Cargo Trailer Camping Converting

[Sunking]

I understand the drawing, I was just saying I would rather the inverter be hooked straight to the batteries then it going through the fuse block how it was in the one drawing. One of those blocks are of interest to me because like I said I would like to have inside lights, outside lights, maybe stereo and few other things all on separate circuits that are fused. I have a nice switch board that has 1 12v plug in, 2 usb ports, small digital volt meter and 6 or so rocker switches that I will install on the one wall to run all those circuits from the block.

That is just fine. Here is your wiring diagram minus the Rocker Switch panel.

[UrbanElite]

Now back to the topic on hand, Like i said before I would like to be able to do 2 days of camping without power coming in from solar, as If I went out on a weekend and it wasn't very nice out I wouldn't have to worry about power all weekend, but if we were to go out for 4 days or so, and we could stay out there easy with 2 days of power, and if those days are nice the system will be keeping my batteries fully charged and every good day we had we just mean we could stay out a day longer too. I'm mostly doing 2-day trips, but there will be the odd 4-day trip I'm sure with my schedule.

So if we could keep the specs down a bit, I would like to save that money to put elsewhere in my trailer, or camping supplies. If I could stick with the 40A traccer MPPT, decent sized batteries and make it work to have a good system, that would for sure save myself money very fast.

Also, does anyone have links to good panel mounting systems? I looked at a system that had these aluminium blocks that bolt the trailer roof, then they had a clamp that grabs the side of your panel and a wedge goes into the block. When you tighten the bolt it snugs up the clamping holding the panel as well against the block attached to the roof. I want to make sure they are mounted well, but is vibration a problem too? I saw one some RV forums people took 1' pipe, about half a foot x2 cut it in half and use that to lift the panel off the roof and ran a bolt through the panel mounting hole, through the pipe and into the RV roof.

[UrbanElite]

Not sure I follow you here. It is rated up to 100 amps. You would run a minimum 4 AWG feeder through a 100 amp fuse on the battery Term Post to the block, Then you can run up to 12 branch circuits however you like, The only limit is each Branch Circuit is limited to 30-amps maximum per branch circuit.

Only qualification is the Isolator must be equal to or larger than the alternator. Example if the Alternator is 75-amps, the Isolator must be 75 amps or larger. Be sure to use a fuse on the wire at the Isolator going to the House Battery, and terminate on the load side of a battery fuse of same capacity. On my drawings I only show the fuse at the House Battery. Isolator fuse is not shown. That wire has two power sources and must be protected from each source of the House Battery and Alternator.

I understand the drawing, I was just saying I would rather the inverter be hooked straight to the batteries then it going through the fuse block how it was in the one drawing. One of those blocks are of interest to me because like I said I would like to have inside lights, outside lights, maybe stereo and few other things all on separate circuits that are fused. I have a nice switch board that has 1 12v plug in, 2 usb ports, small digital volt meter and 6 or so rocker switches that I will install on the one wall to run all those circuits from the block.

[Sunking]

No for sure, I like how those work for mounting to the battery terminal and then the inverter would wire to that. This way if something did happen you wouldn't loose any wire or your inverter.

Hold on a bit, that is not a true statement. A OCPD (overcurrent protection device) like a fuse or breaker only purpose in life is to protect the wire connected to its downstream output. It has no other purpose. I will not and cannot prevent you from being electrocuted. It may or may not protect the utilization equipment connected downstream. This is why you want to select equipment like an Inverter to be certified UL 1741, and follow the manufactures installation instructions. Then a fuse offers some protection to the utilization equipment

All electrical codes dictate minimum wire size based on a fuse size. You can use a larger wire than minimum requirement to control voltage losses, but you cannot use a smaller wire. Example a 20 amp fuse minimum requirement is 14 AWG. Now if you use a larger wire comes with consequences. It requires you to also upsize the ground conductors. But that is not anything you need to concern yourself with. If you look at all the drawings I have shown you, take note of the ground conductor ron the battery negative return post. It is the same size as the largest FEEDER CABLE. Without that ground cable, all the OCPs are completely useless and would not work.

Im talking about using a smaller fuse board to separate my outside, inside and other little gadgets from each other and having them fused. like this: https://www.autoelectricsupplies.co....0134_large.jpg

Not sure I follow you here. That is a copy of the Blue Sea 5026 ATO 12 circuit Blade Branch Circuit Distribution I have in my last drawing. It is rated up to 100 amps. You would run a minimum 4 AWG feeder through a 100 amp fuse on the battery Term Post to the block, Then you can run up to 12 branch circuits however you like, The only limit is each Branch Circuit is limited to 30-amps maximum per branch circuit.

