FINALLY a Practical Solar Upgrade for an RV! Part 1 of 2
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- Опубликовано: 3 окт 2024
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Hello friends.. I know that many people may not see this as a "reasonably priced" solar build, but it's the most popular intermediate Solar Kit that etrailer said they sell. This was important to me because I did not want to showcase a kit that was well beyond the price that most viewers could budget for. Many installs on RUclips are in the $16-24k range for equipment alone! This system is not anywhere near that, even though that's the type of setup they wanted me to show.
Agreed. I see some of the solar installs that cost more then many small trailers. I am working on a book on this topic. 4-500w and a 2000w inverter will keep most people in business spend the rest on a small generator for the AC and charging on a cloudy day
I appreciate this comment. All the RUclipsrs getting insane free systems from battleborn and never disclosing the fact their install is 30-50% the value of the entire RV is disingenuous.
Thanks for always disclosing
There's several options for 3000Wh 12V batteries that are well below GoPower's overpriced battery. The only reason for this battery over the alternatives is all-same-brand sponsor, which isn't something that could be called out on a sponsored video.
Cougar/Montana prices their “Solar Package” at about $20k, which for what you get (no where near this level) is high in comparison.
Cougar has a 600i which is 12,000 for the system
I GC'd my last house, and the electrician took great pride in his work, everything straight and not twisted. No rat's nest to be seen. Pride in workmanship doesn't cost billions.
Pride in workmanship might cost a little more in labor but saves on material waste and pays dividends in longevity and can make service or repairs easier in the future.
You are so right. There are pros in this world and pros would not even consider this guys work is even possible. What's worst is some RUclipsr is polishing this turd to make it look/sound good.
That sure looks like a nice setup. You'll enjoy your system for many trouble-free years. We're retired FT RVers who love to boondock so we decided to build our system on 2 phases, a 12v basic phase and a 48v run everything phase. But the kicker is we are living on social security and a small pension so have to do everything on a tight budget, which means designing and building everything ourselves. The first phase was just completed last month with the addition of custom built 560ah of LiFePo-4 battery made with 8, 280ah prismatic cells. It has just a tad more capacity than your pair of Sun Cycles. We used a Heltec 330amp BMS and a 5 A active balancer. We were able to build the battery itself, with an 8,000-cycle mfg. projected life at 80% DOD, including the BMS, for under $1,500. Plus it fits under the steps of our motorhome where our old pair of GC-2 golf cart batteries used to live and is even 35lbs lighter than our old FLA batteries - not to mention having over 5 times the capacity and 10 times the life. We started our build about 3 1/3 years ago with a 620-watt liftable array on the side of our motorhome. A liftable array generates about 20-30% more power than flat mounted panels (even more in the winter, when the sun is low on the horizon.) It practically lifts itself to the correct angle with a couple gas struts without climbing on the roof. It's much easier to clean too, with a windshield squeegee, standing safely on the ground. This first phase, including a new progressive dynamics 80a converter/charger, PSW inverter, Epever 50a MPPT controller, and a Renogy battery to battery charger (so I don't fry my alternator) cost us around $3,600. This doesn't include our labor, of course. Since we retired, we have more time than money.
