You have been my go-to guy for info on ham radio stuff for a while, now it looks like you're going to be "the man" for off grid solar too! So stoked to see we share more than one interest!!!
Great Video, wife and I head to Charlotte Motor speedway in NC in May (from Ma) my 12 volt deep cycle (flooded battery) bit the dust on the 2nd to last day (stayed on the raceway grounds boondocking). Just running the fridge on propane and parasitic draw (woke up in the middle of the night with the propane detector beeping and battery dead). Not enough juice to start the onboard propane genny. Jumped it from our neighbors RV to charge enough to start the genny to charge the tired old battery. On the way home picked up a Optima AGM battery. Definitely will be picking up this Renogy Suitcase!!
Very good, I have an 200 Watt foldable en-route. You will certainly want to get another battery or two for backup. What I have been experiencing is multiple cloudy days in a row even living here in Southern Arizona. But I know you'll make it work out your way through trail and error. As a final note, I've been almost 3 years off grid and have 3 layers of backup power sources.
Beautiful Detailed Review. Thank you 🙏 Brother. I just ordered 4 of these beautiful panels. Much better option than buying cloth, plastic portable solar panels. IMO. Buy one ☝️ time for a lifetime. Stay safe & stay free. 🍻
I am looking forward to seeing you connect your Renogy to the SAE port on the side of your camper. There are adapters available, polarity switching etc. but you said you were going to make your own. I am particularly interested because I found that the adapters that are touted by so many simply do not fit. And, it's not because they have a squared off rubber form and the port has a rounded form; they will not fit even if the rubber form is sanded down. I suspect that you have discovered this issue and that may be why you are making your own. Looking forward to hearing from you or seeing an update. Thank you for sharing!
@@UNPLUGD I think I finally got it working but can't test because we are in the middle of an ice/snow storm. The adapters for SAE/Polarity change must have poor quality control as they are not all the same size even though they are supposed to be. I removed the port from the side of the camper and I got one to fit. Apparently not only were the adapters off but the port was not seated properly. Curious as to why you are building a Charge Controller. Anyway, best of luck to you.
Yes an MPPT Controller is better but for a portable setup like this, it doesn't matter as much as something permanently installed. Just grab the suitcase panels, change out the controller to the one you want, and sell the unused one.
@@UNPLUGD Looking at pictures it hard to tell if I need to be cutting wires or if its plug/play in removing the bundled controller. Is it connected by some connectors or hardwired in?
@@irogers858That's what I'm trying to figure out. I just want regular mc4 connectors to hook up to my portable solar generator that already has a 40 amp charge controller. Just haven't seen a clear and close enough picture of how the wires are hooked into the controller that's built onto the panels.
N6EF-I have that solar panel. Got it for a great deal on Black Friday and it works great. I used it on Field Day to keep my 60Ah Bioenno battery charged up during the day. I didn't use the built-in charge controller but a no-name MPPT controller I bought off Amazon. Even running 100 watts from my IC-7300, the battery remained in FLOAT most of the day.
So with your camper having a 12V fridge and the battery lasting 40ish hours with nothing charging the battery, what has been your experience now one year or so later with the 200W solar AND the battery? I get cloudy days will not truly allow the solar to trickle charge the battery. But overall has your experience with the 100aH lithium battery and 200W of solar been acceptable? We're in between campers and there's a floorplan or two we really like but they all have 12V fridges. About 75% of our camping is with no shore power so solar is about our only option. From prior experience, the propane absorption fridges seem to still be the way to go for boondockers. But we know that lithium batteries have definitely come down in price as time goes on. And...thanks for the video, it was well put together. Great job!!!
@@bobconner422 that's a lot of wattage, I had a 400 system on my last RV but when I sold it it went with it. I'm hoping this 200 will just keep my battery charged up while I'm just camping I don't live in the RV anymore so I don't need a lot of power thank you for your reply
If you could explain the difference between led, AGM and you battery, that would be great and also make for a good video. I was planning to update from 2x 24 stile led batteries to 2 AGM that would be equivalent , I believe, to 4.5 of my current batteries. Thank you
Just bought this set up. The controller box instructions clearly say to "connect battery terminals to the charge controller BEFORE connecting the solar panels to the charge controller. NEVER connect solar panels to charge controller until the batter is connected". How is this done? you seemed to do it without disconnecting the controller box. I am completely confused. Please help.
