Covering with solar panel

[MJMITCHELL]

We have a Flagstaff Microlite 21DS. Considering covering for winter (parked in driveway in TX). We have a solar panel on top. Not sure what covering the panel will do other than not charge the batteries. We plan to keep the RV plugged in to shore and leave the batteries installed. Inverter switch is on which is what the dealer told us to do (just leave it on all the time) What else do we need to consider or do? Appreciate input from those with more experience!

[Thomas ho]

i live in texas, i charge battery to full capacity. take off positive cable ,and call it good. give it a charge in a month or so , and leave battery cable off. 20 years this way never has failed . you dont need to charge battery all winter. i live in cold Amarillo, snowed a little yesterday . un plug solar panel cables till spring.

[RV_Lee]

Originally Posted by Thomas ho

i live in texas, i charge battery to full capacity. take off positive cable ,and call it good. give it a charge in a month or so , and leave battery cable off. 20 years this way never has failed . you dont need to charge battery all winter. i live in cold Amarillo, snowed a little yesterday . un plug solar panel cables till spring.

This ^


I have a car in storage, it lasts a year just fine with just the positive cable removed. I hook it back up and start it up.

[PhilFromMaine]

Originally Posted by MJMITCHELL

We have a Flagstaff Microlite 21DS. Considering covering for winter (parked in driveway in TX). We have a solar panel on top. Not sure what covering the panel will do other than not charge the batteries. We plan to keep the RV plugged in to shore and leave the batteries installed. Inverter switch is on which is what the dealer told us to do (just leave it on all the time) What else do we need to consider or do? Appreciate input from those with more experience!

As I see it, the reason to cover an RV is to protect it from snow-ice and the suns UV rays. I assume you only have one of those to worry about in that you live in TX.

My biggest issue with covers is that they only, in my experience, last a couple of years before they start ripping. The sharp corners of a solar panel IMO would only hasten the ripping process.

Did the dealer explain why he said to leave the inverter on?

[tomkatb]

Inverters on standby consume 1-2 dc amps per hour. I would not leave it on.

Wet cell batteries when fully charged can last 6 months without issue not charging. In Ohio ours do every year.

I think a running inverter would be too much for a trickle charger.

[Rhumblefish]

I'd be reluctant to run an inverter all the time, too. Inverting 220 from 12v is so inefficient, I'd want to know - and be cognizant - when I was doing it. Boating side of life, I connect the inverter to the 12v system when I want to run 220 from the house mains. Otherwise, I have almost everything I need from the 12v side of live (including 12v fridge). Storing, unhook everything. LiFePo doesn't want to be charged below freezing anyway, so I cut my solar panels with a disconnect switch to isolate them. the LifePo's just sit, happily, fully charged through winter, and I have minimal losses.

[Rolland]

I keep ours plugged in since its stored at the house. Last winter put pool noodles around the metal frame of the solar panel, then a towel on top of it, then the cover. No issues with cover wearing in the area of the panel or with the batteries since it was kept plugged in. I don't have an inverter so no answer for that.