Solar Panels

[Troy and Tiffany Lano Participant Everywhere Cheers: 116]

Hello

My husband and I will be getting out to Joshua Tree next week and we will be there for quite some time. We almost bought a solar panel tonight just to help keep our house battery charged, however it was made by coleman and we didn’t read great reviews. We don’t have a ton of money to spend on a complete solar panel set-up. Any recommendations? And we where could purchase one…(Amazon, camping world, RV centers?)

Thanks,
Tiffany Lano

[Ray Keymaster Vancouver Island Cheers: 7 501]

Joshua Tree rocks! haha 

I got an inexpensive 200 watt kit for Christmas. If we don’t run Anne”s big Imac or the 32 inch TV, we can get by without using the generator when it is a sunny. It will keep our laptops and other devices charged and our LED lights at night. We have two six volt golf cart batteries for power storage.

I ordered the kit off Amazon, total was around 400 dollars. Has been a nice addition to the rig and I plan to add a couple more panels and batteries down the road.

http://www.loveyourrv.com/installing-renogy-200w-solar-kit-rv/

RVHH Chief Cook and Bottle Washer - LoveYourRV.com

[Troy and Tiffany Lano Participant Everywhere Cheers: 116]

Thanks Ray! Yes, we absolutely love Joshua Tree! I will look into those!

[Richard Muller Participant Tucson, AZ Cheers: 51]

I’ve had real good experience with solar equipment from Renogy, bought through Amazon.  It comes in a sturdy case, and can be set up in just a few minutes.  It provides 100W of power, which keeps my batteries (2X12V, total of 170 amp-hours) happy during the day and gives me enough headroom for LED lighting in the rig at night, along with laptop use and recharging batteries on all my iDevices.

A few hours of direct sunlight seems to do the trick; I like the fact that I can set it up and aim it at the sun.  It’s clunky, but not a problem to move from rig to ground.

This is not a complete solar solution, but it’s a great way to get your feet wet in a well-built unit.   Renogy customer service has been great via email when I had questions.

 

Rich

 

Rich in Tucson. Or wherever ...

[Troy and Tiffany Lano Participant Everywhere Cheers: 116]

Thanks Rich! Does sound like a great idea to get our feet wet. I will be looking into this option as well! I think just having enough to charge our computers and have some light at night works great for us.

[Richard Muller Participant Tucson, AZ Cheers: 51]

 

You’ll pay a bit for having all the pieces in one “kit” — panels, controller, cables, case.   But if you’re a newbie, as I am (was?) it’s comforting to know that it’s all here and is truly plug-and-play.  You’ll need access to your coach battery bank every time you connect/disconnect it.  That’s one consideration.  Another is that the cable is rather short.   There have been times when the I’ve had to get creative about getting the panels into the sun.  I’m considering putting a longer cable on the panel, just to make it perfect.

 

Rich in Tucson. Or wherever ...

[LolaandRush Participant Rocky Mount,N.C. Cheers: 511]

I thank you for the comments and experience too.

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