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05-02-2017, 10:51 AM
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#61
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Member
Join Date: Mar 2017
Posts: 64
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Great info. Waiting to take delivery of my first toyhauler and looking to build a solar system. 90% of most of our camping is to the middle of no where here in Southern California.
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07-01-2020, 02:44 AM
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#62
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Junior Member
Join Date: Jul 2020
Posts: 2
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doe the solar panels wobble at all?
Fire Instructor,
First, thank you for the great info you've provided. I've been digging on how best to install panels and this thread is still one of the few "4 way" pivot point DIY options.
I had a question: when the panel is mounted on the roof for travelling (not angled, just flat) -- is there any wobble to the panel? It seems like w/ the play from the clevis/pivot pin/bolt that it could provide "play" when the panel is flat mounted?
I'm mainly concerned because I will be mounting a 335W residential panel (60"x40") on my RV roof so just have some concerns that the mount won't be solid when it's down for travel? Thanks Fire, this was a very very helpful thread.
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09-20-2020, 01:14 PM
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#63
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Junior Member
Join Date: Jul 2020
Posts: 2
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Just as a future note to anyone seeing this:
I did follow Fire's pics and made similar mounting brackets for an RV roof mounted 350W residential panel. A few quick notes:
* This was my first project cutting/grinding/drilling alum. It was a lot of work
* End result is "pretty good". You can indeed pivot panel in 4 directions.
* It is a bit of a pain though to tilt. The cleavis pins are not necessarily easy to take out / re-insert.
* There IS some road noise/wobble because the pins are not bolts and there is play. I plan to replace two of the cleavis pins (on opposite corners) with bolts for most trips just to keep the play/wobble down.
I live in the US southwest so there's not really any need for me to tilt, yet. But it's cool that i can. Thanks Fire for the great idea.
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01-09-2021, 03:28 PM
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#64
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J&J Camping
Join Date: Dec 2020
Location: Illionois
Posts: 78
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Quote:
Originally Posted by TheWideOne
Just as a future note to anyone seeing this:
I did follow Fire's pics and made similar mounting brackets for an RV roof mounted 350W residential panel. A few quick notes:
* This was my first project cutting/grinding/drilling alum. It was a lot of work
* End result is "pretty good". You can indeed pivot panel in 4 directions.
* It is a bit of a pain though to tilt. The cleavis pins are not necessarily easy to take out / re-insert.
* There IS some road noise/wobble because the pins are not bolts and there is play. I plan to replace two of the cleavis pins (on opposite corners) with bolts for most trips just to keep the play/wobble down.
I live in the US southwest so there's not really any need for me to tilt, yet. But it's cool that i can. Thanks Fire for the great idea.
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How about wing nuts, or make bolts and nuts with welded wings for hand use just for travel mode. Something you would not need tools to loosen.
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02-25-2021, 12:19 AM
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#65
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Member
Join Date: Mar 2020
Posts: 31
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I want to run my 2019 Forest River Salem FSX 167RB by solar. I have sent requests for information to Xantrex and Zamp.
I sent this to Forest River
Unless they know what is in my 2019 Forest River Salem FSX 167RB (battery, converter, etc), or what I need. questions I am not able to answer. Where do I go from there?
There must be some Kit you are aware of that will work for me.
Thanks for your support
Hayes
XANTREX
https://xantrex.factoryoutletstore.com
ZAMP
https://www.zampsolar.com
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03-05-2021, 08:41 PM
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#66
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2015
Location: Granite Bay, Ca
Posts: 1,083
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Fire Instructor
Back in the 1800's, Thomas Edison proved that DC was a much more effective than AC for powering the world, it's just that Edison (and his followers) have NEVER been able to develop a way to transmit DC for long distances, like George Westinghouse and his people did for AC. This is why we live in an AC world, rather than a DC world..... Over a short distance (like in a travel trailer system!), DC is more effective! It's just that we now have catalogs and store shelves FULL of 120v AC appliances and very little in 12v choices.
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Never say never. All of the longest and highest capacity transmission lines in the USA and in much of the world are DC. And virtually all water crossings are DC. Scroll through the list in the link below. A huge amount of power is shipped via DC. The limitation on DC is that the converters required at each end to adapt to the pervasive AC grids make shorter DC lines uneconomic.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_HVDC_projects
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03-06-2021, 05:34 PM
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#67
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Member
Join Date: Mar 2020
Posts: 31
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Any reply? Iam looking for a solar panel kit for off the grid.
1200w or 2400w.
For my Forest River Salem FSX 167RB
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03-06-2021, 06:25 PM
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#68
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2015
Location: Granite Bay, Ca
Posts: 1,083
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Jkhayes
Any reply? Iam looking for a solar panel kit for off the grid.
1200w or 2400w.
