I hear so many people recommending other manufactures, citing price But you guys said the most important note to me" MADE IN USA" . We have the 230w suitcase Zamps have not used them yet only had our Casita a month. I have a hard aluminum tonneau cover on my Tacoma and plan on putting a mount on that to secure the panels when deployed and allow for directional positioning. Great videos thanks.
Great information! I build custom off road chassis' for the Casitas and other trailers. We get lots of questions and requests for solar. I'm going to take a look at the link you provided.
I have a Zamp system as Well. Two 170 watt roof panels on the roof and a suitcase 180 watt on the ground. I have two 6 volt AGM batteries. Not going to go with lithium. I have gone without hook ups for as long as 30 days . No issues. My only issue with Zamp is I would rather use a mppt charge controller. Also I did not no at the time their panels are wired reverse polarity. Had I known that I would have passed on buying this trailer and waited for another so I could go with the Renogy and the mppt controller.
I put a lifeline GPL 31XT deep cycle battery in my 2020 Casita. It’s a 125 amp hour battery, expensive but extremely well-built for deep cycle needs. I seriously like this product and recommend it after the interstate deep cycle failed while Boondocking one time
I appreciate your reasons for not going with the suitcase, but it seems like the suitcase would have been a better option than going with the 3rd panel which ended up in a less than efficient location. That way you could place the suitcase in a sunny area when camped in the shade. Your thoughts? Great vid and very informative. Thanks!!!
Thanks! We have a suitcase that we use for the Jackery and we end up babysitting it, which I hate. I think it’s a great option if you hang out at camp though. Everyone has a different camping style.
@@TravelsandTravails : I’m just curious...do you think there is really that much thievery going on at camping locations? Because if there is, that certainly gives me pause concerning the safety of boonedocking. I semi lock my suitcase up when/if I deploy it, which will keep the honest people honest at best. If I’m going to be gone for the day, I sometimes stick it in the RV, but not usually. Between kayaks and fishing paraphernalia, solar panels and camping equip., etc., I suppose I would be considered low hanging fruit. Then again, if that type of element is present, I really don’t want to be boondocking there with my wife. Never had anything stolen yet, but I suppose “yet” may be the operative word ; ) Thanks!!!
The fuses come permanently attached to the panels as part of the kit. Zamp says not to install the fuse until you are done with the installation to avoid shock hazard. This might make more sense if you look at our installation video: th-cam.com/video/31iF5lAVEBc/w-d-xo.html
Goo videos and very informative. I plan on doing the exact solar installation it’s the two panels but with the option to install a third panel. When you added the third panel did you use the same two port roof box or did you upgrade to a 3 port box?
Great videos on the Zamp rooftop solar kit. I have a 2019 SD Casita trailer, and I use the Zamp suitcase plugged into the Zamp Solar port. I am upgrading to a lithium battery and I am now thinking of going rooftop for solar after watching your videos. Does the battery remain a positive ground like it comes from the factory? Also, can the suitcase still be used on the solar port. Thanks, Love you channel!
Since the suitcase solar port is already wired into the battery, you'll have to take those wires off the old battery and put them on the lithium battery. The wiring from the roof-top solar will also go on that same battery. We recently added a lithium battery as well. We didn't install the charge controller, but if you want to charge the battery from the shore power cord, you'll want that. The solar keeps our battery charged, so we don't need to plug it in and so we didn't get charge controller. When we got the lithium battery, Doug just used the existing ground that was on the old battery to ground the new one. Happy Trails! Crystyn
Amazon: www.amazon.com/dp/B01BU7038A/ref=cm_sw_r_em_apap_O16EhfQ7mSvK3. 10 mos and we haven’t had any problems. I think it helps because the panels are low-profile, so don’t grab the wind. We also put white eternabond over the brackets/EHB tape.
I'm amazed that more people don't install solar instead of using a generator. I stayed at a lake and there were some really fancy rigs there all running generators for hours at a time totally ruining the peace. Solar is easy to install and relatively cheap these days so do everyone a favor and add solar to your fancy rigs.
