Mounting Flexible Solar Panels on a Travel Trailer Front Cap

[cliffy49]

I have been kicking around(again)the thought of adding a small solar array to my rig. Mostly just to keep the battery charged while in storage,. My question is,has anyone mounted a couple of flexable panels to the front cap of their travel trailer.

Since I have not moved my battery inside, I think that this would be an ideal location for the panels. It would give me a 2/3 foot run to both the battery and to the charge controller. I realize that locating the panels here would not always give me an ideal line to the sun but it would be so much easier to install. I have not yet purchased any components since I am looking for feedback on this first. I am not evan sure I will go through with the idea but figured I would throw it out there for comments just in case.

Let me know what you think.

 

[Lou Schneider]

If you just want to keep your battery topped up, it should work fine. Many years ago when solar panels were expensive, companies made small (10-20 watt) solar battery maintainers that sat on a car's dashboard and plugged into the cigarette lighter to keep a car's battery topped up while in storage - back then the cigarette lighter was hot all the time, not just when the ignition was on. I put one on the dashboard of my motorhome and even though it faced northward so it rarely got full sun it solved the problem of my motorhome's starting battery gong dead while in storage.

Something like this hung in any window on the sunward side of your trailer should keep the battery topped up. Since we're only talking about 1/2 amp of operating current you can tie into any always on DC circuit like a light that's turned on and off at the fixture and let the existing wires backfeed the power to your battery.

https://www.renogy.com/products/10w-solar-battery-trickle-charger-maintainer

 

[cliffy49]

I am thinking about something along these lines. It should keep the batteries charged in storage but also give me some power overnight if we travel anywhere. I realize that a 100 ah battery is not the best for long term boondocking but should be ok for an occasional overnight.

ECO-WORTHY

 

[Lou Schneider]

I am thinking about something along these lines. It should keep the batteries charged in storage but also give me some power overnight if we travel anywhere. I realize that a 100 ah battery is not the best for long term boondocking but should be ok for an occasional overnight.

ECO-WORTHY

That should work and you won't need full sun on the panels to keep the battery topped up in storage - solar panels produce something in almost any light. In full sun the two panel version should extend the capacity of a 100 amp-hour battery by about a third, i.e. if your battery lasts 2 days while boondocking the panels in full sun may let you go 3 days before the battery is drained.

 

[cliffy49]

Lou,what are your thoughts on the mounting location. I could probably go with a solid panel mounted on the roof but mounting on the front cap would be much easier for me.

 

[Isaac-1]

The two big issues with flexible panels is that they don't tend to last more than a few years, and that solar panels don't perform well when hot, and flat mounting flexible panels to an RV tend to keep them from dissipating heat. By comparison hard panels can be mounted with an air gap and air flow beneath them which keeps them cooler.

 

[Lou Schneider]

Lou,what are your thoughts on the mounting location. I could probably go with a solid panel mounted on the roof but mounting on the front cap would be much easier for me.

If you just want to keep your battery charged while in storage flexible panels should work. I'd prefer a solid panel mounted on the roof, like Isaac said it will last longer if you use it while boondocking and you don't have to worry about marring the appearance of the front cap when you remove the panel.

There are lots of used panels with plenty of life left in them available on places like Facebook Marketplace and Craigslist. Mostly salvaged from fixed installations where they have been removed for upgraded panels or just taken out when their tax credits have fully depreciated. They're physically large but one or two of those on your roof with a sub-$100 MPPT controller will build a pretty capable system.

Here's one example, Amazon has many more:

Amazon.com: Vansdon 40A Solar Charge Controller 12V/24V MPPT Solar Charge Controller, Adjustable LCD with Timer, Dual USB Ports, for RV, Boat, Cabin, Off-Grid Systems, Compatible with FLD/LiFePO4/SLD/GEL/AGM : Everything Else

Amazon.com: Vansdon 40A Solar Charge Controller 12V/24V MPPT Solar Charge Controller, Adjustable LCD with Timer, Dual USB Ports, for RV, Boat, Cabin, Off-Grid Systems, Compatible with FLD/LiFePO4/SLD/GEL/AGM : Everything Else

www.amazon.com