getting some higher sun angles. All is working well! Pulled in just under 3 KWH the other day. John Nice! Please explain why the solar charge is reading at 52V? Are the panels 12V or greater, wired in series? Chris & John in Prescott, AZ | 2016 EII #113 | '01 Ram 2500 Cummins! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patriot Posted March 13 Share Posted March 13 On 1/3/2024 at 7:50 PM, Jps190 said: I replaced the original zamp panels installed by Oliver. I used 1/8 inch thick aluminum angle. I used 1 1/2 inch for the cross bars that I mounted to the existing Oliver installed brackets. I framed the panels with 1 1/4 inch angle down both sides. This frame was then bolted to the 2 cross bars. I’ll grab a few more pics tomorrow. Nice work John. 👍🏻 2020 OLEII - Hull #634 aka- “XPLOR” 2021 F350 6.7 liter Diesel Lariat Ultimate Tremor Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MAX Burner Posted March 13 Share Posted March 13 8 hours ago, jd1923 said: Nice! Please explain why the solar charge is reading at 52V? Are the panels 12V or greater, wired in series? Guessing that @Jps190 has those bad boys wired in series and his Victron MPPT smart charge controller is doing its thing by running 13.6v into his battery bank (guessing too that they're AGMs). Very clean mod, John! BRAVO ZULU! 1 Art, Diane, Magnus & Oscar (double-Aaarrf!) 2022 TUNDRA w/Airlift Load Lifter 5000 kit 2017 LE II; Hull #226 "Casablanca", 3x Battle Borns; Victron Cerbo S GX, Other Victron Stuff: SmartShunt, MPPT Solar Controller, DC-DC Charger, 12VDC Starlink kit, and Alcan 5-pack Leaf Springs HAM call-sign: W0ABX Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jps190 Posted March 13 Author Share Posted March 13 12 hours ago, jd1923 said: Nice! Please explain why the solar charge is reading at 52V? Are the panels 12V or greater, wired in series? MAX is correct. The panels are wired in series which allows the voltage to get higher earlier in the morning. (Charges sooner) Only downside to this is if one panel gets shaded then they all take a hit but this is such a small area I don't think it will be a factor. I am actually running 390AH of Lithionics. The 13.6 volts was the current battery voltage. (They weren't fully charged) John 2 2 John and Kim 2021 GMC Sierra 2500 AT4 6.6L Duramax 11350 GVWR 3048lb Payload 2021 Oliver Elite II. Hull #887 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Cay Posted March 30 Share Posted March 30 On 3/13/2024 at 12:52 AM, Patriot said: Nice work John. 👍🏻 Sweet! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Galway Girl Posted March 30 Share Posted March 30 Are there any higher wattage panels that would fit that space? Or are the 200w the max for that size? Just curious. 2019 Elite II (Hull 505 - Galway Girl - August 7, 2019 Delivery) Tow Vehicle: 2021 F350 King Ranch, FX4, MaxTow Package, 10 Speed, 3.55 Rear Axle Batteries Upgrade: Dual 315GTX Lithionics Lithiums - 630AH Total Inverter/Charger: Xantrex 2000Pro Travel BLOG: https://4-ever-hitched.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geronimo John Posted March 30 Share Posted March 30 On 1/3/2024 at 12:54 PM, Jps190 said: I also need to fabricate a bracket for the front panel for a little more security but overall it is very solid. Maybe you could just make the front center bracket triangular shaped at the top and add aluminum tubing behind the leading edge of the panel to keep it clean looking as it is now. TV: 2019 F-150 SuperCrew Lariat, 3.5L EcoBoost, Max Tow, FX-4, Rear Locker OLLIE: 2018 OE2 Hull 342, Twin Bed. OLLIE DIY’s: Timken Bearings, BB LiFePO4's, Victron 712 Smart, 350 Amp Master Switch, Houghton 3400, Victron Orion DC - DC, 3000-Watt Renogy Inverter, P.D. 60-amp Converter, Frig Dual Exhaust Fans, Kitchen Drawer Straps. TV DIY’s: 2 5/16" Anderson System, Nitto recon’s, Firestone Rear Air Bags, Bilstein 5100’s, Mud Flaps & Weather Tech all, installed Ham Radio (WH6JPR). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jps190 Posted March 31 Author Share Posted March 31 3 hours ago, Galway Girl said: Are there any higher wattage panels that would fit that space? Or are the 200w the max for that size? Just curious. When I did this modification it was the best bang for the buck/footprint I could find. Could you go a little bigger? Maybe! But I didn’t want to have to deal with covering any vents or getting too far forward or overhanging the sides too much. I have an RSI Smartcap being delivered soon and I will probably put the old Zamp panels on top of it so I should be at about 940 watts before any ground deployment. This is a real rabbit 🐇 hole…..😆 John 1 1 John and Kim 2021 GMC Sierra 2500 AT4 6.6L Duramax 11350 GVWR 3048lb Payload 2021 Oliver Elite II. Hull #887 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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