Solar Installers

[Pbonaventure]

Anyone have a Northern California solar installer? I'm only interested in Solar vendors who have RV experience.

[Bigboomer]

Try Brian Boone....he has a very good reputation....

See link below:

RV BOONDOCKING WITH SOLAR

https://gotsolarinstalled.blogspot.com/?m=1

[ranch560]

One if the finest and best companies anywhere is just north of you near Eugene, Oregon. It is AM Solar. They have been featured in magazines, on video and mentioned in various forums continuously. I had them add panels and am absolutely satisfied.

http://amsolar.com

[barryn]

Hey, Solar is great when the sun is out. And Oh, yes batteries, got to love those batteries. Batteries in your RV. A lot to think about there. Yes , it can be done. Got to have inverter for CPAP. But we use two Honda 2000i= 4000WATTS WITH A 6GAL EXTENISION fuel tank. Wise Generators.com. Looked in to the Solar thing real hard and to get stated was at 5K. I could see doing this if I was going to be out at sea, but don't get me wrong. Solar is something that you HAVE to love, or your not going to get your monies worth. I do mean Love those batteries. All I can say is do your research BEFORE you spend 5K or more. Looks good but you have to use it EVERY DAY to get your money out of it.

[Lenny K]

Solar gives you quite power and ours has paid for itself. You don't have to listen to a noisy generator all the time and worry about them being stolen. Yes, last year during the winter I had to run my Honda 2000i for 4 hours. This year because of all the rain we had here in Arizona we have to run it for 20 hrs. The rest of the time it is "quite" solar.

My solar install cost me 3K 10 yers ago when solar panels were over twice the price they are now. I did do the install myself by researching on the internet. If you are handy there is no reason to pay an installer. Most installers will cheap out on the wire, give you no breakers, tell you that you don't need more that 400 watts of panels, which forces you to run your generator daily, to keep the price down so they don't scare you away.

Solar is the only way to go if you use your rig a lot and mainly dry camp. Put on as many panels as your roof will hold and do it yourself so you know the job is done right.

[Lenny K]

Oops double post. Moderator please delete.

[jimandjuliet]

Originally Posted by barryn

Hey, Solar is great when the sun is out. And Oh, yes batteries, got to love those batteries. Batteries in your RV. A lot to think about there. Yes , it can be done. Got to have inverter for CPAP. But we use two Honda 2000i= 4000WATTS WITH A 6GAL EXTENISION fuel tank. Wise Generators.com. Looked in to the Solar thing real hard and to get stated was at 5K. I could see doing this if I was going to be out at sea, but don't get me wrong. Solar is something that you HAVE to love, or your not going to get your monies worth. I do mean Love those batteries. All I can say is do your research BEFORE you spend 5K or more. Looks good but you have to use it EVERY DAY to get your money out of it.

my cpap runs on 12 volts with an option adaptor cord . plugs into cig lighter adaptor. runs all nite.(I have 2 batteries because of generator) and small solar battery charger

[7.3Ford]

Originally Posted by Pbonaventure

Anyone have a Northern California solar installer? I'm only interested in Solar vendors who have RV experience.

BTW, Welcome to the forum.

There are several out there that have been around a long time, and many freelancer too. First question is what are you looking for? Do you plan to boondock a lot, or just looking for something to keep the batteries charged in storage?

If you ware looking for 100 to 200 watt systems there are several kits that are easy to install. If you plan on doing a lot of boondocking, batteries are just as important. I installed 840 Watt system myself, and a year later my own design of Lithium batteries. If you go with AM Solar, or one of the other companies the have been around for along time you might also want to look at Lithium batteries, but they are not cheap.

Solar Install:
http://montana3611rl.blogspot.com/20...automatic.html

Chevy Volt Lithium Batteries:
http://montana3611rl.blogspot.com/20...y-project.html

I will be redo the battery configuration in the next 2 to 3 weeks, since the water cooling is not needed, and I need them to all the positives on one side and negatives on the other side for Hybrid Inverter I a plan to install in March.

[jfaberna]

I just installed myself a 100W kit from Renogy just to keep my 2 6v wired in series golf cart batteries charged while the RV is in storage. The 4 stage controller works like a battery maintainer.

It was pretty simple once I figured out a path for the wire from the roof to the basement. Only $185.

https://www.renogy.com/renogy-100w-12v/starter-kit/

[Mel B.]

