I'm a new owner of an older Rpod and looking at solar panels  as a source of power to recharge batteries.  Any suggestions for info / website to gather information before purchase? Thanks, Bruce

It helps to know what your objectives are for your solar charger.  What items in the trailer do you want to be able to run from it (forgetting the a/c and microwave) and how many days do you plan to boondock at a time? Also, what battery(ies) do you have now? Do you usually camp in open areas or in shady spots? 

Hi Bruce,

If you're lacking knowledge and experience, buy a kit.  I also recommend buying from a U.S. based company; let them deal with imports and shipping delays, never mind returns/warranty. 

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=solar+kit&link_code=qs&sourceid=Mozilla-search&tag=wwwcanoniccom-20

Here is a good place to start. 

https://support.renogy.com/en/support/home

And here:

https://www.solarpaneltilt.com/

The lifeline Battery Manual is excellent, and their batteries appear to be.

https://lifelinebatteries.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/6-0101F-Lifeline-Technical-Manual-Final-5-06-19.pdf

First advice, go big.  I started with a 25 watt toy system to light a work bench at home.  I've upgraded twice.  Now at 240w of panel and 150 A-Hr of battery.  Skip to a Max Power Point Tracking charge controller and run your panels at a voltage above your battery voltage.  I seem to get useful generation more hours of the day that way (24v over 12v).  Victron makes good controllers that are not stupid $$$.  Some will report to your smart phone. 

http://www.p3international.com/products/p4400.html

Measure, calculate and estimate your power usage per 24 hrs as best you can.  Assume 5 to maybe 6 hours of full power generation a day divided by the efficiency given in the tilt site above to size your panels.  Then add at least 10% for charging inefficiency.

i.e.

Loads (300 watts x 1 hour + 20 watts x 24 hr + 12 watts x 6 hrs)

= 612 w-hr/.712 = 860 w-hr

860 w-hr/5 hr = 172 watts + 10% = 189 watts. 

One 200 watt panel or two 100 watt panels will do it and the extra should make sure the battery is fully recharged. 

Size your battery for the number of days you might have to be without sun.  I use 3 days, but found this spring, I was wishing for 4+ days and had to stop using my system until the sun came out. 

So, 612 w-hr x 3 days = 1836 w-hr/12.2V (min voltage you ought to drag the batts down to) = 150 A-Hr + 10% inefficiency = 165 A-Hr. 

165 A-Hr is the allowable draw from your batteries which is 50% of its capacity if they are Pb-SO4.  Times 2 to get battery size = 330 A-Hr for the battery bank size. 

Detailed, as engineering is, but not difficult. 

OTOH, I have just a 25 watt panel and Battery Tender controller to keep my battery hot in storage.

I use an Aims 300 watt inverter in my home system for the stuff that is 120V. 

https://invertersrus.com/product/aims-pwri30012s/

Remember that "go big" thing?  Had I known that, I could have just bought the inverter in the beginning and not had to make and buy 12V lights.  Now I have both.  The Aims will fit behind the breaker box in my 180 and could run my TV and laptop. 

I went with a suitcase design instead of mounted panels so I can "track" the sun (ie. I pick up and move the panels).  I have two sets of 10 gauge MC4 cables (10' and 30') so I can also connect them end to end as well so the panels can be up to about 40' from the pod if needed.  I can connect them in series or in parallel.

If I find this is not enough, I think the next just would be 2 x 6V golf cart batteries.  Would be about 3x the power in the one 12v battery I have now.

If I was REALLY serious about boondocking, I would be going lithium though...but that would also require new trailer electrical conversion too...big$$.

OK, based on your usage profile I'd suggest you start with between 100 and 300 watts and keep it portable. The fridge should be left on propane as others have said. It does need 12V but uses a tiny amount while on propane. You will mostly be using lights, fans (cooling and furnace), and entertainment. Of those items the vent fan and furnace fan use the most, so tend toward the upper size range if you plan on cooling (fans only) or heating a lot, the lower end if not.  

The benefits of portable solar are ease of installation, no roof penetrations, and  when you are camped in the shade you have the possibility of placing your solar module(s) in a sunny spot. The downsides compared to roof mounting are setup time and theft risk. Your choice.

The batteries you have are as good as you can get short of investing in a custom lithium system. But, if you're boondocking somewhere for a week and run into a string of cloudy days you will run out of stored energy, even with a solar system. You might want to consider a small generator for that possibility. If you're moving every couple of days the batts can recharge from your TV alternator, and in a pinch you can use that to recharge them at the campsite as well. Here in the east cloudy weather is common enough that I carry a generator. 

You can buy a kit online which includes a mounting rack and charge controller as well as solar. That is the easiest but costs more.