Now that we have funds available, it's about time to start on phase 2. We left our roof free to rack 8 large solar panels down the center, over our AC shrouds. We will mount them on a slight angle (about 4 degrees) for water run-off to help them stay cleaner (as climbing on the roof to clean panels is tough at my age) and for a slight power boost, as we always park facing east so our liftable array faces south. We will be using 8 BlueSun 460W bifacial panels. We will be racking them, so the driver's side of the array will be 16" off the roof and the passenger's side about 10 inches of the roof (to clear our AC shroud and vents.) This clearance should produce another 10% output off the back of these bifacial panels too, from sunlight reflected off our white roof - especially during off-peak hours when the sun is lower in the sky. We will still be able to keep the RV height to around 12ft. at its highest point to minimize clearance issues. We will be using an all-in-one 48V, 3kW, 120V PSW Inverter, 80a controller and 60a ac battery charger by MPP. Our 48v bank will use 16, 310ah prismatic cells (15.9Kwh.) For comparison, it's roughly the equivalent of 5 of your 250ah Sun Cycle batteries. We will be retaining our 280ah 12v bank, so we will have a total of about 23Kwh of batteries onboard. We will be adding a 30.5 SEER, super high-efficiency, 12k Btu Blueridge mini-split heat pump for our bedroom and removing our rear 12k btu rooftop AC that we never use anymore since we replaced our front Dometic AC with a 13.5k Btu Furrion unit. We will be using a dedicated, 2,000w, 220v PSW inverter to power it. This second phase will cost around $9k, which is pretty reasonable for a system of this size, including the mini-split. It will provide 24/7 off-grid air conditioning and supplemental heat from the heat pump and allow occasional usage of our new, rotary compressored Furrion front rooftop AC to cool things down for peak afternoon demand. The total solar capacity of both arrays, while hard to estimate accurately with bi-facial panels, should be roughly 4,600 watts. It will give us total off-grid electrical independence with little to no back-up generator usage.
Todd is a heck of a guy, extremely knowledgeable and runs the best RV tech school there is(from what I've seen). Great video JD!
Minor point, from a telecommunications background, in our wiring cabinets we don’t use plastic tie wraps, except to tie cord off of. Plastic tie wraps can cut wires over time and motion, and while brief, I believe I saw a lot of tie wraps. We use waxed cord/string, and each cable run we label it. For example in that wiring cluster you would see small tags that might say ‘FR SLIDE, RR SLIDE, GEN 12v PWR” or whatever.
Great video! THANK YOU!
I’ve always been impressed with telecommunications systems wiring. The shear volume of circuits and terminations at junction points can easily make an engineer go temporarily cross eyed. In mobile industrial applications we see more wiring faults resulting from NVH- noise, vibration, harshness: broken wires and wire chaffing. Seeing bundles of unsecured wires in an RV makes the hair on my neck stand up.
Velcro tie wraps. It's what we use for TC.
@@AmmarossPlays - Those would work great too! All I know is that plastic tie wraps can cut wires, and in a trailer/5W/coach that vibrates, rocks and rolls down the highway, that risk is amplified.
@@preachers4135 - We’re in the same industry! 😎👍🏼
Zip ties work just as good as anything else,as long as you don't dent the cables by over-cinching. I am also a telecom guy for 46 years. I have done the waxed string, zip ties and Velcro. Anything CAN work as long as you don't change the properties of the cable.
Hi JD, I appreciate the discussion about the benefits of solar AND generator. Looking forward to part 2.
This video inspired us to finally install solar on our rig. We contacted Chris from A to Z Mobile RV in Tucson to design and do our install. Thank you so much
I wanted to share with you a funny rv story. Last week while visiting South Dakota I saw a Grand Design Imagine Travel Trailer, a fairly large and heavy unit. The funny part is when we passed it I noticed that it was being towed by an Audi q5! The thing was about an inch from scraping the ground and it was about the funniest thing ever seeing this huge trailer being towed by a small compact SUV
The difference with the wires in a home, they aren’t going down the road being constantly jarred around. House wiring would never pass inspection if done like an RV.
Love the ELECTRICITY IS LIKE WATER. Now I understand.
Electricity and water are also always trying to find a path to ground and take the path of least resistance.
Absolutely doesn’t replace the generator, it compliments it. We just came back from camping off grid at a forestry site and we had temps up to 117F and 47% humidity. Generator and A/C was absolutely necessary. Need a lot of solar to run A/C for 6-8 hours a day. Lol
I haven’t put in a system yet, just 300w panels and a Jackery 1000, thanks for the great content here as this is my next project on my toyhauler.
Those conditions and A/C for only 6-8 hrs? I think most people run theirs 24hrs with them set at 65F.
@@preachers4135 A/C is pretty power hungry. Some forestry sites up here have noise rules. (Quiet times) Besides running a Genny 24 -7 kills camping and we go to the woods to escape the noises of the city. Jackery 1000 works great for the Keurig and smart TVs. Charges easy on solar and or a little run of the Onan. propane will run my fridge and freezer silently.
