Built a ground mount 400w Solar Array years ago. Adjustable angles, on a mechanical "Sun Following" mechanical clockwork set of gears. Follows the sun during the day, keeping the array facing directly, then returns to start at sunset. I Engineered this for an early Off Grid setup, on a contract for people known. It requires readjustment over a year, but I factored adjustment wheels in. Ground level means easy cleaning, but my design STILL works well.
@@GrandAdventure The thing was, I challenged myself to see if I could build it, and have it work. It did, and my friends were amazed. They lived far from everyone, so other than their Family, and friends, nobody has ever seen it. It took me two weeks solid, 8 to 10 hour days, to fabricate it all from scrap parts mostly, and hand built/ machined parts. The Grandmother put me up while I built it, then after getting it connected, and wired into the house, I Tested it, for 24 hours. Charging worked well, Tracking was close to perfect. Grams paid for Parts, and my expenses.
We have (3) 200 watt panels, 100/50 Victron CC, (4) BB batteries, Victron battery monitor and and 3000 watt Victron inverter. The system has been flawless for 2 years. You will love yours Marc!
I have a system I put together 20 years ago, on a Class C. Still working flawlessly, because I Engineered it to last. Batteries lasted 5 or 6 years, but I would upgrade to LiPo now, given my druthers.
I switch over to lithium batteries too. I bet pulling those heavy batteries out, and putting the lithium in, will be way easier to boondock. Thanks Don
Anything that reduces our weight is a good thing, Don. Ironically, by replacing two flooded wet-cell batteries with three lithiums the total weight is pretty much a wash, but we have nearly triple the usable amp-hours as a consolation.
Glad to see your panels adjustable for angle. Too many place them on roofs( RV or Home) and then forget them. Solar Panels used outdoors require regular CLEANING, to maintain efficiency. Quick once over with soapy water, followed by Windex, and they work like brand new. Like anything Technological, it requires periodic maintenance. Battery connections can loosen, corrode, especially on RV's where vibration can happen. Mounting hardware too, can vibrate loose. Aluminum frames, undergo expansion/ contraction as temperatures vary, can cause bolts to loosen.
What I don't understand is how would you control what you would discharge or charge them to? I would like to be able to discharge them to 20% but what if my usage only discharges them to 80% and then the next morning the sun comes up and they charge up to capacity again. I would seriously like to know because if we could control that then we could get a lot more life out of the battery since they are only good for a certain amount of cycles. Do you install a solar panel shut off switch and then turn it on manually when you choose, because I have never heard anyone talk of this but it makes sense to me.
@@stevec2665 You have to adjust the charge controller voltage so it doesn't reach the 100% SOC. You have to adjust your low voltage disconnect on your battery protection device so it doesn't go under 20% SOC. You do both by adjusting the voltages. You have to keep your C-rate low so there isn't much voltage drop over the terminals either.
@@cleversolarpower Ok I think that makes sense but what about my question on the number of cycles? Should I have a cut off switch for my solar panels if I only use 20% each day, why go through a cycle each day if I may only need to charge it every 4 days. I understand there are some variables there but I'm just generally speaking. Thanks
We really do enjoy the cinematic travel episodes more Marc. But there’s also value in the “how to” vids as well. So thanks for taking the time to show and teach us! 👍
Thank you Chris, it's our pleasure. As long as we are making these changes and upgrades it only makes sense to us to film them for our viewers, especially as we need to keep coming up with content every Wednesday until we get back on the road. However, as anxious as we are to get moving again, I think we are even more anxious to start producing travel videos again.
Great info in this video. We have slide in camper and a smaller version of this system would be a great upgrade. And thanks to the The RV Addict for turning us on to your channel
Nice tilt mechanism. I have about the same power, 660W of panels, but it's fixed flat. I thought about tilting, but I didn't want to be climbing up the ladder all the time. We're on the move quite a bit so it didn't make sense for us. If you're using the Victron Shunt for battery monitoring, you love that device. It provides really accurate data for the battery charge level. I also have the internet connected to my Shunt so I can monitor my batteries from anywhere by phone or laptop. I love that capability. Seeing you replace your charge converter brought back memories of my conversion, using the identical 60A Progressive Dynamics lithium charger. I started off with 2 lithium batteries, but I may install a 3rd later on. So far I'm good with 210Ah of battery (Lion Energy 105Ah/ea).
Great feedback Tom! We'll cover the battery monitor next week, it's the Thornwave PowerMon. We installed it for a fraction of the price of a Victron (which is great stuff), yet we still have worldwide data availability over the Internet thanks to integration with our RV Whisper system. We're still considering a Victron charge controller upgrade.
Just received my roof panels and looked at the panel to roof securement. Not impressed so looked to see what you did. Thanks for the tip. Still have a couple months before I can get mine out so I’ll be collecting more parts until then. How to’s mixed with more travel is always good watching.
Thank Dave! Those well nuts have held securely and without issue over the past year. Our travel schedule (stationary each ski season) pretty much mandates that we mix the two types of videos to keep them coming each week, so I'm pleased that you're enjoying that mix.
That's interesting feedback SD! Glad to hear that you're enjoying them. Definitely from a creator's viewpoint we'd much rather do the cinematic travel videos where we get to exercise our creativity a bit, both in filming and editing. In addition, to be honest filming a project makes any project take three times longer to complete. That said, they allow us to keep pumping out weekly content until we get back out there on the road, so it's all good in the end.
Cool, sorry I couldn't watch live, been busy here. I got my batteries and inverter (3000 renogy) installed, I have 4 deep cell for now, also we can use everything with this set up, including air conditioning, still testing to see for how long, already put in a breaker for charger, we can use everything like we are plugged in 😊👍 I'm working on getting the same panels as you, so thanks for sharing...believe it or not, harbor fright solar panels work great also have a 120 watt fold up it worked best, the hf panels worked at night with the full moon 🤔 not much lol..
That's fantastic feedback on your situation, Dave, thanks for sharing that. At some point we need to upgrade to a larger inverter than the 1200W Xantrex that KZ installed in our Durango, and wired to more than the GFCI outlets that are now hot with the unit. However, after this expenditure that's going to have to wait a little bit.
You made some good choices. That charger is the one to have if you don’t go full tilt with a hybrid/smart/inverter-charger. The 60 amp charger can easily be powered by a Honda 2000 or 2200. My only concern is that you may have too small charge cables going to it. I generally use #2 and try to keep the run short as possible. Crazy how much voltage is lost. The Battle Born are very good batteries for non builders. A top notch vibration proof 280 amp hour lithium that fits within a group24 space and weighs 9 pounds less can be built for $750, if you know what you are doing. We have a (built16-280ah cells, 14,336Wh) 48volt battery to a inverter charger and one 280ah battery for 12v “House” duty with same charger you have. You currently have two ways to charge but there’s one other. You can charge as you dive and it will be fully charged when you arrive even in the dark, but you will need a DC to DC charger (Battle Born) HYCLAT 2-4 gauge quick connect (Amazon) and TEMco #2 cable (Amazon) to do it right. Oh and a hydraulic crimper, quality lugs and adhesive lined shrink tubes. Always seal those lugs and the cables will out last you.
That's terrific info, Karl -- thanks for sharing your experience. Experience, or more accurately a lack thereof, is what kept us from going to homemade battery route. We have just enough knowledge to be dangerous. 😁 The cables going to our converter are what was installed by KZ at the factory to our old 55-amp WFCO charger. Changing them is a possibility in the future, but it would require quite a bit of work to re-route the new ones.
@@GrandAdventure Sometimes it’s easier just to move the charger closer to the batteries. You paid a lot of money for those batteries and you may not be reaching their full potential. Look up a “wire ampacity chart” and remember the length is round trip(pos&neg) get ready for a shock, excuse the pun. 5 or10 % loss is ton in 12volt systems is a ton! And revisit you wires to the inverter too. Wires are the most overlooked and most important part of 12v system. Happy trails
Looking forward to your upcoming travels. I finally resolved my vehicular situation on account of a broken foot. Boot is coming off, hopefully in a couple of weeks but i am coming strong, coming prepared and taking my tacoma with me in place of or maybe in conjunction with my 150cc scooter. Waiting for my car hauler trailer to be built at local trailer shop. Raising coffee mug to nice weather and safe travels for both you and I.
