Intro and Solar Install Help

[SkiBum]

First off, I'm almost embarrassed to admit but I've been reading this forum for a few years now and finally pulled the trigger on a new Hawk. This site has been invaluable throughout the journey so thanks for that.

My wife, daughter, dog and myself will be making the trip to Bozeman next week for the install and then continuing on for a two month road trip around the west coast. The camper is a Hawk with the front dinette and pretty well outfitted. The rig is a 2005 Tundra Double Cab.

We didn't order the solar setup from the dealer and opted to design our own. We did get the two 6 volt batteries and Yakima tracks so that's what we're starting with. My countless hours of research have me choosing a Victron MPPT 100/30 controller, Victron BMV-712 Battery Monitor, with three Solar Cynergy 120 Watt Flexible Panels. Two panels will be mounted on the roof and the third will be used as a portable from the rear. From what I understand all three panels should be mounted in parallel.

I'm looking to see if there is anyone here from the Montana, Wyoming, Utah or Colorado area that could recommend a shop or someone who could help install the controller, battery monitor and rear portable solar panel. I know my limits and this is not in my wheelhouse, especially while being on the road. I'm planning on bringing the Victron equipment and panel, just need help installing it somewhere at the start of our trip.

I'll worry about installing the other two panels on the roof once we're back from this trip because they'll take some more planning. I'm trying to figure out a way to mount the flexible panels lengthwise front to back on one side of the two roof vents and leave the other side of the roof vents open to carry a paddle board. The idea here is to not have the solar panels covered by the paddle board while travelling.

I'm more concerned about simply getting the Victron equipment installed at this point with the rear panel active for this first trip. Any ideas or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Looking forward to contributing to this forum going forward.

 

[Wandering Sagebrush]

Hi Skibum, congrats on the new camper, and welcome to the group. I’m sure you’ll hear from someone who can help with your solar.

 

[ski3pin]

Hi Skibum, congrats on the new camper, and welcome to the group. I’m sure you’ll hear from someone who can help with your solar.

x2!

And, a two month road trip? Good for you and travel safe.

 

[Stan@FourWheel]

Maybe try these guys?

http://www.JuniperOverland.com


.

 

[paddlesurf.net]

Congratulations on your new camper. I just got mine in April and I really love the thing. I set up my two solar panels with the same idea that you have about wanting to carry boards on the racks but not shade the panels. I was able to mount two 100watt Renogy panels so that the vent side of the camper (drivers side) is pretty much open for carrying boards.

The way I did it was to buy angle iron (except it's not iron it's aluminum) from Home Depot that spans the roof from yakima track to yakima track. I screwed the panels onto the angle iron side by side. If the front of the truck is North and the back is South, the panels are side by side East to West.

This arrangement leaves enough rack for me to carry surfboards over the vent side and they don't shade the panels.

It was fairly easy to mount the panels but I did have the luxury of a shaded carport, cold beer, power tools, and my shop and all of its resources.

I know you don't want to handle the solar - I was the same way with very little knowledge about 12v stuff, especially solar panels, controllers etc. etc.

After studying this stuff for awhile, I was convinced I could pull it off. Just in case you'd like a little more info on how I did it, I'll explain it briefly below.

The on the roof wiring to run the panels in parallel was easier to do than I expected. I just looked up the Renogy diagrams that showed the parts needed (Y joints etc) to run the panels to the roof plug and bought the parts. Four Wheel Camper provides two L shaped plugs that you can wire connect to your solar panel wiring to the Four Wheel factory provided wiring.

One thing to watch out for: If you wire up your panels to your controller and you see there's no voltage, reverse the wires at the controller. Because the factory uses Zamp plugs and panels, the wiring can be reversed in polarity to your controller. Wiring it backwards won't cause any damage (I have a similar Victron controller) you just reverse the wires and you should see current running into the controller.

Good choice on parallel. By using this set up you can automatically use the rear plug because it's wired in parallel to the rooftop panels too. I agonized about parallel or series because I wanted to take advantage of all that mppt offers with higher voltage. I finally went with the parallel set up because I wanted the clean plug and play of the rear plug (which is set up in parallel with the roof array).

Here's some numbers for you since you mentioned the type and watts of panels you are using. Take these numbers with a grain of salt because you live at a higher latitude than me (I'm in south San Diego) and our electrical needs are different.

I have 2, 100watt panels and two 75aH factory provided batteries. I have the Victron BVM and the Victron MPPT 100/20 controller. I have 2 refrigerators that I run at low enough settings to make my beer kind of sting when I drink it. One refer is an ARB 50 quart that's mounted outside of the camper, the other is the largest factory Isotherm that is provided.

