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Old 06-05-2015, 02:44 PM   #21
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Quote:
Originally Posted by padlin View Post
I agree on avoiding holes, the waterproof hull/shell is the main reason I went with to a fiberglass trailer.
Very true but the good thing about a leak in a fiberglass trailer as opposed to a leak in a stick built or an Airstream is...you know where the leak is. It's where the hole is. Trying to find a leak in a stick built or an aluminum trailer is much more difficult.
Creating a hole on a fiberglass rig for some sort of apparatus doesn't worry me. Butyl tape and a quality white caulk will patch/seal any hole.
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Old 06-05-2015, 03:03 PM   #22
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Originally Posted by J Mac View Post
Very true but the good thing about a leak in a fiberglass trailer as opposed to a leak in a stick built or an Airstream is...you know where the leak is. It's where the hole is. Trying to find a leak in a stick built or an aluminum trailer is much more difficult.
Creating a hole on a fiberglass rig for some sort of apparatus doesn't worry me. Butyl tape and a quality white caulk will patch/seal any hole.
Yes that's true however if your fiberglass in my case with no reinforcment the bolts being strained by movement can crack fiberglass and if you have ever repaired your drywall especially after big earthquake that crack just wants to keep opening . In the case of drywall adding screws on both sides , caulking , and compound with fiberglass tape . They just want to keep opening . Your trailer is moving going down the road like I guess my home is still . I don't want to go down that road . Pat
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Old 06-05-2015, 03:17 PM   #23
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Originally Posted by J Mac View Post
Like what?
A roof mount will have a controller in the trailer where as a portable has one mounted to the back unless you order one without. You have to decide if you want to bypass the controller on the portable and use the one in the trailer, or if you want to use both of them. There's a post somewhere on the forum where the member had an intermittent issue where the voltage from one controller tricked the 2nd controller into thinking the battery was already fully charged when in fact it wasn't.
If you bypassed the portable's controller and hooked directly to the panel input on the trailers controller this would not be an issue, as long as the controller could handle the additional load.
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Old 06-05-2015, 05:36 PM   #24
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This might be a dumb question, but does anyone know if a charge controller is powered by the battery or the solar panel?
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Old 06-05-2015, 05:49 PM   #25
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The solar charge controller receives Volt/amps from the solar panel and charges the battery.
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Old 06-05-2015, 06:11 PM   #26
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Originally Posted by craiginpetaluma View Post
The solar charge controller receives Volt/amps from the solar panel and charges the battery.
Yes, I know what it does. But how is the charger itself powered? The reason I ask is because the controller display on my portable suitcase does not come on when not connected to a battery, even under full sun. I don't have a battery to test it. My digital multimeter says its outputting around 20 volts. I may have answered my own question...
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Old 06-05-2015, 07:18 PM   #27
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The solar controller does not work unless it is plugged into a battery. It does draw its power (LED's light up) when a battery is connected down stream and that battery is charged with enough power to light up the controller.
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