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View Poll Results: Are Solar Panels Worth it?
Adding solar panels is a MUST! 11 20.37%
Add only if boondocking often. 23 42.59%
Add only if the RV is already prepped. 7 12.96%
Neutral. 4 7.41%
Not enough gained to deal with it / another system to maintain. 12 22.22%
Stay away from them! 0 0%
Multiple Choice Poll. Voters: 54. You may not vote on this poll

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Old 12-02-2020, 12:36 AM   #101
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Forest Grump View Post
at 113?
I've never been anywhere that saw anything over 105...

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Old 12-02-2020, 11:56 PM   #102
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If it's hot enough to make me think about using the a/c: I just open up all the windows, and fire up our fan.
@ 118 daytime, 108 nights?
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Old 12-03-2020, 12:47 AM   #103
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@ 118 daytime, 108 nights?
What do you have: riverfront property on the river Styx?
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Old 12-09-2020, 04:23 AM   #104
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What do you have: riverfront property on the river Styx?
Nope, 90+ days near Yuma during summer, a few years ago..
[Transport receiving coordinator /dispatcher on a Gov cost plus project..]
The jobsite was full speed ahead 24/7 with 12 hour shifts.

Ran the gennie 24/7, changed oil & filters every 3 weeks. also had the fuel truck swing by and top off the diesel tanks every week , also refilled the fresh tank, and pumped the black/gray twice each week.[ daily showers and several loads of laundry per week]
btw... I really pitied those who were dealing with their propane fridges... even our residential fridge and the A/C units were near their limit.
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Old 12-09-2020, 12:39 PM   #105
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Now THAT's camping!
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Old 12-09-2020, 05:43 PM   #106
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Now THAT's camping!
Yup.. and had to deal with sand/wind/scorpions/sidewinder snakes/javalina's/kangaroo rats and the list went on and on....
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Old 12-09-2020, 06:00 PM   #107
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I bet you didn't have many mosquitoes or flies...
They probably burned-up on re-entry!
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Old 12-09-2020, 06:01 PM   #108
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Originally Posted by saddlesore View Post
Yup.. and had to deal with sand/wind/scorpions/sidewinder snakes/javalina's/kangaroo rats and the list went on and on....
With your BoonDocking, don’t you find solar as a must?
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Old 12-09-2020, 06:12 PM   #109
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Yup.. and had to deal with sand/wind/scorpions/sidewinder snakes/javalina's/kangaroo rats and the list went on and on....
Speaking wind: I wonder how small the smallest wind turbine generator is?
Could it be deployed for RV usage?
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Old 12-09-2020, 06:15 PM   #110
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I use two size 27 Lifeline AGM 100 Ah batteries. I ran 6g wires from the back closet, from the panels, under and over to the water/sewer bay where the solar controller and 3000w inverter are. Right above is the electrical bay under the L couch with pre drilled holes for the heater vent. In the electrical bay I added a sub panel and moved everything but the AC and inverter circuits to it. I also added a second transfer switch here too. Ran 00 welding wire from the inverter to the batteries which are right across I the battery bay.

Works great.
That’s a beautiful set up!
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Old 12-09-2020, 07:32 PM   #111
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With your BoonDocking, don’t you find solar as a must?

“Must”? Didn’t people boondock before solar?

Same could be said for air conditioning, which most tent campers still do without (seen a few exceptions to that too). It seems logical to me that one person’s “must have” isn’t really necessary to another. So who’s right?

Every camper’s needs are different, so why not rely on the numbers/math as it applies to our own needs, budget, etc. What works for one person may or may not apply to another. That’s why these threads become contentious.
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Old 12-09-2020, 07:37 PM   #112
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I'm all for anything that makes camping easier and more comfortable.
(Even if it sometimes means a 5 Star Hotel... )

