Escape Batteries

[padlin]

Last I knew they were GoPower 30A PWM.

[rubicon327]

Originally Posted by jnfrombigt

What does escape use for a charge controller with their solar systems, PWM or MPPT?

This is what Escape uses. It’s PWM.
https://gpelectric.com/products/30-a...ar-controller/

[jnfrombigt]

I've read good things about Go Power and the Escape price seems very reasonable. Mighty tempting but I would have to cancel my shiny aluminum wheels in order to fit the solar system into my trailer budget. I do envy you folks that have that system.

[padlin]

you can get the rims on Amazon when you get around to it.

[jnfrombigt]

Originally Posted by padlin

you can get the rims on Amazon when you get around to it.

Amazon is my plan for the solar system.

[TZBrown]

Originally Posted by jnfrombigt

I've read good things about Go Power and the Escape price seems very reasonable. Mighty tempting but I would have to cancel my shiny aluminum wheels in order to fit the solar system into my trailer budget. I do envy you folks that have that system.

In my experience the aluminum wheels will eventually show corrosion and mine usually had slow air leaks after a few years.
We chose the steel wheels because of that, and cheaper also.

Another benefit of having them install solar is that the mounting points are backed with wood blocks, fiberglassed into the trailer roof.

I don't care for the PWM controller, though it does the job pretty well

[escape artist]

Originally Posted by jnfrombigt

I've read good things about Go Power and the Escape price seems very reasonable. Mighty tempting but I would have to cancel my shiny aluminum wheels in order to fit the solar system into my trailer budget. I do envy you folks that have that system.

Hi: jnfrombigt ... Our 2014 5.0TA has solar and the larger group 12V battery($50.) option at build time. Still working on the original one and always fully charged too!!! I've added a 1/4 cup of distilled water over the years. Alf
escape artist N.S. of Lake Erie "Searchin' for my lost shaker of salt".

[jnfrombigt]

Originally Posted by TZBrown

In my experience the aluminum wheels will eventually show corrosion and mine usually had slow air leaks after a few years.
We chose the steel wheels because of that, and cheaper also.

Another benefit of having them install solar is that the mounting points are backed with wood blocks, fiberglassed into the trailer roof.

I don't care for the PWM controller, though it does the job pretty well

I like the Escape steel wheels. I have a Ram 1500 Laramie EcoDiesel and the Escape aluminum wheels are to me just a better match with the truck. I think the truck color is Granite Chrystal with very noticeable wheels.
I already have two Yamaha generators. No, I don't like the noise either. The smaller one is the EF1000 which and fairly quiet as generators go. So to me solar is a nice to have but not absolutely necessary. I'm a "do-it-yourself person". I build my own computers. Not because I build a better or less expensive computer but because I like the challenge. I think this is one reason why I want to do my own solar system. I think the Go Power is an excellent system but I would prefer an MPPT charge controller. I also see some advantages for my purposes of a portable versus fixed horizontal system. Anyway, the final build sheet has been submitted and over the past couple of months I kept adding and removing items from the build and I finally just had to stop and say this is it. I do appreciate all the comments and suggestions and many will be acted upon in the future. Now I'm trying to decide if wire transfer is best way to pay for this thing.

[richardr]

Originally Posted by noblets

Don't most portable panels have a sign on them that says: "Steal Me"?

I use a couple of 100 watt solar panels as portable panels. I lock them with a cable, but that's mostly for show and not much security. I'm very interested in hearing the story of anyone who has had their portable solar panels stolen.

[alanmalk]

Originally Posted by richardr

I use a couple of 100 watt solar panels as portable panels. I lock them with a cable, but that's mostly for show and not much security. I'm very interested in hearing the story of anyone who has had their portable solar panels stolen.

I do the same, and lock the chain to a ground screw. I suspect this will slow down an experienced thief by 5, to maybe as much as 10 seconds. Oh well, at least a big gust of wind won't blow them away.
--
Alan

[Farther]

Originally Posted by richardr

I'm very interested in hearing the story of anyone who has had their portable solar panels stolen.

Not for camping but I do know that the California Department of Transportation (CalTrans) has lost some solar panels on CA 3 in Siskiyou County (on I-5 & the OR border) that were bolted to poles. Pretty much anything not bolted and bolted down gets stolen there. I had about $4k in power tools stolen while living there. Fortunately for me, insurance covered much of the loss.

[AKCamper]

At this time we use a portable 100 watt solar panel. We are very frugal with our power so it works fine. I had the solar ready option installed (wires run from electrical center to fridge vent). I see the logic of havin facory solar, but we spent $10,000 on other options . I too like to tinker with options. At this time we have a 30 amp controller mounted in the storage box with the batteries. I have been considering mounting two 100 watt adjustable solar panels on my truck canopy. In reality we have been tent campers for so long that the 100 watt portable panel is all we really need. It would be nice to not have to deploy it at times though, especially if it is only for one night. If you choose to do your own solar read “The RV Battery Charging Puzzle” a blog on the internet written by “Handyman Bob “.

[jnfrombigt]

Originally Posted by AKCamper

At this time we use a portable 100 watt solar panel. We are very frugal with our power so it works fine. I had the solar ready option installed (wires run from electrical center to fridge vent). I see the logic of havin facory solar, but we spent $10,000 on other options . I too like to tinker with options. At this time we have a 30 amp controller mounted in the storage box with the batteries. I have been considering mounting two 100 watt adjustable solar panels on my truck canopy. In reality we have been tent campers for so long that the 100 watt portable panel is all we really need. It would be nice to not have to deploy it at times though, especially if it is only for one night. If you choose to do your own solar read “The RV Battery Charging Puzzle” a blog on the internet written by “Handyman Bob “.

