Campervanners with solar

[Rumblestripe]

As I adapt my Elgrand for camping I don't want to fit a fixed Solar Panel, so I'm considering having one of those fold out 100W panels to partner a Jackery Portable Power Station. My thinking is that it will charge off a 12V power socket in the rear of the Ellie whilst on the move and if I set up the fold out panel when parked it should top up the Jackery when we are camping? Has anyone tried a set up like this? Also can I use a few neodymium magnets to fix it to the body work or might that affect the performance of the solar panel?

[Aletank]

I know my question depends on the size of the battery/use etc but how long roughly do you get from a leisure battery without charging ?

[TwinKam]

Aletank said:

I know my question depends on the size of the battery/use etc but how long roughly do you get from a leisure battery without charging ?

One might say, "I never plug anything in to it", in which case the answer is "Forever".
Another might say, "I run a fridge, a toaster, a kettle, a microwave, a heater and two electric blankets", in which case the answer can be expressed in milliseconds. The answer is of course somewhere in between.
You first need to work out what you'd like to power from your battery, note the consumption, and do your maths. Then see if there's a (affordable) battery with the capacity to power them for the duration of your trip. If not, you need to have a means of recharging your battery.

[Caddyshack]

Mike9199 said:

Planning to fix first solar panel on our rv. I don't have a clear idea how i gonna do it, still excited about that

Make it as easy to access for cleaning as possible - they are a lot more efficient when clean.

[nagsheadwarrior]

As a not solar fan I still added a 150w rigid panel and 2 x 75ah new batteries to my stealth citroen relay camper, I'm midway through a grand euro tour and 3 days without moving in France and my battery hasn't moved charging all rhe normal stuff, running the fridge abd a 12v evaporation cheapy amazon cooler
Is it needed? Probably not, peace of mind that I haven't even brought a mains lead, priceless!
Note I've no need for heating, no water heater and I'm out on piss most of the time
In the UK, on hookup, no point
I'm in the trade my 150w panel and 2 75ah batteries were 750 I'm lucky

[sibriers]

Last time I was looking into this I was surprised to see that Renogy have like a 25 year warranty on rigid panels and 2 on flexis.
Told me all I needed to know - Rigids would prevent my van getting under most height restrictions so neither option was going to work...

[DirktheDaring]

I’ve gone with a Bluetti 2000w power station and a matching 350w solar panel instead of ripping my van to pieces and bolting on panels.

I can add extra capacity if needed, but it should be enough to charge up a few things and keep a 12v chiller box running for a few days.

Probably not much difference price wise I don’t think by the time you’ve brought a solar kit, lipo battery and labour?

[Bobley]

I've been using a T5 Reimo for 13 years but rarely stay anywhere off grid and stationary for more than 3 days apart from a music festival I go to. I arrive Friday morning (stay until Tuesday) and the 110 Ah battery is always dead by Monday morning (runs the Waeco 40 compressor fridge and the lights)..

This year I bought a Renogy folding 120W panel and a Victron MPPT 75 10 controller. £220 all in. the panel is 4kg in its little padded bag. The rigid version is about 18kg.

Worked a treat and now I'm home the panel goes into the garage loft until the next show.

I'm tempted to swap the battery to an LFP and get an inverter... but thats £££

[PurpleTurtle]

Bobley said:

I've been using a T5 Reimo for 13 years but rarely stay anywhere off grid and stationary for more than 3 days apart from a music festival I go to. I arrive Friday morning (stay until Tuesday) and the 110 Ah battery is always dead by Monday morning (runs the Waeco 40 compressor fridge and the lights)..

This year I bought a Renogy folding 120W panel and a Victron MPPT 75 10 controller. £220 all in. the panel is 4kg in its little padded bag. The rigid version is about 18kg.

Worked a treat and now I'm home the panel goes into the garage loft until the next show.

I'm tempted to swap the battery to an LFP and get an inverter... but thats £££

That's useful to know, our usage is similar. We take our van to a lot of music festivals so typically four days usage charging phones/iPad and lights, we also charge powerbanks for tent camping friends. Our 85amh battery tends to last for three days, so am looking to extend that. Those Renogy panels look good quality.