Renogy or Go Power solar panel kit

[Chet & Marie]

We are looking at either a Renogy Eclipse solar panel kit with 100 amps and a waterproof controller or a Go Power 120 amp kit but the controller is not water proof. The Renogy is less $ but that is not a factor. Getting a well built, long lasting and dependable kit is. Your thoughts or suggestions are valued as always.=

[Screwby]

Big fan of Renogy. Well built with great customer service in my opinion. I’ve been running their 400w RV kit for 2 years now and it works awesome. I like the new controllers that have Bluetooth capabilities too so you can monitor your solar from a smartphone app. I can’t speak for the other brand, I’ve never used them but they seem overpriced.

[Atlee]

Don't have either yet, but have been reading and researching a little.
From what I've seen so far, the Go Power is terribly over priced. It's over priced because Go Power only wants you buying for one of their authorized dealers, and not off of Amazon. I've read that if you get a Go Power unit off the internet or ebay, and you need service, they will refuse.

From what I've read Renogy is not like this, and you can get one of their units for almost half the price of a Go Power.

My 2017 Flight 23RB came with a factory installed plug that fits the Go Power system. However, I'll either find a plug that fits the Go Power installed plug on my TT, or just by pass it totally, because I will not buy an over priced Go Power system. I can only believe that Jayco got quite the deal from Go Power to install their plug on Jayco RV products.

Originally Posted by Chet & Marie

We are looking at either a Renogy Eclipse solar panel kit with 100 amps and a waterproof controller or a Go Power 120 amp kit but the controller is not water proof. The Renogy is less $ but that is not a factor. Getting a well built, long lasting and dependable kit is. Your thoughts or suggestions are valued as always.=

[PlayersZ28]

I have a Renogy 40A Rover with the bluetooth installed now and it works well. I swapped out an EPSolar 40A that also had no issues. I wanted the bluetooth. The Renogy is a rebadged EPSolar and they are a good product. The Renogy tech forums board is pretty good if you have questions and they have their own people on there as well.

[travelingjw]

I have the Renogy 100 amp kit and have been very satisfied with it. Their customer service is excellent. We have used it and had great success. Quality producit, well made, and it shipped fast.

[Akraft]

I have had the eco-worthy 120 watt portable panel for over a year now and I have not had any issues. It was just under $200

I also have two 6 volt 215 amp-hr batteries in series. I use the solar panel with bigger batteries because my trailer is about 300 feet from my house. This way I can periodically go use my trailer and I never worry about my batteries getting low.

I'm sure either of the other brands will do the trick.

Good luck.

[Chet & Marie]

My neighbors brother has a Samlex MSK 135 for his 23' unit with a series 24 12v battery and loves it. Says it keeps him charged for over a week and if it stays sunny it will keep it at 13.8 indefinitely. The nice thing is that our local RV dealer stocks and sells them. He matches the Amazon price too. Something to consider.

[robert9999]

I have the Renogy 100w solar suitcase, monocrystalline panel, great!!

[NorCal Eagle]

I'm shopping solar kits right now too. I'm looking at a Renogy 400w kit with the Rover 40a and bluetooth. Everything about the Renogy seems good though my research indicates there may be better MPPT controllers out there. However, I like the bluetooth option for the Rover series and for a "starter" kit it should be a good solution.

The Go Power seems way overpriced for what it is. I can't see how their hardware justifies the price tag.

[SamJ]

I recently purchased some Go Power equipment, including a controller and their latest 190W panel. Though Go Power was not the cheapest, shopping around authorized dealers provided a bit of savings, and brought the price down very close to comparable power for Renogy, for a single, high-efficiency monocrystalline panel with a 25 year warranty.

I can't compare experiences versus Renogy, but I can attest to Go Power's customer support: I had an issue with the controller I purchased, and they were fantastic about assisting me (and in this case, providing a replacement unit without any complications or issues).

Also, their pre-sales support was excellent too, timely, accurate, and useful.

[Screwby]

I can vouch for Renogy and their customer service. I’ve been very happy with my 400w RV kit for the past 3 years. The Bluetooth is a nice addition they’ve made recently.

