Solar Panel suggestions?

theashleyoe

Hello!

My boyfriend and I just purchased a brand new 2020 T@G XL and are getting it ready and I'm a little nervous about the battery. I can't find a straight answer anywhere. We're in Idaho and typically camp out in the middle of no where for 3-4 nights at a time. Will the battery last that long?
Should I get a generator? If so, do you have any suggestions?
Should I get a solar panel? If so, do you have any suggestions? How big of one do I need and what kind of power do I need it to generate?
I'm having trouble finding anything that just says, "here, idiot, buy this." That's basically what I need, this is all Greek to me.

Anyway, thanks, y'all!

-Ashley

beaky

yes, yes. get a portable solar suitcase, bigger charge then flex panels. our battery goes fine for weeks without shore power with solar charge. https://www.zampsolar.com/products/140-watt-portable-solar-kit buy this, plug it in, relax

McNutty195

I can't really answer your question without a better understanding of your needs.

You two Boondock (camping without hookups) for 3-4 nights at a time. That's a good start, but we need to know what your power usage might look like. Are you running a 12V refrigerator? Just lights? Fan? That type of stuff.

As far as solar panel vs generator, there are a couple other questions you will need to ask yourself.
First, what are you wanting to run? If you want AC/Microwave/Space heater, you pretty much need a generator. If you don't want one or all of those three things, then you might be okay with a solar panel. However, you also want to consider conditions when you are camping. Is it typically fairly sunny?

Unfortunately, I doubt you will get 3-4 nights out of the stock wet cell deep cycle battery the T@G comes with. Depending on your consumption, I'd say you will probably only get a day and a night maybe. You will probably need to upgrade the battery, add a solar panel/generator, or both.

McNutty195

Also, Beaky is correct, if you are going to buy a solar panel, your best bet is the portable solar suitcases. I have one of the zamp models (180W model maybe) that Beaky mentions, it is very good, though expensive. Renogy is another one to look at for solar suitcases, though you may need to make some modifications or buy an adapter to make it work with the onboard plug.

There are other options for solar that I could give you info on if you are interested, but the portable suitcase style is by far the most "plug n' play"

edit correcting myself on which zamp model I have

theashleyoe

McNutty195,

Thank you for asking questions that I don't know even existed! Education!

Our power needs are rather basic: fan, lights, the occasional AC or heater, charge devices, stereo, and I assume the water pump is electric. I don't see us regularly using the TV. I'm taking the microwave out tonight, so that point is moot. We have literally never been RVing before and the thing has been in our driveway since we got it last month.

Idaho summers are EXTREMELY sunny. The southern half, afterall, is high desert and the sun sets around 10. Up in the mountains of central Idaho, you'll find an occasional quick rain storm, but those come and go in minutes.

Thanks!

-a

beaky

A/C off battery is out, your fridge represents the vast majority of your draw

LuckyJ

@theashleyoe , @McNutty195 is asking the right question but even if Idaho is extremely sunny, some of the answer you gave is pointing toward a generator. Some AC or heater is out of AC and extremely power hungry., to much for solar. And stereo and TV are out of 12 volts and are not so bad, the fridge can be hog as well.

So I would say, you are still on the fence about what you need.

And no, their is no simple stupid answer to your question that was definetly not ask by an idiot. 😉 Cause it is not a simple answer. It is all about what you want to run.😊

So I beleive you still have some thinking to do! 🤔

theashleyoe

@LuckyJ @beaky @McNutty195

Well, dag nabbit.

Good thing is there isn't a fridge and now there is no microwave.

https://www.etrailer.com/RV-Solar-Panels/Go-Power/34272628.html

My dad recommended this. He has a 5th wheel, though, and I don't know if he is scaling down to far or not enough on his suggestions.

So, no Microwave, no fridge-----TV, speakers, and A/C only.

LuckyJ

@theashleyoe said:
@LuckyJ @beaky @McNutty195

Well, dag nabbit.

............... AC only.

Well, if you want to run that thing and electric heat in tge middle of nowhere, you will still need a gene! 😉

Sorry about that! 🙄

JamesDow

Bottom line is the AC will really only run off of shore power or a generator.