Too late now, but with the new jackery products of 1500 and 2000 wh solar panel combo's, you could've saved a chunk of change. Plus it's portable and can go when changing campers.
We've got a Jackery 500, and it definitely serves its purpose. However, we're more interested in powering all of our rig's systems, so cost or not this made a whole lot of sense for us.
Great video. We are also getting all our supplies together to upgrade to lithium. That’s really nice you had that kinda access to the charge converter. I have seen others struggle to get to theirs. We got unlucky with our charge converter as it’s built into the panel, so a lot more wiring for us ! Can’t wait to see you guys get back out on the road !
Thanks UA, we can't wait to get back on the road ourselves! It's tough being torn like this, knowing that there are only a few weeks left to enjoy the lift-served ski season while the pull of the open road gets stronger and stronger. This year, being our first year as full-timers we have a few things still to do with our remaining personal belongings, our old home, etc. so that makes the pull a little easier to deal with...for now. We also understand your converter situation, as it was integrated into our WFCO distribution panel in our former travel trailer. We were thus very pleased to find it sitting behind the stairs in our Durango all by its lonesome self.
Those batteries look awesome. I have Lion Energy. I only have 2 but I notice if I do boondock then we typically have about 50% left after one night. I will say that I do better with water conservation than power conservation though. I will add 1-2 more batteries if we start boondocking more. I'm pretty happy with my progressive dynamics converter as well.
That's terrific feedback -- thanks Barratt! Still, 50% after one night with 2 batteries is pretty encouraging to us as we've got the 600W of solar to restore them beginning in the morning. We tend to be energy hogs, too (including powering our PCs all day for work), and it's nice to know that we can expand the battery bank further within the first couple of years if we so desire. We were initially thinking 4 batteries for 400 amp-hours, but with the ability to add batteries in the near term with no detrimental effect as there would be with wet-cell batteries, we figured we'd instead start with 3 and see how it goes.
Yeah, I am probably going to go bigger but I have a sponsor that’s going to turn my fridge into a traditional compressor driven fridge with no more propane and I just don’t know how much power a 12 volt compressor will use. If we boondocked more I’d use this Amish fridge conversion he does that basically goes the opposite way and only uses gas alone and no 12 volt. Btw we are at Honeysuckle Meadows and you weren’t kidding... this place is nice
@@GimpyCamper fantastic! That still gets our vote as the best sites of any privately run RV park anywhere. Tell them Grand Adventure said "hi". I'm guessing that compressor conversion will burn through a metric crap-ton of battery.
Very nice. You were lucky. I couldn't replace my WFCO converter. I had to run a a new outlet by the batteries and put the PD charger next to them. I have s very similar installation and will be redoing it as the trailer I had it in got wrecked and I'm starting over again in a different trailer. Great video.
So sorry to hear the fate of your last trailer, J, but bigger and better adventures await! Your situation would have certainly added to the complexity of our install, but it sounds as if you got things all figured out.
Perfect timing for the battery install video. I picked up two lithium batteries Monday and have been thinking about how I want to install them and have been watching install videos. Looks like you are going to have a well setup trailer for this summer with all the upgrades. Life will be good out on the road!
@@bruceh3786 So, your Total Demand is 1000 watts or less ? That is the degree of Engineering I recommend. 2x Total Demand. The point is, you want MORE inverter than "just getting by". Otherwise, you overwork the inverter, spelling a shorter life. I used a 2,500w in my Class C, even though my Max Demand was about 1kw. I'm a huge fan of Pure Sine Wave inverters, because they will run everything from lights, to television or computers.
It’s not hard to wire in more circuits at the board the difficult thing is if you want a circuit switch switch back-and-forth From shore power to battery power through the inverter,
That I already have. There's a transfer switch built into the inverter. However, if you can guide me through the process of adding more circuits to the inverter I would be forever in your debt. I googled around and couldn't find squat.
@@DownsizingMakesCents you bet! I'll reach out to you this week. Right now my work schedule is a little crazy with a trial in Louisiana Tuesday-Thursday and a pre-trial conference on that one today, but I'll reach out in the evening if that's alright. At least this Parish is still holding trials remotely via Zoom due to Covid, so I don't have to fly to LA.
Sulfation happens when a LA battery is deprived of a full charge or remains in a lower state of charge for a long period of time. Simply discharging below 50% does not cause this. So, a LA battery needs to be full charged for each discharge cycle.
I did enjoy this DIY episode, but look forward to your warm weather adventures as well! I don’t know about you, but I find the DIY vids tedious to edit. I’m going to shift my direction (pun intended) to travel videos for the summer season and will be visiting New England. Safe travels!
We look forward to following your adventures through my native New England, OC! Safe travels to you as well. For us, "tedious" may not be the right word, perhaps "uninspiring" would be a closer fit. We just don't get to exercise the same cinematic creativity that we can apply to beautiful scenes shot in a natural environment.
Thanks J! We really did pretty well overall. The batteries were on sale for $100 off, and the solar panels were on sale as well, plus another 10% with a coupon code that we found online. Still, $3,500 in one shot is a real kick in the shorts, but it'll pay huge dividends down the road.
@@GrandAdventure Solar is inevitable. My rig is prewired for solar so I guess I'm a little ahead. Although the 50amps here at Lost Dutchman work just fine
@@SevenBears1 yep, Lost Dutchman is a jewel in the AZ state park system and we enjoyed our time there immensely. If you haven't already done so, hike at least some distance up Siphon Draw into the Superstition Mountains Wilderness. It's spectacularly beautiful, and the trail starts right from the campground. Also, don't miss the opportunity to take a drive up the Apache Trail until its current end at the Fish Creek Overlook/Rest Area (milepost 220), as the road doesn't presently go through to Roosevelt Lake and is closed beyond there indefinitely due to storm washouts between mileposts 220 and 229 (Apache Lake Marina). It's one spectacularly gorgeous drive. As you know, even though we spent more time in campgrounds last season than we have in our entire lives (because we went east), our preference is for off-grid boondocking where we can enjoy as much peace and solitude as possible. When choosing a site I get oddly anti-social and would prefer to not be able to see or hear any neighbors. This type of setup makes us self-sustaining in those types of situations.
@@GrandAdventure I'm with you on all that peaceful solitude. Did only quarter mile on that trail. Took 50 pictures in that time. It's been hard to get up off my chair as the view is unbelievable. The steaks cold beer and tequila might have something to do with it too.
Nice work Marc!! You folks are super set up now! 👍🏼 I wondered how you were going to mount the solar panels on your roof. Those well nuts are pretty cool. I would have liked a little more clarity in the wiring of the solar panels. Probably because I have never hooked up solar panels before. Where did you put the third battery? In the same place? The wiring looked “confusing”. (Translation: messy) 😉 I didn’t realize that the lithium batteries were so expensive. I’m going to have to save my pennies. Definitely would be worth it. Hey, I like your style. When we get older, we get to that stage in our life where we really don’t care what people think as long as we are comfortable. Thank you for a great instructional video. 👍🏼👍🏽 Ram
I never cared what other people thought even when I was younger. 😄 I didn't get too much into the wiring because we really didn't wire them. This fifth wheel came from the factory with a single 190 watt panel, all the wiring, and the solar controller already installed. So all we did was put a three-way splitter at the connection point on the roof, and plugged the two new panels into the other two inputs on that splitter. That wires them in parallel, maintaining 12 volts output but combining their wattage. The second battery is just to the left of the first battery, against the wall to the left of the battery door. Because you can put lithium batteries anywhere in any position, I just stacked the third battery atop the second battery and strap them together with a small ratchet strap. It's not the prettiest solution, but it's extremely effective.
