cstevejohn Posted January 16, 2013 Share Posted January 16, 2013 I have an 84 toyota coachmen and I want to go solar but I have no idea where to start and what to buy. Can anyone please make this as simple as possible because I'm starting to get a headache from information overload. I would like to have enough power to run a tv, interior lights, small microwave and fridge if possible. Someone please help!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zero Posted January 16, 2013 Share Posted January 16, 2013 I have an 84 toyota coachmen and I want to go solar but I have no idea where to start and what to buy. Can anyone please make this as simple as possible because I'm starting to get a headache from information overload. I would like to have enough power to run a tv, interior lights, small microwave and fridge if possible. Someone please help!!!! You can't do in a way that solar panels directly power your appliances. What you CAN do is install solar so it helps recharge your batteries and the batteries actually supply the direct power for the appliances. If your RV is no longer used as an RV and is parked more like a house-trailer you could install a lot of panels. Not with something that you have to pack up and drive often. A solar panel puts out less then 1 amp of current at 12 volts per square-foot. A microwave oven draws 110 to 120 amps at 12 volts when operating. It would take 120 square feet of solar panels in direct noon sun to run even a small conventional microwave directly. A propane RV furnace can draw around 6 amps when running (6 square feet of solar in perfect sun). On average when installing solar you figure them for half to one third their advertised rating. That due to non-direct sun, clouds, night-time, etc. You said you don't want a complicated answer yet it is a complicated subject. Best thing is calculate your RV lifestyle. How much driving (when engine can charge batteries) versus how much time parked with no source of grid AC power. Working from there you figure what appliances are used and for how long. A DC refrigerator if well insulated can use 1 - 2 amps per hour, on average. A propane furnace can about the same. When you mention using a microwave, much depends if it's just to heat up a plate of food or cup of coffee - or to cook a meal (near impossible without a huge battery bank and huge solar array). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marco1503 Posted January 16, 2013 Share Posted January 16, 2013 Find out how much power your gonna draw then get enough solar to power that and enough batteries so that you'll have some charge in case you don't get solar for a few days get an inverter big enough to power the stuff you'll be running and your good.. ps i don't know a whole lot about this but i'm in the process of getting solar in my rig as well and i'm still learning a lot of this stuff too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zero Posted January 16, 2013 Share Posted January 16, 2013 I have an 84 toyota coachmen and I want to go solar but I have no idea where to start and what to buy. Can anyone please make this as simple as possible because I'm starting to get a headache from information overload. I would like to have enough power to run a tv, interior lights, small microwave and fridge if possible. Someone please help!!!! I suggest you read up from some websites of companies that specialize in off-grid living. It's the same regardless if in an RV or a cabin. Backwoodssolar is one of the best information sources around for this subject. They use, sell and intstall the stuff and offer a lot of free technical information. I have lived off grid and on grid-tie for years and have dealt with these two companies many times over the years. Great people with a huge amount of "hands on" real-world knowldege. http://www.backwoodssolar.com/ New England solar is another great place owned and run by electric engineers that live off grid. http://www.newenglandsolar.com/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stamar Posted January 16, 2013 Share Posted January 16, 2013 In my siignature is a solar set up, complete. It needs no tools other than wire strippers. I would go to solar blvd and order their nine foot panel only because the one I got needs to be cut with a razor knife its too long. But I linked the one I got. I literally poked a hole near the tank pipe with a screwdriver. The only reason I needed a ladder is because I'm too fat to get up the rvs ladder. You don't even need wire strippers if you have sharp teeth. You don't need any old mans advice or stories and you definitely don't have to ask any canadian what they think. Its right there. End of story nice meeting you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stamar Posted January 16, 2013 Share Posted January 16, 2013 Other than a microwave. You don't need much else. I didn't link deep cycle batteries which you will need but I'm considering linking the added wires I'm using for the second battery in my signature. That's a different project I didn't share here because I didn't really do it safely. I don't have my inverter linked in my signature but its a gopower 300 watt modified sine wave. It is nothing special you can get the same thing for less. I recomend getting a fanless inverter about 200 watts then a seperate larger one for unrealistic things like microwaves. I think jd links a cheap inverter that is large. Somewhere. And installing a switch on the highpower inverter so it doesn't kill you with its background draw. And for no reason I recomend finding 12 volt cheap tvs in walmart and directly wiring them. To the rear receptacle because that's a good idea I read here but won't try personally because I don't watch tv... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stamar Posted January 16, 2013 Share Posted January 16, 2013 My set up requires one controller for each panel. So if you were to think ahead you might get one controller and three panels or something like that. But then again that's not necessary and confusing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stamar Posted January 16, 2013 Share Posted January 16, 2013 Oh man get led interior lights. Talk about an end to headaches. Linked in signature. Don't worry about the other ones yet once you have your lights led you have that much less solar to worry about. Way smarter money there. Even the nice ones I linked in my sig at 4.50 apeice soo that's. 18 bucks for four, best money spent for this project ever. They are the same project which is free power. I wanted to try and leave you with just some short instructions but I can't live with someone putting hundreds of dollars of solar panels on their rv to power incandescent lights. First led lights that's the biggie those interior lights are painful. I think you need four the rest you can either keep incandscent or use cheapiie leds Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek up North Posted January 17, 2013 Share Posted January 17, 2013 I suggest you read up from some websites of companies that specialize in off-grid living. It's the same regardless if in an RV or a cabin. Backwoodssolar is one of the best information sources around for this subject. They use, sell and install the stuff and offer a lot of free technical information. I have lived off grid and on grid-tie for years and have dealt with these two companies many times over the years. Great people with a huge amount of "hands on" real-world knowledge. http://www.backwoodssolar.com/ New England solar is another great place owned and run by electric engineers that live off grid. http://www.newenglandsolar.com/ Good advice as a starting point. Learn from the Pros. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stamar Posted January 19, 2013 Share Posted January 19, 2013 even though this is a site trying to sell you something http://www.solarrvpanels.com/index.php/determinine-how-many-solar-panels-you-need-doing-the-math/ the faqs are covered in this litttle diagram. on the back hand I must say you shouldnt buy anything from them and take some of their advice with their retailers bias in mind. I think it has a decent write up for two most common questions which are how many panels do I need, and how do I mount the panels.... mounting solar panels comes up a lot more in the email string. I think almost all people who gave it deep thought used adhesive. So in my case its just built in but there are things like i think its called fantastic tape I am just now reading this site trying to figure out the size of the battery bank I need. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stamar Posted January 20, 2013 Share Posted January 20, 2013 My signature has the cheapest unisolar panels I found. But there's really only so many that fit on a toyhome roof because of te vents. Although it is possible to cover your whole roof in unisolar panels it would take a major project of soldering each panel to eachother four times at each break. And connecting four wires around the vent.... Which means basicallly its never going to happen. That leaves for me with poly crystalline panels to finish the watts I'm looking for. If anyone finds the best deals on crystaline panels let us all know. Whether its blemishes or reclaimed ones too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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