I like this solar suitcase setup. We don't every boondock so I haven't gotten one yet but good to know it will power the critical systems on the coach (RV, pumps, lights). I still wouldn't operate the slide on the battery only, I would only operate it while plugged into the tow vehicle. Those schwintek motors are finicky about power.... One comment about the outside shower on your trailer. Mine is on the rear of the trailer (Salem FSH 178BHSKX) which I think is perfect for using in conjunction with my outdoor kitchen. I never could understand why FR would put the outdoor shower on the camp side so that if you actually use it you are flooding out your campside living space. I've seen a couple of FR units that have it on the campside and even closer to the door. Just doesn't look like a good design to me. But then again we all know that FR does exactly the minimum to get as many units out the door on any given day. God forbid they run an extra 10 feet of PEX and place the shower on the back of the units as a standard practice. Just an observation.
We have a 2018 forest river Hemisphere hyperlite 29rlshl. The solar plug is on the passenger side, campsite side and the water sewer and shower hookup is on the driver's side, back on the other camper site side. We also have an outdoor kitchen in rear on passenger side.
@@UNPLUGD It is also a common wiring for solar panels on RV's. Supposedly it uses a proprietary set of solar panels. But I have read that if you use a adapter that simply changes the plugs from one polarity to the other, then "normal" solar panels will work. I was just wondering if this was the same. Guess not.
@@dougdukes1039 Jason has an SAE port on the side of his camper and Zamp uses SAE. There are adapters on the market that switch polarity but I've found that they will physically not fit my Zamp(SAE) port. I am currently waiting on another adapter to test and hopefully it will work. Looking forward to seeing Jason connect his system to the SAE port on his camper. He said he was going to make an adapter...
@@UNPLUGD Jason, Zamp costs about 3 times as much as Renogy and uses an SAE adapter with polarity switching. I've had no luck with the adapters I've tried and currently waiting on another to test.
You might want to add a Renogy or Victron DC to DC charger to your arsenal of charging options. Then if you have multiple days of overcast weather while you are traveling the DC-to-DC charger can take up the slack and keep the batteries charged.
@KM4ACK I think I saw a video or something in your newsletter about that device. I have had one for a while so it was fun seeing that you used it also.
Great video! Just curious if you have a battery monitor connected to you battery? I recent upgraded my old battery with a battle born LiPo4 with a Victron battery monitor and connected this same renogy suitcase charger and I don’t think it’s charging my battery…neither tech support was very helpful…just curious if you had any initial issues with charging? Thx
Great video. I’m about to buy that solar panels for my Bluetti EB70S. How do I setup the type of battery I’m using? Sorry but I really don’t know anything about solar stuff. Appreciate you help. Thanks
For your application you don't need to use the solar charger controller for your eb70 since it has a built in MPPT charge controller. You would just bypass the charge controller (if you were to get a solar kit that has a controller on it) and plug the panel straight into the EB70. There's PWM charge controllers and MPPT. MPPT is the way to go period. Look up videos on charge controllers to get a deeper understanding. As for your Eb70 it can take a max of 200w charging so a 200w panel is perfect (never expect to get the rated max watts out of a panel). Now, if you're planing on just connecting solar straight to your battery/batteries (like a vehicle lead acid, AGM etc.) then you're gonna need a charge controller to control the power being delivered to your battery. Pretty much all charge controllers have buttons to select the charging of lead, ifepo4, gel, AGM etc. Hope this helps alittle.
Good show. I had no idea these batteries could be so expensive...I was thinking around 200 for something that would suffice but once you get into the Lithium Iron grade I guess it is a different ballgame...do you mind if I ask is this a homestead property or just off grid lot ? Thank you !
Solar On The Side is a company that installs these things into RVs. Apparently they don't do a very good job of explaining how solar charging works to the RV sales reps, though. Yes it is $12 worth of parts but it is wired through the walls of the RV, so it is nice and hidden instead of wires hanging outside of the RV and looking like junk.
