Solar on the side question

[Shaun1]

Being a complete newbie to the solar arena, our new 25RB came with the solar package which consists of the 190 watt panel on the roof and the 30 amp controller inside. My question is does the solar on the side plug at the front of the frame go to the controller or is it wired directly to the battery for charging purposes only? Thanks for your help

[kirkelli]

Originally Posted by Shaun1

Being a complete newbie to the solar arena, our new 25RB came with the solar package which consists of the 190 watt panel on the roof and the 30 amp controller inside. My question is does the solar on the side plug at the front of the frame go to the controller or is it wired directly to the battery for charging purposes only? Thanks for your help

if it was wired at thee dealer or factory for solar, then your solar on the side will be tied directly into your 30 Amp charge controller. Your charge controller is good for 360 Watts so you have enough to add another 170 Watts of solar panel via you solar on the side

[nfisherman]

My trailer is pre-wired for solar, but it doesn’t have solar panels. I have the plug on the tongue. I was told that this plug can be used to connect a trickle charger to keep the battery charged while it’s in storage.

[kirkelli]

Originally Posted by nfisherman

My trailer is pre-wired for solar, but it doesn’t have solar panels. I have the plug on the tongue. I was told that this plug can be used to connect a trickle charger to keep the battery charged while it’s in storage.

If you don’t have solar installed, your prewired solar on the side will connect directly to the battery(s). and yes you can use that to trickle charge your battery provided you are using an AC powered charger. If you are using a solar trickle charger than you will need a solar charge controller which connects to your battery.

[ARoamer]

On my "Solar Ready" 5th wheel the "solar on the side" SAE plug is not connected to anything. I pulled the access panel off and there is 2' of wires just hanging off the back of the plug.
I'd guess mine is that way so a extra solar controller can be wired in. The roof panel controller is intended to be mounted inside so it's accessible and is closer to the roof panels.
Get a volt meter or test light, or follow the wires and see if it's connected. I'd guess you'll most likely need a extra controller if you want to use large panels on the side.

[kirkelli]

Originally Posted by ARoamer

On my "Solar Ready" 5th wheel the "solar on the side" SAE plug is not connected to anything. I pulled the access panel off and there is 2' of wires just hanging off the back of the plug.
I'd guess mine is that way so a extra solar controller can be wired in. The roof panel controller is intended to be mounted inside so it's accessible and is closer to the roof panels.
Get a volt meter or test light, or follow the wires and see if it's connected. I'd guess you'll most likely need a extra controller if you want to use large panels on the side.

Solar Ready pretty much means wiring on roof is in place but not necessarily connected. This is because 'Solar Ready' lacks solar panels, Charge Controllers, and buss systems. On almost all RV's the solar on the side is connected directly to the battery because most people are using that connection to connect a solar fold out suitcase panel and most of them, if not all, have a small charge controller built into the package. The key here is to understand what you are connecting, you cant connect a solar panel directly to a battery without first going though a charge controller. I met one guy camping awhile back, he installed 4 100 panels on his roof, complaining the system was not charging. i helped him troubleshoot the system and found he wired the panels directly to the battery, he didn't use a charge controller. I penciled out a diagram showing what he needed to do and got an IM from him that all was well.. Solar is not complicated but you have to understand a little 101 how it works.