Solar panel help....

B

Brian

Senior Member
Joined
Feb 20, 2007
Messages
265
Any advice as to mounting my solar panel would be welcome. Currently I carry it inside the camper and put it out in the sun while I am (hopefully) parked in the shade. I have it wired through the controller to my house battery which is under the hood of the truck. I have it wired so that I can use my spare extension cord from wherever I put the panel over to the truck. Now, when I upgrade to a new camper or refurbish my old one, I may want to just go ahead and mount it on the roof to clear space on the inside of the camper. If I do...I need to know just how others have wired it since the roof raises and lowers....I don't want wires flopping around. Maybe I would still use the extension cord to plug it in?
Brian
 
I haven't done one but you could follow the factory ceiling wiring or use a coiled cable in a out of the way corner.
 
Hi b team....Yes that is what I thought as well....a coiled cable would be a nice touch. So far I have never even used the panel since we usually don't stay in a place longer than 4 or 5 days and the house deepcycle battery does well for that long.....we only use it for a couple of low draw lights. If we have a plug-in for power, I have set up a 1.5 amp charger under the hood to trickle charge the battery. We use a small elec. heater if it is cold and we have a plug-in and a Black Cat tent heater if no power. Any movies we watch on the laptop are saved for when we have power. I use a CPAP machine for sleeping and that works fine on 12v and doesn't seem to drain the battery excessively.
Brian
 
mounting panels

Hi Brian,

I recently bought a used Eagle that had an old, 10-watt panel mounted on the roof. I replaced it with a ginormous 80-watt monster. Mounting it was easy. I simply used the bolts that keep the roof metal in place to secure the panel mounts. As for the wiring, I hooked it up to the old panels cables. I was told that the campers are all wired for this set up, so you may have the wiring in place already. Contact FWD to confirm this and find out how you can run the wires out of the roof.

Note that lifting the roof is a bit difficult now. I can do it, but the little lady really has to strain. Lift from the knees...

I think I have some pics of the set up, let me know if you would like to see them.

Good luck, Andy
 
Yes Andy, I would like to see the photos. My panel is a smaller 50Watter and I will either remove the homemade roof rack I have or if I get a new camper I will not have a roof rack and save weight that-a-way. I only put the roof rack on for a place to hook my BlueTarp awning....I plan on an Official awning soon so that is not necessary any more.
Brian
 
solar panel storage

I'm in the process right now of building a low profile box just big enough for my 15 watt panel. I'll be mounting it under the overhang over the truck cab. I was gonna mount it on roof, but decided I's like the flexibility of moving it arouns.
2" "L" aluminum angle attached to 3/8 plywood painted white. I'll screw the horizontals of the aluminum up against the overhang and slide the panel in. New to this site, so don't know how to add photos yet. I'll post them when I can.
Good Luck
 
Does anyone know the guage of the wiring for the solar panels?

I have a 50 watt solar panel that I got with my camper, but I'm wanting to add another 100-150 watts, quite an increase in amps, and the last thing I want it to burn my camper to the ground.

Thanks in advance!
 
right, 17 amps would be about the max. Since the solar panels put out around 15 volts (the controller lowers the voltage to 12) it would be in the range of 13-14 amps, but I think that you have the right idea in going down the path of overkill.

Being that my camper is in storage and it is difficult to get to, any body know the size of the wires used for the solar panel wiring? If it's 14 or bigger, great, if not, then once I get the panels, it'll be a bit more work to install them.
 
solar panel

Andy.....I called FWC and they told me that the ceiling wiring for solar panels has only been installed for a couple of years....my FWC is probably 20 years old or more.

Hayduke....I have now decided to do as you are doing and install a panel "drawer" under the bed overhang and slide it in there....pull it out to use it. Say glad to know "Hayduke lives!!!"

Thanks guys,
Brian
 
solar panel storage

Hey Brian. Yes, Hayduke Lives...
Let me know how your shelf works. I'm going to figure out a way to shim the panel inside the box so it doesn't rattle for days on some of those backcountry roads. Something to think about anyways.
Good Luck
 
Solar panel....

I will let you know when I get mine done Hayduke. It will be a while as we are still trying to decide whether or not to just refurbish our old camper or buy a new shell....probably ATC to replace our FWC....and just when we will do whatever we decide.
Brian
 
solar....

Hey Hayduke....I forgot to say that I will probably follow your idea for building the box however I might line the bottom with indoor/outdoor carpet and leave enough room so that I could slide a piece of ensolite foam pad in on top of the panel. I buy army surplus sleeping pads when I see them cheap just for projects like this....B
 
solar panel

Good idea Brian. I won't have room in there for that kind of padding, as I built the box close to the depth of the panel, hence my idea to shim it. I'll be interested to hear how it turns out.
Good Luck
 
solar panel (box)

Brian, I put the box on. It works great. it's a tight fit as I predicted, but shimming the open side with a couple plastic shims did the trick. If I ever figure out how to post photos here, I'll get some out.
Hayduke
 
awnings...

Hayduke....good for you...looking forward to the photos. It seemed to work for me by just going down to "manage attachments" just below your reply box, clicking on that and follow along....if I can do it anyone can...I am not to fluent with this stuff. I have put the solar panel box a bit lower on my list since I want to ride more than camperoo and have to get the bikes done and on the road (esp. my wifes):rolleyes:
I will get the rear door awning done tho so as to get some pix on here for Dave.
Brian
 
awnings

Thanks Brian. I guess I missed the rear door awning thread. I'd really like something over the rear door. I'll look for the post when you do that. I assume you will be fabricating it? I've been looking on the net for small door awnings without success.
Take Care
Hayduke
 
rear awning....

Hayduke, Yes I made the awning and I had been attaching the top to a homemade roofrack. I have since learned that I could use an "awning track" and have removed the old roof rack. I just need to attach the awning track and it will be ready for pix.
Brian
 
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