@@GrandAdventure Marc, Then it's off to the races... so to speak. I have been researching images of backstreet America circa 1950's and wondering why they are so attractive. STABILITY is the answer that came to me. You will be traveling allot again. Perhaps you will put together some kind of compendium of backstreet America that still exists to some extent. You know, a little here in this location and a little there in another location, over time, until you have enough to do an episode. Just a thought. God, I love those images... they are so enduring. Gord
@@GrandAdventure Marc, You likely have existing footage from all your other travels that covers some of backstreet America. But finding it may be a very time consuming issue. Better to just start from scratch. Remembering to do this is as easy as all the times you said to yourself, I just can't let this image pass bye... even when it doesn't necessary fit into the context of the current episode. Here's the thing about such images. When included in an episode, it is packaged and framed in with context making it contiguous with the rest of the episode, by location and time. When you start to join unrelated images and footage into an episode, covering backstreet America... there is no common carrier other than that one aspect. Place and time are fragmented. That means you will likely have to provide the context in your narrative and weave common threads that will join together the otherwise fragmented footage. It becomes it's own documentary rather than episode based on time and location. You will want to take notes on each piece of footage and still images you take, of why they impressed you, in order to find the commonality between them all as the glue and context that holds them together. It will become a message of what's important to you, and likely to your viewers, as well. It will be more of a challenge but probably a far more rewarding challenge. Since you won't be squeezed into a weekly production scheduled, you can take more time to produce what's in your heart and mind to share with others. The fact that you think this is a fantastic idea means that this strikes a cord within you that you are seeking was well. I hope that helps as you look at this more closely. Gord
Hello Mark, this is Darryl not Lynn, love your channel. I'm getting ready to install two BB's and the same PD 60 AMP converter. You list 2AWG battery cable. Did you use this cable to parallel batteries only? Or did you change the positive cables from the converter to batteries and to distribution box.? If not what size wire did your camper come with? Did you put an inverter in line also? I'm 12 volt only no inverter, but having a hard time deciding on wire size. Thanks for your help
Those cables were used only for the batteries. We did not change the cables from the converter, we trusted that KZ used the appropriate gauge as our original converter was only 5 amps less. I apologize, but I don't have easy access to check those cables for you as they are behind that false wall. We have a Xantrex Freedom X 1200 inverter that was also installed at the KZ factory.
Mark, thanks for this video. I am looking to do a very similar setup to my rig with the same onboard charger (replacing my factory one with the lithium capable). How were you charging the batteries with the solar panels in this setup? Dis you install a separate solar charge controller in addition to the progressive dynamics onboard converter?
James, our rig came from the factory with a cheap GoPower 30A PWM solar charge controller pre-installed, that we continued to use through this initial phase one of our project. However, when phase 2 of our project came along to add more panels and batteries we replaced the charge controller with a Victron 150/100 charge controller (a huge mambo jambo!), and both the shore power charge converter and inverter with an inverter-charger.
Good video. CAn I use a 14.8V battery instead a 12V battery in my trailer? I have a 4s lithium battery that I want to swap with my current led acid type.
So I was curious about the total for you installed solar, I thought you had mentioned $3500? But I also thought you said the batteries were $900 each, so my question is how much and where did your solar panels come from? Thank you for your great videos
Scott, all in over the course of two springs we spent around $7000. That's parts only, as we did all labor ourselves. We got our 200W Renogy panels through Amazon for ~$250 each.
Mark, I have a similar setup but I don't recognize the black plastic part (about 1:50 into the video) that you put on the brackets between them and the roof ???
When we were messing around with that plastic we were contemplating putting shims to compensate for the curve of the roof. We ended up not having to use them.
Nice job on the solar installation. I’m curious as to how thick was the sheathing on your roof? Was that why you opted to use well nuts? Well nuts are definitely the way to go for thinner sheathing. I’d suggest periodically checking the tightness on those knobs. They can vibrate loose over time.
Good advice, Rik. We went with well nuts as overkill; I'd rather overdo a project than under-do it. I checked with KZ prior to installing the panels and our roof decking is 3/8".
Hi Marc, A couple questions here. Why did you switch to a roof mount system? Isn't it better to have them angled towards the sun? Perhaps it was convenience of not having to setup? Being a newb I have a 35ft class A and want a starter system that can be upgraded to Lithium down the road. My RV has the inverter so thinking something like the suitcase you had previously. The hitch is that I have heard that the controller has to be compatible with lithium? Can you suggest a controller that I can use with a couple portable panels that works for two 6V golf cart batteries and lithium batteries or are they completely different?
Hey Paul! There are advantages and disadvantages to both roof-mount and solar: 1. When they're mounted on the roof, the batteries get charged while traveling. 2. Roof mount means nothing to set up or take down. 3. If you park beneath a tree or your RV is otherwise shaded, portable wins hands down. 4. You can build a bigger solar array with roof mounting. 5. There's little installation required for portable, even if your RV isn't manufactured "solar ready." That said, portable is a great way to break into solar. It's quite easy to implement, and you may even choose to keep your portable panels even after you install roof-mounted solar to supplement your charging, or to assist in #3 above. In our experience most solar controllers have settings for flooded wet cell, AGM and lithium batteries, so they work with all. You may be thinking of power converters, which often need to be switched out when switching over to lithium, as ours needed to be.
@@GrandAdventure hey Marc, Thank you so much for your response and such a timely manner as usual! I appreciate all your feedback and totally understand now your process. I would love to contribute to your journey. You should think about a patreon account where we can all chip in for your boondocking experience. Hope to see you on the road someday!
@@PaulWellner thanks so much. We've long eschewed the Patreon route as that always felt like begging to me. Although we do make SuperChat available during our video Premieres, the best way to contribute is to remember our links when shopping for anything on Amazon, or maybe picking up a T-shirt. Thanks for thinking of us!
Hey Mark, love the solar setup adding the battery monitor will really help with the usability of the system. What inverter do you have installed. Looking forward to seeing more travel videos, but i love these DIY projects also. Larry
Thanks Larry! KZ installed the Xantrex Freedom X 1200W at the factory, but we'll be upgrading that in the future once my bank account recovers from the shock of this project. My biggest complaint is not the wattage, as 1200W will cover most things we'd want to do with an inverter. Instead, it's the fact that it's only wired to one circuit, the GFCI outlets. Perhaps it's above my pay grade, but I can't seem to understand a way to wire it to more than one circuit on the distribution panel. I'd like it to power the non-GFCI outlets, too, as well as the microwave. If you have any advice in that regard I'm all ears!
Enjoy watching your videos, nice work. How did you decide on the number of batteries to install. I went with 4 of the Battle Born batteries along with a Victron 3000 watt inverter about a year ago, have been very pleased with the set up. My installer was able to wire it up so I have use of all of my outlets except for one circuit, the one that is the GFI. So far the set up has worked well, hope your does the same. Safe travels.
Thank you Gary, and thanks for sharing your experience! We estimated our electrical consumption and decided to try it with three batteries for now, with the option of expanding it to four later on if we find that we underestimated our use. Our Durango came from the factory with a 1200 watt Xantrex inverter that powers the opposite of you, in our case it is just the GFCI outlets. I would like to upgrade this later on to a larger inverter connected to more circuits, but after this expenditure that is going to have to wait a bit.
@@GrandAdventure understand completely, it is not a cheap upgrade. I struggled to determine the correct number of batteries, have seen some setups with 6 or 8 batteries, not sure how they can afford those setups. ps: on separate note, on one of your videos, your talk about the campgrounds in the SLC area, I come out that way once a year for work, and have stayed at the KOA downtown, for me it has worked well, felt safe and was close to where I needed to go for work. Safe travels, keep up the good work on the videos, enjoy the journey.
@@garyslavonic5115 same to you Gary! We've actually stayed at that SLC KOA twice, once on the first weekend when we picked up this fifth wheel and then for our first week as full-timers between Christmas and New Year's. We agree with your analysis completely. They're by far the nicest sites of any of the four options, too. Our beef, however, was the way that they run their long-term business. They don't take reservations for their long-term sites; instead, they expect you to just show up at the KOA and they stick you in a daily site (at the pricey daily rate) until a long-term site becomes "available" within a week or two -- even though long-term sites sit visibly empty while you wait. Furthermore, their application insisted upon some personal information (like full social security numbers for each site occupant) that we didn't feel that they were entitled to for a monthly RV site rental. In the end we walked, and moved to Mountain Shadows. The staff here has been terrific and it's much closer to Little Cottonwood Canyon, which is the reason that we chose to winter in SLC in the first place. Some of the sites here are crazy cramped, but in the end it turned out to be the best option for us.
How does the new converter change over from the solar panels ? We also have a KZ that has a WFCO WF 9855 converter and the solar setup (2 panels 200 and 190 W) and the worthless 1200 inverter. Is The 9855 a charger also as it’s not marked. I also have a zantrex 3000 x (not the xc) to be installed and only has the 2 battery in wires and one 3 wire out from the inverter that only powers a limited number of plugs. Any suggestions?
