diy solar

diy solar

My 2021 Primetime Avenger LT 17BHS with 1200 watt solar.

Off Gridin' It

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Joined
Dec 11, 2020
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102
I designed and built this system from scratch. I also custom built the slides for the additional solar panels.
1200 watts of Renogy 100 watt panels and in Series/Parallel, 800 ah of Deep Cycle Hybrid Gel batteries. (Yes i know, not Lithium but needed to save money somewhere) 4000 watt AIMS inverter/generator with 12000 watt surge. Renogy 100 amp Rover solar charge controller. All 12 volt system.

I can run absolutely everything with this system. It’s capable of running the air, microwave, Kerig coffee maker, TV and everything else simultaneously. I never need to plug in. I have been able to run my 13,500 BTU air all night with power to spare and that’s making sure not to discharge below 50%. With my panels in series/parallel i start charging as early as 7:30 am on a sunny day and still charge on cloudy days although not much.

Other upgrades that were completed was an axle upgrade from the stock 3500 lbs Dexter axle to a 7000 lbs Timbren axleless axle.
Also reinforced the tongue. I had to do this to compensate for the extra weight of the batteries and other cargo.
Also added a C-Head composting toilet and combined my gray and black tanks.

This camper is very special. On September 21st, 2020 my little boy passed away from cancer. We loved camping together and had always tent camped. I had been teaching myself solar and researching travel trailers since 2018. My son was autistic and loved looking at the campers with me. We went to all the RV shows. After his diagnosis Christians health declined very fast. Make-A-Wish came in and with there help Christian was able to get his camper trailer. By the time he got it he was to sick to go camping but we spent a lot of time camping in the driveway. He loved it and we made great memories. I promised him I would take him to all the places he wanted to go so this month (Late March) I will be leaving on a trip across the country in his camper to spread his ashes and celebrate his life and memory. Hopefully I can meet some great people along the way and Tell them about Christian.

His camper is now a true off grid king!!
 

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Condolences for the loss of your son. I know that there isn't anything I could say to take away the pain but he’ll always be with you....

Glad to read about your Solar journey! I’m in the midst of building a system, 640 watt array with LiFe 280AH 24V battery pack. And I have a similar inverter - 3000 watt Aims with remote display...how cool is that! ; )

Anyway I value answers or opinions to my questions down the road. Happy Camping, Cheers
 
Welcome back.

Please accept my condolences.

Glad to see you installed a battery monitor since your last visit.
Thank you. My baby will be with me every step of the way.

Yes i had no idea how badly the Renogy charge controller was at monitoring the batteries. I saw the battery monitor on Will Prowes youtube Chanel and it has proven to be a great addition. Although i may still upgrade to a victory battery monitor later so i can have the Bluetooth connectivity.
 
This seems like a great way to honor his memory.

The smartshunt is a great value. I have a BMV-702 because I don't need bluetooth, but I can attest to its awesomeness. It considers additional factors over the budget monitor:

Peukert effect - if you use more/less than the C20 rate, it adjusts capacity accordingly.
Cold weather - batteries are less efficient and have reduced capacity when cold - it will compensate for that.
 
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