Solar panel connections

[Captaincrs123]

I have just purchased my 1st fifth wheel, a Jayco Talon toy hauler. I have raw land and a storage facility that had no power connections. I'm trying to figure out the best way to hook up a roof mounted solar panel and where to find them information on how to go about it. The trailer is supposedly solar wired but no one at the dealership could really figure out how to go about it. I'd like to be able to get enough power to keep the camper battery charged as well as the batteries in the golf cart. I've watched some different videos but none that seem to address this particular issue. Any help or direction to a specific solar website would be greatly appreciated..


Thanks

[Mustang65]

First of all....

CONGRATULATIONS on the JAYCO!!!

...and WELCOME TO JOF!!! The members here are GREAT!!! There is a lot of GREAT information to be found here. I am sure that you will have information and pictures to share with us... so please do!!

I do not own a pre-wired 5er, but I can probably make the move to SOLAR a little easier. Based on what you said, you ONLY want to add SOLAR for charging your batteries in between uses. I take it that your 5er will be in direct sunlight... correct? If not how much shade? You also mentioned a golf cart. Is the battery power 48volts?

A basic rule of thumb for charging batteries using SOLAR is that you should have 1watt of SOLAR for each Amp Hour of battery power. IE.. most basic TT's come with an 85Ah battery so you would want at least a 100 watt SOLAR panel for the 5er. So 2 85Ah batteries you would go with 200 watt kit.

Most golf carts (basic) use the T-105 family of deep cycle batteries, they are rated at about 225Ah. You will need 2 charging systems to care for both since each of the systems is a different voltage. I could work out a plan for you if you really want to proceed with this setup.

I recommend starting with a Renogy 100 watt kit for the 5er and you can add SOLAR should you decide to take on dry-camping or there is too much shade. Just go to Amazon and search for Renogy 100 watt SOLAR kits or 200 watt kits. The have great service, a quality product and their per/watt prices are the best that I have found.

You will also want to install a Battery disconnect switch to disconnect the battery(s) from the TT. SOLAR stays connected.


Don

My Registry

RVing with SOLAR

[bdreinv]

We have an 16 Eagle 321 RSRS did one 275 watt 120 cell industrial panel up top,30 amp MPPT charge controller, one in line fuse spent less than 800.The amp size of your controller will determine the amount of panels you can have.Batteries always charged 2 6V deep cycle.We did are own install had no previous experience with solar.Charge controller is the heart of the system.Spend a little extra well worth it.We mainly dry camp love the system! This is are third year with solar. Thanks

[Johnynorthland]

Hello, this is my 3rd coach but I am new to JayCo and I just purchased a 2019 red Hawk 25r. I am interested in just hooking solar up to trickle charge the house batteries while in storage. I know you get what you pay for, but I’m not looking to spend a lot of money. Is it advisable if I buy an inexpensive solar panel And just connected it to the batteries? Or is a controller and must?

Thanks could use any advice anyone can give me.

[oldmanAZ]

Hello Captincrs123 and Johnynorthland and welcome to the forum.

[Mustang65]

Originally Posted by Johnynorthland

Hello, this is my 3rd coach but I am new to JayCo and I just purchased a 2019 red Hawk 25r. I am interested in just hooking solar up to trickle charge the house batteries while in storage. I know you get what you pay for, but I’m not looking to spend a lot of money. Is it advisable if I buy an inexpensive solar panel And just connected it to the batteries? Or is a controller and must?

Thanks could use any advice anyone can give me.

Yes a SOLAR charge controller is a must. Without one, the odds are pretty good that you could overcharge your batteries. The other side of that coin (night time) without a SOLAR charge controller, if it the panel(s) do not have a blocking diode installed in them, the panels become a load at night which will put a drain on your batteries.

Is your RV going to be stored in Sunlight or shade? Any shade, those inexpensive SOLAR systems are useless. I do not recommend any system less than a 50watt system for keeping the batteries topped off, and that is when there is plenty of direct sun shine hitting the panel. A 50 watt will give you about 4Amps, for only a few hours a day in the Fall, Winter and Spring months. Throw in some clouds or rainy days and all bets are off, with the cheap inexpensive models that only produce about 1 amp. That 1 Amp is on a BRIGHT SUNNY day, between the hours of 12 and 2PM, if the panels are pointed directly at the sun.

I have an inexpensive small panel rated at 1.1Amps, that is a backup for my Home's Energy Management monitoring equipment, and I have yet to see the output hit 1 amp yet, even when I put a load on the system, and that is in the BRIGHT Florida Sun. Battery is only 12Ah so it keeps it topped off.

If you have any plans to do dry camping, now is the time to think about a system you can expand from just keeping the batteries topped off to one that can be expanded for future camping. Renogy has some good starter kits. Check out Amazon for search Renogy Solar kits.

So, yes you get what you pay for. You can pay a few bucks for the inexpensive SOLAR and then there is the chance you will need to invest more money to replace the batteries that went bad.

Don

My Registry

RVing with SOLAR

[bdreinv]

MPPT charge controller makes a huge difference on how efficient your panels work!Yes its the brains of your system!