solar panel
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Category: R-pod Discussion Forums
Forum Name: Podmods, Maintenance, Tips and Tricks
Forum Discription: Ask maintenance questions, share your podmods (modifications) and helpful tips
URL: http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=9878
Printed Date: 29 Jun 2025 at 5:19am
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Topic: solar panel
Posted By: WinkenBlinkenAndPod
Subject: solar panel
Date Posted: 03 May 2017 at 12:37pm
| My wife and I are new owners of a 2016 179 r-pod and are interested in finding out if we can use a Coleman 40 watt solar panel to connect via the solar panel input on our trailer. The warning sticker by this connection indicates that only a zamp panel is to be used. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thank you. |
Replies:
Posted By: CharlieM
Date Posted: 03 May 2017 at 12:49pm
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Short answer is yes. Any reasonably sized panel/controller combination can be connected to that port. The sticker is marketing.
------------- Charlie Northern Colorado OLD: 2013 RP-172, 2010 Honda Pilot 3.5L 4WD PRESENT: 2014 Camplite 21RBS, 2013 Supercharged Tacoma 4L V6 4WD |
Posted By: WinkenBlinkenAndPod
Date Posted: 03 May 2017 at 2:31pm
| Thanks for your very prompt reply. We are heading out for a shot trip and are looking forward to trying everything out. |
Posted By: rawest50
Date Posted: 03 May 2017 at 2:51pm
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New here also. I am not sure I will ever buy a panel unless I decide to go off the grid. LOL!. I have the 179.5 2017 Rpod. What size solar panel should I buy? I see everything from 40 watt on up to 100's of watts.
Also are they very heavy? ------------- 2017.5 RPod 179 2017 Jeep Unlimited Wrangler 2017 Chevy Colorado Z71 Off Road Crew Cab 2 Weiner dogs Great wife puts up with my BS ❤️ Thoroughbred Racing. 
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Posted By: computerfixitguy
Date Posted: 03 May 2017 at 6:23pm
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I have a 200w. It was one of those bewildering moments like you are having. So I opted for the biggest one. Its really heavy. the 200w is 2 full size panels hinged together. Good news. I almost don't need batteries. They are that big. At the end of the day, I have 2 6v golf batteries, which last 3 days (heater at night) by themselves. With the giant solar farm outside, they never dip in juice. I would probably be happier with a 100w. Derek
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Posted By: SDTrialer
Date Posted: 03 May 2017 at 8:16pm
| I've got the 80 w go power portable kit. Keeps me going for more than a week. |
Posted By: Danielw1
Date Posted: 03 May 2017 at 10:49pm
| If the 80w can charge the batteries shouldn't it keep you going indefinitely? |
Posted By: SDTrialer
Date Posted: 04 May 2017 at 5:04am
| Cloudy and rain days make it impossible. |
Posted By: Pod People
Date Posted: 04 May 2017 at 7:37am
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We use a 100w Renogy suitcase panel set and have 2 6v golf cart batteries. the panels keep the batteries fully charged with about 4-5 hours of sun daily. even if it rains or is cloudy, the batteries will easily last 4-5 days without recharging. If it rains /cloudy longer than 4 days, I will hook the TV to the pod and recharge if necessary. the suitcase system is great for us. i have it connected to a 30" cord which allows the panels to be in the sun and the pod in the shade. It is a simple system. Vann ------------- Vann & Laura 2015 RPod 179 https://postimg.cc/0zwKrfB9"> 
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Posted By: sailor323
Date Posted: 13 May 2017 at 3:50pm
It really depends on how much off rid camping you do. 40 watts is not very useful regardless. 100 watts will do for short off grid trips, especially if your TV can charge your battery. 100 watts will probably not allow indefinite off grid camping. We have 280 watts worth of panel and can camp indefinitely off grid. Water, of course, is the big limiting factor both from a supply point of view and a waste point of view
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Posted By: burnerjohnmichael
Date Posted: 13 May 2017 at 5:35pm
| No matter what type of panels you use, zamp, renergy or whatever, it's always safe to initially check the wiring between the solar panel input and the batteries. They could be wrong and have been wrong on occasion. A good way to identify if that has happened with out ringing out the wires is getting a plug-in digital LED meter that checks for the amount of voltage and won't read if the polarity is crossed. Naturally, a small multi meter is always helpful as a companion for any trip. |
Posted By: GlueGuy
Date Posted: 16 May 2017 at 12:57pm
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Isn't the main issue is whether the Zamp connector expects a regulated or unregulated connection? From what I've read, the connector expects a regulated connection. IOW, there needs to be a solar controller between the panel(s) and the R-pod. If that's the case, you could use almost any MPPT solar controller that produces 12V for the battery (ies). I'm pretty sure there is no solar controller in the R-pod itself. You could probably just put a DVM on the Zamp connector to verify that it is directly connected to the R-pod battery. ------------- bp 2017 R-Pod 179 Hood River 2015 Ford F150 SuperCrew 4WD 3.5L Ecoboost |
Posted By: Dreded
Date Posted: 16 May 2017 at 5:47pm
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I use a Go Power 120watt Folding kit Amazon Link: http://a.co/2LhCKC2 wich fits nicely under the bed(through the under mattress storage hatch). 120Watts is more than enough for a small trailer like this with LED lighting.. with my usage I use 2500Watts per week Here is a breakdown of my daily usage(on a 2015 rpod 171):
which works out to 334watts per day of use, no matter where you live the BEST you will ever do for peak sunlight hours is 5.5hours per day so with a 120watt panel you can make 660 Watts per day assuming ideal conditions(search google for a Peak Solar Hours map) Where I live(vancouver BC) I get 4 peak sunlight hours a day in the summer(only 1.5 in winter) so that means my 120watt will make 480Watts a day so I have some overhead to work with(wife will probably leave some lights on etc lol). so I can go all summer without charging from the Tow Vehicle. Keep in mind when calculating your power usage even though you turn the furnace on for 10hours a day it does not draw power for 10hours a day.. in my area it would draw power for less than 2(I assumed 2) Also worth noting is my 2x6v 210Ah Batteries would allow me to go 4.5 days without charging them at all(draining down to 40%) as far as my zamp connector goes I use it with an adapter I made to plug in the Go Power Solar panel... be careful with this as it plugs directly to the battery(mine didn't have a fuse from factory) and the zamp connectors while an industry standard connector it is wired backwards from most other connectors of its type( i just flipped the wires at the battery) I also use the zamp connector as an outside 12v hookup for running an LED lantern at night. So to be clear.. on my 2015 rpod 171 the Zamp connector expects a REGULATED input
------------- 2015.5 RPOD 171 |