We have a 2020 Tacoma TRD Sport. We’re happy with it. We wanted the off-road capability. It tows we’ll enough. We’re not blazing up steep hills, but meets our needs. Before that, we towed with a 2013 Toyota Venza. Worked great also.
You two are such a great resource for me, wanting to follow in your footsteps. I will definitely be using your link to buy the Zamp system. I’m just wondering if there’s any way to set up a two battery system in the Casita. We currently have a two 6-volt golf cart battery system in our stick-built trailer. It is very robust, however a two lithium battery system in the Casita would be ideal. Good Vibrations
@@TravelsandTravails I was thinking of the same type battery set-up. With a 25 gallon fresh tank, 3 Zamp panels on the roof, and two Battle Born lithium batteries, you could boondock a week or so quite handily. Happy Trails
I hear so many people recommending other manufactures, citing price But you guys said the most important note to me" MADE IN USA" . We have the 230w suitcase Zamps have not used them yet only had our Casita a month. I have a hard aluminum tonneau cover on my Tacoma and plan on putting a mount on that to secure the panels when deployed and allow for directional positioning.
Great videos thanks.
You’re welcome!
Considering putting this on my teardrop trailer. Thanks for the helpful videos
You’re welcome!
Omg! Love the great, straight forward talk.
Thanks!
What ladder do you use?
Great information! I build custom off road chassis' for the Casitas and other trailers. We get lots of questions and requests for solar. I'm going to take a look at the link you provided.
That is awesome!
How do you run an RV AC with that little generator?......Minimum of 3000 watts is my experience to get these units to run correctly.
It depends on the size of your AC. It works for ours.
Thanks for your videos!
You’re so welcome!
super helpful, thanks so much!
You’re so welcome!
I have a Zamp system as Well. Two 170 watt roof panels on the roof and a suitcase 180 watt on the ground. I have two 6 volt AGM batteries. Not going to go with lithium. I have gone without hook ups for as long as 30 days . No issues. My only issue with Zamp is I would rather use a mppt charge controller. Also I did not no at the time their panels are wired reverse polarity. Had I known that I would have passed on buying this trailer and waited for another so I could go with the Renogy and the mppt controller.
Yes, the MPPT controller is definitely better. We bought Zamp because the panels were a lower profile, plus we bought the kit which had everything.
I put a lifeline GPL 31XT deep cycle battery in my 2020 Casita. It’s a 125 amp hour battery, expensive but extremely well-built for deep cycle needs. I seriously like this product and recommend it after the interstate deep cycle failed while Boondocking one time
Thanks for the tip!
Thanks. I love the low profile and non-drilling method. Great job Doug! What do you drink if you don't drink coffee?
You’re very welcome. He drinks soda or Bai water. I could never drink soda in the morning, but it works for him. Crystyn
I appreciate your reasons for not going with the suitcase, but it seems like the suitcase would have been a better option than going with the 3rd panel which ended up in a less than efficient location. That way you could place the suitcase in a sunny area when camped in the shade. Your thoughts? Great vid and very informative. Thanks!!!
Thanks! We have a suitcase that we use for the Jackery and we end up babysitting it, which I hate. I think it’s a great option if you hang out at camp though. Everyone has a different camping style.
@@TravelsandTravails : I’m just curious...do you think there is really that much thievery going on at camping locations? Because if there is, that certainly gives me pause concerning the safety of boonedocking. I semi lock my suitcase up when/if I deploy it, which will keep the honest people honest at best. If I’m going to be gone for the day, I sometimes stick it in the RV, but not usually. Between kayaks and fishing paraphernalia, solar panels and camping equip., etc., I suppose I would be considered low hanging fruit. Then again, if that type of element is present, I really don’t want to be boondocking there with my wife. Never had anything stolen yet, but I suppose “yet” may be the operative word ; ) Thanks!!!
I guess I’m not really sure because we just haven’t taken the chance. We leave chairs and things like that out and have never had a problem.