So if you are boondocking and must have the AC, then a generator would be the call. I use a small propane based generator that has a rating of 700/900 watts. That is enough for all of my needs. Runs off of the small 1lb propane canisters (which I refill) or can be hooked up to my 20lb propane tank. I also have a Renogy solar suitcase (100 watt) and it has always kept things running, including my Norcold refrigerator.

My advice would look to go with both (generator and solar) as you funds allow.

Search this forum first for many of your questions. Lots of good information for a new T@G owner.

Enjoy and good luck.

McNutty195

Glad to see you got a lot of good response yesterday. I'm sure you've already figured out there are a lot of helpful people on here!

I completely agree with what everyone has told you regarding the AC and the electric heat. For your use case you really need a generator for that. It is possible to potentially run the AC off of a battery bank+solar+inverter if you have a large enough system, but you wouldn't be able to run it constantly. Plus, when I say large system, I'm talking really large. Larger than anything I've seen someone do on here as of yet. Electric heat is a whole other problem. Space heaters take a huge amount of power! If you can swing it, may be best to have both a solar system and small generator. Best of both worlds!

@theashleyoe said:
https://www.etrailer.com/RV-Solar-Panels/Go-Power/34272628.html

Regarding your father's recommendation, I think 200W is a good size for what you are wanting. However, I would try to stay away from the flex panels if possible. I know that is difficult with the teardrop shape, but I've heard a lot of bad reviews on them longevity wise, and my understanding is they really aren't nearly as efficient. Do you have roof rails and cross bars on your T@G? If so you might be able to mount rigid panels to those. (Something I'm thinking of doing)

There are pros and cons to mounting the panels to your trailer. Mainly, once they are mounted they are always working and you don't need to mess with them. On the flip side though, you have to always have your trailer in the sun. Parking it in the shade decreases panel efficiency significantly. Plus it is harder to "follow" the sun with them mounted. In that way, I'd still recommend a solar suitcase like the one Beaky suggested above. Plus, they have the charge controller included on the suitcases usually so you don't need to mess with that like you would with a mounted system.

All that said, if you do want a mounted system and want to go with flex panels, I'd recommend these: https://richsolar.com/products/80-watt-cigs-flexible-solar-panel?ref=h-cvbzfahsek They are supposed to be the best flex panels out there. Also, https://www.mobile-solarpower.com/solar-panels.html is a great resource. He has a youtube channel. May be a little over your head though.

If you can't already tell, I've done a lot of research on solar! lol I'm in the slow process of installing a large system on my own T@G. Right now my goal is a 200AH heated lithium battery, 200-300W of mounted solar with a 180W solar suitcase in reserve if I need more for some reason (I already own this), and a 2000W inverter. Please note, I'm guessing a lot of people would call this system ridiculous for our tiny little T@Gs, but I'm currently operating in the because I think I can camp.

HikinMike

My Opinion, your mileage may vary:

Generator: Honda EU2200i - High quality, quiet, well built, reliable, bluetooth. That is why it is expensive.

Solar Suitcase: Zamp 140 or 180 - made in the USA, extremely reliable and high quality, that is why it is expensive. Many RV manufacturers pre-wire with Zamp. I have the 180 which gives me enough power to charge the battery while running the cooler.

theashleyoe

@HikinMike

That is the exact generator my other dad suggested. Twice the recommendation, must be worth it. I think I've made my choice.

Thank you, Tag Community!

Gerald98053

I bought one of the very inexpensive Firman generators from Costco and it served very well on its first boondocks trip. It will run the ac but I didn’t use it for that. Sometimes a generator with a remote “off” switch would be really helpful as campground quiet hours approach & I find myself not wanting to go out on wet grass to click the switch off. I upgraded to a group 27 battery ($90 at Costco) and moved its mounting to the front of the A-frame. This plus a hundred watt foldout (heavy) solar panel keep the fridge running all day and let me use the DVD player in the evening without worry. My own needs include a CPAP machine, which I can run off the main battery, but I’ve also set it up to run off my 48 volt e-bike battery. The CPAP used to kill the stock battery in the TAG by about 4 or 5 AM. All of us have very different needs. There really isn’t anything close to a one size fits all, when it comes to batteries.