Or you can make your own. The best bang for the buck would be to find a standard residential solar module, those are around 3.25 x 5.5 feet and produce around 250-300 watts. Weight is about 40 lbs. These can often be found on CL or Ebay leftover from solar projects for about 50 cents a watt. Try to buy locally to avoid shipping charges. You would need to make up some mounting legs for it and get an MPPT type charge controller (not a PWM controller). 

With either the kit or the homegrown version you can connect them directly to the battery, you don't need to use the solar port connector or buy the proprietary products meant for those. For safety, please do install a fuse at the battery + terminal and make connection from your charge controller to that. Don't relax safety standards just because it it 12V. You won't get shocked but a shorted unfused wire from a 12V battery can cause a fire just as easily as it could at 120V. 

Okay, what was stated on the web site is that they are going to pause taking new orders so they can catch up with the backlog on existing orders. When in doubt, go directly to the source.

https://www.renogy.com - https://www.renogy.com

The store will re-open July 31st.

Listen to these folks. They know from what they speak. And do your homework.

I have a 100W HQST panel and a 200 Watt Renogy Suitcase. I have two Renogy Voyager controllers.

If I could do it all over again right now, I would buy 3 HQST 100 watt panels, make my own 200 watt suitcase, probably still buy one HQST Voyager (because they are waterproof) and shop an mppt controller. It's clear to me now that HQST sells the same products Renogy does...cheaper.

For me, portable is the only way to go right now because:

1) Any day now an Oliver Elite II and GMC truck is gonna show up in my driveway. The Oliver is coming with 400W factory installed w/4 Battleborns and my 300W portable will be great for running ice cream maker and live bait well in back of truck!

2) I really don't see payback in permanent RPod solar install. I don't thing you'll get it back. Take it with you.

3) I can use my 100W panel on roof of TV for towing solar boost to pod batteries or to make folks on I95 think I have a solar powered 4Runner!

4) I can use either the 200W suitcase or 100W panel to charge our electric fence battery which is too far away for AC power. I can also keep a small thermoelectric fridge cleverly hidden in the brush that wife doesn't know about. It's bear proof.

Bear and spouse proof solar powered stealth refrigeration. What more could one ask for in life?  Sounds like an ideal place to keep some ice cold 'shine. I favor peach flavored myself.  But, can a thermoelectric fridge keep it cold enough? 

Thermoelectric is at best good for 40 degrees below ambient temperature. That means if it is 90F outside, about 50F inside the cooler is about the best you can expect.This is for the Coleman 40-Quart PowerChill listed on Walmart.com. From my experience, it is pretty accurate.

"Chill or warm your food and drinks at the office, in your dorm room or on the road in a Coleman 40-Quart PowerChill Thermoelectric Cooler with Power Cord. As an iceless cooler, it chills everything inside to 40 degrees below the surrounding temperature. Just plug in this 40-quart thermoelectric cooler into your outlet at home (with a separate adaptor) or in your vehicle with the included power cord, and the quiet, long-lasting motor will do the work. It comes in an attractive gray color that will fit in most anywhere. It's large enough to hold 44 cans and works as a chest or upright like a small refrigerator with a door that converts to open from either side. This Coleman thermoelectric cooler will help make traveling to potlucks and outdoor picnics easier and more convenient. However you position the cooler, a tray shelf keeps everything organized."

The part about warming is incorrect for this model. It will run an auto battery down overnight as I experienced once.  It draws up to 10A when running. It isn't just Coleman. Igloo's equivalent model specifies that it cools up to 38 degrees below ambient. I expect it draws about as much power as the Coleman model.

Before I got my wayyy too expensive Yeti, the Coleman 40-Quart PowerChill was a great addition. I ran it in back of 4Runner while traveling and then tethered to Pod batteries when camping w/hookups. The fan got kinda loud. I have found the Yeti to really be much more efficient in the long run.

The Powerchill would be great for deer jerky, but that Giles County shine would be served better by a well iced Yeti.

The Free Piston Sterling Cooler I got at ReStore was a great find and I almost wish I had picked up two of them. These were used by drug companies to transport medications (no biological or radiological materials) that required reliable temperature control. Even with temperatures in the 90's, it will reliably chill to +/- within a couple of tenths of a degree to 4C which is right about 39F. On top of that, it is much more energy efficient than the thermoelectric cooler and I have been able to run it overnight in my vehicle without it killing the battery. Unfortunately, these are horrendously expensive and only seem to be available from TwinBird in Japan. The model I got is listed as a "Vaccine Transport Box." The model I would get if I wanted one now would be the SC-C925 Portable Freezer Cooler which is listed on the Twinbird site https://fpsc.twinbird.jp/products/detail.php?product_id=104 - https://fpsc.twinbird.jp/products/detail.php?product_id=104 . Mine can't freeze but this one can. Unfortunately, it is listed at Sample Price:  $1200, shipping not included. It would definitely keep your beverage of choice cold though.