Robert, a converter is a charger by definition -- that's all it does, actually. It "converts" 120V AC shore power to 12V DC charging amps. As you saw in episode 249 we routed the output from our Xantrex XC3000 directly to one half of our 50A distribution panel, and then put all of the branch circuits that we wanted to power from the inverter on that half of the distribution panel. You could do the exact same thing, except because you have the X3000 which is an inverter rather than an inverter-charger, just leave your WFCO converter in place. The only caveat to that plan is that the WF-9855 isn't compatible with lithium batteries, so if you change out your batteries to LiFePO4 you'd have to also change the converter to something with a charging profile compatible with LiFePO4, such as the WF-9800-AD or the Progressive Dynamics PD9100 Series www.progressivedyn.com/lithium-converter-replacement-units/.
@@GrandAdventure thank you, just a note, I have 2 200w panels and 2 lithium Battery’s. The converter KZ put in is not lithium ready , everything was purchased and installed by KZ when built except 1 of the panels and the battery’s were at the dealer and no one told me anything about the converter
@@robertnasser9937 well then, you could kill two birds with one stone and solve your lithium converter charging profile by replacing both your inverter and converter with the XC3000 inverter-charger, as we did.
@@GrandAdventure I am and thanks, it is to be delivered in a few days and returned for the correct one. I got and am a little confused because I believed when on shore power the 12v was coming from the converter and not from the battery’s.
Good morning Marc! Holy cow...you two maintenance meisters made this look so easy. I'm envisioning my middle linebacker build crawling into the storage bay to take a wall out [read: rectangular 2x4 getting shoved into the round pvc tubing]. Are your adjustable solar panel brackets able to raise from both directions, or just towards the side of your rig that is closest? Safe travels!!
LOL Alan! Yeah, there are occasionally advantages to being a 98-lb weakling. 😁 Those Renogy tilt brackets will tilt the panels in either direction, it only depends on which corner knob you remove for the tilting function.
Hey just found this video. I think we have the same Durango you have. We love ours. I did not get the solar package just have the pre wired for solar. I really want a similar set up to what you have. Will need a bit more since you had the system already on with one panel. It's hard to figure out everything I need though. Thanks for the video
The wiring is the worst of the installation, so that pre-wiring gives you a big leg up. Depending on the size of the array you may want to use that to pull a heavier gauge wire through (KZ used 10 AWG on ours), or because you're starting from scratch you can wire panels in series to minimize voltage loss and decrease the amperage to keep using the existing wiring. Right now just absorb information like a sponge and it will all start making more sense. I highly recommend Will Prowse's TH-cam channel for both solar and LiFePO4, I learned enough to be dangerous while watching his videos.
@@GrandAdventure so thanks for your reply. I was just watching this video again and as you were installing the batteries I saw a yellow and white wire set with a fuse. I assume that is the pre wire that goes to the roof. I also have a wf 9855 converter and I called battle born they said it would charge the lithium but you ended up replacing yours. So hard to get anyone at KZ to respond
@@scottsmith922 the 9855 will charge the lithium batteries but they will never reach 100% because of the charging profile in that converter. That's why you want to upgrade, not to mention the fact that it will eventually damage the batteries by not fully charging them. Yes, that yellow and white wire is The wire that comes from our solar controller, and a similar yellow and white wire goes from the roof panels to the solar controller. That's the 10 gauge wire I was talking about.
If I got this right. You put three panels in parallel With a combined wattage of 590w, right? 590 watts divided by 18 volts is over 30 amps. Yet you are using splitters that are rated for 20 amps, yes? Are the wires going to the solar controller 10 gauge (rated for 30 amp), or are they the stock wires 12gauge (rated for 20 amps). Maybe you need a second opinion on your wiring? Good luck.
Thanks for your input Glenn! Everything is rated at 30 amps -- the splitter, the stock wiring (10 AWG), etc. I'd rather have 6 AWG to minimize voltage loss and that's coming up at some point. The optimal output of the combined panels is just under 30A and the combined short-circuit current is around 36A.
@@GrandAdventure I am sorry to have wasted your time. I just assumed you were using 20 amp connectors (like everyone else on youtube). I have seen so many youtubers give very bad electrical advice. The reason i got triggered on this is you ran the panels in parallel. Because of possible shade issues. In my experience a good MPPT controller will not be changed in power losses over wiring in series and having some shade over parallel wiring. That only true if using a PWM controller. It is one of the many solar rv youtube myths. Also running in parallel (higher current than series) will make the controller work much harder and have more heat losses. I have been a mechanic specializing in electrical systems and also a temporary power electrician with a crapy degree in electronics. I am retired now and watch way to much youtube. Best of luck to you
@@glennbeattie6172 you're not wasting our time at all. Great exchanges of information, such as this one, are why we love interacting with our viewers via comments. Also, as we mentioned in the video we're anything but experts in these matters -- we simply absorb as much information as possible and make the best decisions we can based on what we understand. You are far more qualified to address these issues than we are, and we just wanted to film and share our experience in installing the upgrade. I'm certain that we've made mistakes that will lead to further enhancements.
@@GrandAdventure copy that Lol I had dual antennas on my older truck. with bnc connector on hand held. Im contiplating similar set up My current rig is aluminum . different thinking is involved.
It could also fry the charge wire/connector from the truck to the trailer. But that's assuming Marc charges his batteries from his truck through the wiring harness to the trailer. With 590 watts of solar power on the trailer he doesn't need to charge the house batteries by alternator now.
Absolutely Bob, we should've mentioned turning everything off but yes we did. As for the controller, we didn't get into that because it was already installed as part of our existing system.
I used to love Renogy, but there customer service has really gone in the toilet lately. I won't buy anything from them anymore. They aren't the only show in town.
I'm just about to upgrade to add solar and Lithium batteries, so your video was very helpful to me. Appreciate the "how to" for a newbie!
Our pleasure! Thank you very much for watching, and best wishes for a successful upgrade.
Built a ground mount 400w Solar Array years ago. Adjustable angles, on a mechanical "Sun Following" mechanical clockwork set of gears. Follows the sun during the day, keeping the array facing directly, then returns to start at sunset. I Engineered this for an early Off Grid setup, on a contract for people known. It requires readjustment over a year, but I factored adjustment wheels in. Ground level means easy cleaning, but my design STILL works well.
That sounds really cool, David!
@@GrandAdventure The thing was, I challenged myself to see if I could build it, and have it work. It did, and my friends were amazed. They lived far from everyone, so other than their Family, and friends, nobody has ever seen it. It took me two weeks solid, 8 to 10 hour days, to fabricate it all from scrap parts mostly, and hand built/ machined parts. The Grandmother put me up while I built it, then after getting it connected, and wired into the house, I Tested it, for 24 hours. Charging worked well, Tracking was close to perfect. Grams paid for Parts, and my expenses.
We have (3) 200 watt panels, 100/50 Victron CC, (4) BB batteries, Victron battery monitor and and 3000 watt Victron inverter. The system has been flawless for 2 years. You will love yours Marc!
That's excellent feedback GP, thanks for sharing your experience!
I have a system I put together 20 years ago, on a Class C. Still working flawlessly, because I Engineered it to last. Batteries lasted 5 or 6 years, but I would upgrade to LiPo now, given my druthers.
I switch over to lithium batteries too. I bet pulling those heavy batteries out, and putting the lithium in, will be way easier to boondock. Thanks Don
Anything that reduces our weight is a good thing, Don. Ironically, by replacing two flooded wet-cell batteries with three lithiums the total weight is pretty much a wash, but we have nearly triple the usable amp-hours as a consolation.
excellent video Marc.
Thank you very much, and thanks for watching!
A good reliable solar panels system with a lithium battery are the perfect companion for the boondocker !!!
Je suis d'accord, Dany!
Glad to see your panels adjustable for angle. Too many place them on roofs( RV or Home) and then forget them. Solar Panels used outdoors require regular CLEANING, to maintain efficiency. Quick once over with soapy water, followed by Windex, and they work like brand new. Like anything Technological, it requires periodic maintenance. Battery connections can loosen, corrode, especially on RV's where vibration can happen. Mounting hardware too, can vibrate loose. Aluminum frames, undergo expansion/ contraction as temperatures vary, can cause bolts to loosen.
Great points all, David. We have had the loosening connections issue ourselves on occasion.
Great video again. Indeed, if you go full-time RVing Lithium is the way to go. I would discharge them to max 20% to extend their life.