Simple yet thorough explanation. I’ve been watching this product and by far one of the best videos out there…. Thank you
Wow, thanks!
You have been my go-to guy for info on ham radio stuff for a while, now it looks like you're going to be "the man" for off grid solar too!
So stoked to see we share more than one interest!!!
Thanks!
Great Video, wife and I head to Charlotte Motor speedway in NC in May (from Ma) my 12 volt deep cycle (flooded battery) bit the dust on the 2nd to last day (stayed on the raceway grounds boondocking). Just running the fridge on propane and parasitic draw (woke up in the middle of the night with the propane detector beeping and battery dead). Not enough juice to start the onboard propane genny. Jumped it from our neighbors RV to charge enough to start the genny to charge the tired old battery. On the way home picked up a Optima AGM battery. Definitely will be picking up this Renogy Suitcase!!
Very good, I have an 200 Watt foldable en-route. You will certainly want to get another battery or two for backup. What I have been experiencing is multiple cloudy days in a row even living here in Southern Arizona. But I know you'll make it work out your way through trail and error. As a final note, I've been almost 3 years off grid and have 3 layers of backup power sources.
I think you'll like it
Good coverage. Looking forward to you continued test results
Love this. buying an RV sometime over the next year. This helps!
Beautiful Detailed Review. Thank you 🙏 Brother. I just ordered 4 of these beautiful panels. Much better option than buying cloth, plastic portable solar panels. IMO. Buy one ☝️ time for a lifetime. Stay safe & stay free. 🍻
Glad I could help
Thanks for a very well-presented review. Great info!
Glad it was helpful!
I am looking forward to seeing you connect your Renogy to the SAE port on the side of your camper. There are adapters available, polarity switching etc. but you said you were going to make your own. I am particularly interested because I found that the adapters that are touted by so many simply do not fit. And, it's not because they have a squared off rubber form and the port has a rounded form; they will not fit even if the rubber form is sanded down. I suspect that you have discovered this issue and that may be why you are making your own. Looking forward to hearing from you or seeing an update. Thank you for sharing!
I'd like to get a charge controller built in first
@@UNPLUGD I think I finally got it working but can't test because we are in the middle of an ice/snow storm. The adapters for SAE/Polarity change must have poor quality control as they are not all the same size even though they are supposed to be. I removed the port from the side of the camper and I got one to fit. Apparently not only were the adapters off but the port was not seated properly. Curious as to why you are building a Charge Controller. Anyway, best of luck to you.
I really wish they sold just the panels as for my set up I already have 40A MPPT controller which superior to PWM that are attached to the panels...
Yes an MPPT Controller is better but for a portable setup like this, it doesn't matter as much as something permanently installed. Just grab the suitcase panels, change out the controller to the one you want, and sell the unused one.
@@UNPLUGD Looking at pictures it hard to tell if I need to be cutting wires or if its plug/play in removing the bundled controller. Is it connected by some connectors or hardwired in?
@@irogers858That's what I'm trying to figure out.
I just want regular mc4 connectors to hook up to my portable solar generator that already has a 40 amp charge controller.
Just haven't seen a clear and close enough picture of how the wires are hooked into the controller that's built onto the panels.
N6EF-I have that solar panel. Got it for a great deal on Black Friday and it works great. I used it on Field Day to keep my 60Ah Bioenno battery charged up during the day. I didn't use the built-in charge controller but a no-name MPPT controller I bought off Amazon. Even running 100 watts from my IC-7300, the battery remained in FLOAT most of the day.
Thanks for commenting
Good video Jason.
Thanks 👍
that's a big boy panel
should serve your needs indeed
They make a smaller version too
When you replaced your battery with the iron phosphate battery were there any modifications made and what were they?
