Hey Thanks Keith. I appreciate the comment and glad you’re enjoying our videos. Don’t forget to subscribe and then hit the Bell notification button to make sure you see all our stuff in the future. Cheers
Hey Tom! I’ve got two sets of EcoFlow solar suitcases (400 and 160 watt) and I’ve found that [or it may just be ME!] the 400 watt briefcase is a pain in the wazoo to keep standing in an upright position…then comes having to keep moving them around to capture as much sun for optimal usage. I’m 71 years old and those 400 watters aren’t exactly light! Hmmm, I guess I ‘could’ spend $2500 for an automatic sun tracker! So, yeah, I’d probably want the Anderson plug installed ‘just in case’ too! Great video as always! ~Jim~
I think portables are very important. The Anderson is a good solution. I agree 400W even in portable can get pretty heavy. I think 2x200s strung together could be a good portable solution. They're always coming out with better panels and better mounts etc. Cheers for watching! Tom
I think if someone would want to still utilize the traditional glass panels that they removed from their roof, they could use them in a liftable side array like we did. This way they don't have to handle the heavy panels, find a place to store them when traveling, or remotely deploy them and recover them every time they stop or a storm kicks up, eliminating the possibility of them falling over while traveling or get blown over by the wind when deployed, breaking the glass or otherwise damaging the panel. We've used our liftable, side mounted array full time for about 6 years now, and it performs very well. It's only 620 watts but performs more like 750-800 watts of flat mounted panels, especially in winter, when the sun is lower in the sky, because the sun's rays hit it at a more perpendicular angle. It even produces quite a bit of power when traveling down the road and it is secured to the side of our MH. This is something deployable panels can't do. They make a great window awning too, keeping it cooler inside. We use gas struts on ours to hold the weight, so that it practically lifts itself with one finger and it's easy to erect and clean standing safely on the ground. We don't have to put ours away when we leave our RV to prevent them from getting stolen like we would a deployable panel, so they can continue to produce power when we go into town or are out, exploring the area, as they are permanently bolted in place, secure from potential thieves.
Brilliant insights there Chip and Cindy. Thats definitely what our customers try to utilize their glass factory panels for, something either fixed (like an awning or on the roof of a tow vehicle). They're just not quite as useful as a foldable style for portable panels. Some of our customers have property where they hang for a chunk of the year so thats where leaving those glass panels on the ground works well. Whatever the solution we really think the ability for expansion/portable panels is really important. Much like you've seen with that side-mounted array of yours.
Tom, Great video. We have 1000W that you put on our 22FQS roof. It is usually plenty, but not always. Cloudy days and shade both can be an issue, also as the days get shorter in late summer. The other time I want more solar is when it is so hot we need to run the AC. If the rail system was available when you did ours I would have loved to have 1500W up top. I built a plywood box for the bed of the F250 to carry 2 220W glass panels I already had. Doesn't take up too much of the truck bed since it is strong enough to stack other stuff on top of the box. I have a couple of adjustable brackets that I can use, but this summer I just laid the panels on the ground when I needed them (only a handful of times). They have very little wind resistance that way. I had previous ones on the brackets and a wind gust flipped them onto rocky ground and shattered one, so now I carry sandbags filled with gravel. I have a 50' cable that plugs into the connector (after cleaning the Mormon Cricket guts -)). The panels are fast to deploy or stow since I just open the tailgate and slide them out of the box which is open on the rear with a center shelf. I am thinking that when we are home in FL for the winter that I might upgrade the portable panels to a pair of 365W panels that I have extra from an off grid ground array and build a bigger box or look at mounting them above the truck bed sliding cover. I will probably have to get a bigger MPPT than the 100/35 that is there now. What gauge cable is run from the connect to the MPPT? Hopefully that is big enough. Thanks, wayne and carol
Hey Wayne and Carol! Yeah the 1000W was a big amount when we first started on the 22FQS. Now Rich has their 250 panels which are a nice size. The rails obviously changed the game the most. Sounds like you have a good setup. I bet boosting those ground panels will be nice. It would be 10AWG cabe from the Anderson to the MPPT. Run them in series and you shouldn't have any issues.
Thanks for the great Videos Tom! Yes, I did pretty much the same thing with my 400W of factory solar on 260KVS. I installed a flush mount Anderson connector (near the factory Zamp port) wired to a Victron Solar controller in the pass through. Really helps me take advantage of morning and late afternoon sun, and is a great addition to the 1600W of Rich panels on the roof.