Hi Guys. Great video and info. I'm curious why you didn't put the wires into a some sort of wire corrugated tube and put the fuses inside the trailer?
Thanks! Are you talking about the wiring on the side of the trailer or the rear?
@@TravelsandTravails The wiring on the roof looks loose before it goes into the trailer. At the 7.26 time mark
The fuses come permanently attached to the panels as part of the kit. Zamp says not to install the fuse until you are done with the installation to avoid shock hazard. This might make more sense if you look at our installation video: th-cam.com/video/31iF5lAVEBc/w-d-xo.html
Goo videos and very informative. I plan on doing the exact solar installation it’s the two panels but with the option to install a third panel. When you added the third panel did you use the same two port roof box or did you upgrade to a 3 port box?
I spliced the wires from the new panel into one of the existing harnesses.
Great videos on the Zamp rooftop solar kit. I have a 2019 SD Casita trailer, and I use the Zamp suitcase plugged into the Zamp Solar port. I am upgrading to a lithium battery and I am now thinking of going rooftop for solar after watching your videos. Does the battery remain a positive ground like it comes from the factory? Also, can the suitcase still be used on the solar port. Thanks, Love you channel!
Since the suitcase solar port is already wired into the battery, you'll have to take those wires off the old battery and put them on the lithium battery. The wiring from the roof-top solar will also go on that same battery. We recently added a lithium battery as well. We didn't install the charge controller, but if you want to charge the battery from the shore power cord, you'll want that. The solar keeps our battery charged, so we don't need to plug it in and so we didn't get charge controller. When we got the lithium battery, Doug just used the existing ground that was on the old battery to ground the new one. Happy Trails! Crystyn
Where did you get your EHB tape? Thinking about adding panels to my Casita roof and am a little concerned if tape will be enough.
Amazon: www.amazon.com/dp/B01BU7038A/ref=cm_sw_r_em_apap_O16EhfQ7mSvK3. 10 mos and we haven’t had any problems. I think it helps because the panels are low-profile, so don’t grab the wind. We also put white eternabond over the brackets/EHB tape.
I'm amazed that more people don't install solar instead of using a generator. I stayed at a lake and there were some really fancy rigs there all running generators for hours at a time totally ruining the peace. Solar is easy to install and relatively cheap these days so do everyone a favor and add solar to your fancy rigs.
We have a generator, but rarely run it. Love being off the beaten path with our solar set up.
What are the dimensions of the panels you have? Thanks!
Each panel is 31.6 inches x 14.3 inches x .67 inches.
What ladder are you using in this video
It’s just a regular step ladder.
What do you use to tow your casita with and is it enough or do you wish you had for towing capability? Thanks
We have a 2020 Tacoma TRD Sport. We’re happy with it. We wanted the off-road capability. It tows we’ll enough. We’re not blazing up steep hills, but meets our needs. Before that, we towed with a 2013 Toyota Venza. Worked great also.
Small Truck, BIG POWER: Towing with 2020 Toyota Tacoma TRD Sport
Thanks for the reply. Love the channel
You two are such a great resource for me, wanting to follow in your footsteps.
I will definitely be using your link to buy the Zamp system.
I’m just wondering if there’s any way to set up a two battery system in the Casita.
We currently have a two 6-volt golf cart battery system in our stick-built trailer.
It is very robust, however a two lithium battery system in the Casita would be ideal.
Good Vibrations
Thanks! If we were going to get one more lithium battery, we would put it in the under-seat cabinet and secure it, with straps or something like that.
@@TravelsandTravails I was thinking of the same type battery set-up.
With a 25 gallon fresh tank, 3 Zamp panels on the roof, and two Battle Born lithium batteries, you could boondock a week or so quite handily.
Happy Trails
@@0HARE our limiting factor is water. We carry extra cans for when we want to stay longer.
I would get these in a heartbeat - but $699 on Amazon...good grief
They are pricy, but we’ve never had a problem with them.
Zamp panels are ridiculous to buy! There's no justification for $555.00 for a small 90 Watt panel.
We love the low profile look and they work flawlessly. Would buy again!