Quote:
Originally Posted by LoveToCamp
Winged, I ordered my panel post-delivery, but the TM came completely wired for solar. All I did was connect my panel to the special connectors that were zip-tied by the rear-street torsion bar.
When I installed my battery cutoff, I was able to do it without interrupting the charge line into my batteries. Should be a relatively simple matter to see if your solar is wired directly to the battery, or if it is part of the cutoff. Should be independent of the cutoff, I believe.
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LoveToCamp: That was nice that the TM came prewired for solar panels (makes me thinketh the dealer may actually have installed my panels - there were a lot of "we" sell our units with this & that, so this may have been an item I took for granted that the factory installed and assumed the dealer was also taking credit for). Re cutoff switch: As I think back, I hooked up mine using cable leads bolting them together w/battery connector end, rather than by splicing. In which case I would have also captured the solar wire to the cutoff. I may wanna redo that in order to leave the solars panels connected whenever cutoff is switched 'off'. Thanks for that!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bill
WingedRyder -
Are the panels mounted on the front or rear shell? (Sorry, I have not been able to find a picture.) As I'm sure you realize, the panels must be exposed to direct sunlight in order to generate a charge. So if you have indoor storage (or outdoor storage with shadows on the panels), they won't charge. Similarly, if they are mounted on the rear shell, and the front shell covers them when the TM is closed, they won't charge. But if they are on the uncovered part of the rear shell, or on the front shell - and exposed to the sun - they should charge whether the TM is open or closed.
This should be true regardless of whether the tow vehicle is plugged in.
Bill
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Bill:
1) My panels are mounted to the REAR shell top, streetside - exposed whether or not shells are collapsed (Sorry, I have no pics either). And, yes, I understand solar panels require actual sunlight to operate.
2) Though my TM has been covered this winter, I'm interested in the possibility of leaving battery connected, with TM uncovered for solar 'drip charge' to the battery over winter. I have no shore power at the lot, and lifting battery out from under dinette bench and over the front slide-out wall with front shell raised for access, after parking for the season is a chore. AND, I have an elec tongue jack. It helps to position trailer with a slight rake for snow/rain run off toward the rear of roof, but of course the slant makes it even more difficult to raise either shell to access the battery inside (I didn't think about losing ability to raise/lower tongue when battery is pulled or switched off, as it was during camping season when I upgraded, ha!). The 2720 is a learning curve, that's for sure, and obviously there are a few compromises I didn't think about before-hand. I just remember how easy it was to pull the battery at storage time on my previous camper, where it was mounted on the exterior frame front.
3) My additional question is this: Assuming battery is receiving some charge from the solar panels while traveling with some sunlight present, wonder if the solar panels could be enough to help alleviate discharging either TM or TV battery during stops, as talked about here on the forum, when running the frig on 12V?
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