Zamp solar on side connection

[RogerR]

My son in law would like to add a solar panel on the roof of a popup. It has the Zamp, solar on the side, type port.

I am asking if anyone has routed a flexible wire over the side to the Zamp inlet and then located a controller inside somewhere.

Researched, but did not find any posts with a similar question.


Alternative is suitcase but that won't allow for charging while traveling between campsites.

[RogerR]

Refreshing my post to find if we can mount a solar panel on the roof of a popup and then plug a flex cable into the Zamp portal and mount a mppt controller inside somewhere. Any help would be appreciated so we don't have to reinvent the wheel.

They will be camping several days with little kids and no AC or generator to keep the battery up.

[DustyGeek]

I can’t say I’ve done it exactly as described, but it definitely seems feasible. If I’m understanding the question correctly it’s really no different than what you’d do with a ground-based panel and that is (somewhat) what I did:

Mount a MPPT solar charge controller, connected via an inline fuse to my inverter lugs since that’s my biggest consumer, so most of what I generate will either go to it or back over the or the wires to the battery which are more than plenty large enough to handle anything going back to the battery (likely no inverter in your case, but you could connect to the converter lugs or run separate wires to the batteries). I have about 30’ of outdoor rated solar wire and some MC4 connectors on both ends which connect to the panels and two pigtails I made up which are attached to the solar charge controller. The gasket around my storage door allowed me to feed the wires behind the door and close it.

In your case, the pigtail is the length of wire between the solar charge controller and the back side of the Zamp connector in the sidewall.

The roof panel would just be on the roof instead of the ground and all you’d really need there is the correct length of cable with MC4 connectors on one end and the Zamp on the other.

I used a Victron SmartSolar 100/30, because I wanted to be able to see the status of the charge controller and be able to disable charging from my phone as well as fine-tune the charging. Renogy and others are fine if you don’t want the Bluetooth and programmability.

Just make sure that the charge controller can handle the open circuit voltage of the panels and panel configuration that you’re using. Overpaneling (more amps compared to what the charge controller will use) is fine as the charge controller will only draw so much, and it helps keep charging at a good level on less-optimal days.

The only real problem is it seems like he wants to be able to charge while in motion. I’m not sure there would be a good way to secure the cables, so they would flap against the side of the popup. However, this setup would be really easy to deploy when stationary (get out cable, connect at the panel end, connect the Zamp end and you’re charging).

[ARoamer]

Also, if your panels are flat mounted on your roof you will loose some power especially in the winter months. I've seen about half of my MI summer output in a AZ winter due to low sun angle with my flat mounted panels. Shorter daylight hours in winter mean less charge time also. Shade on panels, trees, etc. can be an issue.

Your TV should supply a small charge while towing, guessing 5 Amps or so. Also recommend Victron charge controllers!

Portable panels may be better as far as power output, but have their own drawbacks also.

[LuckyDuck]

Originally Posted by ARoamer

Also, if your panels are flat mounted on your roof you will loose some power especially in the winter months. I've seen about half of my MI summer output in a AZ winter due to low sun angle with my flat mounted panels. Shorter daylight hours in winter mean less charge time also. Shade on panels, trees, etc. can be an issue.

Your TV should supply a small charge while towing, guessing 5 Amps or so. Also recommend Victron charge controllers!

Portable panels may be better as far as power output, but have their own drawbacks also.

X2. I have a small Zamp panel and Zamp controller on our sailboat. It’s fixed to the stern pulpit rail and the amount of juice drops significantly in winter with the low sun angle. Add in the possibility of trees/shade at campsites and going with the suitcases might give you more overall power.