I've been running both refrigerators for almost two months now continuously - including a two week trip in Baja that I just got back from. I've also used the indoor LED lights as much as I want and the fans periodically throughout the day.

The system has been kind of amazing - I have never drawn it down below 80% (wait 'til you start playing with the Victron BVM you'll love it) and I'm usually back to 100% before 11am. It's been a mind blower.

On Friday, I'm leaving for two and half weeks in Montana - I'll be at Earthquake Lake campground through the 4th of July and then bopping around until we leave on a six day rafting trip out of Missoula. If you are in the area - please pm me and I'd be happy to show you my system.

Good luck and there is a bit involved with setting up the shunt for the BVM with fuses etc. so not a bad idea to get a 12v pro to do it for you.

I have a flatbed Hawk on an F350 Reg. Cab 4x4 license plate says EL Mucho see you on the road.

 

[Karlton]

I installed the solar set-up on my Hawk, and after lots of reading was able to complete at home. I could not imagine doing on the road without prior experience. Totally understand your position.

I had called my local RV spot here in little Moscow, ID and they said they've done lots of solar installs. Doing a quick search, Big Sky RV in Bozeman is really well reviewed and has a service center. Perhaps checking with them for the install?

I'd make certain that when you pick up the Hawk, make sure you know where the solar wires are located. They were behind a panel below the sink on my Hawk. And know where you want the MPPT and BVM installed. I installed the MPPT in the battery compartment and the BVM to the left of the battery compartment. Also, given you are getting flexible panels, know what type of frame you want to build for the panels. I have a rigid panel, but I think the general consensus is to NOT mount them directly to the roof as some space is needed between the panel and roof.

 

[SkiBum]

Thanks for the warm welcome and suggestions on places to look for help with this project. I'll poke around online and make some inquiries.

If we were coming straight home after the install there is no doubt that I would do the required learning and attempt the solar install myself. The main reason being that I want to know the camper and all of it's systems inside and out (just like the truck). We have plans on going to some remote areas along with a trip down the Panam hwy within the next few years so I consider this essential. I want the install done right though and to be as well thought out and bulletproof as possible. I don't think I can achieve that myself on the road without all my tools, supplies and time. I will do the rooftop solar install once back home and look forward to it.

@paddlesurf, really appreciate you taking the time to write that response. What you've done with the rooftop solar sounds very interesting and exactly what I'm looking to achieve. I'll come back to this when I tackle that project in a few months and will probably have a few questions for you.

You've actually got me thinking that I could potentially pull off installing the charge controller and the rear panel myself on the road. The battery monitor is by far the more daunting task and that could always wait until I'm home and have more time to learn and plan.

I'm also really encouraged to see the results you've had with your setup, it reinforces that I'm on the right path with my planned setup and where I'll be spending most of my time.

I'll keep my eyes peeled for El Mucho and let you know if things line up for a cold one and camper talk.

@Karlton, great suggestions, I'll make a point of ensuring I know exactly where the solar wires are located during the install. In regards to the flexible panels, I've come to the same conclusion in that most of the problems seem to have been caused from overheating when they are attached directly to the roof. When I design the roof solar it will definitely be an elevated setup to ensure good airflow.

 

[longhorn1]

Congrats. Happy camping, jd

Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Wander The West mobile app

 

[CougarCouple]

Hi skibum
Congrats on the new popup and family shake down run. Have you asked the vendor in Bozeman if he could help or recommend someone in the area.
Russ

 

[Riggs]

If you're getting your camper in Bozeman, I'll bet Steve (owner, real nice guy) there would install it. When I got my camper there he said he'd done a lot of them. Advantage of having him do it is he'd know the FWC wiring. I don't know if he's familiar with the Victron stuff, and of course he's not a solar specialist or anything. But I imagine he could get it done as long as you told him ahead of time so he saved some time for it.

 

[SkiBum]

I haven't spoke with the dealer in Bozeman yet but I will. I just made the assumption that they wouldn't install non-FWC options but I guess that's not the case. If they can't or won't I imagine they would know someone in the area who can as well as anyone. Appreciate the response!

 

[Riggs]

You're welcome. I'm not sure where you're coming from, but the "dealership" in Bozeman isn't what most would think of when they picture that. It's not much of a "they," really just Steve, in his shop out in the country. Not actually in the town of Bozeman. But he's been doing it a while, even though not in Montana that long. He builds living quarters in the front of horse trailers also, does really nice work. So he has some skills for sure. He also drives back and forth to California to get the campers. Does it all.

The savings from no sales tax here in Montana can be pretty substantial, as you might have figured out!