Solar Panel Wiring Route

[DWUTAH]

Hi folks:
I'm brand new to the site and just purchased a 2002 Grandby. Needless to say, I'm excited about modifying it to my own likings.
That being said, I'd like to ask for some wiring suggestions for solar panels.
I want to mount them on top by the cab so the distance to the battery will be shorter.
Has anyone ran the wiring down thru the roof and if so, where did you drill the hole to run the wire? After entering the camper where did you run the wires to not be too ugly and in the way of getting yanked out?
Any and all advise will be greatly appreciated.
Pictures would be GREAT!!!
Thanks in advance
Dave in Idaho

 

[OutbacKamper]

Hi DWUTAH;
You are probably smart to mount the solar panel towards the front of the camper to reduce the amount of wiring to the battery. However I chose to mount mine at the back of the roof because, with the 4' extended bed, raising the front roof was already quite difficult on my 2004 Hawk, so I did not want to add more weight to the front. It is also much easier to reach the solar panel from the outside, at the rear, to clean it - something you have to do quite often.
The wiring was completely concealed by taping it to the back of the folding roof lift mechanism. This is the same method used to run the fan and light wiring to the roof by the factory.
One word of advice: these panels rarely output as much amperage as their ratings would suggest, so get the highest rated panel you can afford. My 75watt rarely put out more than 4 amps (4x12=48watts), next time I will have a 130watt panel at least.

Good luck and post some pics when you have your panel installed.

Cheers
Mark

 

[DWUTAH]

Mayor of Solar City

Mark:
Thanks for the reply! Sounds like you want to be Mayor of Solar City with the jumbo 130 watt, big daddy, sun collector...ha.
I appreciate your input on the rear vs. the front, I never considered the additional weight in raising the bed portion of the roof.
Wire is cheap and I will certainly look into hiding the wires behind the folding roof lift mechanism.
Anybody else have any pictures of their install job?
I'd be most appreciative of seeing what others have done.
By the way, I only ordered two 15 watt panels to start with... they are supposed to be easy to add on to in the future, so I'll keep you posted.
Thanks again!
Dave

 

[OutbacKamper]

Sorry I don't have any photos of the wiring to share, but here is a roof top view of my previous camper. You can clearly see the size and location of the solar panel. Hopefully some other members will chime in and offer you some help.

Cheers
Mark

 

[DWUTAH]

Solar Panel Picture

Mark:
Thanks for sharing your picture of the panel on the back of the camper. I think you have the right idea.
I'm still interested in anyone who has any suggestions with what to do with the wires after they enter the camper.
Wiring routes, and pictures of the installation are welcomed. My panels should be here in 1-2 days!!
Thanks again!
Dave

 

[Stan@FourWheel]

there are many different ways to run the solar panel wiring.

But the quickest & simplest I have seen was external.

The customer installed the solar panel on the roof and ran his heavy duty wiring accross the roof and down the outside of the camper up by the truck cab -- ran the excess wiring down into the truck bed -- and pulled the wiring in the front access port hole used for the turn buckles -- then attached the wires to a controller under the couch -- and over to his aux. camper bettry under the couch.

On the external wires he used a small "O" ring attachment on the side of the camper to use as a guide to allow the wires to move freely, but at the same time not flop around.

When he pushed the roof up, the extra slack down in the truck bed would slide right up through the small guide on on the side of the camper.

It looked nice, worked well, and he didn't have to drill holes in the camper roof or try and fish wires through the roof or walls.

Hope this helps in your project.


.

 

[davinski]

Hey guys...
I thought I read somewhere that some campers are already wired for solar....I checked my 2001 and I don't find any extra wires in front of the forward roof hinge.

Anyone know how they wire the factory solar panels? I am intersted in how it exits the roof and how it is sealed there.....

dave

 

[DWUTAH]

Stan:
Thanks for the input, I kinda like that way of doing it. I keeps the wiring very straight forward and no holes! There shouldn't be any problem in keeping it hooked up all the time that way either.
I can see where you would have to make sure that the excess wiring was not pinched between the camper and the truck bed when putting the camper on, but other than that, it should be easy enough to accomplish.
Thanks!!!
Dave

 

[benburnett]

solar prewire

The campers were never prewired for solar unless a customer requested it. FWC may have started to prewire after 01 but I know that in 01 and before they were not. If there is a solar wire in the camper it would come out the roof on top in the front and be siliconed for a seal.

