I won’t go into all of the details of the installation. I will touch on the things that I did different. I used the solar panels and the MPPT controler that I had installed on the motor home that I traded in. I purchased New Screws and heavy duty cables for the solar panels. I installed the solar Panels in a Series Parallel which for me is the best way for traveling down the road or days when I am parked in partial shade. The one thing I did different mounting the panels, was I put putty tape under the brackets before screwing them to the roof. Then I put dicor around the brackets and on the screws, insuring no water leaks.
Next I drilled a 3/4th inch Hole in the roof from inside one of the upper kitchen cabinets. Then I drilled a 3/4th inch hole in the side wall between the bathroom and the kitchen running the panel cables through a weatherproof Solar Double Entry Gland.
Read more: Finally got my 400 Watts of Solar Installed on Travel Trailer
Entry Gland that I ran panel cables through the roof and into the upper cabinet and into the side wall where I ran the cables down the side wall to a lower cabinet Where I installed my MPPT Controller.
This is the lower cabinet where I installed the MPPT controller. If you read my previous article about added storage space for travel trailer you will recognize this space that I made with a door for access.
Here is the MPPT controller installed and working in the storage cabinet I made in a previous article.. The Red and Black Cables Upper left, are the solar panel cables that I ran down inside the wall. They go through a 40amp double circuit breaker before they go into the MPPT controller. This is so I can disconnect the panels if need be. Below is the WIFCO electrical panel and the converter. Here is where I did different. I chose this location to install the MPPT controller because it was the easiest way to get to the cables that ran from the converter to the batteries. Normally I install the MPPT controller as close to the batteries that I can get. However with a series parallel system and the heavy cables the line loss won’t be that great. all cable runs are 15 feet or less.
I ran the cables from the MPPT Controller through the hole for the shore power in the bottom of the cabinet and hooked them to the battery side of the WIFCO.
Mel
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