DIY Wiring Solar on New FWC Fleet Shell.

[WestCoast]

Hey everyone! I have been sitting back and reading this website (and others) the last 4 months while I wait for my Fleet shell to be finished. I finally pick it up tomorrow!!!! Many thanks to this site and to everyone who contributes for all the invaluable info!

I ordered a Fleet shell with a furnace and purchased an ARB cooler. I am going to install 160W panel on the roof and I paid for the option of aux wiring from the factory. I have 2 6v batteries with around 225 AH of storage that I will wire in series . I will use a trimetric 2030 meter and an SC 2030 charger. I want to have as robust a system as possible as I intend on using this setup the most in the winter as a backcountry ski base. Long nights and short/cloudy days in the PNW with a ton of snow (hopefully ).

My questions to the group are:
Who here has wired a shell in this manner and what advice do you have?
Is it better to crimp or solder these wiring connections?
Are there any references I should seek out to help? (I have read the handy bob blog thoroughly)

I hope to post a build thread after I install this as a reference to others who are trying to save a buck or two and have a better system than the overpriced (and under performing) option the factory offers.

Again, thank you for all the insight so far! I hope to be able to contribute now that I actually have a camper!

 

[Trailbob]

I've read the Handy Bob thread a few times myself, and learned quite a bit from them. For wire connections, the standard in the marine industry is to crimp the connections with a proper crimper. I did quite a bit of research on this, and ended up buying a ratcheting crimper and several crimp dies for different connectors. Mine is made by Proskit. I made the change after finding several loose connections on a boat I wired 10 years ago, with an inexpensive crimper.

Here is a link that talks about different crimpers: http://www.sailnet.com/forums/electrical-systems/71372-crimp-tool-use-single-double.html

One of the posters, Main Sail, put out a video where he tested the crimps from various crimping tools. He also had other informative posts on crimping tools.

I also started using marine grade connectors and adhesive heat shrink tubing. There are some good sources for 3M adhesive heat shrink tubing on e-bay.

I installed the Trimetric 2030RV and 2030SC, and have a 160W panel on the roof. So far, I have been very pleased with the set up. One other thing I did was wire an external Anderson SB50 connector to the solar controller. That way I can plug in a portable solar panel if I'm in the shade and have it feed through the 2030SC. I haven't used it on a trip yet, but think it will come in handy.

Good luck with your project!

 

[WestCoast]

Do I need another controller if I were to use a portable panel and plug it into the rear solar outlet? Can this outlet be linked through one controller to the house batteries?


Sent from my iPhone using Wander The West

 

[Trailbob]

You do not need another controller if you connect the portable panel to the camper's 2030SC. I connected the roof and portable connections together in parallel, just before they connected to the camper's controller. My roof panel is a 160w Zamp, and portable is a 90w from Overlands Solar. The voltage rating is very close between the two panels. With the Overlands portable panel, they will wire it up so you can bypass the portable panel's controller, and run directly from the portable panel to the camper's controller. I think you can also purchase portable panels from Zamp or Renogy that do not have a controller. I bought the Overlands because of the way it folded up (into thirds) for storage. I'm happy with the portable panel, but would not buy their extension cable again since it uses CCA (copper clad aluminum) speaker wire, not copper wire. I made my own 30' extension out of 8 ga marine duplex I bought off of e-bay.

I re-read your post and it sound like you may do some winter camping in the PNW. Here near Boise last winter, I was less than impressed at the output from my roof mounted solar due to the low sun angle and short days. The option of also using a portable panel might help a lot on those days.