My dream is to take the camper to a quiet, secluded lake-side site to relax and enjoy the outdoors. A critical step towards that end is….power! Got the standard starter kit, a 45W harbor freight 3-panel kit that includes a controller. Also purchased a deep cycle marine battery from Costco and battery case from Walmart to get started. I’m not mounting these on the roof because I want the option of parking the camper in the shade and running the panels out to the sun to power up.
You can view the whole photo album or keep reading below for details.
The day of assembly was after work and overcast so couldn’t fully test but I got the solar panel kit put together. Frame pieces were straight forward and panels aligned and bolted on with no problems.
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Kit includes a controller and everything to hook up, light up or USB power most anything 12V!
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I re-used the styrofoam in the package to protect the panels when not in use. I cut some scrap plywood to length and stretched some bungee cords around to hold it all in place. Also made sure the bottom bungee was high enough to hold the legs from flopping around. Add some velcro wire ties and all is secured for storage.
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I still need to hook up the battery but it has been hot and I read extreme temperatures either hot or cold is bad for them to be out in. I am on shore power at home so no rush and it’s just a matter of hooking up terminals and strapping down box to the existing spot on the tongue. All setup and ready for some boondockin!!
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I’ll make another post of the whole system installed and in action. Hopefully I will have some time soon to get out and use it!