On side note, 3 to brief showers a day help break the heat too. That and a soak in glacier fed rivers😂😂😂
@@behrlock you might want to look at doing ground-standing panels that you can drag out and set up for maximizing angles. Put a good Anderson plug on the side of the trailer to tie in to an MPPT to a 4000Wh+ battery array and you're golden. The panels could be used house panels strung together if the MPPT can take the volts.
@@AmmarossPlays 🤔 House panels, that’s brilliant!
@@behrlock Glacier fed rivers, that definitely works! 😅🥶
Really excited about this install. We have a 2020 Montana which we ordered with the small solar package. One 275 watt panel, 3000 watt inverter, and 6 inverted outlets. We are wanting to upgrade to an additional panel and lithium batteries but not go full tilt and spend the kids college tuition. Thanks for doing this the way you did it!
I have a 2020 Montana too. I bought their solar package too. Wasn’t long after it didn’t do what we were told it would do that we went with a big system of 2650 watts of solar and 1000 AH of lithium. We went with all Victron equipment and Zamp solar. Best thing we ever did.
@@Mudford63 Wow that’s sweet!! Do you sell the excess megawatts to your neighbors or feed the power grid?
@@preachers4135have ran an extension cord over to my buddies alliance so he could use his oven in his brand new trailer while Boondocking.
That’s why I love this guy. He could have went the greed route and deck his 5th wheel out and went balls to the wall but he has his fan base in mind and the common man. Good on you brother. Much respect going this route. Because no way in hell can the majority of people put 10 panels and all the bells and whistles that go with it on their rig.
Having too much wire is never a problem, you can always shorten it as needed, if necessary, but it's impossible to stretch it. As a fire investigator splices are most generally where problems originate. Faults seldom, if ever, occur in a strand of wire unless it's been violated someway.
This wire has been violated! My supervisor will likely soon see this in a service report. 😂
I basically have done the same build except with different parts. I went with the Victron Multi Plus 3,000 watt inverter (they have since released the 50amp pass through version :() I also added 6 Lion Energy 100 AH batteries. Next spring I will be adding 4 or 5 200 watt solar panels to the roof and a victron 50amp solar charge controller. The system works great. I also have a 5500 Onan that I use to charge them up. The goal will be to have enough solar that I won't have to use the generator very much. But it is nice to have as a backup.
Woohoo! GO NRVTA!!
IF NRVTA is teaching this garbage, How is this any good? Really, I would love not know the answer to this.
Like the discussion of how the on board generator augments the overall power configuration of the RV. and how that extends how long you can be out there. Also the discussion of the weight added was something I had not considered. Thanks
Tons of good info here. That’s the kind of system I would install because I know I won’t need a huge system when I very rarely boondock.
Hey JB! This is such a great video! Congrats for capturing the essence of “free RV life” in the great outdoors! Solar + generator + lithium batteries = freedom :-) we are doing the same, including internal BMS + Bluetooth for information! Can’t wait to see the second video ;-)
Todd is Awesome!
Well done showing an install most RVers can afford and would choose.
If you had been installing enough equipment to to power a small town I wouldn’t have watched this to the end nor would I tune in for part 2.
Well I learned some, and that's always good(Things that I should already know even). And good Safety advice too. Thanks.
Best video yet, JD.
BTBRV identity revealed! Got to love reflective sunglasses.:)
How many people won't take away that they need to subtract their weight capacity when adding solar panels, batteries, controller, inverter, etc. Probably something to mention/consider.
Right. And that should be done with every rv.
Our 29’ TT came “wired” for solar (on the roof or a receptacle for suitcase panels). They research I did indicated I could be limited by the existing wire gauge for any future increase in watts. So I went with Victron controller and monitor and ran my own wiring. My controller is oversized (some would say) for the two 100 watt panels I attached to constructed aluminum frames/stands. Only desire currently is to keep two 100 amp hr flooded cell batteries charged. No house wide inverter. So lights, fans, water pump, etc are the only pull on the batteries and what we use after the sun goes down has so far been replenished the next day (with good sun) while we’re out hiking. An example of adding what you need - not what others think you should have. Seriously looking at NRVTA for next March! Considering retirement income potential!
