I would like to build a portable solar generator

[murdsman]

I have a trailer on some land that is currently completely off grid. The wiring system in the trailer is in good working order. My thoughts are to make a solar generator system that is external to the trailer and just plug it into the trailer just like I would if I had access to the grid. We are not living there full time and most stays are 4 - 5 days at a time. The AC power would mainly be for the refrigerator and keeping the DC system charged. I would like to be able to run some small power tools when needed. I would also like the ability to hook up a gas generator for emergencies to charge the solar system. I have a pretty good idea of the basic sizing of things for this system but I'm looking for some advise. I am new to all of this and am looking forward to the process.
To start Is this even a reasonable idea?

 

[svetz]

Welcome to the forums!

Will has numerous videos on this and a lot of people have successfully built things and show/discuss them on the show & tell forums. I built mine out of a lot of those annoying little cells (which I don't recommend), but it's talked about here.

 

[Plecoptera]

I suspect there are a few thousand, certainly hundreds, of homebrew "Solar Generators" that have been designed by subscribers to this forum. My flavor starts with a Minn-Kota trolling motor battery box, gets transmogified, up to and including 100A circuit breakers, fuse holders, custom made cabling with Absolutely Perfect crimps on 2AWG pure copper cables.

Mine work even after they fall out of a Bass boat, and I can recycle everything on/in it. I believe at least one of my inverters is actually weather resistant, if not as robust as my battery pack. Mine proliferated, my crawlspace battery bank could patrol the entire Boundary Waters if I chose. God bless this site for teaching me about Bus Bars. They, also, have profliferated, also are assembled with custom cables with Absolutely Perfect crimps. As long as I plug black in to black, red in to red, I can't (at least theoretically) burn anything down.

"Solar Generator" is a purely marketing term created to dazzle the innocent. It consists of whatever you say it does.

 

[DThames]

I called mine a Power Box. You need to decide how portable you need it to be and how much power you need to store. Having a generator charge option will help reduce total battery size and weight as you will not have to depend on the battery alone for X days if the sunshine is poor.

 

[Plecoptera]

Going homebrew, as you will discover if you do build your own, has a ton of advantages. Mine are all Anderson Power Pole and MC4 cabled. They don't have a single designated set of charging panels or controller/charger because they plug into pretty much anything. If not... an Absolutely Perfect crimp adapter gets made.

I have some cheap spare waterproof PWMs sitting around from older projects, so maybe today that's the one. My panel collection is a kennel of mutts, bought at below, below, markdown. So long as the controller can handle whatever type of battery I used in a particular "solar generator", I can probably charge it. AGMs live wild and free, LiFePOs are much more domesticated. What goes out the door depends on projected need and the weather forecast. It gets COLD in these parts. Since they all look alike I had to do sticky labels.

With a waterproof battery pack, and a waterproof controller, and a sealed flexi panel I suppose it might be possible to actually charge under water. Maybe a submersible solar powered Bass boat. The solar cross country bike thing has been done repeatedly, but nobody has done a submarine. Yet.