Review of My Solar Install

[cariboocreek]

Last summer we had installed (I did not do it myself) a full solar system. We installed two Victron Solar controllers, a Victron Multiplus 3000 inverter, a Cerbo -S GX display, an Epoch V1 460 amp Lithium with heat and comms, and put 1200 watts of panels on the roof.

The Epoch battery is a masterpiece. Not cheap or lightweight but it does everything it advertised it could do. The Victron equipment has been flawless and the Multiplus 3000 inverter works like a charm. It is quiet and creates very little heat when operational. I also had soft starts put on both AC units to help out a bit and my single Epoch battery, at night with no solar charging, will run a single AC unit for about 3 hours. Could be more but we don't want to stress the capacity of the system. On battery alone we can run the coffee pot, microwave, and any other electrical we feel like.

We have a 2-way fridge and we leave the inverter on while towing and the fridge will run all day nicely on the 110 power so no need to even debate the towing with gas on question.

We do haul around our Champion 4500 watt dual fuel but so far have not needed it to top up the batteries. Mother nature has been gracious enough to do it for us.

The big question is the cost and whether there is value in the expense. Our total install was $15,126 Canadian dollars. The largest expense was labour and the Epoch battery. The battery alone was close to $4k Canadian. I am not an electrician but I would caution anyone to not attempt this upgrade unless they are really handy and understand the complexities of these systems. Given the cost, I believe there is value for the right user and application. It to me is nicer than a factory installed generator as that generator will have ongoing costs and maintenance requirements. If needed a little 2000 watt could easily top up the battery. However, if you are a full service camp site camper (nothing wrong with that) then you would see very little value in this type of install. The factory offerings would be all you would need to help keep your battery topped up.

Another consideration is you will lose some storage space. We put ours in our generator bay but that all but sterilizes that space for any storage. I didn't want to create heat issues by stuffing a bunch of stuff in there and certainly don't want something banging into an expensive electrical component.

My only ongoing issue is that I cannot seem to get the setup to communicate online as it is supposed to. Bluetooth is great and hardwired into the camper is great as well but interweb connectivity eludes me.

All in all we really like what we did and believe it was money well spent. But these bigger solar installs are not for everyone and should be decided on based on your style of camping. Don't get sucked into the solar hype.

 

[FloHauler]

Nice system.

 

[RDTC]

Great system overview and function/need summary.

We have a very similar system. The system enables full functionality off grid camping.

The Cerbo with Display is very helpful during routine camping. It displays loads, voltage, battery info, propane tank levels, and much more info.

 

[FloHauler]

I have been fixing/upgrading the solar installation that came with my trailer over the past few weeks. As I was finishing things up this week, I thought about your post, and the cost of your system, especially installation.

I am not implying that you were complaining about the installation cost of your system, but I was thinking about the cost of labor for a system vs materials.

I probably spent $1500 to add a battery, upgrade the charge controller, replace/add solar panels, fix/replace cabling, connectors, etc. If I had to price out my time, I don’t know what it would be worth, but probably $5000 or more.

Working in trailers is especially challenging, especially a toy hauler with limited storage to use for large components. Running wires is a challenge, finding/creating space for things like the charge controller is a challenge, just finding nuts and bolts and other hardware of the right size and type was it’s own challenge. Thank god for Amazon as sourcing things in the smaller town I live in was impossible.

One thing I really appreciated was the ability to get wiring schematics direct from Jayco. The prior owner made some strange decision decisions on how to route things and what he connected to what. Having the schematics allowed me to understand and streamline the install.

It’s still not as neat or well organized as I would like it to be, but given what I had to work with, I am happy with it - and everything is labeled so the next person will not have to wonder what goes where and why. Above all else, it is a lot safer and more efficient than it was when I bought it.

 

[cariboocreek]

I have been fixing/upgrading the solar installation that came with my trailer over the past few weeks. As I was finishing things up this week, I thought about your post, and the cost of your system, especially installation.

I am not implying that you were complaining about the installation cost of your system, but I was thinking about the cost of labor for a system vs materials.

I probably spent $1500 to add a battery, upgrade the charge controller, replace/add solar panels, fix/replace cabling, connectors, etc. If I had to price out my time, I don’t know what it would be worth, but probably $5000 or more.

Working in trailers is especially challenging, especially a toy hauler with limited storage to use for large components. Running wires is a challenge, finding/creating space for things like the charge controller is a challenge, just finding nuts and bolts and other hardware of the right size and type was it’s own challenge. Thank god for Amazon as sourcing things in the smaller town I live in was impossible.

One thing I really appreciated was the ability to get wiring schematics direct from Jayco. The prior owner made some strange decision decisions on how to route things and what he connected to what. Having the schematics allowed me to understand and streamline the install.

It’s still not as neat or well organized as I would like it to be, but given what I had to work with, I am happy with it - and everything is labeled so the next person will not have to wonder what goes where and why. Above all else, it is a lot safer and more efficient than it was when I bought it.

Not complaining, just being clear that these can be expensive systems to install. I was happy to pay a great installer top dollar for a great install. RV mods can be challenging at best and frustrating at worst so it costs what it costs.

 

[FloHauler]

RV mods can be challenging at best and frustrating at worst so it costs what it costs.

For sure. I had a good basic knowledge of electrical and solar, and I love learning new stuff. I learned a bunch more on this one. It’s amazing how far solar and related systems have progressed over the past few years.