I will look into the isolator as that is cheap than a generator and one less thing to pack around.

Only qualification is the Isolator must be equal to or larger than the alternator. Example if the Alternator is 75-amps, the Isolator must be 75 amps or larger. Be sure to use a fuse on the wire at the Isolator going to the House Battery, and terminate on the load side of a battery fuse of same capacity. On my drawings I only show the fuse at the House Battery. Isolator fuse is not shown. That wire has two power sources and must be protected from each source of the House Battery and Alternator.

Electronic Isolators have what is called Ports. You will need a 3-Port Isolator. 1 port for the alternator, one for the SLI battery, and one for the House Battery. They come with up to 5 ports so you can have up to 3 House Batteries. The better Isolators allow you to match your battery voltage to the type connected to each port.

[SunEagle]

Of course we've all carried gas cans, and idled an engine to charge a battery, both are certainly manageable risks. But both are more dangerous than anything in RV solar, short of walking around on the roof. And both are easily avoidable and shouldn't be recommended lightly as a primary source of camping power in my opinion.

Again to each their own. Some people want grid power for their RV, others will run the generator or engine to power their larger loads. Others again don't need the AC or microwave so running from a battery charged by the sun is just fine with them.

You have to take each persons perspective and priorities to determine how they want to live in an RV.

Neither choice is wrong. Just different.

[Wrybread]

Of course we've all carried gas cans, and idled an engine to charge a battery, both are certainly manageable risks. But both are more dangerous than anything in RV solar, short of walking around on the roof. And both are easily avoidable and shouldn't be recommended lightly as a primary source of camping power in my opinion.

[SunEagle]

Fair enough, but when he says something like "aha! You have an isolator!" when I never said otherwise, I think it's fair enough to correct him. But I'll do so more respectfully in the future.

As far as safety, if anyone thinks any advice I've posted isn't safe, please cite specifics so I can correct it. I take safety extremely seriously.

And for the record, and to cite specifics, what I'm calling dangerous in SK's advice is carrying gas cans to power a generator, and idling an RV to charge the batteries from the engine without moving.

Both idling an engine or carrying gas cans can be safe or dangerous depending on the person. Heck I have seen people filling up gas cans or their car while they are smoking. STUPID.

I have run my RV engine as well as carried gas cans to fill a tank or generator. I just do not do it when there is no place for the engine exhaust to go or if the tank that is being filled is also connected to a running engine. My generator is off and cool before I refill it.

Even using a sharp knife has both sides of the story. It comes down to the person paying attention and following a safe procedure in what they are doing at the time. Not like texting and driving which IMO should be outlawed with server penalties.

So what is safe and what is dangerous can be a perspective of someone. But should not necessarily be condemned because "that is not something I would do".

[Wrybread]

Fair enough, but when he says something like "aha! You have an isolator!" when I never said otherwise, I think it's fair enough to correct him. But I'll do so more respectfully in the future.

As far as safety, if anyone thinks any advice I've posted isn't safe, please cite specifics so I can correct it. I take safety extremely seriously.

And for the record, and to cite specifics, what I'm calling dangerous in SK's advice is carrying gas cans to power a generator, and idling an RV to charge the batteries from the engine without moving.

[SunEagle]

You're having another Grandpa Abe moment. I never said I don't have a battery isolator.

And I should mention that even though I have an isolator (it came with my rv) I never use the thing, in fact I haven't even reconnected it after maintaining my batteries. I could in a minute, but simply haven't needed to. My RV drives all of a mile from storage to camping most of the time I use it, and I can think of no more smelly, noisy, inefficient and ridiculously dangerous way to recharge batteries than by running the engine without moving while people are in the RV.

If you're going to post about this stuff all the time and represent yourself as an expert, maybe you should buy an RV to gain some actual experience? Even just a year would give you quite the education and you can stop spreading so much dangerous misinformation. And who knows, maybe it will relax you and help you think more clearly.

I wouldn't say SK is spreading any dangerous misinformation. More likely he is being very conservative with his designs and feels that anyone trying to take shortcuts or go cheap is going down the wrong path.

Sure you can install a pv system in an RV for as little as you can make it but that does not make it the right way or the safe way.