Thanks for the tip and thanks for watching!
@@GrandAdventure It's also good to charge up to 80-90% SOC (not 100%), which will extend the battery life too.
What I don't understand is how would you control what you would discharge or charge them to? I would like to be able to discharge them to 20% but what if my usage only discharges them to 80% and then the next morning the sun comes up and they charge up to capacity again. I would seriously like to know because if we could control that then we could get a lot more life out of the battery since they are only good for a certain amount of cycles. Do you install a solar panel shut off switch and then turn it on manually when you choose, because I have never heard anyone talk of this but it makes sense to me.
@@stevec2665 You have to adjust the charge controller voltage so it doesn't reach the 100% SOC. You have to adjust your low voltage disconnect on your battery protection device so it doesn't go under 20% SOC. You do both by adjusting the voltages. You have to keep your C-rate low so there isn't much voltage drop over the terminals either.
@@cleversolarpower Ok I think that makes sense but what about my question on the number of cycles? Should I have a cut off switch for my solar panels if I only use 20% each day, why go through a cycle each day if I may only need to charge it every 4 days. I understand there are some variables there but I'm just generally speaking. Thanks
We really do enjoy the cinematic travel episodes more Marc. But there’s also value in the “how to” vids as well. So thanks for taking the time to show and teach us! 👍
Thank you Chris, it's our pleasure. As long as we are making these changes and upgrades it only makes sense to us to film them for our viewers, especially as we need to keep coming up with content every Wednesday until we get back on the road. However, as anxious as we are to get moving again, I think we are even more anxious to start producing travel videos again.
Great info in this video. We have slide in camper and a smaller version of this system would be a great upgrade. And thanks to the The RV Addict for turning us on to your channel
We're thrilled that you found this helpful, D! And we're also very happy to hear that you found us through Kevin, he's a terrific guy.
Nice tilt mechanism. I have about the same power, 660W of panels, but it's fixed flat. I thought about tilting, but I didn't want to be climbing up the ladder all the time. We're on the move quite a bit so it didn't make sense for us. If you're using the Victron Shunt for battery monitoring, you love that device. It provides really accurate data for the battery charge level. I also have the internet connected to my Shunt so I can monitor my batteries from anywhere by phone or laptop. I love that capability. Seeing you replace your charge converter brought back memories of my conversion, using the identical 60A Progressive Dynamics lithium charger. I started off with 2 lithium batteries, but I may install a 3rd later on. So far I'm good with 210Ah of battery (Lion Energy 105Ah/ea).
Great feedback Tom! We'll cover the battery monitor next week, it's the Thornwave PowerMon. We installed it for a fraction of the price of a Victron (which is great stuff), yet we still have worldwide data availability over the Internet thanks to integration with our RV Whisper system. We're still considering a Victron charge controller upgrade.
Just ordered jeans and crocks!
🤣
Marc, that setup you have is fantastic😎
And you were a huge part of it, thanks so much for the help!
Go dad go!!!
Just received my roof panels and looked at the panel to roof securement. Not impressed so looked to see what you did. Thanks for the tip. Still have a couple months before I can get mine out so I’ll be collecting more parts until then. How to’s mixed with more travel is always good watching.
Thank Dave! Those well nuts have held securely and without issue over the past year. Our travel schedule (stationary each ski season) pretty much mandates that we mix the two types of videos to keep them coming each week, so I'm pleased that you're enjoying that mix.
Solar panel installation looked very professional, neat and clean. Battle born batteries I've heard are one of the best, great choices Marc.
Thank you Gary! We're looking forward to getting back to boondocking and using it.
I like these type episodes better.
That's interesting feedback SD! Glad to hear that you're enjoying them. Definitely from a creator's viewpoint we'd much rather do the cinematic travel videos where we get to exercise our creativity a bit, both in filming and editing. In addition, to be honest filming a project makes any project take three times longer to complete. That said, they allow us to keep pumping out weekly content until we get back out there on the road, so it's all good in the end.
Excellent how-to with clear explanations of the process. Thanks Marc! 👍
Thank you Bob! Glad that you enjoyed it, and thank you very much for watching.
Cool, sorry I couldn't watch live, been busy here. I got my batteries and inverter (3000 renogy) installed, I have 4 deep cell for now, also we can use everything with this set up, including air conditioning, still testing to see for how long, already put in a breaker for charger, we can use everything like we are plugged in 😊👍 I'm working on getting the same panels as you, so thanks for sharing...believe it or not, harbor fright solar panels work great also have a 120 watt fold up it worked best, the hf panels worked at night with the full moon 🤔 not much lol..
That's fantastic feedback on your situation, Dave, thanks for sharing that. At some point we need to upgrade to a larger inverter than the 1200W Xantrex that KZ installed in our Durango, and wired to more than the GFCI outlets that are now hot with the unit. However, after this expenditure that's going to have to wait a little bit.
You made some good choices. That charger is the one to have if you don’t go full tilt with a hybrid/smart/inverter-charger. The 60 amp charger can easily be powered by a Honda 2000 or 2200. My only concern is that you may have too small charge cables going to it. I generally use #2 and try to keep the run short as possible. Crazy how much voltage is lost. The Battle Born are very good batteries for non builders. A top notch vibration proof 280 amp hour lithium that fits within a group24 space and weighs 9 pounds less can be built for $750, if you know what you are doing. We have a (built16-280ah cells, 14,336Wh) 48volt battery to a inverter charger and one 280ah battery for 12v “House” duty with same charger you have. You currently have two ways to charge but there’s one other. You can charge as you dive and it will be fully charged when you arrive even in the dark, but you will need a DC to DC charger (Battle Born) HYCLAT 2-4 gauge quick connect (Amazon) and TEMco #2 cable (Amazon) to do it right. Oh and a hydraulic crimper, quality lugs and adhesive lined shrink tubes. Always seal those lugs and the cables will out last you.
That's terrific info, Karl -- thanks for sharing your experience. Experience, or more accurately a lack thereof, is what kept us from going to homemade battery route. We have just enough knowledge to be dangerous. 😁 The cables going to our converter are what was installed by KZ at the factory to our old 55-amp WFCO charger. Changing them is a possibility in the future, but it would require quite a bit of work to re-route the new ones.
@@GrandAdventure
Sometimes it’s easier just to move the charger closer to the batteries. You paid a lot of money for those batteries and you may not be reaching their full potential. Look up a “wire ampacity chart” and remember the length is round trip(pos&neg) get ready for a shock, excuse the pun. 5 or10 % loss is ton in 12volt systems is a ton! And revisit you wires to the inverter too. Wires are the most overlooked and most important part of 12v system. Happy trails
Looking forward to your upcoming travels.
I finally resolved my vehicular situation on account of a broken foot. Boot is coming off, hopefully in a couple of weeks but i am coming strong, coming prepared and taking my tacoma with me in place of or maybe in conjunction with my 150cc scooter. Waiting for my car hauler trailer to be built at local trailer shop.
Raising coffee mug to nice weather and safe travels for both you and I.
Hear, hear! Cheers to you, here's wishing you a successful recovery and time back on the road.
Too late now, but with the new jackery products of 1500 and 2000 wh solar panel combo's, you could've saved a chunk of change. Plus it's portable and can go when changing campers.
We've got a Jackery 500, and it definitely serves its purpose. However, we're more interested in powering all of our rig's systems, so cost or not this made a whole lot of sense for us.
Great video. We are also getting all our supplies together to upgrade to lithium. That’s really nice you had that kinda access to the charge converter. I have seen others struggle to get to theirs. We got unlucky with our charge converter as it’s built into the panel, so a lot more wiring for us ! Can’t wait to see you guys get back out on the road !
Thanks UA, we can't wait to get back on the road ourselves! It's tough being torn like this, knowing that there are only a few weeks left to enjoy the lift-served ski season while the pull of the open road gets stronger and stronger. This year, being our first year as full-timers we have a few things still to do with our remaining personal belongings, our old home, etc. so that makes the pull a little easier to deal with...for now.
We also understand your converter situation, as it was integrated into our WFCO distribution panel in our former travel trailer. We were thus very pleased to find it sitting behind the stairs in our Durango all by its lonesome self.
Those batteries look awesome. I have Lion Energy. I only have 2 but I notice if I do boondock then we typically have about 50% left after one night. I will say that I do better with water conservation than power conservation though. I will add 1-2 more batteries if we start boondocking more. I'm pretty happy with my progressive dynamics converter as well.
