Rear electrical plug

[RKL]

After camping all spring and early summer in my 2016 raven, I have got tired of running my generator to charge my batteries. I have decided to go solar. I will install a 100 watt portable panel. Can someone tell what is that electrical plug in the left rear for.

 

[longhorn1]

Should be the solar plug. I believe all you need to do is purchase a portable panel that has a controller on the back. Not sure what you mean by "install a portable panel". You have to make sure the panel cable plug matches the camper. FWC should have included the matching plug and wire that you would use to replace the one on the portable panel if it is different. That plug and wire were in our camper when we picked it up at the dealer.

If you were installing, I would take that to mean installing a fixed panel on the roof. If so you will need a solar controller wired to the battery.

Good luck. jd

 

[RKL]

Thank you for replying. I was hoping that plug was for a solar panel. I am not installing the panel on my roof. I am in the south east and disperse camp in National Forests. I am usually under trees. What I meant by installing is the wiring and a controller. I will move the panel around and try to follow the sun.

Thanks again

 

[VanGoOutdoors]

sae plug is the term you are looking for
http://amzn.to/2uu3r6Q

 

[longhorn1]

Get the panel with the attached controller, that way you don't have to do any interior wiring. I have 100W on the roof (2014, a year before FWC started selling the 160W panel). I have an 80W portable. Since the plug was wired to the controller inside I didn't need a controller with the portable. Check with FWC to see if the plug is wired to the battery or whether you have hunt for the wire and hook it up to the battery. jd

 

[Sharx]

I have the 160w my Fleet that it came with when I bought it. I want a second panel. I think you should think strongly about more wattage since the prices are not very high from smaller to larger. You may later wish you did. FYI, there is a great thread on this site that shows how a guy put a lightweight flexible panel on top of his popper. With the added weight of the standard roof mounted types you are gonna have more weight to push up and/or a need for new struts. i like the idea of a portable, but I have had many things stolen from me and that is practically the only problem with them. When they are up on top, nobody even knows they are there. On my Fleet, the driver's side, on the back and lower left, black plastic oval shaped plug with cap is for a portable solar panel, pre-wired in.

 

[nikonron]

Just because the plug is there doesn't mean it is wired in. If you look by your fuse panel you may see the wires there but not terminated. That's how they were in my Eagle shell. If there is no solar controller they are more than likely not terminated. Ron

 

[VanGoOutdoors]

Just because the plug is there doesn't mean it is wired in. If you look by your fuse panel you may see the wires there but not terminated. That's how they were in my Eagle shell. If there is no solar controller they are more than likely not terminated. Ron

Mine too
the little square panel under the sink had the wires from the panels, and the wire to teh battery, and the battery terminals were coiled up in the battery compartment. about 30 minutes, and i had it good to go

 

[RC Pilot Jim]

The wires are not terminated if you do not have an internal solar controller. They are coiled up near the batteries. I advise an inside solar controller as you may decide in the future to add a roof top panel as the compressor fridges will drain your battery when your sightseeing or hiking.

We carry a small 60 watt portable when camping in trees to augment the roof unit. You can buy flexible 100 watt panels that only weigh 4 pounds and can be carried under the mattress.

The portable panels with built in controllers are heavy (25 pounds or more) and bulky to store and expensive - around $200 or more.

 

[Timothy McGowen]

Which flexible panels are people recommending now? I know a couple of years ago they were still having quality control issues with some manufactures.

 

[todgru]

I ended up getting this panel and I love it. https://www.solarblvd.com/products/solar-cynergy-flexible-bendable-120-watt-12-volt-solar-panel/ Total $160 shipped.

It only weighs about a pound. I built a platform for it, taking inspiration from @Alvis: http://www.wanderthewest.com/forum/topic/14469-flexible-solar-on-polycarbonate-sheet/?hl=flexible

Flexible solar panel, VHB tape and the poly carbonate sheet are a great combination. You could have it portable, without the aluminum frame, and all together weighing less than two pounds.

As far as quality, we just spent several weekends in north central Oregon, 90 - 100 degree temps outside, bumpy gravel roads, highways at speed, etc. Everything held up amazingly well! Practically unnoticeable when lifting the camper roof.

I might build another for portable and use the rear plug. Though, I'm not sure if I should wire the rear plug in serial or parallel.

TodGru.

 

[EnviroProf]

I ended up getting this panel and I love it. https://www.solarblvd.com/products/solar-cynergy-flexible-bendable-120-watt-12-volt-solar-panel/ Total $160 shipped.

It only weighs about a pound. I built a platform for it, taking inspiration from @Alvis: http://www.wanderthewest.com/forum/topic/14469-flexible-solar-on-polycarbonate-sheet/?hl=flexible

Flexible solar panel, VHB tape and the poly carbonate sheet are a great combination. You could have it portable, without the aluminum frame, and all together weighing less than two pounds.

As far as quality, we just spent several weekends in north central Oregon, 90 - 100 degree temps outside, bumpy gravel roads, highways at speed, etc. Everything held up amazingly well! Practically unnoticeable when lifting the camper roof.

I might build another for portable and use the rear plug. Though, I'm not sure if I should wire the rear plug in serial or parallel.

TodGru.

I like this idea and have a couple of questions.

TodGru, was Solar Blvd. good to deal with? Their website is hard to use and confusing when it comes to their panel dimensions and weights. I sent an email about a week ago with a question and never got a response. I do see that they are sold out of the 120 w panel that you purchased.

I'd like to mount the largest flexible panel I can on the roof. Has anyone found a flexible panel larger than 120 w?

Also, can anyone confirm that the FWC campers are shipped with two SAE plugs with pigtails that fit the roof and rear solar receptacles for those of us that want to add a non-Zamp panel?

My FWC is currently being built and I will be traveling pretty far to pick it up with all the solar gear I need to install on the road. Trying to figure out all of the parts I will need ahead of time and don't want to buy parts that I won't need.

 

[Vic Harder]

the flex panels are designed for boating use, and tend to be limited to a nominal 12v and 120W. If you want more watts on the roof you have to go hard & heavy or use multiple smaller panels.