Chinook RV

I should have taken some pictures of the other rig. He had only 2 high square panels making that 800+watts of solar. Got them for a good price too by watching Craig's list for them.

Can you describe where he had them mounted? I looked a 380 watt panel for another rig (not a Chinook; belonged to a friend), but I can't imagine how anyone could mount them (reasonably) on a Chinook? So I'd love to hear even the basic idea of how that was done. Was it a pre-'92 Chinook without the extra roof tier in the center?

Another idea for someone like you who likes to travel with a motorized cycle -- and wants a very large solar array -- is a cargo trailer. I have a 12' cargo trailer that I use occasionally to haul things, and it tows beautifully behind the Chinook. Aaaalmost like it isn't there (and I don't usually say that about trailers). Mine has a flat roof that would be easy to mount solar panels on - I'd guess 500-600 watts no problem - plus you could carry an easy 800 watts in ground panels for around 1400 watts total (or as many ground panels as you wanted to fit in the trailer). And the motorcycle could go inside. The Technomadia.com folks have 1600 watts (they have a bus; 800 roof watts and 800 ground watts) and they can run one of their AC roof units for limited amounts of time.

I can easily store my 2 100 watt thin panels behind the driver's seat, but any more than that could be cumbersome. The cargo trailer would allow carrying almost unlimited ground panels (and/or batteries) and you'd be able to park in the shade - which would really help with the AC demand.

It was a e350 based short RV but not a chinook. They covered about 2/3's of the roof.

Manitou wrote:It was a e350 based short RV but not a chinook. They covered about 2/3's of the roof.

Gotcha, thanks. Yeah, with most RV's that have fairly flat roofs, it's a lot easier. Our sleeker Chinooks (and especially those with the added top tier post around '92 or so) make it more challenging. Irritating part for me is I don't even NEED that top tier, as I'm not super tall. Oh the ease of putting panels on without that tier.... don't make me think about it

The upside to it all for me is that after a year of testing I found that my 200 watts will do everything I need. I'm only going to add roof panels so that I'm covered when I don't want to or can't put the ground panels out (parking lot, short stop, etc.). And then I'm keeping the ground panels for shady camping and low winter sun angles (I can easily tilt the ground panels, but then also easily drive away and come back to camp by just unplugging them - vs. going up and down from the roof to tilt those, plus having to park on a certain "axis" to facilitate the angle).

I understand that some folks need or want more power intensive things though (microwave, air-conditioning, hair dryers, etc.). Horses for courses

i havent taken the time yet to investigate all the features in the monitor so i havent made any adjustments to it yet. I am browsing the internet for batteries. I have two interstate RV/Marine batteries in it now that they installed new when i purchased the RV. I want to remove those two and replace them with 4 group 31 AGM type batteries like the trojans but they are so dam expensive, then they want a core charge and a shipping charge on top of that.

I have been very happy with Lifeline AGM batteries (over a period of years and various boats and RV's). They aren't cheap, but it's a real US company, and I believe the batteries are good. They publish a detailed manual so you can easily see how to treat them best. You can also call their engineering dept. and talk to a real human if/when necessary.

In addition to a "regular" Group 31T size (105 amp hours), they have a Group 31XT. It's the exact same case size as a regular 31, but has 125 amp hours vs. 105. I have three of them in my Chinook, although now that I know just what my solar can do and my usage pattern, I would likely only buy two if starting over. Just no need to carry the extra lead around. I asked them how they could get more amp hours in the "same" battery and they explained (in more technical terms) that each plate in the battery is like an elephant, with both a head and a tail. But that leaves one tailless head at end, and one headless tail at the other. They slice a plate in half and so put the tail piece at one and and the head piece at the other and then all the elephants (plates) are complete. So you magically get more amp hours in the same case size (although it is slightly heavier).

I buy them from Powerstride Battery online. Fast service (they ship FedEx), and FREE shipping! Easy to order too. BTW, all of the Lifeline's are basically the same cost per amp hour, so it's all about what size and configuration suits your setup. If I were buying again, I'd likely either get two of the Group 31XT's that I have now; or else a pair of of GPL-6T's.

Powerstride Battery:
http://www.powerstridebattery.com

Lifeline Battery Technical Manual
http://lifelineb.wpengine.com/wp-conten ... manual.pdf

Two other interesting batteries/types have my attention. One is lithium, but for various reasons I'll be waiting on that for a future date. And the Dragonfly AGM batteries. These are newer, and only come in size Group 31, but they have some interesting properties. Still, when I just bought some new batteries (not for the Chinook), I went with Lifelines again when I took everything into consideration.

PS: Any of these "good" batteries are going to be expensive. To me, that argues for a few things;

1) Set up system as efficiently as possible (minimize voltage drop, so you get all the power you can from your system).

2) Set up charge parameters VERY precisely, so that the batteries are getting just what is specified for them.

3) Figure out the minimum system that will do what you want it to do, and don't go bigger "just because you can." (If you need or want to, great; but just that there is a temptation to have big numbers just because you can.)

For example, when I thought I would need a larger system (before experimenting in the real world with an efficient system), I went for three batteries. Now I realize that two would probably have been ample. So I'm carrying around the weight of an extra battery, and plus that would have been 50% of the cost of my next set of batteries. Hence why I say minimum system that will meet your needs/wants. And then take care of it like royalty

3 diehard AGM's from Costco here. No complaints. Still, it was like $600 worth of batteries when all said and done.

Manitou wrote:3 diehard AGM's from Costco here. No complaints. Still, it was like $600 worth of batteries when all said and done.

That's a fair bit less than Lifelines. I'm happy with the LL's, but for future reference for other people whom I might want to mention them to, do they give you specific charge parameters? That's one issue I find with some "other" batteries - they don't tell you how to take care of them (no specific absorption/float voltage, and no rate of change for temp change). If yours do, I'd be happy to know that.

I didn't look into those details. Oddly enough, I'm in IT, but don't nerd out on this stuff as much as you.

Manitou wrote:I didn't look into those details. Oddly enough, I'm in IT, but don't nerd out on this stuff as much as you.

I wouldn't really call it nerding out (not that there's anything wrong with that ). I just need to know those numbers once so I can set up the chargers (110 and solar). That way the batteries last as long as possible because they are getting just what they want. Reason I asked about charge parameters is that on some less expensive batteries (was helping a friend do a solar system on a budget) I coudn't find any charging specs (or not useful ones). Well gee, I wonder why they only last a few years.... (and if you have to buy them twice as often, you might as well go with Lifeline or equivalent).

I'm sure there are other batteries out there that publish charging specs, and it would be nice to have a less expensive go-to for times when Lifelines (or lithium) don't fit the overall project scheme.

Once I have the charge parameters set up in the solar controller and the 110 charger, it's pretty much fit and forget as far as battery charging specs go. You just set the parameters once. So after that any nerding out is optional (And it IS fun to look at the display and see how much solar you took in, how much power you're using, etc. But that's just passive geekery.)