I've been looking at some videos and also got the Kindle version of a book "Mobile Solar Power Made Easy". I've tent camped around Europe out VW bus and had a Lance truck camper and used it in places from Pascagoula Mississippi to Denali in Alaska. About five years during a record ice storm a neighbors tree took out the truck camper. A few months ago we rented a Winnebago View to run to New Hampshire to visit one of my daughters and that has been all of my camping since the tree destroyed the camper. Oh, we moved across the Savannah into South Carolina and last June another neighbors tree destroyed the truck that I carried the camper. Before coming back down south, I spent a couple of decades in Montana and there are some river valleys in National Forest and Wilderness Areas up there that I plan to spend some time in. A solar would be very useful. I'll check that blog. Thanks

[rlvanasse]

Go to You Tube and check out Lithium Ion Batteries. If you are keeping your rig for a long time they are the least expensive alternative. The other advantage is a 200 amp hour battery gives you the full 200 amp hours, not the 50% draw of any other battery. They also last 10+ years, rahter than the 3 - 5 years of any wet cell battery. Worth checking out!

[Doug & Betty]

AM Solar has some excellent solar system educational material on their web site. We did a retrofit solar system on our 19 using their equipment and I was happily surprised how easy it was to do.

Doug

[jnfrombigt]

Originally Posted by rlvanasse

Go to You Tube and check out Lithium Ion Batteries. If you are keeping your rig for a long time they are the least expensive alternative. The other advantage is a 200 amp hour battery gives you the full 200 amp hours, not the 50% draw of any other battery. They also last 10+ years, rahter than the 3 - 5 years of any wet cell battery. Worth checking out!

I agree lithium is the way to go but I understand it's not just a simple battery switch. I'm not sure the factory installed charge controller is optimum for a lithium.
The solar/battery issues are things that I will challenge in the future after I get the trailer ( I think I'm down to 13 weeks and 4 days but whose counting) and have a better understanding of it's system's strengths and weaknesses.

[Ronn]

Originally Posted by jnfrombigt

I agree lithium is the way to go but I understand it's not just a simple battery switch. I'm not sure the factory installed charge controller is optimum for a lithium.
The solar/battery issues are things that I will challenge in the future after I get the trailer ( I think I'm down to 13 weeks and 4 days but whose counting) and have a better understanding of it's system's strengths and weaknesses.

You inspired me to count the weeks, I came up with 13 weeks 1 day (yea!). What is your orientation day, ours is June 14. We signed off on the build sheet yesterday.

[jnfrombigt]

Originally Posted by Ronn

You inspired me to count the weeks, I came up with 13 weeks 1 day (yea!). What is your orientation day, ours is June 14. We signed off on the build sheet yesterday.

I think the date I referenced is the date I leave here. My orientation is June 24. I leave here and pick up my brother in Nashville then we work our way to the Great Northwest. Along the way we'll pass my old stomping grounds in Montana. After we pick up the trailer we plan to head down toward Moab and do Arches and Canyonlands. Following that down to Monument Valley and over to the Grand Canyon north rim. I've been to the south rim a few times but never the north rim. Our only schedule will be what we want to see. In the Seattle area I hope to visit the Flying Heritage Museum and before heading southwest to visit the Olympic Peninsula then following the coast to the Columbia River. I signed the build sheet about two weeks ago,

[Ronn]

Originally Posted by jnfrombigt

I think the date I referenced is the date I leave here. My orientation is June 24. I leave here and pick up my brother in Nashville then we work our way to the Great Northwest. Along the way we'll pass my old stomping grounds in Montana. After we pick up the trailer we plan to head down toward Moab and do Arches and Canyonlands. Following that down to Monument Valley and over to the Grand Canyon north rim. I've been to the south rim a few times but never the north rim. Our only schedule will be what we want to see. In the Seattle area I hope to visit the Flying Heritage Museum and before heading southwest to visit the Olympic Peninsula then following the coast to the Columbia River. I signed the build sheet about two weeks ago,

We are planning on 3 weeks to get back to Minnesota. We plan to take Hwy 2 which runs just south of the Canadian Border going through Washington, Idaho, Monana, and North Dakota. It should be a real adventure for us being we are beyond retirement age and newbies to RVing. The forum and build sheet has kept me busy, now I guess I will finish the puzzle that was a Christmas gift.

[jnfrombigt]

Originally Posted by Ronn

We are planning on 3 weeks to get back to Minnesota. We plan to take Hwy 2 which runs just south of the Canadian Border going through Washington, Idaho, Monana, and North Dakota. It should be a real adventure for us being we are beyond retirement age and newbies to RVing. The forum and build sheet has kept me busy, now I guess I will finish the puzzle that was a Christmas gift.

I think this season the show starts June 2 but in Medora ND in the Teddy Roosevelt National Park they have an amphitheater and during the summer months they put on a show about Teddy Roosevelt. The amphitheater is located in a spot with an incredible view and the show I thought was very good. Also, just below the ridgeline along the nearby river is very nice campground. This would be a little side trip off your route but well worth it. Some my Montana friends said I had to go there and I thought well OK but I really enjoyed the experience. jn