20' Series Portable solar or roof mounted?

Bridgetw19

New Member
Oct 19, 2016
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Hi everyone we have had our Starcraft touring 22.68.1 for 18months now a few little issues like break handles hinges which Jayco are now going to replace them all with steel ones. . We ended up underslunging it as it was very low to the ground. We went away bush for the weekend and thought about solar.
My question is has anyone added solar later on after purchasing? Or should we just get the portable ones? Is there anything extra we need to add to the van before put solar on? We didn’t get solar provision as we didn’t know what that intaled
 

mikerezny

Well-Known Member
Sep 11, 2016
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Mount Waverley, VIC
Hi everyone we have had our Starcraft touring 22.68.1 for 18months now a few little issues like break handles hinges which Jayco are now going to replace them all with steel ones. . We ended up underslunging it as it was very low to the ground. We went away bush for the weekend and thought about solar.
My question is has anyone added solar later on after purchasing? Or should we just get the portable ones? Is there anything extra we need to add to the van before put solar on? We didn’t get solar provision as we didn’t know what that intaled
I think you will find you have solar provision. Did you get a battery fitted? If so, look near the battery and you should se a cable that is not connected. If you look on the roof you should see a junction box. Usually the cable runs from this junction box down to the battery. BUT, it might also go to where the solar controller is usually mounted. i.e. Roof to the solar controller and then from solar controller to the battery. I have a Penguin, so it might be different on your Starcraft.

Portable vs Rooftop. It depends on your own preference. Rooftop is easier but when you are parking you need to then consider getting sun onto the panels. In summer, you have to weigh up getting the van in the shade to keep it cool and getting it in the sun to feed the panels. Roof top panels need to be monitored to ensure they are kept clean. The angle of roof top is not optimal so you will need more roof top compared to portable. Roof top panels generate power while you are traveling. They are less likely to be stolen.

Portable is more work, setting them up, packing them, finding somewhere to store them and possibly chaining them up to stop them being stolen. But you can then park the van where it is most convenient and put the panels in an optimal place for generating power.

Which ever way you go, you need to determine your power requirements in order to get adequate solar for your needs.

cheers
Mike
 
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Bridgetw19

New Member
Oct 19, 2016
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Thanks mike I’ll get my husband to have a look. I thought you had to purchase solar pre visions as an extra. Jayco aren’t very forth coming forth coming with all the extra.
 

Duncanblake36

Active Member
Nov 17, 2016
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Doreen
Portable are best as you follow the sun and get the most amps. With a fixed panel it depends on where you park the van. When bush camping we park near trees. Personally I have 150w fixed + 250w fixed (that I added) and 140w portable (that I added). Works a treat and have all bases covered. We got caught at Easter this year and the batteries in the van got down to 30%. Problem is now solved :)
 

Boots in Action

Well-Known Member
Mar 13, 2017
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Ferny Grove, Queensland
Portable are best as you follow the sun and get the most amps. With a fixed panel it depends on where you park the van. When bush camping we park near trees. Personally I have 150w fixed + 250w fixed (that I added) and 140w portable (that I added). Works a treat and have all bases covered. We got caught at Easter this year and the batteries in the van got down to 30%. Problem is now solved :)

Hi @Duncanblake36 , Having all those panels of differing outputs/voltages, I would be very interested in hearing how you have each panel connected to/through solar controller/s and how they operate under different conditions of sun and shade. Also the type of controller PWM or MPPT?
 

Duncanblake36

Active Member
Nov 17, 2016
103
168
43
Doreen
Both the portable and the 250w don't have a MTTP (I removed them). The Portable and the 250w panel feed into a Ctek D250S DC-DC & Solar Charger - best investment I made. Does two things. Charges the vans batteries from Tug so when you pull up they are full and its a solar charger. The one that came with van goes into the Setec.
Also its used as a backup to charge the vans batteries is they get low by simply plugging the hilux to it via a Anderson plug.
 
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