Solar is so much better today. I still have my first system from 20yrs ago. Now it is only for led lights in my cargo trailer.
If you're using a split phase inverter, get rid of your roof AC units and put in a two zone mini split AC unit. More room for Solar without the AC's on the roof, more efficient for running of the battery, and a heck of a lot quieter.
When I bought my 5th wheel, it came with solar ready with 1 panel already installed and I added one for 400 watts total and 2 Sun (go power) 100 watt lithium battery’s. The only issue is I was sold a New 2021 model but it has a 1500 watt inverter and that is a early 2020 model. I love my rig but not happy about that issue.
Eve or Lishen make fantastic 272 or 280 ah batteries that are much smaller than that. It's four cells that you have to put together yourself and you have to provide the BMS, but they can usually be purchased for under $500. For the price of ONE of these GoPower batteries you could get around1100 ahmp hours from four Eve or Lishen batteries.
Just to correct the statement, Victron Does have a 3000 watt 50amp inverter. GoPower is not the only one.
For yrs. I've thinking of solar for a few things around the house. 2 are medical equipment and 2 are ham equipment. The medical runs on 110 and the radios run on 12V
If you look, a lot of medical might actually have 12V adapters. CPAPs for instance do.
@@AmmarossPlays Ya. I knew about my bi-pap. But I'm on 2ltr. of O2.
@@davidleaghty2943 yeah, a O2 compressor might not be as easy.
While the wiring is fine it just lacks pride, I run a shop that we build oil delivery trucks. I would never let something leave looking like that and neither would my guys.
The go power stuff is a bit pricey, if you’re not brand loyal you can have a decent basic system for less than 3k.
I remember when I had solar panels on my toy hauler. I never had to run my generator or plug my trailer in, to keep my batteries charged. They worked great. I think I was pushing 350 watts through it.
Thank you for this
Please don't make excuses for the poor workmanship of the RV industry. The current I-codes used throughout the US do not allow rat's nests of wiring or plumbing in residential construction. In modern construction, you only see that where the inspector was inept or well after construction and CO with modifications made later.
I think this team is not up to date with Victron products. Victron now has the MultiPlus II 3000 watt inverter which will allow a 30 amp input and provide power to both sides of a 50 amp service without a switch. Of course a 100 amp (2 50 amp legs) also works. Of course GoPower and Victron are excellent products.
Victron much better then Go Power. Hands down.
In this case 50+50=50 not 100.
The distribution panel is split with 50A available on one leg and 50A on the other. If you attempt to draw 51 amps from this service you will trip your breakers.
@@preachers4135 he is saying 100 because nothing in the rv uses both legs like a home so you essentially have a total of the 100amps available
@@alexrodgers5636 If 220V 50A is available I’m sure using it:) then again my rig isn’t typical. Smoke em if you got em!
Solar does not have to be as expensive as some RUclipsrs have on video. With some research you can find good equipment. That doesn't cost an arm and a leg. I have $6200.00 invested on just over 2000 watts of solar. Running off of 6 - 100 Ah lithium batteries. Solar is not that complicated and I DIY my system. Again just do some research (RUclips) and ask some questions. Then build a system to meet your needs.
Very informative and enjoyable video. Looking forward to part 2
Awesome video
Go power components are excellent, great choice
I've got a class C that I am planning on setting up with solar. There is not much to power honestly (I'm still figuring all of that out) But so far with what I have chosen for equipment and batteries I am not even coming close to 6-8K. and I also figured, I can add a battery every 6 months to a year to increase capacity etc. Those battleborns are waaay overpriced. I have seen similar batteries for a quarter of their cost with the same tech in them.
You can significantly reduce cost with a chin 300AH lithium battery for about 1k at amazon. It might make it more helpful for people with a smaller budget.