I should have done some, but didn't - and ruined my battery. So I am working on a video for that now
So with your camper having a 12V fridge and the battery lasting 40ish hours with nothing charging the battery, what has been your experience now one year or so later with the 200W solar AND the battery? I get cloudy days will not truly allow the solar to trickle charge the battery. But overall has your experience with the 100aH lithium battery and 200W of solar been acceptable? We're in between campers and there's a floorplan or two we really like but they all have 12V fridges. About 75% of our camping is with no shore power so solar is about our only option. From prior experience, the propane absorption fridges seem to still be the way to go for boondockers. But we know that lithium batteries have definitely come down in price as time goes on. And...thanks for the video, it was well put together. Great job!!!
I still have a great experience with the solar panel setup.
Do you know if you can hook up more panels to the same system
I have 2- 200watt suit cases and 800 watts on the roof all works well
@@bobconner422 that's a lot of wattage, I had a 400 system on my last RV but when I sold it it went with it. I'm hoping this 200 will just keep my battery charged up while I'm just camping I don't live in the RV anymore so I don't need a lot of power thank you for your reply
If you could explain the difference between led, AGM and you battery, that would be great and also make for a good video. I was planning to update from 2x 24 stile led batteries to 2 AGM that would be equivalent , I believe, to 4.5 of my current batteries.
Thank you
Noted.
Just bought this set up. The controller box instructions clearly say to "connect battery terminals to the charge controller BEFORE connecting the solar panels to the charge controller. NEVER connect solar panels to charge controller until the batter is connected". How is this done? you seemed to do it without disconnecting the controller box. I am completely confused. Please help.
Since this is all wired together, there is no way to do it like you describe.
Mine is not red or blue lighting coming on, what I’m I doing wrong
What kind of solar set up would one need to run the fridge/ac/lights/tv etc?
I'll find that out next month
I like this solar suitcase setup. We don't every boondock so I haven't gotten one yet but good to know it will power the critical systems on the coach (RV, pumps, lights). I still wouldn't operate the slide on the battery only, I would only operate it while plugged into the tow vehicle. Those schwintek motors are finicky about power....
One comment about the outside shower on your trailer. Mine is on the rear of the trailer (Salem FSH 178BHSKX) which I think is perfect for using in conjunction with my outdoor kitchen. I never could understand why FR would put the outdoor shower on the camp side so that if you actually use it you are flooding out your campside living space. I've seen a couple of FR units that have it on the campside and even closer to the door. Just doesn't look like a good design to me. But then again we all know that FR does exactly the minimum to get as many units out the door on any given day. God forbid they run an extra 10 feet of PEX and place the shower on the back of the units as a standard practice. Just an observation.
We have a 2018 forest river Hemisphere hyperlite 29rlshl. The solar plug is on the passenger side, campsite side and the water sewer and shower hookup is on the driver's side, back on the other camper site side. We also have an outdoor kitchen in rear on passenger side.
How much do those two panels weigh? On occasion, for security, I might want to hoist them up onto my RV roof.
38lbs according to the website
@@UNPLUGD Thanks! I just bought two. They’re not terribly heavy, but bulky trying to lift while climbing a ladder. Maybe one at a time.
No trade in to a van/paratransit based RV yet?
Not yet, lol
can you use it without the controller as I have a power station with built in MPPT controller?
you'd have to rewire it
@@UNPLUGD thank you.
Do they make a CNG type frig?
I'm not sure what that is
@@UNPLUGD A frig which is powered off natural gas. They make gas air conditioners for homes. Wonder if they shrank the tech for an ice box
Some RV's have the ZAMP system. Doesnt that need a cross over plug to reverse the pole for a non-Zamp panel ?
I'm not familiar with the ZAMP system
@@UNPLUGD It is also a common wiring for solar panels on RV's. Supposedly it uses a proprietary set of solar panels. But I have read that if you use a adapter that simply changes the plugs from one polarity to the other, then "normal" solar panels will work. I was just wondering if this was the same. Guess not.
@@dougdukes1039 Jason has an SAE port on the side of his camper and Zamp uses SAE. There are adapters on the market that switch polarity but I've found that they will physically not fit my Zamp(SAE) port. I am currently waiting on another adapter to test and hopefully it will work. Looking forward to seeing Jason connect his system to the SAE port on his camper. He said he was going to make an adapter...
