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Old 09-06-2015, 03:17 PM   #1
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Solar Panel Prep on 2015 Rockwood 2318G

Hello,

Does anyone know what the solar panel prep on a 2015 Rockwood 2318G would entail? Where might the prep be found? Starting to think about cutting the cord for some longer trips. Thanks for any input.

Metadifluoro
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Old 09-07-2015, 08:21 AM   #2
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there is a plug on the frame near the battery, on my 2516G is on the driver side front cross member, its an SAE plug and thre are 2 wires running from there to the battery.
its wired revers of battery tender plugs, so plugging in a battery tender SAE plug will not charge the unit.
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Old 09-07-2015, 09:30 PM   #3
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Swimmarz

Thanks. Spent some time looking for the plug this afternoon, but had no luck. Perhaps the 2318G did not come with the solar prep. I'll do some more digging around and let everyone know what is determined.

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Old 09-07-2015, 10:22 PM   #4
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Originally Posted by swimmarz View Post
there is a plug on the frame near the battery, on my 2516G is on the driver side front cross member, its an SAE plug and thre are 2 wires running from there to the battery.
its wired revers of battery tender plugs, so plugging in a battery tender SAE plug will not charge the unit.
Is that one of those zamp plugs? Have one and never knew what to do with it.

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Old 09-08-2015, 11:36 AM   #5
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yes it is a ZAMP solar plug, min was found on the frame, opposite side of the battery box, drivers side

it looks like this


I found mine was wired revers of the battery tender that i have, so if i wanted to use it to maintain my battery I would have to flip the wires on the plug and i would be all set...
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Old 09-08-2015, 06:35 PM   #6
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I snapped a pic while installing my battery disconnect
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Old 09-08-2015, 07:30 PM   #7
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I thought about maybe switching them to use for a solar or wired battery tender (already use one just hooked to the batttery).

I am no solar god but I always see people using heavy 2, 4 ,or 6 gauge wire. I cannot imagine the small cheap wires used on the zamp connector would be very efficient at moving the electric. Maybe it is good for a 5 watt panel but I could not see it working to good with a 100 or 200 watt setup.
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Old 09-08-2015, 08:00 PM   #8
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Keep in mind it's a 12 volt system, anything under 5 amps for 25 ft of wire needs 18 gauge
Personally I was looking at the 40 watt kit and the 100 watt kit
Even if I did 18 amp/ 108 watts the 18 gauge wire is good for upto 5 feet.

Considering where this is on the trailer in relationship to the battery the cable is under 5 feet in length and is ok to go. Would I like thicker, yea, is it needed, no
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Old 09-08-2015, 08:08 PM   #9
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Thanks for the info. I did not know this.
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Old 09-08-2015, 08:13 PM   #10
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I snapped a pic while installing my battery disconnect


Thanks for the visual. There does not appear to be any plug similar to that anywhere near the front of our 2318G. All is not lost, we'll just have to do the solar panel the old fashioned way, alligator clips directly to the battery.

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Old 09-08-2015, 08:19 PM   #11
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Hello,

Does anyone know what the solar panel prep on a 2015 Rockwood 2318G would entail? Where might the prep be found? Starting to think about cutting the cord for some longer trips. Thanks for any input.

Metadifluoro
Solar is by no means a simple application. Be sure to spend time to educate yourself or you may well be spending money foolishly.

Link to a basic overview:

http://www.backwoodssolar.com/solar-...our-rv-or-boat



Many good discussions on irv2.com also.
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Old 09-09-2015, 06:06 AM   #12
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Solar is by no means a simple application. Be sure to spend time to educate yourself or you may well be spending money foolishly.

Link to a basic overview:

Solar Power for Your Boat & RV



Many good discussions on irv2.com also.
keep in mind, his question was on the "solar prep" from the factory as well as this is a pop up.

he can buy from Zamp solar(as it was factory installed on my unit) or a similar product line

in the instance of solar for a pop up to charge/maintain the house battery. it actually is pretty simple, a 40 w setup could do the trick, a 100 w would be better.

now trying to run an entire RV off of solar with battery banks and inverters can get complicated
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Old 09-09-2015, 06:23 AM   #13
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The ZAMP connection on my 2016 Windjammer 3029W is on the driver's side as far away from the battery as it can be -- about 32'.

