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Who can i hire to help me install solar to my cargo trailer using Renogy DC to DC dual charger w/MPPT using tow vehicle's battery/alternator to charge

artest77

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I am looking for someone I can hire to helo me install my Cargo Trailer Solar power system using my 2000 watt inverter, 200AH AGM Battery and a Renogy DC to DC Dual Charger w/MPPT to be able to charge from my tow vehicle's battery/alternator back to the cargo trailer's house battery. How would I wire it so that I can disconnect when not towing?
 
It is a lot easier than you think. You might try U-Haul or any other shops that install auto hitch systems, winches, snow plows.
 
It is a lot easier than you think. You might try U-Haul or any other shops that install auto hitch systems, winches, snow plows.
I wouldn’t do that.
it is simple but the right tech knowledge is needed to do well.

I worked for a utility trailer dealer for a while. The winches, solar battery maintainers, 120V setups ‘we’ installed /worked/ but in general the folks there just connected stuff without checking proper wire gage for load; often no fuses or breakers to protect the too-small wires; seldom properly grounded; no concept of NEC.
At the very least the succinct ABYC sheets tell you how to use GFI and gives guidance on low-voltage cabling. Wiring isn’t like hooking up water pipes.

I’m thinking uhaul would be about the same.
 
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I wouldn’t do that.
it is simple but the right tech knowledge is needed to do well.

I worked for a utility trailer dealer for a while. The winches, solar battery maintainers, 120V setups ‘we’ installed /worked/ but in general the folks there just connected stuff without checking proper wire gage for load; often no fuses or breakers to protect the too-small wires; seldom properly grounded; no concept of NEC.
At the very least the succinct ABYC sheets tell you how to use GFI and gives guidance on low-voltage cabling. Wiring isn’t like hooking up water pipes.

I’m thinking uhaul would be about the same.
Every shop is different and the customer has to make the decision whether or not the shop personnel are qualified. Our flagship (Large center) U-Hall in Portland, ME is very qualified. I have talked to personnel in equipment rental places that have dedicated electrical maintenance and repair personnel. With the basic knowledge that just about everyone here has, it should be an easy couple of minute conversation to determine whether or not the shop is qualified or not.
 
The last place I would go is to a trailer dealer (like U-Haul) just because you're installing solar on a trailer. There are loads of shops specifically tailored to installing solar systems on RV's and that's where I would look first

I agree it's not nearly as hard as it might seem. There are loads of YouTube videos which offer loads of specific info on this subject and if you're willing to invest the time to learn what you need to know, it can be a DIY project for anyone with average tools and abilities

How do you disconnect the charge cable between the truck and the trailer? Read up on Anderson connectors, as that's what most shops will use for that purpose

Don
 
The last place I would go is to a trailer dealer (like U-Haul) just because you're installing solar on a trailer. There are loads of shops specifically tailored to installing solar systems on RV's and that's where I would look first

I agree it's not nearly as hard as it might seem. There are loads of YouTube videos which offer loads of specific info on this subject and if you're willing to invest the time to learn what you need to know, it can be a DIY project for anyone with average tools and abilities

How do you disconnect the charge cable between the truck and the trailer? Read up on Anderson connectors, as that's what most shops will use for that purpose

Don
Just to clarify, I wasn't talking about "solar systems". I was talking about a Renogy DC-DC charger-mppt wiring that goes from an automobile's battery-alternator then runs under the vehicle to the rear of the vehicle and gets connected via a Anderson type connector to a trailer. Large Uhall stores do this numerous times, daily.

Other than that, the connection at the TT , or rear of the van, is only a matter connecting 6 wires. The PV positive and negative and the wires from the positive and neg from the battery-alternator. The most labor intensive part, by far, is wiring up the TV. It took me about 8 hours . Hooking up the wires to the DC-DC charger in my trailer took me about 30 minutes .

If the OP is referring to a complete solar install, there are companies all over the US that specialize in that.
 
The OP is a one-post wonder. Even though someone asked him or her a question, he or she hasn't been back since the first post.

Sadie, perhaps your Uhaul location is an exception to the norm. Having dealt with a few Uhaul dealers, they are the last place I would go to for something like this.
 
I have seen ‘from the inside’ what these “experts” do at trailer places. I suppose there are exceptions but capability of connecting wires according to instructions in a package so a device works is WAY different than a good install. All those corroding crimp connectors and tiny wires. Yuck

I’d never go to a trailer place to install a winch, solar, brake wiring, or a DC-DC charger.

Even some wiring experts are idiots.
I installed conduit and boxes with NEC standards followed for a rough terrain rescue vehicle that was going to a fire department. Used heavy proper cable for the inverter. From there it went to have the devices and lighting installed at the ‘expert’ shop that does all the fire trucks and police car lights and radios locally.
It was back to the shop I worked at a few weeks later. I was fascinated to see what fancy stuff they’d doneThey’d taken out the conduit and cabling I did and ran rubber cords to a Stanley power strip, and used 12ga thhn to the inverter. No safety ground left.

So if you wanna trust a uhaul or some installer? go for it.

I’d rather get an ambulance shop or someplace like a boatyard electrician that doesn’t think NEC is a hip-hop group.
 
I’d rather get an ambulance shop or someplace like a boatyard electrician that doesn’t think NEC is a hip-hop group.

Good one!
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