Nice setup.
Weight of that battery and the solar panels need to be factored into the weight of your load capacity , time to really lighten the kitchen wear and camp toys.
Just not the coffee station!
🤔 Triple axle or go all out Spacecraft?
@@preachers4135 absolutely triple axle , spaceships series coming but not in our life time 🤣 .
Not sure why one would keep the lead acid house batteries after installing this system given these weight issues.
@@kmac1991 He has a pre-existing solar system of one 190 watt panel and batteries for his residential refrigerator.
If you have a wiring mess like this in your house you need to fire your electrical contractor. I know most of the RV manufacturers leave a mess like this behind but some are worse than others. My complaint is that unsecured wires stand a good chance of causing problems over time by rubbing on things or tugging on connections. It's really a shame they don't make nice looking harnesses that are easy to troubleshoot. Imagine if the engine bay in your truck looked like that.
Look people solar isn't for running your ac! Unless you want to spend big bucks! Solar is priced perfect for running your lights , pump, fans, USB outlets and charging your battery without running a generator.
Yup. Buy a generator for ~$600-900 and pack some gas. This mediocre solar system won't run the AC for more than a few hours and take a couple days to recharge (flat mount panels aren't the most efficient mounting method, so good luck getting close to 190W). At ~$7k for the system, that $6k cost difference is a LOT of gas. 15-20gal of gas or a large LPG tank should last a camping trip and be less weight than the panels+IC3000. The battery upgrade is the best part of this, but not the overpriced GoPower.
And… MICROWAVE! LOL! I can’t count the number of units I’ve seen with battery/inverter systems that can’t even run a microwave. IMHO that’s. Necessity! 🤣
This is an awesome collaboration! Thank you for sharing it! It is really great to see the NRVTA present! We get our travel trailer in October; this will be our 3rd one. I would love to attend the NRVTA to learn all about the maintenance of it. And, I do plan to get a solar system to better enable our boondocking ability.
QUESTION: can you install a solar system in your rig while attending the NRVTA Solar class?
If you take a lithium down to O percent it will ruin it. If you charge while cold it'll ruin it but lithium is the way to go for sure. Should've went with nissan leaf battery... for that price you could have gotten a good bus and batteries 3 times that capacity
Why did you leave the OEM transfer switch when the Go Power inverter includes a 50a transfer switch?
Sounds like some flight training going on over your head!
The other major advantage of having a generator is that it allows you not to have to employ an “extreme” solar system. Because you can crank the generator to run the AC for example your more normal “house loads” are much easier to support from solar power.
I’m curious why you chose not to remove the existing solar and inverter or at the least tie in the existing panel to your new system. Why carry two whole systems?
Can you move the premier to today please!!!!!
Done! It's been moved to today 😃
That’s an insane price for such a small solar unit. One can buy A LOT of gasoline to run the generator for 7k and be able to have access to all equipment (AC units)
Not when you're not near a gas station
@@BigTruckBigRV I know you have to stick up for your sponsor. I carry 60 gallons of fuel in my momentum. My generator can run a long time on 60 gallons of fuel. To each their own but unless you’re full time living in your trailer the price of the batteries alone is a breaking point
Not sticking up for anyone. Many get solar regardless of price. You may have 60gallons in your toy hauler because toy haulers carry fuel for toys and their onboard generator by design. Most fifth wheels don't have that feature. Imagine the cost of adding twin 30gal fuel tanks, pump and Onan generator to most fifth wheels. That would be at or around $7k in equipment alone. And it would still make sense to have a small solar setup.
Awesome video. Still pondering if the cost versus benefit is worth it for my vintage RV...
I thought that the GP IC series had a transfer switch built in? Why the stand alone transfer switch?