Hey Mike! Sounds like you had the same idea. The Zamp port is a bit insufficient. We don't see them hold up very well on the ORVs that are about 3 years old. The Anderson just has to be the way to go. Its a more solid electrical connection as well with those nice thick pins. Do you have the touch 50 or 70 as well? Either way having both your roof and ground panels tied to a Victron MPPT is the way to go! Also seeing as though those 400w of panels come standard, gotta reuse them somehow.
@@mytsolarI do have a touch 70, and it is awesome! My system has been a work in progress over a couple of years. I transferred and added to what I started in my last trailer. Your videos helped in many ways, including looking for better places to mount the touch 70! Now I have ground 400W, a roof 600W I first had on my last trailer, and I added a new roof 1000W string after we bought the 260KVS. Each with its own MPPT, 824 Amp hours of SOK, and a 3000 VA -12 V multiplus II. Truly helps make it a second home. Thanks again for what you do, I look forward to more in future.
We can definitely work with other brands of batteries, Victron is our preferred battery but there are some cheaper brands that we have used in the past!
I have always wondered how much weather, mud, rain, etc. the Anderson plugs can handle? My trailer is a four season off road trailer. We travel in mud, snow. and dusty conditions on each trip. The zamp plugs do have quite small wires which limit how many panels can be used. In my trailer I used Victron components. I can monitor them with my Victron app on my phone. No need to wire a fancy panel inside trailer to check the system. I can sit in my trailer or tow rig and check everything on my smart phone.
They're pretty durable in our experience. You can also get silicone caps for them which helps. We did have a customer get Mormon cricket guts stuck in theirs -but thats another story. Our customers love the Touch70, its kind of the highlight of their install most of the time. Just a touch of the screen and the ability to see all data in one screen, then of course the ability to use wifi and view the system remotely. But they also use the Victron Connect App for when they're sitting in their camp chair or in the truck like it sounds like you're doing.
Thanks for the video. Enjoy watching them.
Hey Thanks Keith. I appreciate the comment and glad you’re enjoying our videos. Don’t forget to subscribe and then hit the Bell notification button to make sure you see all our stuff in the future. Cheers
@mytsolar I have. Take care.
Thanks Tom
Thank you!
Hey Tom! I’ve got two sets of EcoFlow solar suitcases (400 and 160 watt) and I’ve found that [or it may just be ME!] the 400 watt briefcase is a pain in the wazoo to keep standing in an upright position…then comes having to keep moving them around to capture as much sun for optimal usage. I’m 71 years old and those 400 watters aren’t exactly light! Hmmm, I guess I ‘could’ spend $2500 for an automatic sun tracker! So, yeah, I’d probably want the Anderson plug installed ‘just in case’ too! Great video as always! ~Jim~
I think portables are very important. The Anderson is a good solution. I agree 400W even in portable can get pretty heavy. I think 2x200s strung together could be a good portable solution. They're always coming out with better panels and better mounts etc. Cheers for watching! Tom
I think if someone would want to still utilize the traditional glass panels that they removed from their roof, they could use them in a liftable side array like we did. This way they don't have to handle the heavy panels, find a place to store them when traveling, or remotely deploy them and recover them every time they stop or a storm kicks up, eliminating the possibility of them falling over while traveling or get blown over by the wind when deployed, breaking the glass or otherwise damaging the panel.
We've used our liftable, side mounted array full time for about 6 years now, and it performs very well. It's only 620 watts but performs more like 750-800 watts of flat mounted panels, especially in winter, when the sun is lower in the sky, because the sun's rays hit it at a more perpendicular angle. It even produces quite a bit of power when traveling down the road and it is secured to the side of our MH. This is something deployable panels can't do. They make a great window awning too, keeping it cooler inside. We use gas struts on ours to hold the weight, so that it practically lifts itself with one finger and it's easy to erect and clean standing safely on the ground. We don't have to put ours away when we leave our RV to prevent them from getting stolen like we would a deployable panel, so they can continue to produce power when we go into town or are out, exploring the area, as they are permanently bolted in place, secure from potential thieves.