@@UNPLUGD Jason, Zamp costs about 3 times as much as Renogy and uses an SAE adapter with polarity switching. I've had no luck with the adapters I've tried and currently waiting on another to test.
Do you have a link for your LiON battery? I'm tired of dealing with deep cycle lead acid batteries.
Yes, what size of battery do you need?
You might want to add a Renogy or Victron DC to DC charger to your arsenal of charging options. Then if you have multiple days of overcast weather while you are traveling the DC-to-DC charger can take up the slack and keep the batteries charged.
Quick question are you going to insulate the battery? Ty
Yeah I'll get a box for it
Do you have that cell phone Bluetooth detector under the propane tank?
I just put those on my tanks a couple of weeks ago. Love them so far.
No it is this device - amzn.to/3yzCstu
@KM4ACK I think I saw a video or something in your newsletter about that device. I have had one for a while so it was fun seeing that you used it also.
Good video Jason 73 KV5P
Thanks!
How long could you run the AC if connected to solar?
The AC on this camper is 110v so it doesn't run from solar
Great video! Just curious if you have a battery monitor connected to you battery? I recent upgraded my old battery with a battle born LiPo4 with a Victron battery monitor and connected this same renogy suitcase charger and I don’t think it’s charging my battery…neither tech support was very helpful…just curious if you had any initial issues with charging? Thx
There's a charge controller with a monitor included with this setup
Great video. I’m about to buy that solar panels for my Bluetti EB70S. How do I setup the type of battery I’m using? Sorry but I really don’t know anything about solar stuff. Appreciate you help. Thanks
For your application you don't need to use the solar charger controller for your eb70 since it has a built in MPPT charge controller. You would just bypass the charge controller (if you were to get a solar kit that has a controller on it) and plug the panel straight into the EB70. There's PWM charge controllers and MPPT. MPPT is the way to go period. Look up videos on charge controllers to get a deeper understanding. As for your Eb70 it can take a max of 200w charging so a 200w panel is perfect (never expect to get the rated max watts out of a panel). Now, if you're planing on just connecting solar straight to your battery/batteries (like a vehicle lead acid, AGM etc.) then you're gonna need a charge controller to control the power being delivered to your battery. Pretty much all charge controllers have buttons to select the charging of lead, ifepo4, gel, AGM etc. Hope this helps alittle.
@@marmo7080 You are awesome. Thank you for the great explanation. 🤜🏼🤛🏼
Good show. I had no idea these batteries could be so expensive...I was thinking around 200 for something that would suffice but once you get into the Lithium Iron grade I guess it is a different ballgame...do you mind if I ask is this a homestead property or just off grid lot ? Thank you !
This is my hunting lease but we have lots of off-grid activities here
How about roof mounted solar panels, so you can keep the battery up almost all the time?
Yes I am planning that, but they will be flexible panels that can mold to the roof
@@HamRadio2 Portable panels can be in the sun but keep the camper under the tree? Is my plan if we have trees that is.
Thank you
Good job ! Dude how long did it take to charge your battery ?
Not long
@@UNPLUGD super helpful
20amps is most definitely not 400w. 20a x 12v = 240w, so a 300w panel would likely yield that
Panels pull in more than 12v so your math is wrong. My 300w panels pull in more than 20a in optimal sunlight
are you the ham radio guy??
Yep
You are building a POTA wagon huh?😉
Yep!
No malicious intent from the salesman, just incompetence.
Right
Thanks so much Checkout RadTel-490 6 band HT
I just made a set out of some old panels. Cost me £80
Wait... they're literally marketing an SAE plug bolted to a battery as "solar on the side!"? LOOOLLLLL that's like $12 whole dollars worth of parts.
Solar On The Side is a company that installs these things into RVs. Apparently they don't do a very good job of explaining how solar charging works to the RV sales reps, though.
Yes it is $12 worth of parts but it is wired through the walls of the RV, so it is nice and hidden instead of wires hanging outside of the RV and looking like junk.
Never trust an RV salesman.
Bro $700 battery is a ripoff!
No, it really isn't if you want quality.
Good to know solar camper needs solar controller thanks