My Ultimate RV Electrical System Click on a component on drawing for more info for that device
General Information
Do you "dry camp", "boondock", "WallyMart", camp in unimproved national
forest campgrounds, layover at rest areas, or simply need to keep your RV
batteries charged while in storage? Consider an RV solar electric
system.
When we bought our first travel trailer, I planned on charging the camper battery by connecting to the tow vehicle and running the engine. After some research, I found that this process does not work well because of voltage drop in the tow vehicle and camper wiring, and also because of the chemical properties of lead acid batteries when charged from a automotive alternator. Another option is to carry a portable gasoline generator or install permanently mounted RV generator. While generators provide adequate power to run all of the RV appliances, they can be noisy, expensive, need fuel, and require periodic maintenance. If your camping habits are modest, an RV Solar System may work for you. A solar electric system for an RV is totally quiet, light weight, requires no operator attention, and requires no maintenance (other than periodic battery maintenance, which you should be doing anyway). The picture above is an example of a typical solar electric system in a motor home. A towable camper would not have the vehicle alternator, and the generator and/or inverter is optional. An RV solar electric system can be very simple, consisting of a small solar panel connected directly to the RV battery, provide a few amp-hours per day, and cost less than $100. More sophisticated systems may consist of multiple solar panels, generating enough power to run a microwave, and cost thousands of dollars. The system I have installed in my 5th wheel camper consists of the components shown below, generates 40 - 60 amp-hours per day, and cost about $2000. With this system, we have enough power to dry camp in the summer indefinitely, while running modest lighting, stereo, water pump, an hour or two of TV, and so on. Spring and fall camping require more modest power usage as less sun is available to charge the batteries, and the furnace runs more because of the colder temperatures. Winter camping with only solar power is not practical for more than one night. We use an Onan 3600 LP generator to supply 115 VAC power when solar power is insufficient to meet our energy demands.
Battery Monitor
Because my solar controller is located near the battery compartment, I have added a 2nd 100 amp shunt to measure the solar charge current independently of the batter charge/discharge current. A momentary push button swith mounted on the faceplate of the battery monitor allows switching between battery current and solar charge current. Progressive Dynamics INTELI-POWER 9200 Series Electronic Power Converter 
The Progressive Dynamics 9200 Series INTELI-POWER converter provides safe,
reliable, filtered DC power to all Recreational Vehicle 12-Volt lighting
and appliance circuits, and also safely recharges and maintains the RV
battery while connected to 115 vac external power or generator.
The Converter Status Remote Pendant PD92201 is designed to plug into the
standard accessory port on all models of the Inteli-Power 9200 Series
Converters. The Converter Status Remote Pendant shows the
charger/converter operating mode and allows for manual mode selection. |
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The Onan Microquiet 3600 LP generator provides 115 vac power when
there is insufficient solar power available to meet our electrical
demands, including running the A/C and M/W at the same time.
With the addition of this generator, and the winter insulation package
of the Arctic Fox camper, we are now prepared to camp without hookups
almost anywhere at any time of the year.
