Houston..... we have solar!

[Judge]

Renogy had a sale a couple months back and I picked up two 160W flexible panels and the Rover 30A MPPT Controller for my Outlaw 29H. I’ve been busy the past several weeks and just finally got around to installing it.

We don’t boondock very much but I also wanted it to keep the batteries charged and not always needing to keep the rig plugged into AC when it’s sitting idle.

A few months ago I installed the 5A Trik-L-Start charger that keeps the chassis battery maintained from the house batteries. It has worked great so the solar will now also keep my chassis battery topped off in addition to the house batteries.

I went with the flexible panels because I just didn’t want to drill holes in the roof and was unsure of the mounts that don’t require drilling. I also like that I could max out at 320W with only 2 panels and weight of these panels is negligible.

I know I won’t get the max efficiency because they lie flat and can’t be tilted but the install was a breeze using Eternabond roof tape.

I also went with the more expensive MPPT Controller because the panels can be connected in series or parallel in addition to excellent battery maintenance with four charging modes plus fault protection.

Having the Thor prewired solar also made it fairly easy. I still have to mount the controller because I wanted to fully test the system before mounting it. I decided to mount it behind the TV in the garage / master bedroom. I was able to run the wires through an existing hole for the TV HDMI cable and then down into the electronics area where the solar prewiring terminated. I also tapped into the battery cables there as well.

Here are a few pics of it so far and I will post a few more when I get the Controller and Bluetooth Module minted. It’s working very well and already went through the charging, boost and float cycles. The equalization cycle runs every 28 days.

[Bob Denman]

Congratulations!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IxAKFlpdcfc

[taylorbob1]

WOW!
Nicely done, all good choices
You will enjoy the results
Keep us posted

[The Gritz Carlton]

So envious of those who've taken that plunge....like Long & Winding Road, we're still sitting in the "rest area" with the generator running, wondering when we will pull that plug. Nice job!!

[Bob Denman]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xUNqsfFUwhY

[Judge]

Just finished mounting the controller and adding a 30A breaker for the battery side of the circuit. All done with the install.

I decided to use MC4 connectors on the power distribution bay where Thor terminated the solar prewiring. I also used a Renogy MC4 30A fuse for the solar side of the circuit.

All-in-all I am pleased with the install. It is clean and neat and you can’t even see the controller. I know I am losing some performance with my install but it is doing the job for me so far.

Haven’t needed air conditioning in the coach while working on this and other projects so I have not had the shore power plugged in at all and it’s keeping the batteries charged with the lights running and also charging the chassis battery.

Even on a cloudy and rainy day today it is giving the batteries 1.4 amps.

Now onto my next modification. I hate having to pull the shore power cable through the hole in the storage bin to plug in and feeding it back into the bin when leaving. Thor put a useless sewer hose storage pipe on the 29H next to the bin with the transfer switch and shore power cable. The opening is too small for a sewer hose with the connections so I already installed a Valterra hose carrier under the rig so I can keep the hose out of the storage bin.

I am going to install a 30A RV/Marine locking receptacle behind the door for Thor’s idea of sewer hose storage and connect it to the transfer switch and remove the factory cable. Then I’ll put a female locking plug on my shore power cable and when we get to camp I just need to pull the entire cable out of the storage bin and easily plug it into the coach and then the camp power without feed it in and out of the storage bin hole. I’ll post pics of that mod once I get it going

[Bob Denman]

"Thor put a useless sewer hose storage pipe on the 29H next to the bin with the transfer switch and shore power cable. The opening is too small for a sewer hose with the connections so I already installed a Valterra hose carrier under the rig so I can keep the hose out of the storage bin. "

Where'd you put the carrier? I added mine at the rear of the rig, and used the hitch framework as my anchor for it.

That useless tube might come in handy for storing fishing poles...

[Judge]

Forgot to mention the only thing I didn’t install was the optional battery temperature sensor given where I installed the controller.

I am going to see how everything works before deciding to do that. I did run wires from the controller into the power bay in case I decide to install the sensor later. I could poke a hole through the insulation where all of the wiring comes in from under the coach and then run the wiring for the temperature sensor under the coach to the house batteries under the steps. Then I could seal up the insulation again and be good to go.

[Judge]

Originally Posted by Bob Denman

"Thor put a useless sewer hose storage pipe on the 29H next to the bin with the transfer switch and shore power cable. The opening is too small for a sewer hose with the connections so I already installed a Valterra hose carrier under the rig so I can keep the hose out of the storage bin. "



Where'd you put the carrier? I added mine at the rear of the rig, and used the hitch framework as my anchor for it.



That useless tube might come in handy for storing fishing poles...

Here is my sewer hose storage install. I bought two of the Valterra storage systems so I could extend it the entire width of the coach so I’d have a door on each side.




I also removed the pipe between the black and grey tank because it was so
low I knew it was going to get ripped off some day. I put a separate drain for the black tank on the passenger side so it’s nice that I can access the sewer hose from either side of the coach. The down side is I have two separate hook ups but I don’t have to worry about fixing later once it eventually got torn off from hitting a speed bump or something.




For those that haven’t see it, here is Thor’s attempt of hose storage.




While camping last weekend I saw a Four Winds that was almost identical to the layout of my Outlaw and it had the shore power RV/Marine receptacle in the same general area.

The light bulb in my head went off and said.... I can do the same thing using the Thor hose storage door since it is right next to where the transfer switch is and then I won’t have to feed the shore power cable in and out of the storage bin through the little hole in the bin.

[Bob Denman]

http://www.thorforums.com/forums/att...1&d=1560434144

[10scDust]

Very nice customizing there Judge!

The Valterra storage pipes would interfere with my sparer tire carrier underneath.

I like your idea on shore plug up too, it is such a PITA always kneeling down fishing the cable through that little round opening, especially after/during the rain, lol.
But it is what it is.

Question about the solar panels: Do they need to be kept clean to be efficient?

We live abutted to the Cherokee National Forest, every spring, we get 3 months of tree pollen that covers everything green.
I call it pine dander.
I know it would likely render the panels useless unless kept clean, and I am not that tall to clean them from an 8' ladder.

[Judge]

Originally Posted by 10scDust

Very nice customizing there Judge!

The Valterra storage pipes would interfere with my sparer tire carrier underneath.

I like your idea on shore plug up too, it is such a PITA always kneeling down fishing the cable through that little round opening, especially after/during the rain, lol.
But it is what it is.

Question about the solar panels: Do they need to be kept clean to be efficient?

We live abutted to the Cherokee National Forest, every spring, we get 3 months of tree pollen that covers everything green.
I call it pine dander.
I know it would likely render the panels useless unless kept clean, and I am not that tall to clean them from an 8' ladder.

I suspect I will need to clean the panels once in a while to maintain max performance... at least as often as I clean the roof.... once or twice a year. I have read that they are somewhat self-cleaning and are very durable so I will have to see if they live up to the self-cleaning part. I also live in an area where there some pollen in the spring and a fair amount of dust.

I'll keep you posted on my shore power plug modification. I am going to start working on that tomorrow.