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fwunder View Drop Down
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Posts: 1676 		Direct Link To This Post Topic: SOC
    Posted: 26 Jul 2020 at 2:53pm
Ohhh, thanks guys! I was able to spin them off while vhb was hot and not cured. I should have known better. Was really overkill anyway. It's plenty strong without.

That's why I visit this place!
2014 RPod 178 => MyMods and Buying Habits
2008 4Runner Limited 4.0-liter V6
Yes, those are wild ponies dining on grass while dumping tanks!
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fwunder View Drop Down
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Posts: 1676 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 27 Jul 2020 at 8:47am
OK, I think this will work. Now you can see why I kept the stretcher inboard. Needed to make room for my rod holder and a kayak on other side of rod holder (lightweight sch 40 Foam core PVC).

I made up a length of 10 AWG, sleeved with braided cable sleeve. Mc4 on panel end. Anderson powerpole 45 amp on other end. I use a lot of anderson powerpoles and bonded zip cord from Powerwerx. The cable snakes down the inside edge of back hatch. It's not pinched.

Haven't decided how to attach to roof rack. Could just lash it down with some paracord or u-bolt or combination. Dunno yet.
2014 RPod 178 => MyMods and Buying Habits
2008 4Runner Limited 4.0-liter V6
Yes, those are wild ponies dining on grass while dumping tanks!
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StephenH View Drop Down
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Posts: 6288 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 27 Jul 2020 at 12:07pm
Looks nice! I'm not sure though why you would want the solar to charge while you are on the road. Won't the vehicle alternator be doing that function? On mine, I disconnected the charging wire in the 7-way plug because it was not working for my LiFePO4 battery but I did run a separate charging wire through a battery isolator solenoid to run the DC to DC charger which works great. However, that should not be needed for the two 6V batteries you have. The panel will be good once you get somewhere and are off-grid camping, but I don't understand the use of it while on the road. Please enlighten me.
StephenH
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fwunder View Drop Down
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Posts: 1676 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 27 Jul 2020 at 2:52pm
Short answer is:  If I'm going to carry the panel anyway, why not put it to work?

More than that though...

The last couple of years I have been getting an inexplicable flame-out with no restart while running fridge on propane while towing. I traveled across country and back and many other trips with no issue. I still have not figured out why or come up with a good solution yet. Anyway, the easy/quick solution was to switch fridge to 12v and keep on going. Heretofore, I have arrived at either a campground with hookups or home so I put the problem on the back burner, so to speak. Strangely, the fridge always fired up in propane mode with no problem when I arrived.

I did notice the batteries take a hit after an all day drive running the fridge on 12v.

What research I could find re: Toyota 4Runner or Tacoma, the 7 pin is just too wimpy to supply any significant charge to trailer batteries.

Further, I did come across this which may be worth considering:

The Bargeman Supply "+12V" does not normally have sufficient voltage to charge Trailer Batteries. In modern vehicles, including the Tundra, the Alternator contains an electronic controller which adjusts output (Voltage, and therefore Amps) according to the measured "State of Charge" found via the "Sense" wire. For a short time after starting, the voltage WILL be sufficient to charge the batteries - but the "State of Charge" recovers pretty quickly, and the alternator reduces its voltage to a "float" level of 13.5 - 13.8V.

All that said, if I'm gonna carry the panel anyway, might as well put it to work. Smile

And it's a fun project.
2014 RPod 178 => MyMods and Buying Habits
2008 4Runner Limited 4.0-liter V6
Yes, those are wild ponies dining on grass while dumping tanks!
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StephenH View Drop Down
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Posts: 6288 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 27 Jul 2020 at 4:15pm
Okay. Are you going to disconnect the 7-way connector's charge wire then or at least put a switch on it so that it and the solar panel won't be conflicting? I'm not sure how having a solar panel feeding into the charging system would affect the TV's battery and alternator.
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fwunder View Drop Down
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Posts: 1676 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 27 Jul 2020 at 4:35pm
It's a good question Stephen, but I would imagine the TV alternator probably has some kind of backfeed protection. I have hooked up to shore power with converter on and TV 7pin plugged in and never had a problem....besides this annoying itch.
2014 RPod 178 => MyMods and Buying Habits
2008 4Runner Limited 4.0-liter V6
Yes, those are wild ponies dining on grass while dumping tanks!
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fwunder View Drop Down
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Posts: 1676 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 27 Jul 2020 at 5:52pm
Triple duty! Guarding bee hives! Group 24 w/electric fence.
2014 RPod 178 => MyMods and Buying Habits
2008 4Runner Limited 4.0-liter V6
Yes, those are wild ponies dining on grass while dumping tanks!
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Posts: 5290 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 28 Jul 2020 at 5:57am
Originally posted by fwunder

Short answer is:  If I'm going to carry the panel anyway, why not put it to work?

More than that though...

The last couple of years I have been getting an inexplicable flame-out with no restart while running fridge on propane while towing. I traveled across country and back and many other trips with no issue. I still have not figured out why or come up with a good solution yet. Anyway, the easy/quick solution was to switch fridge to 12v and keep on going. Heretofore, I have arrived at either a campground with hookups or home so I put the problem on the back burner, so to speak. Strangely, the fridge always fired up in propane mode with no problem when I arrived.

I did notice the batteries take a hit after an all day drive running the fridge on 12v.

What research I could find re: Toyota 4Runner or Tacoma, the 7 pin is just too wimpy to supply any significant charge to trailer batteries. 

Further, I did come across this which may be worth considering:

The Bargeman Supply "+12V" does not normally have sufficient voltage to charge Trailer Batteries. In modern vehicles, including the Tundra, the Alternator contains an electronic controller which adjusts output (Voltage, and therefore Amps) according to the measured "State of Charge" found via the "Sense" wire. For a short time after starting, the voltage WILL be sufficient to charge the batteries - but the "State of Charge" recovers pretty quickly, and the alternator reduces its voltage to a "float" level of 13.5 - 13.8V.

All that said, if I'm gonna carry the panel anyway, might as well put it to work. Smile

And it's a fun project.








You guys are overthinking this a bit.

There is no harm done by connecting up the PV module while driving, but your alternator will work fine as well, It will  set its voltage at around 13.5-13.8 which means it will maintain the TV batt at that voltage. That's what its supposed to do. 

Meanwhile back at the trailer battery, the voltage maintained will be a little lower. There will be a voltage drop from the current flow feeding the fridge in the conductors going to the bargeman from the TV batt and from the bargeman to the trailer batt. Assume 10AWG wire (should be), a total one way distance of 20 ft and the fridge requirement of about 10A you will be around 0.5V lower at the trailer battery, so still over 13V. No big deal, trailer battery will still be fully charged when you get to camp, just not floated.

And you don't need to separately connect the bargeman and solar either. The PV system and the alt can charge in parallel. In fact, if you want you can just connect the solar charge controller at the TV side of the bargeman and it will charge both the TV and trailer batteries. Either use 10AWG wire or add an appropriate fuse where you connect if you use smaller gauge wire. 
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fwunder View Drop Down
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Posts: 1676 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 28 Jul 2020 at 6:34am
Hey! I'm retired. It's my job to overthink stuff!  LOL
2014 RPod 178 => MyMods and Buying Habits
2008 4Runner Limited 4.0-liter V6
Yes, those are wild ponies dining on grass while dumping tanks!
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Leo B View Drop Down
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Posts: 4508 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 28 Jul 2020 at 6:37am
Great to see you havent changed!
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