Hi all. I've never been much of a poster on forums unless I can help answer a specific question for somebody. Over the years I have gained so much valuable information here and other forums. This is my attempt to give back a little and possibly help others who, like me, are wanting a little more out of their solar system.
I think I have read most of the solar build threads here by countless posters and I poured over Handy Bob's pages before coming up with my plan. The thing that finally pushed me into action is, the factory 100W Zamp panel was no longer functioning at 100%, leaving me with even less solar power for an already marginal output to run a compressor fridge.
My Zamp panel has what looks like burn lines across many of the solar cells. On my last trip in the best conditions, I was getting just 4 - 4.5 amps from solar, down from 5 - 5.5 in the past. This, combined with the undersized factory wiring between truck and battery separator, almost left me with cold food and beer problems. I had to manually bypass the separator during the trip to allow the truck to charge the camper batteries just enough to keep me going for the week.
Camper - 2014 Hawk front dinette with factory 100W solar, 2 batteries, 80L compressor fridge
Added - additional Renogy 100W panel, Trimetric SC 2030/TM 2030RV combo.
I kept the Zamp panel for now, but I may upgrade in the future if I find I need more juice, or if the panel continues to output less and less.
First, I removed the factory panel to access the wiring.
Cleaned and prepped
This is what you're left with after removal of the factory solar connector in case you are curious, I was. I did have to enlarge the hole just a little with a unibit to fit the pass through connector.
Installed the same McMaster Carr 90 degree elbow and epdm washer that deethe did. I probably went overboard with my usage of sealant here and elsewhere, but this area is not visible and I really wanted to ensure no leaks.
Mounted new 100W Renogy panel to the Yakima tracks using aluminum z bar
A couple of makeshift spacers to fix the sag in the z bar. I attached these with sealant to the roof, and JB Weld to the aluminum so I didn't have to put a new hole in the roof. If I later find that this is not solid enough, I will screw down through some c channel brackets or other method.
New wire through the roof to MC4 connectors and Ys. I used 8awg here because I had this great plan to replace all of the 12awg for the entire run to provide for future expansion if needed. This proved to be too difficult for me, so you will see later that I did what kmacafee did, and only replaced the easier section from the front lift panel to the controller.
Preparing to re install Zamp panel.
Roof install complete
I think I have read most of the solar build threads here by countless posters and I poured over Handy Bob's pages before coming up with my plan. The thing that finally pushed me into action is, the factory 100W Zamp panel was no longer functioning at 100%, leaving me with even less solar power for an already marginal output to run a compressor fridge.
My Zamp panel has what looks like burn lines across many of the solar cells. On my last trip in the best conditions, I was getting just 4 - 4.5 amps from solar, down from 5 - 5.5 in the past. This, combined with the undersized factory wiring between truck and battery separator, almost left me with cold food and beer problems. I had to manually bypass the separator during the trip to allow the truck to charge the camper batteries just enough to keep me going for the week.
Camper - 2014 Hawk front dinette with factory 100W solar, 2 batteries, 80L compressor fridge
Added - additional Renogy 100W panel, Trimetric SC 2030/TM 2030RV combo.
I kept the Zamp panel for now, but I may upgrade in the future if I find I need more juice, or if the panel continues to output less and less.
First, I removed the factory panel to access the wiring.
Cleaned and prepped
This is what you're left with after removal of the factory solar connector in case you are curious, I was. I did have to enlarge the hole just a little with a unibit to fit the pass through connector.
Installed the same McMaster Carr 90 degree elbow and epdm washer that deethe did. I probably went overboard with my usage of sealant here and elsewhere, but this area is not visible and I really wanted to ensure no leaks.
Mounted new 100W Renogy panel to the Yakima tracks using aluminum z bar
A couple of makeshift spacers to fix the sag in the z bar. I attached these with sealant to the roof, and JB Weld to the aluminum so I didn't have to put a new hole in the roof. If I later find that this is not solid enough, I will screw down through some c channel brackets or other method.
New wire through the roof to MC4 connectors and Ys. I used 8awg here because I had this great plan to replace all of the 12awg for the entire run to provide for future expansion if needed. This proved to be too difficult for me, so you will see later that I did what kmacafee did, and only replaced the easier section from the front lift panel to the controller.
Preparing to re install Zamp panel.
Roof install complete