 

[cabezon23]

What solar panels do FWC and ATC use

Does anybody know what solar panels ATC and FWC use?

What's the brand and model?

 

[benburnett]

solar panel

We use a panel made by JRV Products. They make a lot of the electrical components in the camper such as the 12 V outlets, switches and monitor panels. I think FWC did use them but I don't know if they still are or not. You will have to ask Stan on that one.

 

[Stan@FourWheel]

 

[davinski]

Very interesting details on the solar panels.

Does anyone know how the glass panels do on the campers? I was a little worried that glass panels might break easily if hit by rocks, tree branches, falling pine cones, etc.

JRV panels are not glass. neither are the Unisolars. Most, however, are glass. They, of course would be much heavier.

Just wondering before I research any further.

Dave

 

[Everett]

Solar Panel

I appreciate this thread because I'm considering a solar panel to charge the 12 volt Optima-Deep Cycle battery which is in the Hawk-Shell under the couch/bed. One thought I'm playing with is to make all the connections under the couch, not far from the battery, which will include a solar charge controller, and fuse -- the solar panel includes a built-in diode for avoiding charge-backs at night/bad weather. Then drill a hole on the back-side of the camper where I'll install electrical connecters. So when I want, I'll break out the panel, hook it up, and charge the battery ---this makes the panel a portable unit to be used only when stopper during camping time. So far it looks like it'll work. Will appreciate your thoughts.

 

[DWUTAH]

Panels are up

Everett:
That sounds like it would work just fine. I just did not want to have to store away the panel and risk breakage / damage to it by so much handling.
I got mine mounted yesterday and just went out to check their working ability.
THEY WORK!!!! After a full day in the sun, my battery is reading full. I ran the lights last night for about 2 hours just to pull a little off of the battery and now it is fully charged.
As I said earlier, I went with 2 /15 watt panels and a charge controller. They are putting out 24 watts right now and it is amost 5:00 p.m. here in Idaho, So, I'm very pleased.
Best of luck to you in your install.
Thanks to everyone who replied to this thread, I appreciate a place to bounce stuff like this off of the locals.
I'll post pics soon.
Dave in Idaho.

 

[Pete D]

Some folks on a small-trailer group were talking about their original intentions to carry the panel on top but set it up on the ground in the sun after parking in the shade.

Most found that even the shade power was enough to keep a typical battery charged, so they keep them mounted on top. I believe they were using 50-85Watt panels.

 

[lqhikers]

more solar panel imput

i have a siemens 75 watt glass panel 2ft by 4ft mounted on the top passenger side front corner as i sometimes have a kayak mounted on drivers side. wired with romex 12 gage mounted with clips along edge of roof to rear of camper where it enters through a elect weather proof cover mounted to camper with drilled hole through camper .i entered camper at the rear because on the inside corner i have a shelf that i have my 1000 watt invertor and solar charge control mounted this way i can also plug what ever into invertor.i did my wiring when my camper was off so i the ran added wiring to battery through the outside lower edge of camper back up to the front where 2nd battery and fuse block is located,nothing shows when camper is mounted,because of truck bed. sounds complicated but wasn't as i started with eagle shell so was all done before i finished inside. also a person should consider a couple of things before you use a free standing glass panel.WIND,we get a lot of it in baja and everywhere else and i hate to say it but with cost of panels i would keep it locked up if you were to use it free standing! drive slow and enjoy "its the journey"

 

[DWUTAH]

Pictures of install

Folks:
Here are some quick shots of the install. I tried to show how I used plastic cable clamps to secure the wires from the top, down the side of the camper and into the trunbuckle opening to access the under couch area where the battery is located.
Thanks again for all of the advise and support.
God Bless
Dave

 

[OutbacKamper]

DWUTAH;
You probably already thought of this but, just in case:
Be really careful on trails with tree or bush limbs projecting out close to the drivers side of your truck, it will be very easy to snag those solar wires and rip them out
Cheers
Mark

 

[DWUTAH]

Dukes of Hazard

Mark:
Yep, I've already thought about that, but with my "Dukes of Hazard" driving on 2 tires skills, I should be alright. Ha...

Thanks
God Bless
Dave