Adding Solar to RV
I have a 2018 Thor Four Winds class C with ready solar on top of the roof. It has no solar converter or inverter. I am trying to find where the solar connection line on the roof terminates in the RV. Does anyone have an idea? Thanks in advance.
Look for a pair of cables, usually 10AWG, and can be both black, or white and black together. I would hope they would land near the electrical panel, but could be in any cavity below the gland on the roof. Coiled up, or loose. You'll just have to start opening compartments and see what you can find.
Based on my experience with Thor's wiring practices, they may not be capped and just jammed into a compartment. I had a data cable just jammed into the ATS bay of my Tellaro, so I gathered it up into a tidy coil and secured it inside.
If you're "lucky", Thor will have put a lot of cable in one spot that you can untangle and run to the new controller you will be adding.
Then go to Renogy to design the system. I would recommend an MPPT controller for best solar collection efficiency. PWM is cheaper, but if you're going to add solar, might as well do it with the best components. Panels can be in frames mounted with SS hardware,, or flexible, to be secured to the roof by adhesives. I have had both- used flex panels on my last RV, and held down with VHB tape in the center, and Eternabond tape along the edges. Current RV has framed panels, so I used metal brackets to add another panel.
https://www.renogy.com/on-sale/?limit=100
Victron also makes great solar controllers and panels.
https://www.victronenergy.com/
My advice would be to cover the roof with as many panels as you can to maximize solar gain. The MPPT controller will give you the maximum gain as well, over PWM.
See my PDF below as a guide to create a new system- this was on my 2001 Rialta that had no solar at all. I used monocrystalline flex panels on that roof.
I will add to use Dicor as a sealant over what the pdf suggests. Self-leveling on flat surfaces.
You may already have an inverter that runs off the battery system- see what you have- the solar goes to the batteries via the controller, not to the inverter. Design your system carefully and spare no expense- you'll only be doing it once on this RV most likely. Do not expect to run off the solar for long- mostly depends on system size, and battery bank.
I have 600A battery bank, 380W solar, 30A MPPT controller, 3000W inverter/converter, and will be changing my roof AC to a 12V unit, so I can run it for days instead of hours.
Keep in mind that the controller does get warm, and should be in a well ventilated spot, especially MPPT.
I also added Blue Sea Series A toggle breaker to be able to shut down for winter storage, or for when working on the power systems. Amazon is where I got mine. Seen in pic below. Breakers are between my master switch and Balmar gauge, above my new MPPT controller.
Add up your watts, or convert to determine how much you will be using (V x A = W) and go from there. Good luck!!