2018 3120RL solar ready question - Montana Owners Club

Rick A · 07-09-2020, 11:19 AM

Recently purchased a used 2018 3120RL Legacy and am interested in adding a roof solar panel. Although I didn't think these came solar ready until 2019 I discovered it has a Go Power roof mount with terminals already installed. No sign there were ever any panels mounted on the roof. The problem is I cannot locate any loose wires or terminals inside that look like what I need. I am assuming if the roof mount was factory installed that they would have ran wires to somewhere to facilitate solar package installation. Has anyone else had this situation that could help me find these wires? Maybe somebody with a 2019 or 2020 that came solar ready. Lots of stuff behind the door side lower storage area bulkhead but all that wiring seems to be in use, no spares.

**AZ Traveler** · 07-09-2020, 12:33 PM

Rick,

The wires do come down near the fuse box. You will find the wiring too light to handle many amps. You can wire the panels in series to run high voltage which keeps the amps down.

On my rig, I ended up getting it professionally done to add 540 watts solar and a 3000 watt inverter and wire everything except the a/c and water heater to run off the inverter. This required adding another breaker box.

Rick A · 07-09-2020, 01:32 PM

Zack,
Thanks for the reply. Does that mean that you had to pull the breaker box to find the wires behind it? Sounds like you really went for a powerful system. I had in mind enough solar to keep the battery charged, run a few LED reading lights, water pump and fridge on propane with its 12V electric fans that run continuously. I.E., keep the 12V system up for a few days of dry camping. Maybe I won't need to upgrade the wiring, if I can find it! Will have to see what I have and if it is up to snuff for that. I will supplement with my Honda 2000i if needed.
Rick

**AZ Traveler** · 07-09-2020, 02:11 PM

Rick,

I added mine not too long after getting it. You will have no trouble supporting up to 300 watts of solar with the existing wiring - you could go higher with high voltage panels.

You will not need a lot to handle what you are looking at. I did find the wires but don't remember details as it has been a while. The installer did not use them.

The first thing you want is a decent battery bank - I have 4 6 volt golf cart batteries. They will handle a full night of running the furnace motor with a few hours of TV. Since you are not planning an inverter to run your TV or other ac systems you should be OK with 2 group 27/31 batteries or 2 golf cart batteries.

Daryles · 07-10-2020, 08:47 AM

Look for the Jaboni stickers. The wiring will be nearby.
Inside you control panel you will find the grey communications cable that will go to the MPPT you will install, or not if you go Victron Bluetooth devices.
The wiring is rated for 30A (10 gauge). In you battery compartment you will find the 30A inline fuse wiring.

Jaboni/Montana solar prep
https://youtu.be/mhE9pSum_nA

Jaboni/Montana solar install
https://youtu.be/gn3BIWaSb4c

**AZ Traveler** · 07-10-2020, 08:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Daryles

Look for the Jaboni stickers. The wiring will be nearby.
Inside you control panel you will find the grey communications cable that will go to the MPPT you will install, or not if you go Victron Bluetooth devices.
The wiring is rated for 30A (10 gauge). In you battery compartment you will find the 30A inline fuse wiring.

Jaboni/Montana solar prep
https://youtu.be/mhE9pSum_nA

Jaboni/Montana solar install
https://youtu.be/gn3BIWaSb4c

The 2018 models were set up for Go Power vs Jaboni. They also had less pre wiring.

Rick A · 07-10-2020, 08:14 PM

Thanks folks. With your help I located the wires today. I pulled the switch panel for the tank heaters and it was behind there. At least I am pretty sure that the red wire and the red/black wire with wire nut terminals on the ends are what I was looking for. Found the same colored pair near the batteries already attached to ground and 30 amps fuse line.

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