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07-27-2018, 12:28 PM
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#1
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New Member
Join Date: Jul 2018
Location: Prineville
Posts: 1
M.O.C. #22293
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Solar Panel Question....
Hi! Newbie to 5th wheels and this site! Just purchased a 2018 Montana 330RL...picking it up Tuesday!!!
What size and/or how many solar panels would be needed to operate this when dry camping? Trailer is 37 feet long....
Thanks so much!
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07-27-2018, 01:53 PM
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#2
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Site Team
Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: Wilsey
Posts: 18,799
M.O.C. #11455
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That's not a simple question. Number of pannels and batteries is dependant upon their quality and what you want to be able to do. On our old rig, we wanted to be able to run everything but the AC's, water heater and refrigerator so we had seven large pannels and six sealed golf cart batteries. Many folks get by with a lot less, but have more restrictions on what they can do.
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07-27-2018, 03:16 PM
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#3
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Montana Master
Join Date: Oct 2017
Location: Bastrop
Posts: 2,892
M.O.C. #20753
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Congrats and welcome. Like Dick said it all depends. you may want to go look at the Boondocking discussions for some ideas.
You might want to describe how long you want dry camp, what you want to be able to run, if you are including a generator and how long you will want to run the genny.
Oh, once you do that you will several ways to skin the cat.
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07-29-2018, 05:14 AM
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#4
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Montana Master
Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: Hanover
Posts: 1,473
M.O.C. #13325
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Quote:
Originally Posted by DQDick
That's not a simple question. Number of pannels and batteries is dependant upon their quality and what you want to be able to do. On our old rig, we wanted to be able to run everything but the AC's, water heater and refrigerator so we had seven large pannels and six sealed golf cart batteries. Many folks get by with a lot less, but have more restrictions on what they can do.
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Very true. I went with four batteries and 400 watts of solar as we seldom go more than one to three days dry camping. This has worked well as long as we're reasonably careful. Still can run a TV for an hour or two and the microwave can be used for a bit, but we can't do that if the furnace has to run a lot at night (that thing can use a lot more power than you'd think!). If the weather's hot, you've got to have at least 3kw worth of generator power. There's YouTube videos of folks running AC off of solar, but those are usually much smaller units than our 15k btu ones, and they've got more batteries and panels than DQDick. We've found that window insulation, running the Fantastic Fan, awning out and running DC fans can get you through quite warm weather, but when it's over about 88 or so, AC is a must.
Oh, and I forgot to mention that ours is a mostly white '10 model. Your new rig will probably be a darker color and that means more heat gain.
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07-29-2018, 08:03 AM
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#6
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Montana Master
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Denver
Posts: 1,046
M.O.C. #5329
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We have one 135 watt panel, but we don’t use much in the way of appliances, and it’s sunny most of the time here in Colorado. If I’m not mistaken, Prineville is in Oregon, so your mileage may vary considerably. The solar system is basically a battery charger, so you need to figure out how much battery power you need to begin with. We started with the one panel and an option to add more if needed, but one is sufficient for us.
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07-29-2018, 08:41 AM
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#7
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Montana Master
Join Date: Nov 2015
Location: Arlington
Posts: 1,523
M.O.C. #18081
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Sue if you perform a google search for calculating your solar needs you will find many sites dedicated to assisting you in determining what your power needs are. Once you know this you can determine the panels, charger(s) and batteries you will need to install to achieve your needs. There are quite a few existing threads on the site dealing with this issue you can search for as well. Lastly keep in mind that it is not a one size fits all scenario. My solution may not be right for you and vice versa.
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2015 Volvo VNL780 D13, iShift, 32k ET air hitch, Idle Free LiFePO4 APU
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