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burnerjohnmichael 
Newbie 
Joined: 14 Feb 2016 Location: 89048 Online Status: Offline Posts: 7 |
 Topic: solar panelPosted: 13 May 2017 at 5:35pm |
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No matter what type of panels you use, zamp, renergy or whatever, it's always safe to initially check the wiring between the solar panel input and the batteries. They could be wrong and have been wrong on occasion. A good way to identify if that has happened with out ringing out the wires is getting a plug-in digital LED meter that checks for the amount of voltage and won't read if the polarity is crossed. Naturally, a small multi meter is always helpful as a companion for any trip.
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GlueGuy
Senior Member 
Joined: 15 May 2017 Location: N. California Online Status: Offline Posts: 2632 |
Posted: 16 May 2017 at 12:57pm |
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Isn't the main issue is whether the Zamp connector expects a regulated or unregulated connection?
From what I've read, the connector expects a regulated connection. IOW, there needs to be a solar controller between the panel(s) and the R-pod. If that's the case, you could use almost any MPPT solar controller that produces 12V for the battery (ies). I'm pretty sure there is no solar controller in the R-pod itself. You could probably just put a DVM on the Zamp connector to verify that it is directly connected to the R-pod battery.
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bp
2017 R-Pod 179 Hood River 2015 Ford F150 SuperCrew 4WD 3.5L Ecoboost |
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Dreded
Newbie
Joined: 12 May 2015 Location: Canada Online Status: Offline Posts: 22 |
Posted: 16 May 2017 at 5:47pm |
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I use a Go Power 120watt Folding kit Amazon Link: http://a.co/2LhCKC2 wich fits nicely under the bed(through the under mattress storage hatch).
120Watts is more than enough for a small trailer like this with LED lighting.. with my usage I use 2500Watts per week Here is a breakdown of my daily usage(on a 2015 rpod 171):
which works out to 334watts per day of use, no matter where you live the BEST you will ever do for peak sunlight hours is 5.5hours per day so with a 120watt panel you can make 660 Watts per day assuming ideal conditions(search google for a Peak Solar Hours map) Where I live(vancouver BC) I get 4 peak sunlight hours a day in the summer(only 1.5 in winter) so that means my 120watt will make 480Watts a day so I have some overhead to work with(wife will probably leave some lights on etc lol). so I can go all summer without charging from the Tow Vehicle. Keep in mind when calculating your power usage even though you turn the furnace on for 10hours a day it does not draw power for 10hours a day.. in my area it would draw power for less than 2(I assumed 2) Also worth noting is my 2x6v 210Ah Batteries would allow me to go 4.5 days without charging them at all(draining down to 40%) as far as my zamp connector goes I use it with an adapter I made to plug in the Go Power Solar panel... be careful with this as it plugs directly to the battery(mine didn't have a fuse from factory) and the zamp connectors while an industry standard connector it is wired backwards from most other connectors of its type( i just flipped the wires at the battery) I also use the zamp connector as an outside 12v hookup for running an LED lantern at night. So to be clear.. on my 2015 rpod 171 the Zamp connector expects a REGULATED input
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2015.5 RPOD 171
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solar panel