Solar Power System for RPod 171 - R-pod Owners Forum

Thanks for the post. I too have a 2016 171. I havn't had time to consider solar but will soon and will take a close look at your post. I did find that the little rubber cover to the outlet is attached by a tiny piece that is broken. I contacted the dealer, havn't heard back yet, I bought the camper from the original owners, don't know if it is under warranty.

For some reason known only to Forest River they put the Zamp solar input jack at a location most distant from the battery. They couldn't have found any place further from the battery. The wires look to be just 12 gauge, which makes a long wire run like that to be a bad setup. Sure you can plug a regulated solar feed that will connect to the battery. But a lot of power is being lost in the long wiring. Solar energy is just too expensive to waste it with a poorly designed feed-in point.

For the solar system on my 2016 RPod 171 I installed an entrance jack (using power-pole connectors) near the battery and MPPT charge controller. All interconnecting solar feeds are 10 gauge for minimal power loss.

Here are two links to my solar power system as reported on this forum:

System #1 is the initial implementation of solar power. System #2 incorporates the smaller panel along with some improvements to the associated hardware. This solar power system was mostly designed and installed last fall. Since none of my camping since then has been boondocking, I've yet to test it out after all improvements were added.

Shortly I'll be leaving to go to the Golden State Star Party (for amateur astronomers) near Mount Shasta, CA. Last year I used the 185-watt panel with plenty of power to spare while boondocking. This year I will try using just the 120-watt version. I'm considering bringing along the larger panel as well. The two panels can be paralleled for increased output during periods of prolonged cloudy weather.

Last year my refrigerator struggled to keep up with the 95 degree ambient temperature while boondocking. Inside the refer box, temps were in the mid to upper 40's - not great for food safety. I understand these Dometic refrigerators are good for about 45 degrees below ambient temperature without fan assistance.

So I've added a couple of 12-volt computer muffin fans with baffles to remove the heat being exhausted at the rear of the refrigerator. One or both of these fans can be employed as needed. Since each fan uses around 0.13 amps (1.6 watts) I can leave one running continuously. The second fan can be switched on if needed during the hottest part of the day.

We'll see how this all works. I'll report back to the forum with results as the season progresses.

Russ
2009 Toyota RAV4
V6 w/ tow package
2016 Rpod 171 HRE

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henryv Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: 09 Feb 2017 Online Status: Offline Posts: 259	Topic: Solar Power System for RPod 171 Posted: 09 Jun 2017 at 6:27pm
	Thanks for the post. I too have a 2016 171. I havn't had time to consider solar but will soon and will take a close look at your post. I did find that the little rubber cover to the outlet is attached by a tiny piece that is broken. I contacted the dealer, havn't heard back yet, I bought the camper from the original owners, don't know if it is under warranty.

sailor323 Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Visit Members Homepage Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: 11 Jun 2015 Location: S Central KY Online Status: Offline Posts: 281	Posted: 09 Jun 2017 at 9:50am
	I can't speak for your pod, but the zamp wiring on our 2016 179 is 10 ga wiring. I suspect that the same is true for your pod. Power loss over the short distance covered by the wires is negligible. Where is the controller located?

Rustler Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: 07 May 2016 Location: S. Oregon Coast Online Status: Offline Posts: 100	Posted: 09 Jun 2017 at 1:07am
	For some reason known only to Forest River they put the Zamp solar input jack at a location most distant from the battery. They couldn't have found any place further from the battery. The wires look to be just 12 gauge, which makes a long wire run like that to be a bad setup. Sure you can plug a regulated solar feed that will connect to the battery. But a lot of power is being lost in the long wiring. Solar energy is just too expensive to waste it with a poorly designed feed-in point. For the solar system on my 2016 RPod 171 I installed an entrance jack (using power-pole connectors) near the battery and MPPT charge controller. All interconnecting solar feeds are 10 gauge for minimal power loss. Here are two links to my solar power system as reported on this forum: 185-watt, 36-volt solar panel with MPPT controller 120-watt, 36-volt solar panel with MPPT controller System #1 is the initial implementation of solar power. System #2 incorporates the smaller panel along with some improvements to the associated hardware. This solar power system was mostly designed and installed last fall. Since none of my camping since then has been boondocking, I've yet to test it out after all improvements were added. Shortly I'll be leaving to go to the Golden State Star Party (for amateur astronomers) near Mount Shasta, CA. Last year I used the 185-watt panel with plenty of power to spare while boondocking. This year I will try using just the 120-watt version. I'm considering bringing along the larger panel as well. The two panels can be paralleled for increased output during periods of prolonged cloudy weather. Last year my refrigerator struggled to keep up with the 95 degree ambient temperature while boondocking. Inside the refer box, temps were in the mid to upper 40's - not great for food safety. I understand these Dometic refrigerators are good for about 45 degrees below ambient temperature without fan assistance. So I've added a couple of 12-volt computer muffin fans with baffles to remove the heat being exhausted at the rear of the refrigerator. One or both of these fans can be employed as needed. Since each fan uses around 0.13 amps (1.6 watts) I can leave one running continuously. The second fan can be switched on if needed during the hottest part of the day. We'll see how this all works. I'll report back to the forum with results as the season progresses.
	Russ 2009 Toyota RAV4 V6 w/ tow package 2016 Rpod 171 HRE