# Solar Recommendations For Winter Dry Camping



## NDKoze (Jan 5, 2011)

I have kind of a unique situation (that I have not seen discussed in my search attempts) that I am looking for some advice on.

My camper resides year-round on a seasonal lot (in ND) where they shut the power off from October to May. I would like to use it for the occasional 1-3 night trips in the Fall and Spring if we get some nice days.

I would mainly be needing power for the furnace, lights, and radio. No need for water pump, fridge or outlets. I have a portable power pack that I will bring to run the LED TV.

I have a pretty large deck in front of the camper. I was thinking that I could mount a solar panel or two to the railing wall instead of the roof of the camper.

In addition to the occasional Fall/Spring camping trips I want the solar option to keep the battery topped off.

I currently only have the stock 12 volt battery that came with the camper, but could install another or switch to golf cart batteries if you guys think I would need to.

Based on my given usage situation, I am looking for some recommendations for the hardware needed.

I haven't yet but am planning on switching to LED lights. Do you guys have recommendations on where and which ones to get?

Thank you in advance for any advice you can provide.


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## Tourdfox (Oct 4, 2012)

I would switch to 6 volt batteries for sure. Also replaced our lights with cheap 921 leds and works nicely. We just got back from camping up the Couquihalla where it was cool at night and frost in the morning. Leave our furnace going all night set at 68 not a problem.We use 4- 6 volt batteries and 2 solar panels.I just love how this performs. The Couquihalla is where they shoot the show highway through hell.


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## Paul (May 14, 2008)

Tourdfox said:


> I would switch to 6 volt batteries for sure. Also replaced our lights with cheap 921 leds and works nicely. We just got back from camping up the Couquihalla where it was cool at night and frost in the morning. Leave our furnace going all night set at 68 not a problem.We use 4- 6 volt batteries and 2 solar panels.I just love how this performs. The Couquihalla is where they shoot the show highway through hell.


I agree with Tourdfox... LED lights everywhere. 120 watt solar for two 6v batteries and 240 for four 6v batteries. That may be quite a bit of solar power but I am taking into consideration the shorter days of fall, winter, spring. Pay close attention to what you intend to run, you will need an inverter to convert the DC to AC to support your intended load. You don't want too big an inverter because it will draw an excessive amount of juice just to run the inverter. Make sure you get a pure sine wave, it is easier on the electronics. Go Power has a good selection of solar systems for RVs. The 120 watt portable system might be your ticket. You can carry it in and out and not have to worry about it getting stolen. Install a small 5 watt trickle charge on the roof to keep the batteries topped off. Just do your homework and don't go the cheap route because you will not be happy.


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## NDKoze (Jan 5, 2011)

Paul said:


> I would switch to 6 volt batteries for sure. Also replaced our lights with cheap 921 leds and works nicely. We just got back from camping up the Couquihalla where it was cool at night and frost in the morning. Leave our furnace going all night set at 68 not a problem.We use 4- 6 volt batteries and 2 solar panels.I just love how this performs. The Couquihalla is where they shoot the show highway through hell.


I agree with Tourdfox... LED lights everywhere. 120 watt solar for two 6v batteries and 240 for four 6v batteries. That may be quite a bit of solar power but I am taking into consideration the shorter days of fall, winter, spring. Pay close attention to what you intend to run, you will need an inverter to convert the DC to AC to support your intended load. You don't want too big an inverter because it will draw an excessive amount of juice just to run the inverter. Make sure you get a pure sine wave, it is easier on the electronics. Go Power has a good selection of solar systems for RVs. The 120 watt portable system might be your ticket. You can carry it in and out and not have to worry about it getting stolen. Install a small 5 watt trickle charge on the roof to keep the batteries topped off. Just do your homework and don't go the cheap route because you will not be happy.
[/quote]

Thank you for the replies guys.

Per my original post, I will NOT need any AC power. So, I should be able to get by without the inverter. I really just need the solar to recharge my battery/s. I have a portable power pack/inverter that I will use to run the LED TV. But, everything else would be DC powered. I mainly need the solar to be powerful enough to charge my battery so that I can run the furnace. All other electronic pulls will be minimal and could be eliminated if my battery started to run too low.

When dry camping with my tent trailer, I used to be able to go a whole weekend on one 12v battery charge. Now, I know my current 32' camper has a lot more space to heat than the tent camper (24' with bunks extended) so will use more battery. So, that is the reason for me looking into solar options. I can see moving to 2 golf car batteries. But for the 1-3 day trips a couple of times a year, going to four batteries seems like overkill. With a decent solar charger in place, I would like to try just using the one battery and see how long that will last and then move to a two golf cart battery solution if need be. Is this being unrealistic?

My campsite is in rural ND, so I am not as worried about things walking off as I would be if I had it on my camper in Fargo. As I mentioned in my first post, I would probably just attach the panels to my deck wall and run the wire to my battery/s. This would also be the best location for maximum sun exposure.

Do you have any suggestions on the best place to get the LED replacement bulbs? There are so many options out there and I have read that if you by the cheapo's they will start to dim pretty fast.

