Newby with problems with Renogy and Bouge charge controllers

[CVRider]

I've got a 100w flexible panel on the roof of my pickup camper. I have two charge controllers, one for the camper battery and one for the truck battery. I move the solar panel cable from one to the other as needed (sometimes the camper is off the truck, so the panel keeps the camper battery charged when off the truck). I had a cheapo Renogy controller (under $30 at Amazon) on the truck that crapped out within a year. I then bought a similar sub $30 Bouge charge controller (BougeRV 10 Amp 12V/24V PWM Solar Charge Controller) to replace it. After less than 2 months, that one crapped out- the display is not showing correctly and it doesn't seem to be charging the truck battery. Both of these controllers are mounted in the engine compartment of my 2000 F250, and both have been exposed to pretty dusty conditions in the Black Rock dessert of Nevada, with very fine alkaline dust that gets into everything.

Any suggestions on what to replace this charge controller with? The truck is a diesel with dual batteries that sometimes discharge if not kept on a trickle charge of some sort. I have not been able to track down this discharge.

I'm also looking at helping a friend put together a solar array with two 255w panels for his RV for a trip to the desert. What would be a good charge controller for this setup? He will have two 12v deep cycle batteries. I think this is overkill for his needs, since he will be using a generator to run the a/c, but he's already bought the panels and wants to set them up for extra power to share with other campers that are in tents or don't have solar.

Thanks!

 

[rmaddy]

I would think the engine compartment is a terrible place to put electronics that are not specifically designed for such a location. Too much heat, dust, and grime. You need the controller inside the camper or cabin where it's cleaner and (hopefully) cooler.