That's terrific feedback -- thanks Barratt! Still, 50% after one night with 2 batteries is pretty encouraging to us as we've got the 600W of solar to restore them beginning in the morning. We tend to be energy hogs, too (including powering our PCs all day for work), and it's nice to know that we can expand the battery bank further within the first couple of years if we so desire. We were initially thinking 4 batteries for 400 amp-hours, but with the ability to add batteries in the near term with no detrimental effect as there would be with wet-cell batteries, we figured we'd instead start with 3 and see how it goes.
Yeah, I am probably going to go bigger but I have a sponsor that’s going to turn my fridge into a traditional compressor driven fridge with no more propane and I just don’t know how much power a 12 volt compressor will use. If we boondocked more I’d use this Amish fridge conversion he does that basically goes the opposite way and only uses gas alone and no 12 volt. Btw we are at Honeysuckle Meadows and you weren’t kidding... this place is nice
@@GimpyCamper fantastic! That still gets our vote as the best sites of any privately run RV park anywhere. Tell them Grand Adventure said "hi". I'm guessing that compressor conversion will burn through a metric crap-ton of battery.
Very nice. You were lucky. I couldn't replace my WFCO converter. I had to run a a new outlet by the batteries and put the PD charger next to them. I have s very similar installation and will be redoing it as the trailer I had it in got wrecked and I'm starting over again in a different trailer. Great video.
So sorry to hear the fate of your last trailer, J, but bigger and better adventures await! Your situation would have certainly added to the complexity of our install, but it sounds as if you got things all figured out.
@@GrandAdventure I called a dollar company and they said to leave the old one and just add this one for the lithium.
Excellent vid. I like both formats. Stay well. 👍😉🇨🇦🐾
Thank you Marian, you too!
This was a very informative episode, we learned a lot. Thank you Mark.
Thank you Sandy, glad to hear it!
Perfect timing for the battery install video.
I picked up two lithium batteries Monday and have been thinking about how I want to install them and have been watching install videos.
Looks like you are going to have a well setup trailer for this summer with all the upgrades. Life will be good out on the road!
Sounds the same for you too, Bruce! There's really nothing technical about the installation, just hooking up your battery connections.
Pro Tip advice on Inverters......get at least 2x the output required for your Total System. ( everything on at once ).
I have a 2000 watt pure sine wave inverter charger and two 200 watt lithium batteries. It works out well.
@@bruceh3786 So, your Total Demand is 1000 watts or less ? That is the degree of Engineering I recommend. 2x Total Demand. The point is, you want MORE inverter than "just getting by". Otherwise, you overwork the inverter, spelling a shorter life. I used a 2,500w in my Class C, even though my Max Demand was about 1kw. I'm a huge fan of Pure Sine Wave inverters, because they will run everything from lights, to television or computers.
Very good information!!!
Thank you Don!
It’s not hard to wire in more circuits at the board the difficult thing is if you want a circuit switch switch back-and-forth
From shore power to battery power through the inverter,
That I already have. There's a transfer switch built into the inverter. However, if you can guide me through the process of adding more circuits to the inverter I would be forever in your debt. I googled around and couldn't find squat.
@@GrandAdventure Let’s get on the phone or FaceTime to figure it out.
@@DownsizingMakesCents you bet! I'll reach out to you this week. Right now my work schedule is a little crazy with a trial in Louisiana Tuesday-Thursday and a pre-trial conference on that one today, but I'll reach out in the evening if that's alright. At least this Parish is still holding trials remotely via Zoom due to Covid, so I don't have to fly to LA.
Congratulations on your upgrade Marc! I may copy you on that, but not on the jeans and crocs. 😂 Hope to meet you out on the road this summer!
Thank you, and we hope to see you out there! And don't knock those jeans 'n crocs until you try it. 😁
Sulfation happens when a LA battery is deprived of a full charge or remains in a lower state of charge for a long period of time. Simply discharging below 50% does not cause this. So, a LA battery needs to be full charged for each discharge cycle.
Appreciate your clarification!
I did enjoy this DIY episode, but look forward to your warm weather adventures as well! I don’t know about you, but I find the DIY vids tedious to edit. I’m going to shift my direction (pun intended) to travel videos for the summer season and will be visiting New England. Safe travels!
We look forward to following your adventures through my native New England, OC! Safe travels to you as well. For us, "tedious" may not be the right word, perhaps "uninspiring" would be a closer fit. We just don't get to exercise the same cinematic creativity that we can apply to beautiful scenes shot in a natural environment.
@@GrandAdventure Hey Marc, What NE state are you from? I'm in Vermont.
Good show GA.. Seems like good price overall.
Thanks J! We really did pretty well overall. The batteries were on sale for $100 off, and the solar panels were on sale as well, plus another 10% with a coupon code that we found online. Still, $3,500 in one shot is a real kick in the shorts, but it'll pay huge dividends down the road.
@@GrandAdventure Solar is inevitable. My rig is prewired for solar so I guess I'm a little ahead. Although the 50amps here at Lost Dutchman work just fine
@@SevenBears1 yep, Lost Dutchman is a jewel in the AZ state park system and we enjoyed our time there immensely. If you haven't already done so, hike at least some distance up Siphon Draw into the Superstition Mountains Wilderness. It's spectacularly beautiful, and the trail starts right from the campground. Also, don't miss the opportunity to take a drive up the Apache Trail until its current end at the Fish Creek Overlook/Rest Area (milepost 220), as the road doesn't presently go through to Roosevelt Lake and is closed beyond there indefinitely due to storm washouts between mileposts 220 and 229 (Apache Lake Marina). It's one spectacularly gorgeous drive.
As you know, even though we spent more time in campgrounds last season than we have in our entire lives (because we went east), our preference is for off-grid boondocking where we can enjoy as much peace and solitude as possible. When choosing a site I get oddly anti-social and would prefer to not be able to see or hear any neighbors. This type of setup makes us self-sustaining in those types of situations.
@@GrandAdventure I'm with you on all that peaceful solitude. Did only quarter mile on that trail. Took 50 pictures in that time. It's been hard to get up off my chair as the view is unbelievable. The steaks cold beer and tequila might have something to do with it too.
@@SevenBears1 I'll be there by dinner time tonight. 😎
Nice setup Marc
Thank you WLA!
Nice work Marc!!
You folks are super set up now! 👍🏼
I wondered how you were going to mount the solar panels on your roof.
Those well nuts are pretty cool.
I would have liked a little more clarity in the wiring of the solar panels. Probably because I have never hooked up solar panels before.
Where did you put the third battery? In the same place?
The wiring looked “confusing”. (Translation: messy) 😉
I didn’t realize that the lithium batteries were so expensive. I’m going to have to save my pennies. Definitely would be worth it.
Hey, I like your style.
When we get older, we get to that stage in our life where we really don’t care what people think as long as we are comfortable.
Thank you for a great instructional video.
👍🏼👍🏽
Ram
I never cared what other people thought even when I was younger. 😄
I didn't get too much into the wiring because we really didn't wire them. This fifth wheel came from the factory with a single 190 watt panel, all the wiring, and the solar controller already installed. So all we did was put a three-way splitter at the connection point on the roof, and plugged the two new panels into the other two inputs on that splitter. That wires them in parallel, maintaining 12 volts output but combining their wattage.
The second battery is just to the left of the first battery, against the wall to the left of the battery door. Because you can put lithium batteries anywhere in any position, I just stacked the third battery atop the second battery and strap them together with a small ratchet strap. It's not the prettiest solution, but it's extremely effective.
You've been a very busy boy!
Gord
Yup, and I ain't done yet! The list is getting shorter but I've only got a few weeks left to get them done.
@@GrandAdventure Marc,
Then it's off to the races... so to speak.
I have been researching images of backstreet America circa 1950's and wondering why they are so attractive. STABILITY is the answer that came to me.
You will be traveling allot again. Perhaps you will put together some kind of compendium of backstreet America that still exists to some extent. You know, a little here in this location and a little there in another location, over time, until you have enough to do an episode. Just a thought.
God, I love those images... they are so enduring.
Gord
@@gorrdd That's a fantastic idea! I'll add that to my idea list, I appreciate you passing that along.
@@GrandAdventure Marc,
You likely have existing footage from all your other travels that covers some of backstreet America. But finding it may be a very time consuming issue. Better to just start from scratch.
