Q & A

[Ponycreek]

You know that old dog new tricks quote? Well I think I fall into that category.
Obviously I'm trying to educate myself and yes I bought the mobile solar power book and I have watched a few thousand videos. my dilemma is building the best complimentary system to fit my application.
The unit is to go in a chevy 3500 turtle top van converted to rv.
5ft x 6ft roof area that due to the areas of travel and lower overhanging limbs the rooftop solar panels need to be removed during Transit so what panels?
Power needs include 700w microwave, 60 watt refrigerator, 5.5 KW AC, some basic LED lights and a few AC power tools. Do I go solar Gen like the AC200max or DIY a system?
Thanks in advance for being a sounding board for me.

 

[anadiner]

Shoot im not old dog when comes to solar but get what ur saying. Educated myself to max and made my choices THEN technological advances reared its head.

Cant keep up and these new like 600w panels scare crap outa me.

Stick with what u know and then baby steps up is my advice. U know... not a leap

 

[rmaddy]

5.5kW A/C? Do you really mean you have an air conditioner that uses 5500 watts when you run it? Perhaps you mean it's a 5500 BTU air conditioner which would use roughly 500-600W when running?

First do a full power audit so you know how much power you really need each day. Then you can figure out how much battery you would need to support that. Then you can work out how much solar would be needed to keep the batteries charged. Then you can work out what will actually physically fit and if it's all doable. Finally you can then start to work out the specific items that meet those needs.

Don't buy anything until your plan is completely worked out.

 

[kenryan]

Listen to what @rmaddy said. Then ask yourself, "Do I really want to deploy/stow solar panels all the time?" Personally, in a situation where I had to drag out the solar panels every time I wanted to use them, I would just forget about solar panels and focus on other methods of battery charging and providing power. Solar is great, but it is not always practical in every situation. Based on what you have said I would be looking at a good battery, inverter/charger, strong alternator and possibly fossil fuel generator.

 

[Alphacarina]

Ask yourself, "Do I really want to deploy/stow solar panels all the time?" Personally, in a situation where I had to drag out the solar panels every time I wanted to use them, I would just forget about solar panels and focus on other methods of battery charging and providing power. Solar is great, but it is not always practical in every situation. Based on what you have said I would be looking at a good battery, inverter/charger, strong alternator and possibly fossil fuel generator.

I agree 100%. There should be no reason why you can't cover your tiny roof with permanently mounted panels of some sort - Maybe with flexible panels glued/taped down to the roof, maybe a couple large glass panels bolted to the roof. Most panels are pretty sturdy and can survive encounters with branches, etc. You'll probably need at least a 1500 watt inverter, if not 2,000 and a healthy battery bank. A DC to DC charge controller so you can recharge from your vehicle alternator while you drive. I would also plan to carry a small inverter generator to make up for any shortcomings. If your goal is to stay 100% solar, you probably are going to have to set up several ground mounted panels whenever you camp, and those come with the possibility of theft unless you stow them every time you leave camp for a hike or a swim . . . .

There are tons of very good YouTube videos for installing solar in small vans - I would watch as many of those as you can and then decide what will and won't work for you

Don

 

[Ponycreek]

The main reason to not permanently mount panels is just due to a number of roads I need to travel are not well maintained and have low limbs that rub across the roof as you pass.

 

[Alphacarina]

That makes 'what panels' much simpler - You're going to have to store them somewhere in the van, so I would guess you're probably going to wind up with about 400 watts (maybe 600, based on what you want to run) of folding, portable panels. Which specific ones you end up buying will be determined by how small they need to fold to fit where you can store them

I would find room for a little inverter generator to fill in for times when your panels can't keep up with the demand

Don