What's your favorite thing about your electrical setup?

[methridge]

Batteries, solar panels, chargers, lights, switches, wire, connectors, monitors, all that stuff!

I'm designing the trailer I'll be building soon, and I'm into the electrical part of things. So far, I'm set on a lithium battery, a single fixed 100watt solar panel (though I might add another or a suitcase in parallel), Victron solar charge controller, Victron shore power charger, and a Dometic 12v cooler.

Curious what everyone else has that they LOVE about their electrical setup, and also any elements that you'd change out if you could.

[dmdc411]

I knew in the beginning there would be no boondocks camping. Wife isn't much for roughing it! So I knew we would always be near a power source. Just happened upon a YouTube video on converting a desktop computer power supply for powering 12vdc stuff in your shop. Just happen to have a scrap tower waiting to go to recycling. pulled the ps, and set it up to work on the bench. Found it was capable of 14 amps max. All my teardrop lighting is led, fantastic fan, total uses about 6.8amps. Its been working for 5 years, cost very little so far. If it fails, Best Buy has them for $35!

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[frosty]

I knew in the beginning there would be no boondocks camping. Wife isn't much for roughing it! So I knew we would always be near a power source. Just happened upon a YouTube video on converting a desktop computer power supply for powering 12vdc stuff in your shop. Just happen to have a scrap tower waiting to go to recycling. pulled the ps, and set it up to work on the bench. Found it was capable of 14 amps max. All my teardrop lighting is led, fantastic fan, total uses about 6.8amps. Its been working for 5 years, cost very little so far. If it fails, Best Buy has them for $35!

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Had a look through your build to see the computer Power Supply set up, but couldn't see anything. Do you have any pics or info on how you set this up ?
thanks

[ssrjim]

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[ssrjim]

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[dmdc411]

frosty heres a link on how to use the power supply. https://youtu.be/lI-2SMqznCo
I laid out this compartment so tow light wiring is closest to you on the left. The 12vdc ps, fuse block,, and terminal strip are inside left. And 120 shore power, and terminal strip are on the left. Below this compartment is the shore where it comes into a circuit breaker panel with a GFCI that protects all outlets.

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[tony.latham]

Love?

1. The fact that it's a simple 12-volt system. (We don't need no stinking 120 volts. We're camping.)

2. The fact that my 130 watt solar system isn't challenged to recover the 8-10 amps we use. (Mostly from my CPAP.)

3. The fact that I can monitor watt/amp usage. (And clear the tally each morning.)

4. The fact that I can monitor watt/amp production from the solar sytem via bluetooth.

I knew in the beginning there would be no boondocks camping.

Here we are two days ago. Boondocking. It was miserable.



Tony

[methridge]

Love?



Tony, what are those small housings you have on the roof where the solar panel cables go into the roof?


Tony

[tony.latham]

Love?



Tony, what are those small housings you have on the roof where the solar panel cables go into the roof?


Tony

Cable glands.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01CSEXWC8/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

There are tons of different ones.

Tony

[methridge]

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01CSEXWC8/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
There are tons of different ones.
Tony

Awesome, thank you!

[green1]

Best part about my electrical setup is simplicity.
I tow with an electric vehicle, so I already have a huge battery there. So I take all power directly from the tow vehicle with a second trailer connector (2 prong 10 AWG on a 30 A circuit breaker). No batteries or solar needed on the trailer itself. If I have hookups at a campsite, I plug in the car, not the trailer.

As for what I power:
- LED lights inside, and in the galley (under counter puck lights)
- roof vent fan (12v computer case fan, biggest and quietest one I could find)
- 12v cooler in the galley (home made)
- 2 USB ports on both sides of the bed
- 2 USB ports in the galley
- 12v lighter outlet inside and in the galley

To do it again, not sure I'd bother with the lighter outlets, seemed "essential" when I did the wiring, but I've never used them. The USB ones I couldn't live without though!

[bdosborn]

I love the Raspberry Pi that connects to my Victron battery meter and solar charge controller. I can access the info over the web and see summaries of our power use. I also get email notifications if the power goes out so I don't have to worry about my battery going dead because the trailer got unplugged or something. The Raspberry Pi logs data when we're camping and then connects to our WiFi when we get home to upload the info.



I can connect using my phone and Bluetooth when camping to see a bunch of info too.



Victron is definitely the best IMHO.

Bruce

[MickinOz]

Tony,
It looks like you have a battery isolator switch, and a Renogy regulator.
Do you use the isolator without first disconnecting the solar panels?
i.e. say you put the 'drop away in the garage, do you turn the battery off to preserve the charge, and do you do this without disconnecting the panel?

[tony.latham]

Tony,
It looks like you have a battery isolator switch, and a Renogy regulator.
Do you use the isolator without first disconnecting the solar panels?
i.e. say you put the 'drop away in the garage, do you turn the battery off to preserve the charge, and do you do this without disconnecting the panel?

The red switch is to turn off the charge coming from the tow vehicle. Since I'm running an AGM and they need a bit more juice than what automotive systems produce, I keep that off and rely on the solar system. It's a backup system I may never use --the solar system isn't challenged even on cloudy days so far.

I have a breaker between the 100 watt panel and the controller that I turn off before I disconnect the battery. For winter storage, I have a 5 amp charger attached to the battery.



One thing that I find handy in the winter is checking the battery status through the bluetooth module in the controller.

Tony

[MickinOz]

I have a breaker between the 100 watt panel and the controller that I turn off before I disconnect the battery.
Tony

Thanks mate. Looks like I'll be doing the same. Seems only practical solution.

One thing that I find handy in the winter is checking the battery status through the bluetooth module in the controller.

Tony

Dang that is a lot of snow.
In winter, I find I have to wear long pants, t-shirt and shoes to stroll out to the garage to check the battery status.