Help me design my solar/battery bank for camper

[1leglance]

Ok recently there have been some great threads here on solar, battery banks and such....and thus I am more confused than ever

Here is my setup
I am in Phoenix Arizona so lots and lots of sunny days, and we mainly play in the southwest so plenty of sun

2017 Tacoma which will get a group 31 in the factory location for anything extra I run like LED lighting, tablet for nav and such.
My goal is to create as much of a seperation between truck and camper as possible.

Snap Treehouse camper on order which I would like to ship them solar panels so it can be pre wired.
Loads in the camper
National Luna 50L Weekender
Some LED lights inside the camper
Recharge phones/tablets at night

My goal is to run the fridge 24/7 as I keep some meds/drinks in there. I have a really nice CTECK charger that I can plug into at night or a few times a week if needed.

Here are my thoughts...
Order up lots of solar panels I have plenty of roof on the camper so why not. Maybe have 1 panel perm mounted an the other a panel I can take off and position if I want to park the truck in shade/under trees. I don't much about current panels so please recommend. I would like to order the panels and ship them with a bulkhead connector to Snap Treehouse to use on my camper build.
Use 2 6V Golf Cart batteries, I have never done this as I never had space, but now I do so why not? Also I get a killer deal at Batteries Plus, really killer and they have these.
I really like the CTEK 250S Dual I have in my Suburban between my solar panel and Aux battery so I am thinking of using that again.

Any and all thoughts welcomed
Thanks in advance

 

[Bayou Boy]

You only need 100w for that load. Seriously. That is virtually no power to replace daily. I've run significantly more than that and been 100% charged by early afternoon with 100w.

 

[john61ct]

No with a fridge running GCs are not overkill at all.

The Duracell FLAs are best value on the planet, Deka made. Avoid AGM.

200+W solar is enough, double that is better.

 

[1leglance]

Thanks John,
Batteries plus has the Duracell Flooded Lead Acid in 6v, and the 230-250AH ranges would give me plenty of power for around under $300.

Now what brand/model of solar is everyone loving? Our problem out here is heat, the air temp is 115 and the panel must get crazy hot also. In addition all our tree branches are thorny and scratch things up. So any recommendations on panels?

Thanks again everyone.

 

[pdavitt]

200+W solar is enough, double that is better.

In my opinion solar panels are like Whisky. To paraphrase, I believe it was Mark Twain; "Too much of most things are bad for you, but too much Whisky is normally just enough".

Pat

 

[1leglance]

I know the Snap Treehouse is built with L track mounting rails on the roof so I can build a mount that is removable for when I want to park in shade and put the panels in the sun.
So I am thinking of 2 or 3 panels that are 100watts and a quick disconnect bulkhead fitting through the camper roof

 

[john61ct]

One big panel rated at 40+ Voc will be more efficient and less hassle if you can handle the weight. Ideally sized to maximize roof space available if you want to add more later.

Also look at rated Watts output per square inches, more efficient in that regard the better.

Best to shop locally, shipping costs are deadly.

Sized 200-250W would pair perfectly with a Victron 75/15 at not much more than $100

 

[1leglance]

Thanks again John and others for great info...
I do like this Victron controler
https://www.victronenergy.com/solar-charge-controllers/mppt7510#pd-nav-image

However unlike the CTEK 250SA the Victron only deals with solar, what is recommended to bring power from the factory Toyota alt/battery?

 

[Bayou Boy]

No with a fridge running GCs are not overkill at all.

The Duracell FLAs are best value on the planet, Deka made. Avoid AGM.

200+W solar is enough, double that is better.

You do not need 200-400w of solar for a 50L fridge and a few LEDs. That's insane. Nor do you need dual 6v golf cart batteries. Waaay overkill. But some guys here love overkill so whatever. 100w panel and a Grp 27 or 31 AGM or Lead Acid will handle that all year long unless you park in the forest everyday in which case you need to move no matter what batteries or panels you have.

He's in Phoenix. It's sunny everyday for a long, long time. lots o juice to recharge.

If you have the room and dollars to burn go with dual golf cart batts and 200 watts because that combo is cheap these days and never think about it again. But I'd be surprised if you ever, ever get below 75% charge.

 

[Bayou Boy]

Thanks again John and others for great info...
I do like this Victron controler
https://www.victronenergy.com/solar-charge-controllers/mppt7510#pd-nav-image

However unlike the CTEK 250SA the Victron only deals with solar, what is recommended to bring power from the factory Toyota alt/battery?

Just go with a Blue Sea M-ACR to push/isolate from the alternator to the camper. It won't really matter if you have a good solar setup on the trailer since that will keep everything topped up anyway. This will also top up the batts in the truck since it goes both ways. If you are running AGMs in the truck your alternator will not put out the voltage to get them 100% all the time but the solar charge controller will so this will get your truck batts at 100% also.

 

[john61ct]

Get a better DCDC charger if you actually need one, likely not.

And buy a quality solar controller.

There is no reason to put two suboptimal products in one box.

 

[LandCruiserPhil]

If you plan on moving daily you dont need solar with your stated needs and a group 31 only will work. If you have sun and dont move a 100W panel and PWM controller using a group 27 will work with for your needs no problem. On a small system a MPPT controller is a waste of your dollars. ALL panels output will be reduced when temps exceed 100°. Dont over think solar

 

[Bayou Boy]

For this setup a Sunsaver will be fine as a charge controller. If you want a little data about what it going on buy this charge controller.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B079ZM9MR6/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o05_s03?ie=UTF8&psc=1

It's the exact same thing as a Renogy Rover with a different button look for $50 less. I have one, the manuals are exactly the same.

My last setup was a 100w panel running through a Sunsaver MPPT monitored with a Bogart Trimetric. I ran the regular RV heater every night (they suck the juice) used LED lights like I was at home and would watch the 12v TV/DVD player before going to bed. This was in a Lance Truck Camper on fishing trips. MY 2 Grp 27s were always back to 100% by like 1:00 or 2:00 in the afternoon every day. Unless you are using resistance heating appliances and incandescent lights you just don't use that much power on a daily basis I find. Unless you spend all day in the camper, but most of us are outside doing stuff all day.

 

[luthj]

200W will do the trick. Any home type solar panel will be quite durable, as the glass pane and metal frame are designed for decades of wind/snow loads. With a pair of GC2s, you will not want less than 200W, especially flat mounted on a roof. Any less with a 24/7 fridge may result in shortened life. Pick a good solar controller that will actually hit 14.6V+ for a few hours minimum a day, and that can do a high voltage equalize once a month.

Solar panels can not tolerate even minor shade. This means roof racks, tall brackets etc. Shading even 1% of the panels surface below the rest of the panel will dramatically cut output.


Flat mounted panels will make very little output in the winter months due to low sun angle. Even less if there is equipment casting shade on them in the morning or afternoon.

 

[Bayou Boy]

Solar panels can not tolerate even minor shade. This means roof racks, tall brackets etc. Shading even 1% of the panels surface below the rest of the panel will dramatically cut output.

This is also why multiple smaller panels can be better than one large panel since you can wire it up so that shade on one does not take them all out.