[m2bandit]

Originally Posted by NorCal Eagle

I'm shopping solar kits right now too. I'm looking at a Renogy 400w kit with the Rover 40a and bluetooth. Everything about the Renogy seems good though my research indicates there may be better MPPT controllers out there. However, I like the bluetooth option for the Rover series and for a "starter" kit it should be a good solution.

The Go Power seems way overpriced for what it is. I can't see how their hardware justifies the price tag.

Just FYI the bluetooth kind of sucks. Its wattage information is wrong, it's battery capacity info is wrong. A renogy tech told me they're having it changed to stop showing wattage because it's inaccurate.


I highly recommend the renogy battery monitor. I haven't looked at the app since installing it.

I have a renogy 400w with the rover 40a
I added 2 renogy panels (now 600w at 24v)
the renogy 100w suitcase
Renogy battery monitor
Renogy pure sine 2000w inverter

and a Go-power transfer switch
Can't complain about any of it.

[lefoster]

Originally Posted by robert9999

I have the Renogy 100w solar suitcase, monocrystalline panel, great!!

how many batteries are you charging? 1 or 2?

[Screwby]

Originally Posted by lefoster

how many batteries are you charging? 1 or 2?

Doesn’t matter how many batteries, it’s the amp hours the solar is providing and the size of the batteries your trying to fill that matter. I’m charging 4 batteries with my solar, wouldn’t matter if it was 20 batteries as far as the panels are concerned.
Think of your batteries as an empty bucket, solar is the hose to fill the bucket you emptied all night.
The bigger the hose (solar setup) the faster your bucket (battery) gets filled
Wouldn’t matter if I was trying to fill a swimming pool (huge battery bank) with my hose (solar setup), still the same amount of water (energy/amps) is coming out of my hose (solar setup).
I can fill a small bucket (battery) with a bigger hose (solar setup) faster
I can’t fill a swimming pool (big battery) very fast with that same hose (solar setup) there’s not enough water (energy/amps) coming out. I need a bigger hose (solar setup) if I want any chance of filling the pool (big battery) before they turn the water (energy/amps) off at night.

Does my weird analogy make sense?

[lefoster]

Originally Posted by Screwby

Doesn’t matter how many batteries, it’s the amp hours the solar is providing and the size of the batteries your trying to fill that matter. I’m charging 4 batteries with my solar, wouldn’t matter if it was 20 batteries as far as the panels are concerned.
Think of your batteries as an empty bucket, solar is the hose to fill the bucket you emptied all night.
The bigger the hose (solar setup) the faster your bucket (battery) gets filled
Wouldn’t matter if I was trying to fill a swimming pool (huge battery bank) with my hose (solar setup), still the same amount of water (energy/amps) is coming out of my hose (solar setup).
I can fill a small bucket (battery) with a bigger hose (solar setup) faster
I can’t fill a swimming pool (big battery) very fast with that same hose (solar setup) there’s not enough water (energy/amps) coming out. I need a bigger hose (solar setup) if I want any chance of filling the pool (big battery) before they turn the water (energy/amps) off at night.

Does my weird analogy make sense?

it sure does! thank you! so I need a big enough hose to fill my bucket overnight. so does your 100W "hose" fill your 4 batteries in a day?

[Screwby]

Originally Posted by lefoster

it sure does! thank you! so I need a big enough hose to fill my bucket overnight. so does your 100W "hose" fill your 4 batteries in a day?

Nope, my 400w roof panel hose does and my 100w suitcase hose can help if needed

[lefoster]

roger that!

[robert9999]

Originally Posted by lefoster

how many batteries are you charging? 1 or 2?

One 12 volt but will upgrade to 2 6V's when the time comes for a new battery.

[lefoster]

Thank you, that helps!

[Colorado]

I just installed this kit this Spring. I’ve called Customer Service 2x, both time they’ve been Outstanding! The kit was easy to install and works flawlessly. Just make sure the controller is powered up BEFORE you connect the solar panels! I used switches to make it easy.

Renogy 200 Watt 12 Volt Off Grid Premium Monocrystalline Solar Panel with 20A MPPT Rover Controller/Mounting Z Brackets Adaptor Kit/Tray Cables Set /MC4 Fuse, 200W-20A https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07CTHCZJ3..._VwNLEb8687CPF