Brilliant insights there Chip and Cindy. Thats definitely what our customers try to utilize their glass factory panels for, something either fixed (like an awning or on the roof of a tow vehicle). They're just not quite as useful as a foldable style for portable panels. Some of our customers have property where they hang for a chunk of the year so thats where leaving those glass panels on the ground works well. Whatever the solution we really think the ability for expansion/portable panels is really important. Much like you've seen with that side-mounted array of yours.
Tom, Great video. We have 1000W that you put on our 22FQS roof. It is usually plenty, but not always. Cloudy days and shade both can be an issue, also as the days get shorter in late summer. The other time I want more solar is when it is so hot we need to run the AC. If the rail system was available when you did ours I would have loved to have 1500W up top. I built a plywood box for the bed of the F250 to carry 2 220W glass panels I already had. Doesn't take up too much of the truck bed since it is strong enough to stack other stuff on top of the box. I have a couple of adjustable brackets that I can use, but this summer I just laid the panels on the ground when I needed them (only a handful of times). They have very little wind resistance that way. I had previous ones on the brackets and a wind gust flipped them onto rocky ground and shattered one, so now I carry sandbags filled with gravel. I have a 50' cable that plugs into the connector (after cleaning the Mormon Cricket guts -)). The panels are fast to deploy or stow since I just open the tailgate and slide them out of the box which is open on the rear with a center shelf. I am thinking that when we are home in FL for the winter that I might upgrade the portable panels to a pair of 365W panels that I have extra from an off grid ground array and build a bigger box or look at mounting them above the truck bed sliding cover. I will probably have to get a bigger MPPT than the 100/35 that is there now. What gauge cable is run from the connect to the MPPT? Hopefully that is big enough. Thanks, wayne and carol
Hey Wayne and Carol! Yeah the 1000W was a big amount when we first started on the 22FQS. Now Rich has their 250 panels which are a nice size. The rails obviously changed the game the most. Sounds like you have a good setup. I bet boosting those ground panels will be nice. It would be 10AWG cabe from the Anderson to the MPPT. Run them in series and you shouldn't have any issues.
Thanks for the great Videos Tom! Yes, I did pretty much the same thing with my 400W of factory solar on 260KVS. I installed a flush mount Anderson connector (near the factory Zamp port) wired to a Victron Solar controller in the pass through. Really helps me take advantage of morning and late afternoon sun, and is a great addition to the 1600W of Rich panels on the roof.
Hey Mike! Sounds like you had the same idea. The Zamp port is a bit insufficient. We don't see them hold up very well on the ORVs that are about 3 years old. The Anderson just has to be the way to go. Its a more solid electrical connection as well with those nice thick pins. Do you have the touch 50 or 70 as well? Either way having both your roof and ground panels tied to a Victron MPPT is the way to go! Also seeing as though those 400w of panels come standard, gotta reuse them somehow.
@@mytsolarI do have a touch 70, and it is awesome! My system has been a work in progress over a couple of years. I transferred and added to what I started in my last trailer. Your videos helped in many ways, including looking for better places to mount the touch 70! Now I have ground 400W, a roof 600W I first had on my last trailer, and I added a new roof 1000W string after we bought the 260KVS. Each with its own MPPT, 824 Amp hours of SOK, and a 3000 VA -12 V multiplus II. Truly helps make it a second home.
Thanks again for what you do, I look forward to more in future.
@@mytsolar What anderson port do you use?
@@braddennis2747 usually an SB50 with 10awg pins
Sharp hat.
Haha! Thanks bud, it's become my sort of "signature"
Do we have to use the victron batteries or can we save some money and use another battery
We can definitely work with other brands of batteries, Victron is our preferred battery but there are some cheaper brands that we have used in the past!
I have always wondered how much weather, mud, rain, etc. the Anderson plugs can handle? My trailer is a four season off road trailer. We travel in mud, snow. and dusty conditions on each trip. The zamp plugs do have quite small wires which limit how many panels can be used. In my trailer I used Victron components. I can monitor them with my Victron app on my phone. No need to wire a fancy panel inside trailer to check the system. I can sit in my trailer or tow rig and check everything on my smart phone.
They're pretty durable in our experience. You can also get silicone caps for them which helps. We did have a customer get Mormon cricket guts stuck in theirs -but thats another story. Our customers love the Touch70, its kind of the highlight of their install most of the time. Just a touch of the screen and the ability to see all data in one screen, then of course the ability to use wifi and view the system remotely. But they also use the Victron Connect App for when they're sitting in their camp chair or in the truck like it sounds like you're doing.