I did some searches on the GO Power Solar Options and used the calculator (I inputed maximum amounts that I would use) on their site and came up with the following results:
Watts - 85.32
Amps - 5.9
AmpHrs - 40-50

Based on these results they recommended 120-160 watt solar panel kits. In my searches, the 120w kits were less than $100 less than the 160w kits. So, I am not sure why I would bother with the 120w kit for such a relatively small difference in price.

This is what I found on Amazon:
http://www.amazon.co...r/dp/B0028VXSH6

While this seems like a very high quality kit, are there less expensive substitutes out there? I usually not one to cheap out on stuff, but I am not sure that this will be worth it for the number of times I will use it per year.

Any additional information as well as web links would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!


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## Paul (May 14, 2008)

NDKoze said:


> I would switch to 6 volt batteries for sure. Also replaced our lights with cheap 921 leds and works nicely. We just got back from camping up the Couquihalla where it was cool at night and frost in the morning. Leave our furnace going all night set at 68 not a problem.We use 4- 6 volt batteries and 2 solar panels.I just love how this performs. The Couquihalla is where they shoot the show highway through hell.


I agree with Tourdfox... LED lights everywhere. 120 watt solar for two 6v batteries and 240 for four 6v batteries. That may be quite a bit of solar power but I am taking into consideration the shorter days of fall, winter, spring. Pay close attention to what you intend to run, you will need an inverter to convert the DC to AC to support your intended load. You don't want too big an inverter because it will draw an excessive amount of juice just to run the inverter. Make sure you get a pure sine wave, it is easier on the electronics. Go Power has a good selection of solar systems for RVs. The 120 watt portable system might be your ticket. You can carry it in and out and not have to worry about it getting stolen. Install a small 5 watt trickle charge on the roof to keep the batteries topped off. Just do your homework and don't go the cheap route because you will not be happy.
[/quote]

Thank you for the replies guys.

Per my original post, I will NOT need any AC power. So, I should be able to get by without the inverter. I really just need the solar to recharge my battery/s. I have a portable power pack/inverter that I will use to run the LED TV. But, everything else would be DC powered. I mainly need the solar to be powerful enough to charge my battery so that I can run the furnace. All other electronic pulls will be minimal and could be eliminated if my battery started to run too low.

When dry camping with my tent trailer, I used to be able to go a whole weekend on one 12v battery charge. Now, I know my current 32' camper has a lot more space to heat than the tent camper (24' with bunks extended) so will use more battery. So, that is the reason for me looking into solar options. I can see moving to 2 golf car batteries. But for the 1-3 day trips a couple of times a year, going to four batteries seems like overkill. With a decent solar charger in place, I would like to try just using the one battery and see how long that will last and then move to a two golf cart battery solution if need be. Is this being unrealistic?

My campsite is in rural ND, so I am not as worried about things walking off as I would be if I had it on my camper in Fargo. As I mentioned in my first post, I would probably just attach the panels to my deck wall and run the wire to my battery/s. This would also be the best location for maximum sun exposure.

Do you have any suggestions on the best place to get the LED replacement bulbs? There are so many options out there and I have read that if you by the cheapo's they will start to dim pretty fast.

I did some searches on the GO Power Solar Options and used the calculator (I inputed maximum amounts that I would use) on their site and came up with the following results:
Watts - 85.32
Amps - 5.9
AmpHrs - 40-50

Based on these results they recommended 120-160 watt solar panel kits. In my searches, the 120w kits were less than $100 less than the 160w kits. So, I am not sure why I would bother with the 120w kit for such a relatively small difference in price.

This is what I found on Amazon:
http://www.amazon.co...r/dp/B0028VXSH6

While this seems like a very high quality kit, are there less expensive substitutes out there? I usually not one to cheap out on stuff, but I am not sure that this will be worth it for the number of times I will use it per year.

Any additional information as well as web links would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!
[/quote]

Go with this to leave at the camper for a trickle charge $40

http://www.amazon.com/Go-Power-GP-SF-5-SUNfilm-Solar/dp/B006Q7C7L6/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1444268490&sr=8-2&keywords=go+power+solar+charger

It sounds that you intend to be frugal and use multiple sources of power so this portable solar power panel to carry in and use. It will be available for other uses. $220

http://www.amazon.com/Go-Power-GP-PSK-40-Portable-Controller/dp/B00FENG0K2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1444268695&sr=8-1&keywords=go+power+40+watt

Two golf cart batteries from COSTCO (made by interstate) $220

I am not a Go Power rep but I and a couple of my friends have had great luck with their products.


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## Jay Tee (Jan 8, 2012)

I have a 40 watt solar cell with a charger that I use to keep my 2 - 12V batteries charged while dry camping.
It seems to work pretty well, even when using the heater through the night.
You have to be sure you will have a pretty much unobstructed source of sun light for the solar cell.

Luckily I was able to put mine together myself with a donated 40W cell and purchased a 20A Solar Panel Charge Controller off eBay:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/20A-12V-24V-Solar-Panel-Charge-Controller-Battery-Regulator-Safe-Protection-hg-/301218792237?

So far, so good...


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