For my Forest River Salem FSX 167RB
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It's best to start a new thread with this kind of question. This thread has pretty well run its course so won't get you much response. A new thread will very likely get a lot of response because this is a very interesting question. Most folks doing this size system either hire it done (designed and installed) or do it themselves (lots of research and learning). A kit is an interesting possibility. I'm DIY so have never looked into the kit possiblity. When you repost in a new thread, if I see it, my first thought will be to look at your roof and see what the options are. Your rig is 22' so about 19' of roof (the front cap is about 3'). With ceiling vent fans and skylights and such, squeezing even 1200W in is going to be tricky.
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03-07-2021, 04:03 PM
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#69
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Member
Join Date: Mar 2020
Posts: 31
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The Solar kit[ s to be installed on the ground not on the Top of the Trailer
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03-07-2021, 05:21 PM
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#70
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2015
Location: Granite Bay, Ca
Posts: 1,083
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Jkhayes
The Solar kit[ s to be installed on the ground not on the Top of the Trailer
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But to be used with an RV, correct? That's a whole lot of panels to unpack on arrival and re-pack for departure.
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04-02-2021, 02:19 PM
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#71
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jun 2013
Posts: 1,114
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Jkhayes
The Solar kit[ s to be installed on the ground not on the Top of the Trailer
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Try Renogy, they sell kits of various sizes, both ground based and RV. I found them very helpful and very fast service. Competitive prices too. You can do cheaper by buying all the pieces separately but this way I know it all worked together and it has been working flawlessly.
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04-02-2021, 02:22 PM
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#72
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Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2020
Posts: 734
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Quote:
Originally Posted by nayther
Try Renogy, they sell kits of various sizes, both ground based and RV. I found them very helpful and very fast service. Competitive prices too. You can do cheaper by buying all the pieces separately but this way I know it all worked together and it has been working flawlessly.
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Rich Solar has good pricing as well. My 400W kit from them is working great
__________________
2021 Flagstaff 21DS
2015 Silverado 2500HD (overkill but convenient)
Renogy bits: 3000W Inverter/Charger, 400Ah LiFePo4, 40A DC-to-DC
Rich Solar bits: 400W of panels, 40A MPPT
Misc bits: LevelMatePro+, SolidRemote based wireless controlled LED storage lighting
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07-13-2021, 10:17 AM
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#73
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Member
Join Date: Jul 2021
Posts: 42
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If you need bunch of panels, I would use second hand e.g. something like this. Keep a few spare panels at home.
Less worry about theft, damage etc.
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11-22-2021, 04:44 PM
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#74
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Member
Join Date: Mar 2020
Posts: 31
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Solar panel kit for 30amp controller
I have 2019 Forest River Salem FSX 167RB with a 30amp controller. What solar panel kit do I need to run my Trailer totally on Solar Power?
If there is one can I install it on the top of the trailer
I do have a Furrion 10amp kit charging my single battery.
Thanks for your support
.
Jim Hayes
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11-22-2021, 05:08 PM
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#75
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Site Team
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Goodyear, Arizona
Posts: 33,600
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Jkhayes
I have 2019 Forest River Salem FSX 167RB with a 30amp controller. What solar panel kit do I need to run my Trailer totally on Solar Power?
If there is one can I install it on the top of the trailer
I do have a Furrion 10amp kit charging my single battery.
Thanks for your support
.
Jim Hayes
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You're not going to able to run everything.
Solar doesn't "run" anything. It recharges the batteries.
So anything that is 120v AC, would require an INverter. And to run the a/c, would require a big inverter and a second trailer for the huge bank of batteries since your little TT doesn't have room for that many batteries.
__________________
Dan-Retired California Firefighter/EMT
Shawn-Musician/Entrepreneur/Wine Expert
and Zoe the Wonder Dog(R.I.P.)
2016 PrimeTime TracerAIR 255, pushing a 2014 Ford F150 SCREW XTR 4x4 3.5 Ecoboost w/Max Tow Package
4pt Equal-i-zer WDH and 1828lbs of payload capacity
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11-22-2021, 06:11 PM
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#76
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2015
Location: Granite Bay, Ca
Posts: 1,083
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Jkhayes
I have 2019 Forest River Salem FSX 167RB with a 30amp controller. What solar panel kit do I need to run my Trailer totally on Solar Power?
If there is one can I install it on the top of the trailer
I do have a Furrion 10amp kit charging my single battery.
Thanks for your support
.
Jim Hayes
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Jim,
Your 10 amp charger will surely handle about 150 Watts of panel. It might handle as much as 200W but we need to see the specs to be sure. If it will handle 200W, it will simply limit panel output to what it can handel. I.e., it will not transform all of what 200W would produce at noon in June into battery charge, but that's okay. 200W would give your more energy in the less sunny months when the sun is lower in the sky or there are some clouds. 200W of panels might produce less than 100W at noon on such days.
There probably are kits but I've not explored them. It's pretty simple to buy panels, support brackets (Z brackets), some wire, and connectors. These are all available on Amazon or similar.
The wire going to the roof is probably good enough but we should check it.
Do you have a model number for the Furion and the wire size going to the roof? Also, if you know the data for the panel you already have, maybe we can make use of it (if you already have one).
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