Thanks
I need a mega system as I do disaster relief and frequently park in places with no power and limited fuel would a solar system big enough to run a 42ft 50amp be significantly higher in price than a diesel generator
Bought a new Montana 5th wheel in 06.really love it. But after all the repairs (and I've done em all myself), I have a favorite expression. "If you took all the RVS in the world, put em all in a big box, shook it up and dumped it out, you'd have a big pile of JUNK! Don't get me wrong, I still love my RV and that's only because I fix everything myself (don't trust any dealerships) but unfortunately the rv industry does not have the quality control that the auto industry has. So, buyer beware!😕
Just to clarify what was said in the video. Victron does now offer a dual leg (2x 120v) inverter.
Have to give Go-power credit for there marketing, they have absolutely killed it. However that doesn’t mean they are the best. There are others options that will get you more for your money.
great job, have one question I am sure your 12volt electrical connections/batterie where in the front storage area. Now that your batteries are in the basement how did they wire up the 12 volt connections in the front storage area???
Solar isn’t always about cost-effectiveness, we do a lot of Boondocking on BLM , national forests, etc.. the last thing I want is he generator humming all day/night. If it is raining out, fine, but we get away from people for a reason.
Excellent point!
that guy with the big beard looked so miserable from the heat. he just wanted to go home cool down! poor guy!
Not many watts on top. I’ve seen 450 watt per panel for under $100 (used). Yeah 5 panels at a min. Of 300 plus watts each.
If the IC 3000 has an automatic transfer switch built inside of the unit why is the one that was originally (for the generator) in there staying?
Great question.
If one is good two is bett... double trouble?
The fact that the industry, inspectors and manufacturers are ok with that rats nest of low volt wiring -- is the problem. There should be way more than “does it work” as a test of success and quality.
But is that really the inspectors job? Do you feel that an inspector focusing on working wiring will get a dealer to change it all? I tend to agree overall from a manufacturing perspective, but I'm not certain a aftermarket inspector telling a customer about it would change anything.
@@BigTruckBigRV Oh heck no. That inspector shouldn't be expected to fix poor manufacturing, but he seemed to be a little bit TOO ok with how horrible it was... Sounded a little complacent. The dealer won't do anything, because that's how it is manufactured and it's working. With the demand for RV's I doubt owners will start rejecting deliveries because of poor manufacturing if things "work"
As an owner who does alot of my own repair (because, I don't want to be stuck in dealerships) this type of mess just makes my life a pain.
I don't disagree at all. I've dabbled in trying to clean up some of it as well
About the EMS. What would be the issue to have it cover all three power inputs before connecting to the power panel? Mine only covers the shore power side, and often wonder about the generator causing an issue.
Good video, always enjoy watching.
It's main purchase is to look for a surge or dangerous voltage drop. The inverter monitors the batteries and solar system for those possibilities. The incoming power is the only variable not protected without a surge protector/ems
I'm getting a new Alliance and would like to have solar on the unit. Could this happen at NRVTA
5* Video , Mr.JD has anyone talked about Solar Hot Water . Ask the Tech from Tucson AR. if He would give a Good business name from that Area . Looking to Buy from that Area I heard No state tax . I do know (for now) disabled Vet`s can not use VA benefits for travel RV Tagged for the road ect. Maybe unsecured loan. from NFCU
What is the small solar panel on your goosebox for?
Hi JD,
Excellent video.
One question the system you put on your rig. What was the total weight when all was said and done?
The wiring in your home shouldn’t look like a rats nest either. Quality craftsmanship should be across the board. What I see is just laziness And if my attic was wires all over I’d say the same thing.
Were
I’m confused…
But after you get solar are you limited to only using solar or can you still go and plug in at a campsite
You can do both
Hey JD: Well your on the right track thinking that this sounds expensive for what you get. From what a heard, your spending (sponsored) 5 grand on two batteries that will run one AC unit for two hours? I see the switch between generator recharging the batteries for another two hour run. How many batteries would you need to get say 8 hours of AC during the heat of the day? Also how much are the panels giving you as far as charging?
Bill this may help. I have 1280 in solar, a 3000 watt vectron inverter and 4 100 amp B/B lithium batteries. I can run my air for most of the afternoon with a small loss from the batteries. When i get to around 70 percent i shut the air off or if it is really hot fire up the honda 2200 watt gen to off set the loss. The answer would about 4 hours in full sunlight until 70 percent without and extra power. The one thing to consider is although i have 1280 watts in solar the max i get would be about 1220 at full overhead sunlight. So adding as much solar as you can is the way to go.
