We have finally gotten our solar to the point where it can be used to boondock with little to no thinking of power usage. Here is the story of how we got to where we are. Hang in there, what you need to know is YOU CAN DO IT! And also, you can do it SLOWLY and one piece at a time.
Here is how we did it.
Way back in the previous RV, we started in a 36′ Sprinter from Keystone. The 12v energy system was a wet cell 100 ah deep cycle battery. Only the converter. No solar, no inverter, no useable energy storage. What no one will tell you is, a deep cell non-lithium ion battery is only usable to about 50% of the label.
With only one battery, we could barely stay over night at a Cracker Barrel and still put our slides in. To make this RV more useful we had to add to it. The easiest and cheapest route we found was a couple deep cycle batteries from Wal–the big blue store. <link below> This was inexpensive, and I think we added two, so we tripled our available power.
That was great, but how do I make coffee? Yes, the next problem was mine and mine alone. I started shopping inverters. We had electronics that were in use, so we needed a pure-sine inverter. Of course, the bigger the better, but in reality, the battery bank could not handle the 3500W inverter I bought. <link below>. Wiring it into the trailer took some imagination and electrical knowhow. I may add some of that story later. This was as far as we went in the 12v electrical in the Sprinter.
2023 Tampa Super Show–we find a new layout we like, in a weight we can pull, with amenities we needed (auto leveling, 12v fridge, non-cable slides). Included in the standard rig was the Solar Flex 200 system. This was a 200w panel, and a charge controller. Knowing what we know, that was not enough to help much while out boondocking, so we discussed a 400w system with our sales person. They came through.
When we took delivery, we had 400w of panels, a smart shunt, a 100-30 Victron controller, and 2 dragonfly 100ah batteries. This battery setup was more portable electricity than we had ever had. Before heading off to a location, we did a local shakedown of the rig, and then tested how long we could run on the batteries and the panels. With the 12v refrigerator, lights, and a few other things using 12v we drained 55% of the battery bank over night. We only charged 35%. This left a deficit of about 20% of our batteries. So…let it run until we couldnt…3 nights and batteries were pretty much dead. We can now boondock a couple of nights. Hit a Crackerbarrel or Walmart over night. No longer required the generator to recharge batteries in the morning.
Knowing there are still enormous limitations to the system, we carried the generator. I think we needed it once to charge because of running heaters overnight.
I started shopping to expand our solar system. With a bit of imagination, a lot of math, and some shopping, I decided on 2-200w high voltage Rich Solar panels. <link below> The voltage and current ratings were similar to our current panels. We needed a new charge controller, so that was an up grade. Add in a couple of fuses and different wire, and we are now at 800w of solar, with a max charging of about 50 amps. That kind of numbers are hard to get considering they are flat mounted on the roof.
Same test as before. Shut off any other charging system, and live life. We left the 120 v system in place, but let the 12v take care of itself. We are still using the same ~55% of our battery bank over night, but now we are seeing a recharge by 2 pm. Production of over 2.5kWh from the system. This means that we will be able to stay away from hookups for extended amounts of time as long as we are not under shade, or have inclement weather. For those situations we still can break out the generator.
Now with more capability our limitations are going to be disposal of water.
Hope to see you on the road!
Walmart battery similar to what we used when starting: Deep Cycle Battery
Vivor 3500W pure sine inverter: Inverter
Rich Solar panels: Panels we used
A special thank-you to the experts at Great Outdoors Solar (greatoutdoorssolar.com)for help choosing the purchasing the proper equipment to get to our goals!
I hope this inspires you to take a step in the direction of Electrical Independence. I believe it is worth the upfront cost to be more self sufficient.
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