I really wish both you and SK get off this pissing match. I have asked you both to cut it out in another thread and will do the same here.

Please post useful information as opposed to name calling and threats. That is my last comment before I hit the ban button.

[littleharbor]

You're having another Grandpa Abe moment. I never said I don't have a battery isolator.

And I should mention that even though I have an isolator (it came with my rv) I never use the thing, in fact I haven't even reconnected it after maintaining my batteries. I could in a minute, but simply haven't needed to. My RV drives all of a mile from storage to camping most of the time I use it, and I can think of no more smelly, noisy, inefficient and ridiculously dangerous way to recharge batteries than by running the engine without moving while people are in the RV.

If you're going to post about this stuff all the time and represent yourself as an expert, maybe you should buy an RV to gain some actual experience? Even just a year would give you quite the education and you can stop spreading so much dangerous misinformation. And who knows, maybe it will relax you and help you think more clearly.

This bickering is really getting old. Not sure if the OP got the answers he needed but I doubt there is much more new or useful info to be gleaned from this thread.

[Wrybread]

@sunking:

Now you admit you have an Isolator. Who is the liar and pretender now?

You're having another Grandpa Abe moment. I never said I don't have a battery isolator.



And I should mention that even though I have an isolator (it came with my rv) I never use the thing, in fact I haven't even reconnected it after maintaining my batteries. I could in a minute, but simply haven't needed to. My RV drives all of a mile from storage to camping most of the time I use it, and I can think of no more smelly, noisy, inefficient and ridiculously dangerous way to recharge batteries than by running the engine without moving while people are in the thing.

If you're going to post about this stuff all the time and represent yourself as an expert, maybe you should buy an RV to gain some actual experience? Even just a year would give you quite the education and you can stop spreading so much dangerous misinformation. And who knows, maybe it will relax you and help you think more clearly.

[Wrybread]

If you have the money I'd highly recommend getting the ~450 ah system (whether that's the S-550 Rolls battery or 4 Trojan T-105's), since you'll probably start wanting to power more gizmos. It's nice to be able to have all the lights you need and music, charging laptops, watching whatever, etc. It's hard to anticipate your needs, and it's hard to upgrade your system later since you'd need a new charge controller.

So if you have the money and space get the S-550 batteries and the Victron 50 amp charge controller and then this whole insane 100+ topic will make a hilarious story as you're all sitting around the campfire outside your trailer that's all lit up with funky mood lighting, cranking the tunes, charging everyone's gizmos, and chilling the beer.

And you'll be able to stay on the road infinitely, especially in the summer, from just solar. Not that you necessarily would, but that's a nice feature!

[UrbanElite]

Quite possible yes, but we are putting the horse in front of the cart. Wait until you have made a good data base with th eKill_A-Watt meter and let's see what you really need.

Yes, I have done that too much already, I will wait a bit long for the kill-a-watt meter to get more time in on it.

No not a good idea. You want a Dual Battery Fuse Block like this. They are installed directly on the Battery Term post like you see in the drawing. You would have to make a cable/connector assembly using Anderson Power Pole connectors.

No for sure, I like how those work for mounting to the battery terminal and then the inverter would wire to that. This way if something did happen you wouldn't loose any wire or your inverter. Im talking about using a smaller fuse board to separate my outside, inside and other little gadgets from each other and having them fused. like this: https://www.autoelectricsupplies.co....0134_large.jpg

I will look into the isolator as that is cheap than a generator and one less thing to pack around.

[Sunking]

There we go that one makes more sense to me, i like keeping the inverter wired straight to the batteries, as you can use any old fuse block then.

No not a good idea. You want a Dual Battery Fuse Block like this. They are installed directly on the Battery Term post like you see in the drawing.

Yes i do see it. That does sound like a smart device. So I will for sure look at installing one, I would see this on an Motor home where the batteries are connected to the alternator, but how does this work on a trailer?

You would have to make a cable/connector assembly using Anderson Power Pole connectors.

[Sunking]

Great to know, so the s550 would be little overkill then... I could get the s290s for $215 each, would that be a better choice?

Quite possible yes, but we are putting the horse in front of the cart. Wait until you have made a good data base with th eKill_A-Watt meter and lets see what you really need.

Does this mean a person can go back to a 40a traccer charge controller again?

Yes smaller battery has less current demand. With an Isolator is a moot point. You could use a 200 watt panel and 15 amp controller.