Solar Questions

You might want to start with a 100 watt or so portable system. Many folks find that sufficient. You can always add an additional 100 watt rooftop system later. Just get a controller that can handle at least 15-20 amps charge current so you don’t have to upgrade that later.

You can certainly connect the controller output directly at the batteries but please install a fuse in the positive line there, Don’t just run wires, it's not safe if you get a short. To keep your voltage drops low I suggest 10 gauge wire and a 30 amp inline fuse.

Any nominal 12V 100 watt or so solar module will work, you don’t need to buy an expensive kit. Get a glass module with an aluminum frame, much more reliable and long lasting that the so-called “flexible” solar modules. You can just bolt on a couple of fold up legs made from some aluminum angle to the module so you can tilt it up facing the sun,

Our first solar was big and cumbersome for the 100 watts from 4 panels that had to be wired together and lugged around as the sun moved or the wind blew. This rPod came with a rooftop mounted unit and the improvements are notable. At this time the convenience and function have been really nice. The new prtable systems look a lot more convenient than the old ones but our rooftop has served our needs.

You don’t need to worry about having solar charging while driving. You should already have charging from your tow vehicle alternator for that. And overall you’re not driving that much of the time so you will be getting a lot more amp hours of solar charging while parked. Your biggest consideration is probably going to be how often you’re camping under trees. If that’s a lot of the time then don’t permanently mount your solar module on the roof. It will do essentially nothing for you in the shade. Leaving the module portable and having a long cable for it will give you more placement options. There is also no reason you can’t start with the module portable on a cable and then mount it on the roof later.

The zamp port is nothing special. It just connects to the battery. You can use it if it’s convenient or just go to the battery directly. But please do use a fuse or circuit breaker at the battery. I’ve designed solar power systems for 40 years now and not installing fuses or circuit breakers is the number one mistake I’ve seen ppl make, sometimes with disastrous results. A shorted 12Vdc circuit can start a fire just as easily as a 120Vac circuit could if you bypass a circuit breaker. Few folks would do the latter but many for some reason ignore safety when wiring 12Vdc circuits.