Where can I save a few bucks without putting myself in danger?

[Saturn_up]

I bought 2 cheap solar setups first. The wasted $2000-$4000 was not a good enough "savings" to justify having to replace all of it twice. The old saying "buy nice or buy twice" rings very true here. You can however skimp pretty good on things like battery racks, nuts and bolts, wire (to a degree), panel mount is a definite diy, prebuilt is super pricey. As far as components the super cheap stuff is 50/50 if its going to be fantastic or d.o.a. BUT even the nicest stuff available can and will fail, try to stay mid-upper tier if you can.

 

[va3atr]

I bought 2 cheap solar setups first. The wasted $2000-$4000 was not a good enough "savings" to justify having to replace all of it twice. The old saying "buy nice or buy twice" rings very true here. You can however skimp pretty good on things like battery racks, nuts and bolts, wire (to a degree), panel mount is a definite diy, prebuilt is super pricey. As far as components the super cheap stuff is 50/50 if its going to be fantastic or d.o.a. BUT even the nicest stuff available can and will fail, try to stay mid-upper tier if you can.

Which company(s) are considered mid-upper tier?

 

[Rednecktek]

Anything on my Tier-2 list, second post.

 

[John Frum]

Which company(s) are considered mid-upper tier?

Victron covers almost all the bases except that don't have a high capacity AIO=all in one for the north American market.
Schneider has a really good high capacity inverter/charger.
Sol-ark has a really good high capacity AIO .
Samlex has some really good discrete inverters and excellent inverter/chargers up to 4200 watts.

Since you are doing a mobile application I suggest Samlex or Victron.

Stay away from the cheap AIOs they have many problems, some of them dangerous.

The heart of a good mobile setup is an inverter/charger.

 

[va3atr]

Thank-you all!

This was very helpful. I knew Victron couldn't be the only reputable game in town.

At this point in our off-grid campervan journey, we're just dipping our toes in the water. It's not yet time to "invest" in the best before we know the degree to which we enjoy it - at least where it's not required.

Again, thanks for taking the time.

Anthony

 

[Rocketman]

Look really carefully at the Victron Smartshunt or BMV712- the battery monitor will let you know how full or empty the battery is. - vital to know in an RV.

 

[Philip53]

va3atr, I don't know how, but I completely missed your mobile application when I sent the post above regarding my experience with Schneider/Xantrex. As many others have said, Victron is the way to go mobile, in my opinion. They have a lot of experience in marine and van applications. I built a van last year and used all Victron components - no problems as of yet, and I love their Touch 50 display and remote control panel. If interested, here is a link to the build, including the Victron install: https://sprinter-source.com/forums/index.php?threads/106963/

 

[timselectric]

Just spend some time reading through the threads in this forum. You can build a very budget friendly system. As long as you choose equipment that members are using. You can get lots of help when you're ready to design your system.