Interesting. One fault of being vendor-centric, you miss the various options available to the RV'er. For example, my three Battleborn GC-2 100 amp lithium batteries are lighter, smaller, provide more power, and are less expensive than the monster battery shown in the video.
So individually they take up less space and are lighter but 3 of them together are larger and heavier. You also need significantly more cabling. They are nice though.
That wiring is an embarrassment to the industry but it is an indication of how the rest of the RV is built. Look at the ducting for the heat/AC, if it was straight how much better would it work? If you pay peanuts you get monkeys.
🤣🤣🤣
I have the 100k trailer. I wouldn’t be caught dead putting $6-$7k USD of solar on my trailer...
I can buy A LOT of gas for my generator with $7000...
I have a 400w system that was $1500 CAD installed!
You guys have lost your minds...
So what was the price total?
So this solar setup kinda replaces a generator?
It works in conjunction with solar. The Solar can replace a generator at times though.
He will still need his generator. That is a small system.
I still believe it’s too expensive for the average person, $7,000 is a lot hopefully they will come down in price. If you get a generator for a $1000 you still have $6000 you can spend on fuel. Is that $7000 installed?
No, that's $7k for equipment. The benefit isn't the cost over fuel. It's the ability to run without needing to obtain fuel. Of your boondocking 50 miles from a gas station, then fuel might be more of a challenge.
Neat organized wiring does not equal profit for RV manufacturers. 😐
Massive solar? The teaser / title does not match the video content. Good video content however. Personally not a fan of the bulky oversized batteries that make installation more difficult and cost more per amp hour.
You can def spend much less than this for a decent RV solar setup. CHINS is a brand of lithium battery that has been torture tested by many people online and they have great reviews. You can pick up a 300aH Chins lithium for about $600 less than the batteries in this video. You can also spend half what that inverter costs and go with Xantrex or Aims which are both high-quality 3,000-watt inverters. Finally, if you're spending more than a dollar per watt on solar panels you're overpaying. Rich Solar makes a great, inexpensive panel, and so does HighTek, and Grape Solar. Incidentally, I run an RV solar FB group with thousands of members, and the whole reason I started the group was to help folks see that they do NOT have to spend a ton of money to get a decent RV solar setup. {I do have a popular RUclips channel with over 60k subs but it has nothing to do with RV solar.}
I know the warning of it being “sponsored” but you did shot this brand down and they do have a 50a dual leg unit that in my opinion is far better 😉 www.victronenergy.com/inverters-chargers/multiplus-ii-2x-120v
As a wiremen for over three decades that rv wiring from the factory is proof of laziness and corporate greed.This is not a company you should do business with.
Could've gotten a grow watt and better battery. They sell you garbage it seams. It's a shame they shoot people so full of crazy and sell such trash with limited power
Wiring in a home does not look anything like that! There is no excuse for a rats nest in 100+k camper,car or house like that!
That factory wiring is not neat and workman like. That is lazy workmanship. It may work but but so will a V8 on 7 cylinders. Just not right.
Man.. you can tell the install guys here are freaking crooks.
I've been a contractor for 40 years that is an absolute rats nest and trust me. There's nothing like that up in your attic. There is no sense of pride, or craftsmanship in the RV industry that work is unprofessional, sloppy, and an absolute disgrace.
I'd like to see the look on the guys face after he spends $24000 plus the cost of a generator and his next rv spot is shaded by trees...:)
Wow. I never thought we would have clouds or trees that might block the sunlight.
@@Mudford63 I think you missed the biggest obvious point under those circumstances. You'll still be paying for lp even though you paid 24000 plus labor for the solar setup.
Since this video came out Victron Does now offer the 12/3000 II X2 120V Just finished the install of one, and it works great, I considered the Go Powerm but they are a little more expensive and I really like Victron Connect. Either way, Awesome system