Palito Posted July 14, 2018 Share Posted July 14, 2018 Greetings everyone....we will be traveling north towards Maine in 2 weeks and looking for an efficient but not expensive way to have power/electric when boondocking....our rig (Odyssey Americana) has what I think a relatively small coach capacity battery, it’s a mighty max 12v 35AH. The battery compartment is not exactly large, so I tend to say that we are kind of restricted on how large can a new battery to buy. We are looking for some suggestions on a new battery w more capacity combined with a portable solar panel.....which should give us a few days being self sufficient.....that’s the plan. I have seen some portable and sort of foldable solar panels on Amazon, is 100watts enough? 200? And what battery should we get? Ideally should be only one battery, that would fit in the compartment.....and do we need also an inverter??? Please kindly let us know your recommendations, ideally a solution that will work and will not break our bank. We have only 2 weeks before we travel....thank you all and enjoy the weekend. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WME Posted July 14, 2018 Share Posted July 14, 2018 Start here and see what will fit in your battery box, most Toys will fit a 24 (80h) or 27 (90 ah) sized battery. https://www.batterystuff.com/kb/tools/bci-battery-group-sizes.html With LED lights and some common sense usage a100w panel will make 2-3 day stays possible. 200w will allow for extravagant usage, and perpetual stays. If you are out in cooler weather the house heater is a real power hog, so 200w and a larger battery can get you to a 3-4 day stay Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
linda s Posted July 14, 2018 Share Posted July 14, 2018 Didn't you buy your Americana from Larry? His had a generator. Linda S Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Palito Posted July 14, 2018 Author Share Posted July 14, 2018 Our Americana is from California....it did not have a generator, which we actually prefer that way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Palito Posted July 14, 2018 Author Share Posted July 14, 2018 Thanks WME for the advice...question? With a portable solar and a larger battery do we need to have a battery charger (guess we already have one)....and also do we need to add an inverter? Thank you again. As you can see we are totally newbies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek up North Posted July 14, 2018 Share Posted July 14, 2018 10 minutes ago, Palito said: ... do we need to add an inverter? Only if you want to run anything 110v. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maineah Posted July 15, 2018 Share Posted July 15, 2018 I have a 100 watt panel and 2 group 24's I can go indefinitely with that set up but my power usage is minimal LED lights accumulator on the water pump fantastic fan on low speed DC to DC battery recharge (phones etc) and no heater usage. If you think you need an inverter you are using too much power. If you want to take your home with you you'll need a generator to run the AC and microwave. You can store far more energy in a 20# propane tank than a bank of batteries make coffee and dinner on the stove. If you have a solar panel that is your battery charger. In a pinch you have the luxury of starting your truck engine it is a very innificent way to charge your battery but it will work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WME Posted July 15, 2018 Share Posted July 15, 2018 10 hours ago, Palito said: Thanks WME for the advice...question? With a portable solar and a larger battery do we need to have a battery charger (guess we already have one)....and also do we need to add an inverter? Thank you again. As you can see we are totally newbies. You would have 3 battery chargers if you go solar 1. The Toyota truck alternator 2. The converter mounted in your RV, it will charge the battery slowly when the power cord is plugged into 110v 3, Your new solar panel and controller. A 100w panel will make about 5+ amps in perfect conditions. But reality is more like 3 amps over 8-10 hours. Less load is equally important as a more powerful solar setup, both will give you a longer boondocking time. Get set up right for load and go with a 100w panel, if it does what you want then great, if not buy another 100w panel. Just make sure the controller you get with the first panel is big enough for more panels. A 15 amp controller is minimum for 200 W. You best strike while the iron is hot before Trumps tariffs raise the price of new panels Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Palito Posted July 15, 2018 Author Share Posted July 15, 2018 Thank you for your recommendation and suggestions....all very clear. We will go for a 100/120 panel and upgrade our small battery to a 24 group. Now we need to shop for a good reliable and not so expensive portable panel....Amazon has a few choices: Zamp, GoPower and a few others . Any recommendations??? Thanks again! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek up North Posted July 15, 2018 Share Posted July 15, 2018 I'd suggest you try to fit the biggest battery that'll fit the space in your battery box. A Group 27 is only a bit larger than a 24, but every little bit helps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Palito Posted July 16, 2018 Author Share Posted July 16, 2018 Thank you, you got that right and we will move on right away. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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