Thor Forums

[TurnerFam]

I watched these videos and subsequent videos with great interest to see if the integration of the 'tesla' type battery would provide a totally 'off-grid' possibility.

What I've seen is that his videos are very professional, quite technical, and not overly complicated, at least if you have some experience in your own RV's electrical systems.

After all is said and done, though, he still admits that he makes use of his 'small' generator when needed, though not as much as before, of course. It really helps to reveal that trying to be 'off-grid', without any need for external power, is not really attainable for most RVing scenarios, unless, of course, you have deep pockets and want a true 'off-grid' home, whether on wheels, or not, and have the money and enough panels and batteries to do it.

I love the idea of the 'flat' tesla style battery pack for RVs - it's an awesome weight and size and output for a motorhome application, especially if you want to mount it attached to a bay sidewall, flat on the bay floor, or even INSIDE the coach, such as in a closet. I might even have room UNDER my residential fridge, since the fridge is already mounted on a 'riser'. It might inhibit the air flow to the rear of the fridge, but maybe not enough to really matter. I think the ability to move the battery into the coach could be a big deal for RVing, especially as these types of batteries don't require maintenance, water, or really much of anything - and being within the coach would provide an even better temperature condition, as they don't like low temps, especially.

Now, the old 'battery bay' would also be free of lead acid heavy large bulky batteries, and would easily work as a great place for the other 'devices' and wiring for this type of install. And, even though my Chassis batteries are there also, they are already mounted up high, on their own bracket, and would not be in the way.

A drawback to solar power, for RVs, though, is that the typical RV, or motorhome, doesn't have a great amount of roof area to mount the number and size of solar panels that you might need to really implement a system for a more total 'off-grid' lifestyle. It really becomes 'the' limiting factor.
What I'd like to see is the ability to mount flexible solar 'panels' on the AWNINGS of the rv, or even find a manufacturer who might design a 'solar' awning, itself - basically a 'fabric' of solar cells, on a full 20' x 8', in a 12v or 24v output scheme. That size might render 40 to 60amps of output.
Rolling out your awning would then not only be for shade, shelter, and weather cover, but for the sunshine to power the RV, and recharge the battery(s).

The beauty and lure of Solar is it's quiet power, and it's 'natural' environmental benefits, but the size and number of panels, and even the size and number of storage(batteries), is the typical hurdle, at least for our MOBILE applications.
If you just want to supplement your 12v needs and usage, then it's pretty easy.
If you, though, want to power your 120v needs and requirements, especially for high-amp devices and appliances like heating and air conditioning, it's a different story.

It's coming, though.