Solar Battery Charger

A friend of mine with a fifth wheel told me about a 5 watt solar battery charger that helps keep his battery fully charged.
Here is the link to this battery charger http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=41144

Would appreciate any input on the pros and cons on this idea.

Thanks

2007 Dodge Ram HD 3500 Diesel Dually
2008 Wildcat 30LSBS
Reese slider hitch

Dennis,

The trouble for me is that it has to go on the roof. I get the willies every time I even think about piercing the EPDM membrane. :cry: That's not a reason not to do it, just my own probably unreasonable response to putting extra holes in the roof.

another option would to mount it somehow on the king pin extention box, and run the wires straight to the battery, no drilling. But, then you have to make sure you at least point the front end towards the south to get max sunlight....just my .02
Eric

A solar panel of that size could be mounted to something already on the roof so you don't have to pierce the roof again. I find adding holes up there scary as well. You could mount it to the roof rack at the back of the trailer on some brackets or mount it to the cover of the air conditioner. Another idea that I have heard of is mounting it in the shower inside the skylight. Of course this is more of a temporary solution as you would have to move it to have a shower and you don't get the best sun angle. I didn't notice the dimensions of the link you provided but I have heard of someone doing that with a flexible type of solar panel. I would vote for the top of the air conditioner if the adding of height didn't bother you.

You do not have to pierce the roof for the wires. I have a 120W panel on mine and love it. The only holes required are for the mounts. Get a couple of tubes of Dicor sealant and you will be doing exactly the same thing they do at the factory when they screw down the vent, antenna or anything else.

You mount the panel near the refrigerator vent and run the wires down that. The wires will come out in the refrigerator compartment and you can route them from there.

AM Solar is very helpful.

See my signature for photos of my install.

Here are some instructions: RV Corner

I also have instructions in PDF form but can't find the link where I got them. I'll e-mail to anyone that wants them.

when you run the wire down thru the refer vent there is no opening in the tube at the back of the refer. did you drill a hole in the metal tube to access the wire? where did you go from there to get to the batteries?

Photos

Here is a link to photos showing the cable on the roof. It goes down the refer vent and comes out in the refer compartment. I drilled a hole (or maybe I didn't have to, I can't remember) in the bottom of the refer compartment, brought the cable out under the cat, and ran it up front to the battery compartment.

I installed two 75 watt panels on my '96 Okanagan fifth wheel trailer back in 1998. I ran the cable down the refer vent and connected it to the 12 volt terminals at the refer - no need to run cable all the way to the batteries. The panels worked fine. In 2004 I removed the panels and installed them on my new 2004 Vanguard fifth wheel trailer. The Vanguard had the refer in the slide so I couldn't run the cable down the refer vent. Instead I ran the cable down into the roof vent pipe for the grey water tank which passed through a closet. I drilled a hole in the side of the vent pipe in the closet, pulled the cable through and ran it along the outside of the pipe into the basement then over to the battery. This way there was no additional penetration through the roof mambrane. I sealed the hole in the vent pipe wall with silicone. Never had any problems with this installation either. The panels worked great.
Now I have the Wildcat which has the refer at the back of the trailer. I wanted to install the panels near the front where the roof is more level so I ran the cable down through a tank vent pipe again. The vent pipe passes inside the wall just above the steps to the bedroom. I mounted the regulator in the wall just beside where the pipe passes. I was able to access the pipe and drill the hole in it through the opening in the wall for the regulator. From the regulator the cable follows the pipe inside the wall down to the basement and over to the batteries. The install looks professional and again I was able to avoid penetrating the roof membrane.

When you have solar panels installed, and you are plugged into shore power, do you have to unhook the solar panels?

You do not have to disconnect the solar panels when plugged into shore power. The regulator for the panels takes care of that.

kcnielsen wrote:You do not have to disconnect the solar panels when plugged into shore power. The regulator for the panels takes care of that.

Correct

I've wanted to do something with solar panels since I got the cat. But, I would guesstimate that 90% of my camping is in the shade, where I'd get little use of them. Just can't justify the cost and labor for that.
Joe