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FloridaFlyer · 01-26-2022, 04:06 PM

We have a THOR Windsport 35M we'll be picking up on this Friday, January 28. We'll have it stored in an area without power, so I'd like to rig up a small solar panel to connect to a charger to keep the house batteries charged.

Below is a photo of what someone who has a unit where our travel trailer is--and soon it will be "was"--stored.

Anyone have any experience with a DIY project like this? What do I need, other than time and money? Solar panel, power cable, and some other stuff, I'm sure.

Thanks!

Kelly

Mr Ted · 01-26-2022, 04:14 PM

I think you might need more solar power then that..

DavidEM · 01-26-2022, 05:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mr Ted

I think you might need more solar power then that..

Absolutely. You will be lucky to get an amp hour a day out of that. My new Thor Axis uses 0.07 amps with the batteries disconnected. But that represents 24*.07= 1.7 amp hours daily.

Buy at least a 20 watt, preferably 50 watt portable solar panel with controller such as this one: https://www.amazon.com/SOLPERK-Monoc...45&sr=8-8&th=1

These have a controller as part of the solar panel. Mount it on your south facing bumper and connect its output to your batteries.

That will keep your batteries well charged.

David

frank1018 · 02-01-2022, 05:24 PM

I bought a 100 watt harbor freight solar charger. My rig is stored at my home. It was cheap and each panel is 25 watts so you can connect as many as you need to keep batteries charged during storage. If you are not under cover you could possible put panel on roof. You will have to buy extension cable on Amazon to reach to batteries. It is working great for me. Comes with its own charge controller.

H2odiverski · 02-01-2022, 08:51 PM

Does your unit come prewired for solar? I have a 2016 Thor TuscanyXTE and it came prewired for solar. I installed a 100 watt panel on the roof and connected to the pre installed roof connections. Found the 10 gauge wires in the rear bay that houses the Inverter and installed the Go Power solar controller.

arcaguy · 02-01-2022, 08:58 PM

Most of the above is good advice. The issue I see with the picture you posted besides being too small is that that panel looks like it will blow around in the breeze damaging both the panel and the rig. Good luck.

Mark_K5LXP · 02-02-2022, 07:09 AM

That panel might be big enough to charge a phone. Maybe. Pointed at the horizon or other arbitrary angle ensures that what little energy might be gotten from it is reduced even further...

Best answer is to disconnect your batteries in storage. Solar generally works pretty well, until it doesn't. A few cloudy days, or a layer of snow on the panels and it's like you don't have solar. Since the loads on your batteries are omnipresent, it only takes one problem or issue where your solar doesn't work and your batteries are flat. The only true mitigation is to fully charge then disconnect them. If you care to connect some solar to the disconnected bank as a maintainer that's OK, but I would not rely on solar or even a mains connected charger for maintaining a bank that is connected to any house loads.

Mark B.
Albuquerque, NM

BCam · 02-02-2022, 07:26 AM

I have a 50W panel securely mounted on my ladder so that the angle can be adjusted with a cord and bungee for optimum exposure. I ran 10 gauge twin lead landscape wire along the side of my MH to my battery compartment and an inexpensive controller. It works great in keeping my house and chassis batteries (via an Amp-L-Start) charged while in storage. It's easy to disconnect and stow when we want to use the MH.

I had the 50W panel already but, as previously mentioned, 20W or so would probably be adequate.

A lot will depend on your sun exposure and weather. My MH is stored in an open lot, it's back faces south and, in the Sacramento area, we have pretty decent winter sun.

astrnmrtom · 02-02-2022, 11:36 AM

Depending on how easy it is to access your batteries, disconnecting them while in storage is another option. I installed disconnects on mine. Before installing the cut-off switches, I just disconnected the cable at the batteries. I visited my rig monthly for a generator run and rodent inspection which also topped off the batteries.

It's important to note that the factory disconnects often don't completely disconnect all loads so any panel you get needs to be sized to take phantom loads into consideration. Might only be an amp or so, but it's still important.

I located my disconnects on the bed pedestal a short distance from my main fuse board in the engine compartment. This kept the additional cabling short. Takes longer to walk back to the bedroom than it does to throw the switches.