2018 Greyhawk 31 fs Factory solar plugs on roof

[Florida Ranger]

Factory solar plugs on roof. If I plug in solar panels what happens ? Do I need to buy any thing else ?

[WinnieView]

If there are other panels and they are wired with to the new panels in series or parallel the solar controller should 'handle' things, provided there is one, factory installed.

[bababooey]

Originally Posted by Florida Ranger

Factory solar plugs on roof. If I plug in solar panels what happens ? Do I need to buy any thing else ?

You will need a charge controller. If it's like mine, they have a spot where the charge controller should be installed in the storage compartment south of the battery. You would need to install the charge controller there and wire it up.

[supereri]

Originally Posted by Florida Ranger

Factory solar plugs on roof. If I plug in solar panels what happens ? Do I need to buy any thing else ?

I don't think anything happens as you will need a solar charge controller. The charge controller goes between the panels and the batteries. These can range from simple inexpensive PWM up to big MPPT controllers. You would choose PWM or MPPT depending on what your goals are. If you're just looking to keep a battery or two topped off I would think an inexpensive PWM charge controller with 100-200 watts would be good. All that said it entirely depends on how you use your rig.

For me, I had 2x 6v trojan batteries in my 5th wheel with 160 watts of solar and a PWM charge controller. We used an electric drip coffee maker through the inverter in the morning, ran the Satellite tuner and TV on the inverter at night, the furnace throughout the night, and other odds and ends during the day (pump and lights mainly). It did pretty well for us, but I wanted to add a second panel for that size battery bank as I don't like running the generator to charge the batteries.

I believe the company Go Power makes the solar prewire for the Jaycos. They are fine equipment, just on the pricey side for what you get (in my humble opinion).

https://gpelectric.com/wired-for-solar/


Both of the kits below are supplied with 30amp PWM charge controllers. Others here may be able to better speak to the quality and reliability of Renogy vs Go Power.

For example. Here is the 80 watt GP kit
https://www.amazon.com/Go-Power-GP-R...ateway&sr=8-19


And here is a Renogy kit 200 watt for the same price.

https://www.amazon.com/Renogy-Monocr...gateway&sr=8-8


But, I'm no expert in this.