Since the initial stages of planning for this adventure of ours, we had decided that we wanted to be as self-reliant and sustainable as possible. Free campgrounds almost never have hookups to get electricity, and since it is important for us to stay connected (internet/cell service), we must provide our own.
First, a quick rundown of our stock electrical system: The camper has two separate power systems; 12V DC and 120V AC.
The 12V system is powered by the 12V 100amp-hour lead-acid deep-cycle battery located on the tongue of the camper. It powers all the lighting inside(I installed LED lighting throughout the camper for less consumption), the tongue jack, the slide motor, the water pump, the heater fan, and a little bit goes to the fridge (the refrigeration is powered by propane, but requires electricity to monitor and cycle).
The 120V powers all the outlets and the air conditioner.It also requires us to be plugged into an alternate power source to be on. That means that while boondocking (most of the time for us) none of the outlets in the camper work.
The 12V battery can be charged by plugging in the 120V system (which has a 120V to 12V converter), or by our tow vehicles' alternator while towing.
Typically, the battery would afford us about a week of regular use (just camper lights, fridge, jack, and water pump) before needing charging. We would have to be really careful about consuming power, and we drained the camper battery near empty a few times.
So, while we can easily abstain from watching TV or using a hair-dryer, we were stuck charging our phones in the truck. Besides charging while we were driving around, this meant either draining the truck battery (not a good idea), or running the motor as a (incredibly inefficient) generator.
Speaking of generators, I don't like them. Anytime I'm at a quiet, peaceful campsite and someone fires one up, I get heated. Granted, many people who use them are courteous; They have high efficiency and quiet generators and run them at appropriate hours. But we've had too many encounters with the other kind; running a generator big enough to power a village all night long and literally right next to us (in an otherwise vast empty space). We have a 2000W inverter generator (the quiet type) for emergencies, but have yet to use it.
Right from the start, it was clear that we needed to maximize our device charging capabilities. As far as cell phones, Tela has an LG V35 (3,300mAh battery, charges at 15W maximum) and I have a Google Pixel 3 (2,915mAh battery, charges at 18W maximum). We also have a laptop, a Microsoft Surface (5,940mAh battery, charges at 45W) . I purchased this 12V USB adapter because it can output 45W through its USB-C PD(power delivery) port. That means it can charge all of our devices at their maximum rate. I also had to purchase USB cables capable of that throughput as not all are made to. I also purchased 2 portable power packs from RavPower. Both are excellent products. The large one (20,100mAh) charges at 30W and outputs up to 45Watts! It has enough power to charge a phone 6 times or the laptop 3 times. The smaller ones' (10,000mAh) input and output are both 18W, charging both phones at maximum rate but not the laptop. The batteries have helped us immensely. We can charge them quickly while running errands or exploring, and store power for our devices for days.
All of these things started to take a toll on the truck though. I once left some things plugged into the 12V outlet overnight, and woke up to a dead starting battery. I jumped it from the camper battery, but a 100% drain on a lead-acid battery certainly damaged the cells. And although I'm not certain, I suspect that the truck's alternator was not intended to supply that much power to the accessory outlets and was slowly degrading. After buying a brand new truck it was clear that things had to change.
We've always wanted solar power in our camper. I've been learning all about it ever since we first got the idea of doing this. There are plenty of videos on YouTube of other RVer's installing their own piecemeal systems, like people running their RV's on Tesla batteries, or who have pneumatic actuating extendable solar panels. It became apparent that everybody's power needs are different, and there is no "right" way to do it. I decided to start building a solar system that I could scale up over time.
A basic solar system includes a solar panel that collects energy from the sun and brings it to a solar charge controller. This converts the current to the appropriate Voltage and Amperage to charge a battery. The battery then stores the energy for later use.
I started with one 100W solar panel, and wired it to this 30A MPPT charge controller by EPEVER. The charge controller charges the existing 12V lead-acid battery on the camper. I then wired in a 12V socket outlet beside the couch in the camper, and voila. Now, the solar panel keeps our camper battery charged and we can use any excess power to charge our devices and battery packs.
It's difficult to give definitive numbers on what we can charge, how long it takes, or how long it lasts because our power usage is different day to day and of course the amount of sunlight available varies. What I can say is that we have been using this simple, inexpensive solar system for months, and it has supplied us with plenty of power for our mobile devices and the essential camper electronics.
We are still missing an 120V inverter so we could plug in regular household electronics, but it will be part of the next phase of upgrades to the current system. I hope to upgrade the camper battery as well, and add a few more panels to increase collection. When that's complete, I'll add another post and take pictures of the complete system.
***Safety note!! Fires are a major concern when electricity is involved. I did extensive research to ensure that I used the correct wire gauge, connectors, and fuses. These components are just as important as the panels themselves, but are easily overlooked. We also have a fire extinguisher at each camper exit as well as in the truck.
If you’re planning on building your own solar system, I highly recommend the YouTube channel DIY Solar with Will Prowse https://www.youtube.com/user/errolprowse/featured. He provided me the information to confidently build my own safe, affordable, custom system and thoroughly understand its capabilities.
Bottom line, I spent about $300 on all this and it’s provided us with much more than I thought and it feels great to get all of our electricity directly from the sun. 10/10 would do again.
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