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Old 09-09-2015, 06:56 AM   #14
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The ZAMP connection on my 2016 Windjammer 3029W is on the driver's side as far away from the battery as it can be -- about 32'.

Bruce
that's odd, you should check the wire gauge on that, with that being said, from ZAMP solar "This 200 watt Portable Solar Charging kit provides 11.42 amps of charging power per hour under optimal sun conditions"
11.42AX13.5V=154W
200W-154= 46w missing?!?!

I know solar depends on the positioning and such, so maybe the panel can produce 200W however they are planning on someone not setting it up properly and there for they have under estimated the output.


so that wire carry's 12 amps according to the chart i use says 14 gauge at 25 feet, at 32 feet I expect you have 12 gauge or better.
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Old 09-09-2015, 04:51 PM   #15
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that's odd, you should check the wire gauge on that, with that being said, from ZAMP solar "This 200 watt Portable Solar Charging kit provides 11.42 amps of charging power per hour under optimal sun conditions"
11.42AX13.5V=154W
200W-154= 46w missing?!?!

I know solar depends on the positioning and such, so maybe the panel can produce 200W however they are planning on someone not setting it up properly and there for they have under estimated the output.


so that wire carry's 12 amps according to the chart i use says 14 gauge at 25 feet, at 32 feet I expect you have 12 gauge or better.
You are correct. That is odd. I was completely wrong. My ZAMP hookup is actually on the passenger's side about four feet away from the battery.



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Old 09-09-2015, 05:03 PM   #16
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Solar Panel Prep on 2015 Rockwood 2318G

If you look at most 12v solar panels you will see there power is calculated around 17v. The only way you can get even close to the rated power, you will never get the full rated unless you are on a lab, is by using a MPPT charge controller. 200W / 11.42A = 17.5v
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Old 09-11-2015, 07:19 AM   #17
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If you look at most 12v solar panels you will see there power is calculated around 17v. The only way you can get even close to the rated power, you will never get the full rated unless you are on a lab, is by using a MPPT charge controller. 200W / 11.42A = 17.5v

I learned something, thanks... 17.5 makes me think it could cook a battery
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Old 09-11-2015, 07:42 AM   #18
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That is why you need a controller. A non MPPT controller will keep charging the battery untill the voltage gets to a set point, around 14V. A MPPT controller will allow the the panel to run at 17.5V but will convert that power down to 14ish or 13ish depending on what mode the charger is in, bulk or float etc. The MPPT controller uses a DC to DC converter so you will get around the same power going into the battery as the panel is making 17.5V X 2A = 35W so 35W / 13.5V = 2.6A into the battery if you have a basic controller you would only get the 2A going into the battery. (this is over simplified and there are losses in the conversion but I just use it to show you will get more power using an MPPT then a simple on/off controller)
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Old 09-16-2015, 08:26 PM   #19
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Thanks for the visual. There does not appear to be any plug similar to that anywhere near the front of our 2318G. All is not lost, we'll just have to do the solar panel the old fashioned way, alligator clips directly to the battery.

Metadifluoro

So, after a bit of exploring and a call to the Flagstaff/Rockwood folks it appears that our 2015 Rockwood 2318G was manufactured too early in the 2015 model year to have the Zamp solar panel prep installed. For those who are interested, the prep only includes Zamp's rather useful plug and a couple of wires.


Zamp Roof/Sidewall Solar Plug, which is available for $7.59 from SolarDealz.com and other vendors. If we end up purchasing one of the Zamp portable systems (80 Watts is the current plan), then I might just wire the plug through the battery box and use it that way.

Thanks for all of the great help and useful links.

Metadifluoro



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Old 09-16-2015, 08:48 PM   #20
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Now that we have figured out the mysterious plug situation it is time to ask the more serious question, what types (brands), panel sizes, and controllers are people with popups using? After doing some calculations on usage, it looks as though we use somewhere between 25 and 30 amp hours per day. A couple of systems we are considering are the Zamp portable 80 watt system (120 maybe), the GoPower portable 80 watt system, and a portable system from BHA Solar that is 120 watts and comes with an inverter. All three come with PWM charge controllers and most everything needed to install or get set up quickly. Any input (pun intended) would be more than welcome.

Thanks,

Metadifluoro


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