Ken , That’s true, the HF panels ( new ones ) are ~$1.50 a watt, their smaller units even more expensive. ( the old panels were ~$3.00 a watt) HD has much better single 100 watt panels for ~$1.00 a watt . I’m just saying that because some of us bought the old 45 Watt HF kit long ago
when we didn’t know any better …
It might be good for charging your electric bicycle or your phone , but it doesn’t seem that useful for a trailer …( well, not all the stuff we want to run anyway )
Although we’ve been fooling with solar projects for years now , we’re still have so much to learn , as the technology races ahead . The new Flexible panels look really “trailer friendly” ? I’ve been saving for a new project , just trying to think this out and get the best bang for my retirement buck. As I understand from reading , we want to optimize our solar system for what we really need , as too small a system won’t do it , and too large is more than we need ( expensive and wasteful, and we still have to haul it around.)
Discussion like this has turned out to be the best way of learning and making real progress ! I sure appreciate everybody’s thoughts on this being “theoretical” and all . One upon a time ,we posted about waterproofing wood , and look where that discussion led …
Having towed some 4000+ lb trailers ( 20 footers) , I’d Much rather tow something not quite so big and
Half the weight . The commercial trailers are extremely heavy ( for me) and are so wasteful of space in the pursuit of Decorating alone , while not doing anything practical or contributing to the structure or longevity of the trailer . A Big Foamie built right and designed with an eye for practicality could be fairly large and still light and durable … The idea of a hybrid of wood frame and Foam walls seems to be an easy way to build it … I offer the FoamStream as the proof of concept … 6’ X 13.5’ … Three years living outside now … and aside from adding some simple drip edges and correcting a design error ( that trolley top) , it’s only requires washing now and then . The outer skin still tough and stiff !
Just saying , we could make that Bigger , round frame or square frame ...
and the framing doesn’t have to be 2X4's either … LIGHT… like an Airplane fuselage . Just sayin’ … if we ( or the wife) do want a Bigger foamie , that does seem doable … Al77’s idea of a 14X7 seems pretty Easy !! and weigh < a ton .
Now the thought comes to mind that a Bigger foamie trailer “could” ( possibly) be built with mostly all FOAM , by using the thicker 4" and 6” thick foam … At those thicknesses , the foam does become more “structural” for the small increase in camper size.
All Ideas and possibilities …