We recently purchased a new R Pod 172, western edition. We upsized from a T@B and are enjoying the extra space, especially the bunks. Our TV is a 2019 Subaru Ascent, which seems to do fine, except for the gas mileage.

We normally boondock, so we have already removed the microwave and TV to simplify things and add a little more storage. We will be adding rooftop solar in the next couple weeks. I haven't seen any posts on solar installs with the GoPower "wired for solar" option, but it looks fairly straightforward after removing the upper cabinet panel behind the solar controller sticker.

We'll see you out there...

I would also suggest that you might be better off not attaching any solar panel(s) to the roof, unless you think you will always be parking your 172 in the sun. We prefer parking in the shade when we can, and so the best place to put the solar panels is where the Rpod isn't. This also eliminates the requirement to use the cute solar power connector, as you can just connect directly to the battery/ies.

Enjoy your trailer in any case!

Welcome and congratulations! I hope you have many fun adventures and make many great memories with your RPod.

I agree with the above that what you are experiencing is increased wind resistance from the much larger frontal area of the RPod when compared with the T@B. Limit your towing speed to no more than 60 mph, as much for safety as for the better fuel mileage when you are not trying to push it faster. One other thing that will help is a wind deflector such as the Purpleline AeroPlus or the Icon AeroShield. These will help with the airflow between the vehicle and the trailer. I have one that I used with an Escape that helped. Now that I have a Frontier, it doesn't help because it sits too far forward. There are pictures of it in my mods, but I couldn't tell you which specific post or page right now. I should probably try to sell it since I don't see us going back to an SUV for towing again.

I agree with Glue Guy-we use a Renogy 100 watt  portable suitcase system and love it.  We can park the Pod in the shade and i have about 35' of power cord to move the panels around for maximum sun exposure. It keeps my 2 6v GC batteries fully charged.

Enjoy your new Pod-it is a great way to travel and have fun

Vann

I just purchases a 2020 192 and am considering that.  I would like to know what is involved.

On my rig, the gopower sticker was located on the upper cabinet next to the awning switch.  I looked behind the sticker and I see no obvious wires for connecting to the roof panels.  I then looked behind an access panel next to the bed night stand.  I see two wires that are not connected to anything.  Looks like they might be the wires for the solar controller.  They are wago 221 connectors on the end of the wires.    Does that sound like the right type of connectors to connect the solar controller to.

Also, which model of controller/panels did you go with?

Tom 

Thanks for the info.  Are you saying I should not mount any panel to roof, or only mount glass panels to roof?

Tom

Glass modules have aluminum frames so even flush on the roof the top surface will be stood off about 1.5 to 2 inches. That will keep the rpod roof cooler but won't do a lot for the solar module. Creating an air gap between the frame and the roof to allow airflow will, even a half an inch is helpful.

Re portable vs RF roof mounts, that is a personal choice.

Pros for portables:

You can often place them in the sun while you are camped in the shade

You can tilt them south or even move them over the course of the day to improve performance

No holes ore adhesives on the roof

Cons for portables:

Something else to set up and take down 

Storage while on the road

Theft concerns

If you can't decide you can do both 

On my 172, the wiring was located behind the sticker, which, if you enter the camper through the door and immediately turn 90 degrees to the left, you would be looking right at the sticker. The sticker was on the side wall of the overhead cabinet above the sink. On the 192, it looks like that similar location would be on the upper cabinet over the dinette? That cabinet is located directly under the MC-4 connector port mounted on the roof. 

When I opened the cabinet, there was a partition on the left side (again, right behind the GoPower sticker) that I needed to remove by unscrewing the base trim. Once removed, there was a loop of wiring consisting of one yellow and one brown wire (12 gauge if I remember correctly), and I could follow the wire coming straight out of the  underside of the MC-4 port in the roof (Edited to add:), looping in the cabinet and then exiting the cabinet into the roof toward the center of the trailer.Those wires were what I cut and installed the controller to. 

The partition I removed was a flimsy little partition (something between cardboard and fiberboard). Once I looked at the inside of the cabinet closely, it was clear that it was "hiding" something, and it was not secured very well. There were no connectors. I cut the wire and installed the controller "in line" in those wires.

I have a 160 watt semi flexible panel with an MPPT controller and I can't remember if it's a 15 or 20 amp. I got them both from Overland solar. They have a good track record and reputation, and were very helpful. They also offer a 20 year warranty on their solar cells.