Pat's RV parts and repair, In Petaluma ca. There are only two installers in sonoma County. I just spent an hour last Sat. talking with mike about installing My Renogy 400 watt system with a 2000 watt inverter/charger. He's doing mine in a couple weeks. One day's work. He knows what hes doing, talk to him you will agree. Yesterday I talked to the second guy. He said 2-3 days and about $3000 labor. That's about 3 times more then Pat's. Also Pat is so familer with Montanas that he didn't even need to see mine to give me a price.
Mel

[mjammersc]

Originally Posted by barryn

Hey, Solar is great when the sun is out. And Oh, yes batteries, got to love those batteries. Batteries in your RV. A lot to think about there. Yes , it can be done. Got to have inverter for CPAP. But we use two Honda 2000i= 4000WATTS WITH A 6GAL EXTENISION fuel tank. Wise Generators.com. Looked in to the Solar thing real hard and to get stated was at 5K. I could see doing this if I was going to be out at sea, but don't get me wrong. Solar is something that you HAVE to love, or your not going to get your monies worth. I do mean Love those batteries. All I can say is do your research BEFORE you spend 5K or more. Looks good but you have to use it EVERY DAY to get your money out of it.

Solar vs Generator is a personal choice and a camping style choice (and budget choice). Yep, for solar we need the sun out just as you need the tanks full and also an area where generators are allowed (often areas I have camped has limited hours or no generators permitted). Wen I will be relying on my solar, I pick campsites that have minimal shade. As far as the batteries, they aren't too tough to deal with and if you don't want the maintenance, go AGM. Once installed, it is less effort than maintaining a generator. I use mine to keep my batteries charged while stored outside in the summer, to run my RV fridge while travelling (4+ hour trip this weekend and only down 1% on battery due to a partly cloudy day), and use it to camp (got to experience a side benefit this past week as some storms came through where we were staying and the power for the section we were in tripped twice and all I had to do was flip on my inverter and no change in activities - better than going out at night in a thunderstorm to start the generator). The cost of entry is higher but then again, I got a 30% tax credit for my install which made it more palatable. I also installed it myself and know my trailers electrical system much better than most.

Sorry for the diversion from the topic. My recommendation is to try and install the system yourself as it will probably be a better installation, you can control component selection and quality, and you will know what your system is doing in the future and how to manage power usage more effectively.

[Mel B.]

I have a Yamaha 1000 watt Gen. My son has two 2000 watt honda Gen. That I have used more then him. And don't get me wrong I love them. But If my new 400 watt solar system with a 2000 watt inverter charger can run a coffee pot on those cold mornings in the 20s last AUGUST on our property near Canada. Then I'm all for it. I'm a early riser, sure It won't kill me to go out with a flashlight and start a Gen. go back in listen to my wife, who just got woke up by the Gen. then when the coffee is made I'll turn the Gen. off so My wife can go back to sleep. (They are quiet but you and I both know "NOT THAT QUIET" So yes when we go back up to our property for a couple of months this summer, I'll have at least one Gen. in the back of the truck. But I hope I never even unload it. Oh yeah the batteries I removed two 12 volt batteries and there boxes, I bought 4 6 volt golf cart batteries also two heavy duty battery containers that hold two each It's a bigger foot print by less then a Sq. Ft. But the AMPS oh the amps!! Oh the little things that make me happy, A Quite pot of coffee, Wife likes a bag of microwave popcorn once in a while, We also like to watch a movie in the afternoon once in awhile and I like to watch a movie when we go to bed. I'm hoping we can do those things without the noise of a honda behind the 5ver. Just last year I was one of those guys in a park waiting for the clock to get to whatever time they decide I can make noise and have my coffee, and I would do it right on the second, but I always felt guilty if there were people asleep near by.Like Mjammersc says it's a personal choice. I left room on my solar kit that I can add too more one hundred watts if my 400 isn't enough. You should spend a few hours reading different sites, forums. It kind of becomes addicting. One more thing and I'm done, you don't have to spend $5000 or more to get into a decent starter kit. Just do your research. Jut my nickels worth!
Mel

[Mudchief]

We boondock most of the time and hardly ever have to run a generator. You will find that on a cloudy day they still put out a fair amount of amps.