Remembering to do this is as easy as all the times you said to yourself, I just can't let this image pass bye... even when it doesn't necessary fit into the context of the current episode.
Here's the thing about such images. When included in an episode, it is packaged and framed in with context making it contiguous with the rest of the episode, by location and time.
When you start to join unrelated images and footage into an episode, covering backstreet America... there is no common carrier other than that one aspect. Place and time are fragmented.
That means you will likely have to provide the context in your narrative and weave common threads that will join together the otherwise fragmented footage. It becomes it's own documentary rather than episode based on time and location.
You will want to take notes on each piece of footage and still images you take, of why they impressed you, in order to find the commonality between them all as the glue and context that holds them together.
It will become a message of what's important to you, and likely to your viewers, as well. It will be more of a challenge but probably a far more rewarding challenge.
Since you won't be squeezed into a weekly production scheduled, you can take more time to produce what's in your heart and mind to share with others.
The fact that you think this is a fantastic idea means that this strikes a cord within you that you are seeking was well.
I hope that helps as you look at this more closely.
Gord
I Live the travel And how-to videos!! When it is my turn.. I’m going to go Ham on solar.. to keep my “PookieBear” in AC no mater what
That's going to require enough solar panels to cover the state of Nevada, and enough batteries to fill a semi. 😉
@@GrandAdventure a Brother has to do what a Brother has to do!! I picked the Hot British Bombshell.. I gotta keep it up here!!
Hello Mark, this is Darryl not Lynn, love your channel. I'm getting ready to install two BB's and the same PD 60 AMP converter. You list 2AWG battery cable. Did you use this cable to parallel batteries only? Or did you change the positive cables from the converter to batteries and to distribution box.? If not what size wire did your camper come with? Did you put an inverter in line also? I'm 12 volt only no inverter, but having a hard time deciding on wire size. Thanks for your help
Those cables were used only for the batteries. We did not change the cables from the converter, we trusted that KZ used the appropriate gauge as our original converter was only 5 amps less. I apologize, but I don't have easy access to check those cables for you as they are behind that false wall. We have a Xantrex Freedom X 1200 inverter that was also installed at the KZ factory.
Mark, thanks for this video. I am looking to do a very similar setup to my rig with the same onboard charger (replacing my factory one with the lithium capable). How were you charging the batteries with the solar panels in this setup? Dis you install a separate solar charge controller in addition to the progressive dynamics onboard converter?
James, our rig came from the factory with a cheap GoPower 30A PWM solar charge controller pre-installed, that we continued to use through this initial phase one of our project. However, when phase 2 of our project came along to add more panels and batteries we replaced the charge controller with a Victron 150/100 charge controller (a huge mambo jambo!), and both the shore power charge converter and inverter with an inverter-charger.
Good video. CAn I use a 14.8V battery instead a 12V battery in my trailer? I have a 4s lithium battery that I want to swap with my current led acid type.
Thank you. I don't know enough about your battery to give an informed reply, however.
I like your well nuts. What were your thoughts on the VHB tape? I am considering using both. Just a bit paranoid here.
I share your paranoia, Jeff! However, given the fragility of most RV roofs I wouldn't put the tape on myself.
So I was curious about the total for you installed solar, I thought you had mentioned $3500? But I also thought you said the batteries were $900 each, so my question is how much and where did your solar panels come from? Thank you for your great videos
Scott, all in over the course of two springs we spent around $7000. That's parts only, as we did all labor ourselves. We got our 200W Renogy panels through Amazon for ~$250 each.
Mark, I have a similar setup but I don't recognize the black plastic part (about 1:50 into the video) that you put on the brackets between them and the roof ???
When we were messing around with that plastic we were contemplating putting shims to compensate for the curve of the roof. We ended up not having to use them.
Nice job on the solar installation. I’m curious as to how thick was the sheathing on your roof? Was that why you opted to use well nuts? Well nuts are definitely the way to go for thinner sheathing.
I’d suggest periodically checking the tightness on those knobs. They can vibrate loose over time.
Good advice, Rik. We went with well nuts as overkill; I'd rather overdo a project than under-do it. I checked with KZ prior to installing the panels and our roof decking is 3/8".
Hi Marc, A couple questions here. Why did you switch to a roof mount system? Isn't it better to have them angled towards the sun? Perhaps it was convenience of not having to setup? Being a newb I have a 35ft class A and want a starter system that can be upgraded to Lithium down the road. My RV has the inverter so thinking something like the suitcase you had previously. The hitch is that I have heard that the controller has to be compatible with lithium? Can you suggest a controller that I can use with a couple portable panels that works for two 6V golf cart batteries and lithium batteries or are they completely different?
Hey Paul! There are advantages and disadvantages to both roof-mount and solar:
1. When they're mounted on the roof, the batteries get charged while traveling.
2. Roof mount means nothing to set up or take down.
3. If you park beneath a tree or your RV is otherwise shaded, portable wins hands down.
4. You can build a bigger solar array with roof mounting.
5. There's little installation required for portable, even if your RV isn't manufactured "solar ready."
That said, portable is a great way to break into solar. It's quite easy to implement, and you may even choose to keep your portable panels even after you install roof-mounted solar to supplement your charging, or to assist in #3 above. In our experience most solar controllers have settings for flooded wet cell, AGM and lithium batteries, so they work with all. You may be thinking of power converters, which often need to be switched out when switching over to lithium, as ours needed to be.
@@GrandAdventure hey Marc, Thank you so much for your response and such a timely manner as usual! I appreciate all your feedback and totally understand now your process. I would love to contribute to your journey. You should think about a patreon account where we can all chip in for your boondocking experience. Hope to see you on the road someday!
@@PaulWellner thanks so much. We've long eschewed the Patreon route as that always felt like begging to me. Although we do make SuperChat available during our video Premieres, the best way to contribute is to remember our links when shopping for anything on Amazon, or maybe picking up a T-shirt. Thanks for thinking of us!
Hey Mark, love the solar setup adding the battery monitor will really help with the usability of the system. What inverter do you have installed. Looking forward to seeing more travel videos, but i love these DIY projects also. Larry
Thanks Larry! KZ installed the Xantrex Freedom X 1200W at the factory, but we'll be upgrading that in the future once my bank account recovers from the shock of this project. My biggest complaint is not the wattage, as 1200W will cover most things we'd want to do with an inverter. Instead, it's the fact that it's only wired to one circuit, the GFCI outlets. Perhaps it's above my pay grade, but I can't seem to understand a way to wire it to more than one circuit on the distribution panel. I'd like it to power the non-GFCI outlets, too, as well as the microwave. If you have any advice in that regard I'm all ears!
Enjoy watching your videos, nice work. How did you decide on the number of batteries to install. I went with 4 of the Battle Born batteries along with a Victron 3000 watt inverter about a year ago, have been very pleased with the set up. My installer was able to wire it up so I have use of all of my outlets except for one circuit, the one that is the GFI. So far the set up has worked well, hope your does the same. Safe travels.
Thank you Gary, and thanks for sharing your experience! We estimated our electrical consumption and decided to try it with three batteries for now, with the option of expanding it to four later on if we find that we underestimated our use. Our Durango came from the factory with a 1200 watt Xantrex inverter that powers the opposite of you, in our case it is just the GFCI outlets. I would like to upgrade this later on to a larger inverter connected to more circuits, but after this expenditure that is going to have to wait a bit.
@@GrandAdventure understand completely, it is not a cheap upgrade. I struggled to determine the correct number of batteries, have seen some setups with 6 or 8 batteries, not sure how they can afford those setups. ps: on separate note, on one of your videos, your talk about the campgrounds in the SLC area, I come out that way once a year for work, and have stayed at the KOA downtown, for me it has worked well, felt safe and was close to where I needed to go for work. Safe travels, keep up the good work on the videos, enjoy the journey.
@@garyslavonic5115 same to you Gary! We've actually stayed at that SLC KOA twice, once on the first weekend when we picked up this fifth wheel and then for our first week as full-timers between Christmas and New Year's. We agree with your analysis completely. They're by far the nicest sites of any of the four options, too. Our beef, however, was the way that they run their long-term business. They don't take reservations for their long-term sites; instead, they expect you to just show up at the KOA and they stick you in a daily site (at the pricey daily rate) until a long-term site becomes "available" within a week or two -- even though long-term sites sit visibly empty while you wait. Furthermore, their application insisted upon some personal information (like full social security numbers for each site occupant) that we didn't feel that they were entitled to for a monthly RV site rental. In the end we walked, and moved to Mountain Shadows. The staff here has been terrific and it's much closer to Little Cottonwood Canyon, which is the reason that we chose to winter in SLC in the first place. Some of the sites here are crazy cramped, but in the end it turned out to be the best option for us.
