Full time, off-grid, cheap & stealth

[kcrashcore]

I have lived in many travel trailers in the past seven years, none of them mine. All while on the job working at horse farms. Now I work at the racetracks on the east coast and am getting ready to live on my recently purchased 10 acre cleared vacant rural parcel in north florida.

My main requirement is installing 3 200+ watt 5'x3' solar panels flat on the roof, preferably together with a bit of stand off to keep panels cooler and towards the back of trailer. Covering roof vent is ok. Looking for options to mount. Should I look at only the flat metal roof type trailers?

I know florida does not need tilt during summer, when power will be peak due to air conditioner. Small genset later modded to dc and propane for top-offs.

What older cheap used work truck should I look at to tow a 7 x 14/16 x 6.5 tandem, a F150?

I want to buy everything used except for the solar panels and mppt. All shopped on craigslist, freecycle, flea markets, thrift stores, hfh restore, garage sales, dumpsters, muni dumps, pawn shops and salvage yards.

I have 8 months to build up while working and living on the racetracks in tampa, fl and richmond, va before going to work on my land.

[Shadow Catcher]

This is similar to a thread on the http://www.wind-sun.com/ForumVB/index.php reguarding some one who is fixing up a cargo container to use as an office. They want to power it entirely with solar. The problem is AC, they plan on shutting it down at night, you probably will not want to.
You would need a very large/expensive solar with LOTS of battery's system to power the AC. The alternative should you wish to be off grid is a gas or diesel powered AC, or be hot

[kcrashcore]

I'm a florida native that grew up in miami without air conditioning during the 80's. Not to mention being an eagle scout and I work outdoors even when it hit 102 this summer in richmond.
I am planning on building an insulated partition wall with slide door for the twin bed, so the only controlled area is only 7x6x6.5. Rechargeable damp-rid in cabinets that need to stay dry and mildew proof paint and active ventilation in the front storage/bathroom/shower zone

[Shadow Catcher]

I will admit I do NOT like heat and that tends to color my thinking with regards to air conditioning. If you can do without it then I will address the one area that I do have some familiarity with.

Since you will be working with an MPPT controller you might want to consider finding grid type solar panels with a higher voltage output. You may well be able to find used panels, however the one thing that you need to bear in mind is they need to be fairly similar in construction and output.

One of the other things that you can do is reduce need through the use of things like LEDs and very efficient appliances. The link above is probably one of the best places to get that information.

[arnko37]

If you have any shade trees on your property park under them. Makes a huge difference.

[8ball_99]

I guess 600 watts of solar would be enough to run a small AC. Thats 50 amps DC worth of power. I'm curious to see how this goes. Thats going to be a pretty expensive setup! I guess though with you living in it the solar should be worth it. Even more so since you wont have to get power polls or lines set on your property. I've got 9 acres and my house is off the road a little. Just to have two polls set was something like 4k and that was several years ago. Do you plan on leaving the trailer parked or plan on moving it from time to time. I'm guessing since your wanting to go with a trailer vs a small building is you plan to move it? Parking in the shade will help a lot with keeping the trailer cool. But if you mount your panels to the roof the shade will of course hurt your solar.. If you don't plan on moving the trailer you would probably be better off mounting your panels on the ground out of the shade and parking your trailer in the shade.. Of if the trailer is going to be moved around maybe do a couple on the roof and have one or two you set out in the sun.
I know there is a couple on this site with tear drops that have mobile panels.. They park in the shade then have a cord on the panel so they can set it out in the sun. Best of both worlds. Couple 200 watt panels might be kinda of a pain to move around though.

[arnko37]

Heres another thought. Erect a shelter with a roof but no walls. Park the trailer under it but mount the panels on the shelter roof.