Solar Panels

[SkipWatson]

Originally Posted by CaptainYARRR

How much was it?

We have those items and like you...don't use them. But then again them being there doesn't bother us. Probably good for resale.

I'd probably like my panels but there's something up with them I need to troubleshoot. Only getting a few amps on a sunny day.

If your batteries are already fully charged your charge controller will only allow "a few amps."

[brobox]

When some have said it helps resale value.....on my 14 I paid the $2,700 solar upgrade. When I sold the coach, it was 10 cents on the dollar on NADA and I never did use the soar. Now it is no longer and option and it will still probably be 10 cents on the dollar resale.

[FredV]

This is what the dealership will do after they charge you for removal of the central vac and satellite systems. They will remove the satellite hardware from the roof and sell it to a customer who comes in wanting a satellite system on their used coach and may or may not disclose that it came off a new coach but never used. As for the central Vac system, the vacuum will be used to replace a broken unit on a trade in and the same for the hoses. They will want to talk you into keeping the solar panel(s) to avoid any issues with batteries going dead when parked. This is called a win-win for the dealership.

[buddy110]

The central vacuum is great for cleaning the basement. Deleting it and the others mentioned by the OP might affect resale

[buddy110]

Originally Posted by brobox

When some have said it helps resale value.....on my 14 I paid the $2,700 solar upgrade. When I sold the coach, it was 10 cents on the dollar on NADA and I never did use the soar. Now it is no longer and option and it will still probably be 10 cents on the dollar resale.

But removing them costs money which is a total loss. I'm not sure it would lower resale without them, but it might make the coach less desirable.

[brobox]

Originally Posted by buddy110

But removing them costs money which is a total loss. I'm not sure it would lower resale without them, but it might make the coach less desirable.

That was Tommy's point, now having to pay for solar that use to be an option, and he'll never use them. If he doesn't want them, he has to pay not to install them. As someone else said, delete items and it becomes a custom coach and the price goes up.

[buddy110]

Originally Posted by brobox

That was Tommy's point, now having to pay for solar that use to be an option, and he'll never use them. If he doesn't want them, he has to pay not to install them. As someone else said, delete items and it becomes a custom coach and the price goes up.

Because motorhome.....

[DougnBonnie]

Originally Posted by Denie

Your solar panels are NOT for the house batteries. They are ONLY for the chassis batteries. The panels are on there to prevent Entegra from having to replace batteries on new coaches that are not proprely maintained throughout the process of selling a coach.

Per the Fleetwood.com web info:
How does your RV’s solar power work?
No matter what type of solar panels you have on our Fleetwood RV, all power generated by your solar system will go to your house batteries first. Once the solar system determines that your house batteries are sufficiently charged, it will then direct some of that power to the chassis battery.

[757driver]

Years ago at a Home Coming Tadd Jenkins related a story of deleting standard features to a small group of us standing around.

A customer did not want the built in vacuum because it had the word “devil” in its name so Tadd agreed to build the coach without the vacuum. As time went on and it came down the assembly line the vacuum was inadvertently built in and installed.

Tadd went back to the customer to see if it would be a huge problem if the coach came with the Dirt Devil vacuum. Apparently Tadd got an earful from the customer and if it had the vacuum installed they would refuse delivery of the coach.

Tadd said Entegra went to the expense after the fact to entirely remove any and all hardware associated with the vacuum including replacing wall panels with the cutouts for the vacuum outlets. The cost was approximately $2000.00.

Tadd’s words were he would not agree to delete standard features in the future ever again.

[dcphil_98]

Maybe that's one of the reasons Entegra got rid of Tadd.

[Berryfarmer]

Reading through the replies I’m glad the conclusion was reached that the 200 watt solar panels charge both the house and chassis batteries. That’s how it was on my 2015 and is on my 2021. I verified this after 757 Driver (Don) discovered my 21 was in fact wired backwards with the solar connected to the battery output and the batteries connected to the solar input. I couldn’t figure out the monitor panel because it always showed whatever voltage the batteries were at and always had an error on the batteries. While in Quartzsite last January I could see my house batteries were receiving some benefit from the panels on the roof while boondocking during the day.

As for those who say they will never use the solar panels, let me say this. The only way that could be true is if the coach was parked indoors all the time. The panels will provide some (although minimal) charge even when driving. They give your alternator some relief when driving, especially if you park at a rest area or somewhere else while traveling. I’m sure there are other times when providing a small charge to your batteries can be desirable.
We recently added additional solar panels to my roof and after the technician showed me that the panels were putting 5 amps to my chassis batteries as well as 4.7 amps to my house batteries we left the factory panels connected.

[MakTruk]

Originally Posted by Berryfarmer

They give your alternator some relief when driving,

A lot of people don't realize how big of a deal this really is. On a standard motor coach without solar input, your alternator takes on the *entire* amperage load of whatever is happening on the chassis. Lights, heaters, inverter items such as coffee makers, etc

More load on an alternator = earlier failure

[RVFunlovers]

Originally Posted by 757driver

Years ago at a Home Coming Tadd Jenkins related a story of deleting standard features to a small group of us standing around.

A customer did not want the built in vacuum because it had the word “devil” in its name so Tadd agreed to build the coach without the vacuum. As time went on and it came down the assembly line the vacuum was inadvertently built in and installed.

Tadd went back to the customer to see if it would be a huge problem if the coach came with the Dirt Devil vacuum. Apparently Tadd got an earful from the customer and if it had the vacuum installed they would refuse delivery of the coach.

Tadd said Entegra went to the expense after the fact to entirely remove any and all hardware associated with the vacuum including replacing wall panels with the cutouts for the vacuum outlets. The cost was approximately $2000.00.

Tadd’s words were he would not agree to delete standard features in the future ever again.

Seems like Entegra had to pay 2K because they messed up and added something that was not supposed to be added after they had agreed not to include it. A little more attention to initial quality would save Entegra some money and save customers some hassle.

[RVFunlovers]

Originally Posted by MakTruk

A lot of people don't realize how big of a deal this really is. On a standard motor coach without solar input, your alternator takes on the *entire* amperage load of whatever is happening on the chassis. Lights, heaters, inverter items such as coffee makers, etc

More load on an alternator = earlier failure

I never really thought of solar in the way you are describing. An alternator saver.

When I ordered my 22 solar was optional. I elected no because I would have been buying something I did not need. I know that sounds crazy when you are buying an RV you don’t really need.

It is funny on a 22 you had to pay for solar and on a 23 you have to pay not to get it. That kind of cracks me up.

I am careful with my loads while driving. If we are going to run a major load we tend to use the generator. My generator rarely gets run enough so I look for chances to run it a little bit. Mostly we just sit up front and enjoy the road while talking to each other but if we are going to pull any real power we kick on the generator with a quick push of a button.