How does the new converter change over from the solar panels ? We also have a KZ that has a WFCO WF 9855 converter and the solar setup (2 panels 200 and 190 W) and the worthless 1200 inverter. Is The 9855 a charger also as it’s not marked. I also have a zantrex 3000 x (not the xc) to be installed and only has the 2 battery in wires and one 3 wire out from the inverter that only powers a limited number of plugs. Any suggestions?
Robert, a converter is a charger by definition -- that's all it does, actually. It "converts" 120V AC shore power to 12V DC charging amps.
As you saw in episode 249 we routed the output from our Xantrex XC3000 directly to one half of our 50A distribution panel, and then put all of the branch circuits that we wanted to power from the inverter on that half of the distribution panel. You could do the exact same thing, except because you have the X3000 which is an inverter rather than an inverter-charger, just leave your WFCO converter in place.
The only caveat to that plan is that the WF-9855 isn't compatible with lithium batteries, so if you change out your batteries to LiFePO4 you'd have to also change the converter to something with a charging profile compatible with LiFePO4, such as the WF-9800-AD or the Progressive Dynamics PD9100 Series www.progressivedyn.com/lithium-converter-replacement-units/.
@@GrandAdventure thank you, just a note, I have 2 200w panels and 2 lithium Battery’s. The converter KZ put in is not lithium ready , everything was purchased and installed by KZ when built except 1 of the panels and the battery’s were at the dealer and no one told me anything about the converter
@@GrandAdventure my zantrex freedom x 3000 has to be returned because it has a 30a transfer switch and not a 50a. Thank you and will be watching.
@@robertnasser9937 well then, you could kill two birds with one stone and solve your lithium converter charging profile by replacing both your inverter and converter with the XC3000 inverter-charger, as we did.
@@GrandAdventure I am and thanks, it is to be delivered in a few days and returned for the correct one. I got and am a little confused because I believed when on shore power the 12v was coming from the converter and not from the battery’s.
Good morning Marc! Holy cow...you two maintenance meisters made this look so easy. I'm envisioning my middle linebacker build crawling into the storage bay to take a wall out [read: rectangular 2x4 getting shoved into the round pvc tubing].
Are your adjustable solar panel brackets able to raise from both directions, or just towards the side of your rig that is closest?
Safe travels!!
LOL Alan! Yeah, there are occasionally advantages to being a 98-lb weakling. 😁
Those Renogy tilt brackets will tilt the panels in either direction, it only depends on which corner knob you remove for the tilting function.
Hey just found this video. I think we have the same Durango you have. We love ours. I did not get the solar package just have the pre wired for solar. I really want a similar set up to what you have. Will need a bit more since you had the system already on with one panel. It's hard to figure out everything I need though. Thanks for the video
The wiring is the worst of the installation, so that pre-wiring gives you a big leg up. Depending on the size of the array you may want to use that to pull a heavier gauge wire through (KZ used 10 AWG on ours), or because you're starting from scratch you can wire panels in series to minimize voltage loss and decrease the amperage to keep using the existing wiring. Right now just absorb information like a sponge and it will all start making more sense. I highly recommend Will Prowse's TH-cam channel for both solar and LiFePO4, I learned enough to be dangerous while watching his videos.
@@GrandAdventure so thanks for your reply. I was just watching this video again and as you were installing the batteries I saw a yellow and white wire set with a fuse. I assume that is the pre wire that goes to the roof. I also have a wf 9855 converter and I called battle born they said it would charge the lithium but you ended up replacing yours. So hard to get anyone at KZ to respond
@@scottsmith922 the 9855 will charge the lithium batteries but they will never reach 100% because of the charging profile in that converter. That's why you want to upgrade, not to mention the fact that it will eventually damage the batteries by not fully charging them. Yes, that yellow and white wire is The wire that comes from our solar controller, and a similar yellow and white wire goes from the roof panels to the solar controller. That's the 10 gauge wire I was talking about.
@@GrandAdventure Thanks for replying appreciate you and your channel
@@scottsmith922 you're most welcome, and we appreciate you and all of our viewers.
If I got this right. You put three panels in parallel With a combined wattage of 590w, right? 590 watts divided by 18 volts is over 30 amps. Yet you are using splitters that are rated for 20 amps, yes? Are the wires going to the solar controller 10 gauge (rated for 30 amp), or are they the stock wires 12gauge (rated for 20 amps). Maybe you need a second opinion on your wiring? Good luck.
Thanks for your input Glenn! Everything is rated at 30 amps -- the splitter, the stock wiring (10 AWG), etc. I'd rather have 6 AWG to minimize voltage loss and that's coming up at some point. The optimal output of the combined panels is just under 30A and the combined short-circuit current is around 36A.
Actually those connectors are rated for 50A: www.renogy.com/3-to-1-solar-branch-connectors-mmmf-fffm-pair/
@@GrandAdventure I am sorry to have wasted your time. I just assumed you were using 20 amp connectors (like everyone else on youtube). I have seen so many youtubers give very bad electrical advice. The reason i got triggered on this is you ran the panels in parallel. Because of possible shade issues. In my experience a good MPPT controller will not be changed in power losses over wiring in series and having some shade over parallel wiring. That only true if using a PWM controller. It is one of the many solar rv youtube myths. Also running in parallel (higher current than series) will make the controller work much harder and have more heat losses. I have been a mechanic specializing in electrical systems and also a temporary power electrician with a crapy degree in electronics. I am retired now and watch way to much youtube. Best of luck to you
@@glennbeattie6172 you're not wasting our time at all. Great exchanges of information, such as this one, are why we love interacting with our viewers via comments. Also, as we mentioned in the video we're anything but experts in these matters -- we simply absorb as much information as possible and make the best decisions we can based on what we understand. You are far more qualified to address these issues than we are, and we just wanted to film and share our experience in installing the upgrade. I'm certain that we've made mistakes that will lead to further enhancements.
Maybe cb radio for your travels?
I had one mounted in the Tacoma, I never put one in the Tundra but I do have a handheld.
@@GrandAdventure copy that
Lol
I had dual antennas on my older truck. with bnc connector on hand held. Im contiplating similar set up
My current rig is aluminum . different thinking is involved.
@@rexcarlson3464 sure is, no ground plate built-in.
LiFePO4 batteries can damage your alternator, but not is you isolate it through a DC to DC converter.
It could also fry the charge wire/connector from the truck to the trailer. But that's assuming Marc charges his batteries from his truck through the wiring harness to the trailer. With 590 watts of solar power on the trailer he doesn't need to charge the house batteries by alternator now.
What size is your inverter Marc?
Like the solar panels and their install. 👍
Thank you Bill! We have a Xantrex 1200W inverter installed at the KZ factory. That may be upgraded to a larger model in the future.
Turn off shore power and disconnect batteries before playing with Mr. Electric!
You didn't discuss charge controller, or did I miss something
Absolutely Bob, we should've mentioned turning everything off but yes we did. As for the controller, we didn't get into that because it was already installed as part of our existing system.
Hi, what size of well nut did you use?
Greg, we used these: amzn.to/3m3NIpT
I am using 24v settings can you tell me what to set my controller on for hi voltage and low voltage and float voltage for lithium battery's
I'd recommend contacting the battery manufacturer, or looking at their battery specs.
@@GrandAdventure Thank you
Is fender in two pieces?
I'm sorry? I'm not following the question.
Hi, i would like to learn from you
The best way to do that is by subbing on TH-cam and coming along!
🙂 nice $$$
Thanks Janet, no doubt that I'm walking easier with a lighter wallet.
@@GrandAdventure Take it off on your taxes as a business expense.
@@2012escapee1 yep, many of our expenses qualify.
I used to love Renogy, but there customer service has really gone in the toilet lately. I won't buy anything from them anymore. They aren't the only show in town.
I'll admit that my pre-purchase phone call to get some info wasn't the best experience. But they had the best bang for my buck on 200 W panels.