And I applaud the folks who find all of the different ways that they make it work for them!
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Old 12-09-2020, 08:54 PM   #113
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Have a KM24 on Mercedes Chassis. Travel with a Goal Yeti 1000 with fast charger (2hrs), little Buddy heater (we refill our cannisters), a Wen 2000 inverter generator, and a five gallon gas can. The a/c has a softstart so it can be run with the Wen if necessary. We connect the house power to the Yeti. It lasts us all day. If we are traveling we recharge the Yeti while on the road. If parked we can run the a/c while recharging the Yeti, but nothing else. The house batteries are agm 110 amp. We run them thru a separate 1500 watt inverter. They are emergency backup only. At night we use a heated mattress pad powered by the Yeti. It keeps us toasty under a couple of quilts. When I wake up in the morning I fire up the Little Buddy in an hour the RV is toasty. We prefer to camp in cooler weather. This past summer we ran into an unusual situation where we had to Covid quarantine in the RV for 2 weeks in 99°-108° weather and the Wen 2000 was an absolute lifesaver at about 1/3 the cost of the Honda. Use a 10amp extension cord run thru 11/2" pvc attached to the underside of the rv from the house power cord to the Yeti which is stored in a hold.
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Old 12-09-2020, 11:00 PM   #114
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worth it!?! it is a MUST! it was easy, it was cheap. what is not to like? 4x100w panels at about 100$ each. the controller was 250$ wires, about 50. brackets, 100$ - they are tiltable. so about 800$. will I ever make that money back? nope. but, was it fun doing? YUP. does it make Rv'ing easier? without a doubt. We went to a campground that had one spot open, no hook-ups. We took it. No Problem! We love solar. when we want to stop, we stop. sure I could run my generator, but I would rather not. I have never run my generator, not that we have been out that much, yet. I had solar on my house, when I had a house. my electric bill was 9$ a month, the cost of having an account. BGE, the electric company, paid me about 400$ a year in what I was overproducing. I still smile about that. did I make my money back? maybe not. when we sold our house, it sold without listing, there were people waiting for us to leave that wanted the house. one reason, the solar. if you could have an RV with solar or about the same rv without solar, what would be the cost difference that would influence your decision? would a 150K rv with solar be your choice over a 149K rv without? my choice is always solar. (we paid 53K for our rv, 2 years used, 25k miles) we have had our RV for just over a year now, put over 6K in upgrades, all done by us. solar was the 3rd thing we put on. we love our new home. the electric companies can go pound sand as far as I am concerned.
btw, item 1 was surge protector, item 2 was tire monitors, item 4 was the spare tire.
sure you can do without, to each their own. to us, solar is a must! just like all items 1-4.
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Old 12-09-2020, 11:45 PM   #115
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We hope to eventually get ours set up with enough solar power and battery capacity; that we can run the Missus' dialysis machine overnight. Being able to camp off the grid is still a dream: but I think it's an attainable one.
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Old 12-10-2020, 01:54 AM   #116
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We hope to eventually get ours set up with enough solar power and battery capacity; that we can run the Missus' dialysis machine overnight. Being able to camp off the grid is still a dream: but I think it's an attainable one.

That’s a specific and quantifiable requirement. Like in your case, need should come first.

Fortunately, we don’t have that need. Your valid “must have” would be extra stuff serving no purpose whatsoever for us. Why should I clean, maintain, and haul extra weight for something that has no function or useful purpose at this time. Even if free, solar has negatives I may not want to deal with under present conditions.
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Old 12-10-2020, 02:13 AM   #117
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Old 12-16-2020, 03:03 PM   #118
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I pulled the trigger

I ended up leaving the RV in Phoenix AZ and flew back to Dallas to take care of a project expecting to go back out in January and resume the adventure west. Just before I parked it outside, I installed the 190 watt Go Power solar panel. The Quantum RV was prepped for it.



My thinking is that it will trickle charge the batteries while it sits outside in the storage facility. Am I correct in this thinking?
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Old 12-16-2020, 03:14 PM   #119
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As long as the "Use/Store" switch was properly set:
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Old 12-16-2020, 03:19 PM   #120
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Quote:
Originally Posted by The Mr Beaumont View Post
I ended up leaving the RV in Phoenix AZ and flew back to Dallas to take care of a project expecting to go back out in January and resume the adventure west. Just before I parked it outside, I installed the 190 watt Go Power solar panel. The Quantum RV was prepped for it.



My thinking is that it will trickle charge the batteries while it sits outside in the storage facility. Am I correct in this thinking?
Depends on how the controller is wired to the batteries. In my rig the controller charges both the house and chassis batteries without going through the Use Store (Master Power) switch.
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