It’s a beautiful spring day and the perfect time to install a solar system in my teardrop camping trailer for endless energy and ham radio off-grid camping (read more about the special offer). . .
UPDATE: After a few months, here’s my impression on how my solar system is performing: https://youtu.be/ArGRd03Oy0w
About the Install: I used a 180 watt BougeRV mono-crystalline solar panel supported by two five foot pieces of aluminum strut on the roof rack of my TC Teardrops 5×8 camping trailer. Panel cable ran down the front of the trailer, underneath to where a connection took the cable inside the cabin and back to the galley. The controller is a DIY Solar for U Sol Buck/Boost 20 amp MPPT solar controller and a Renogy 50ah LiFePO4 battery.
Chapters
0:00 Intro
0:28 Teardrop Solar Project
2:34 Mounting panel to the frame
5:37 Installing panel on trailer
7:36 Running wire through cabin
11:31 Connecting charge controller
13.41 Testing
16:39 Wrap-Up
DIY Solar for U Sol Buck-Boost 20 amp MPPT Solar Charge Controller
I think the key to a right sized solar system is in the charge controller. There are a lot of charge controller choices out there, but they boil down to two different styles: PWM or Pulse Width Modulation and MPPT or Maximum Point Power Tracking. Both have advantages and disadvantages, and I’ll talk about them in a bit, but for the trailer project I choose an MPPT charge controller from DIY Solar for U.
https://www.diysolarforu.com/store/c1/Solar_Charge_Controller
DIY solar for U has provided a coupon code to our viewers to receive a 20% of the controllers and accessories on their website. Use the code RADIO20 to receive the discount. I used the code to purchase mine, and you can receive the same discount.
Sol User Manual:
https://www.diysolarforu.com/uploads/7/9/9/7/7997124/sol_manual_v110.pdf
Parts:
BougeRV 180 watt Mono Crystalline Solar Panel: https://amzn.to/3xcNbY7
SAE socket sidewall port: https://amzn.to/3dvfqt8
5 foot aluminum strut channel: https://amzn.to/3uZYAby
SAE to MC4 adapter cable: https://amzn.to/3asTmxr
Solar extension cable: https://amzn.to/3stxB6M
TC Teardrops teardrop camping trailers:
http://www.tcteardrops.com
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