Long time lurker, first time poster. Thought I'd start with showing my first build.
I bought an InTech OVR Adventure (toy hauler travel trailer) brand new in 2023. They offered an "off-grid" package with a measly 400W of solar, an MPPT charger, 200AH 12V battery (a pair of 100AH from VPR), and a 2,000W inverter. I wanted more, so I built a larger system for half the price of the factory option. Luckily the trailer was wired for solar even if you didn't buy the factory off-grid package. It had 2 ZAMP ports on the roof, and 1 on the driver's side.
Initially I wanted to build my own battery, but we had a trip planned the week following pickup of the trailer. I decided to buy a 48V 100AH battery rather than taking a gamble on cells that may not arrive for months. I went with a "DJLBERMPW" battery off Amazon as it was the cheapest available that would arrive in time for our first trip.
I wanted an all-in-one solution rather than individual components. Settled on the Renogy 48V 3500W Inverter/Charger/MPPT even though it wasn't my first choice. It just happened to be the only thing available that would arrive when I needed it. Despite a few minor annoyances, it has worked fine for almost 2 years now. I cut a 10' heavy duty 10AWG outdoor extension cord in half for the AC connections. Input runs to the vent hole in the floor left behind by removing the factory installed lead-acid battery. Output runs through the vent hole on the left to the side of the trailer. For PV input, I used the factory wires in this compartment under the bed. DC output goes to a pair of 48V bus bars, then a 100A ANL fuse on the positive side and a Victron Smart Shunt on the negative side before connecting to the battery. A Pro Chaser 30A/360W step-down converter sits between the 48V bus bars and 12V bus bars to run the 12V system in the trailer.
I didn't have enough time to install the solar panels before our 1st trip, so we ended up running off battery only. The Wisconsin State Park we were camping at had no electric hookups and did not allow generator usage. I was able to run my CPAP, the fridge, lights, fans, furnace, and charge 4 phones multiple times for 48 hours before the battery died, which was enough to get us through the weekend trip.
For the solar, I used 12 x Renogy 100W 12V Black Division Lightweight Monocrystalline solar panels for a total of 1200W. The roof on this trailer is not meant to support extra weight, so I wanted to maximize output while minimizing weight, and these seemed to fit the bill.
The system has worked well and underwent the ultimate test in June of 2024. We did an 8,500-mile round trip from Illinois to Alaska and back, with only 1 minor issue that was 100% my fault. There was just enough wiggle room with the way I strapped the battery down to allow the positive cable on the battery to come loose inside the heat shrink at the ring connector about halfway through the month-long trip. Luckily, I brought a 4500w dual fuel generator as a backup, which got us through until I figured out what happened. Once I fixed the connection to the battery, everything worked fine the rest of the trip. Most days the battery would be fully recharged before we woke up in the morning due to the extremely early sunrise that far north at that time of year.
I bought an InTech OVR Adventure (toy hauler travel trailer) brand new in 2023. They offered an "off-grid" package with a measly 400W of solar, an MPPT charger, 200AH 12V battery (a pair of 100AH from VPR), and a 2,000W inverter. I wanted more, so I built a larger system for half the price of the factory option. Luckily the trailer was wired for solar even if you didn't buy the factory off-grid package. It had 2 ZAMP ports on the roof, and 1 on the driver's side.
Initially I wanted to build my own battery, but we had a trip planned the week following pickup of the trailer. I decided to buy a 48V 100AH battery rather than taking a gamble on cells that may not arrive for months. I went with a "DJLBERMPW" battery off Amazon as it was the cheapest available that would arrive in time for our first trip.
I wanted an all-in-one solution rather than individual components. Settled on the Renogy 48V 3500W Inverter/Charger/MPPT even though it wasn't my first choice. It just happened to be the only thing available that would arrive when I needed it. Despite a few minor annoyances, it has worked fine for almost 2 years now. I cut a 10' heavy duty 10AWG outdoor extension cord in half for the AC connections. Input runs to the vent hole in the floor left behind by removing the factory installed lead-acid battery. Output runs through the vent hole on the left to the side of the trailer. For PV input, I used the factory wires in this compartment under the bed. DC output goes to a pair of 48V bus bars, then a 100A ANL fuse on the positive side and a Victron Smart Shunt on the negative side before connecting to the battery. A Pro Chaser 30A/360W step-down converter sits between the 48V bus bars and 12V bus bars to run the 12V system in the trailer.
I didn't have enough time to install the solar panels before our 1st trip, so we ended up running off battery only. The Wisconsin State Park we were camping at had no electric hookups and did not allow generator usage. I was able to run my CPAP, the fridge, lights, fans, furnace, and charge 4 phones multiple times for 48 hours before the battery died, which was enough to get us through the weekend trip.
For the solar, I used 12 x Renogy 100W 12V Black Division Lightweight Monocrystalline solar panels for a total of 1200W. The roof on this trailer is not meant to support extra weight, so I wanted to maximize output while minimizing weight, and these seemed to fit the bill.
The system has worked well and underwent the ultimate test in June of 2024. We did an 8,500-mile round trip from Illinois to Alaska and back, with only 1 minor issue that was 100% my fault. There was just enough wiggle room with the way I strapped the battery down to allow the positive cable on the battery to come loose inside the heat shrink at the ring connector about halfway through the month-long trip. Luckily, I brought a 4500w dual fuel generator as a backup, which got us through until I figured out what happened. Once I fixed the connection to the battery, everything worked fine the rest of the trip. Most days the battery would be fully recharged before we woke up in the morning due to the extremely early sunrise that far north at that time of year.
