pbitschura
SE MN
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Our 2020 travel trailer has an exterior jack labelled "solar". What do I need upstream of that plug to charge my house battery? I assume these jacks are standard so some "plug-and-play" connectors also exist. Thanks in advance.
* This post was
edited 09/10/23 02:24pm by pbitschura *
2020 Braxton Creek 24fb travel trailer
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pianotuna
Regina, SK, Canada
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That depends on what is after the jack.
If there is a charge controller after the jack, then Bob's your Uncle. Add solar panels.
If not then panels connected to a charge controller, and connect the controller output to the jack.
Regards, Don
My ride is a 28 foot Class C, 256 watts solar, 556 amp-hours of Telcom jars, 3000 watt Magnum hybrid inverter, Sola Basic Autoformer, Microair Easy Start.
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pbitschura
SE MN
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pianotuna wrote:That depends on what is after the jack.
If there is a charge controller after the jack, then Bob's your Uncle. Add solar panels.
If not then panels connected to a charge controller, and connect the controller output to the jack. there is no charge controller in the inverter/converter onboard then?
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pianotuna
Regina, SK, Canada
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The inverter/converter has nothing to do with the solar.
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ScottG
Bothell Wa.
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If it's like the one on my Arctic Fox, the wires that attach to that plug go down to a place behind the battery and are just coiled up there. They aren't connected at all.
* This post was
edited 09/10/23 08:08pm by ScottG *
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vermilye
Oswego, NY, USA
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Be sure to check the polarity. Trailer manufacturers & solar panel designers don't always agree, in fact different solar panel manufacturers don't have standard polarity for SAE connectors (The most used for external solar connections).
Jon Vermilye My Travel Blog
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valhalla360
No paticular place.
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Look behind the wall connector and follow the wires:
- They may be connected to nothing (ie: prep'd but not hooked up)
- They may be ran directly to the battery in which case, you need a solar charge controller (cheap and simple to add) between the panels and the wall connector.
- They may be connected with a solar charge controller. Then you just need to connect the solar panel wires to the wall connector.
The inverter/charger (aka: converter) is a separate device with the exception of certain high end models which are highly unlikely to have been included. The charger in this case refers to a device that takes 120v AC power and converts it to 12v DC power to charge the batteries.
Tammy & Mike
Ford F250 V10
2021 Gray Wolf
Gemini Catamaran 34'
Full Time spliting time between boat and RV
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LouLawrence
Traveling the US fulltime since 2000.
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Do you have solar panels on the roof? Have you tried to follow the wires leaving the jack?
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pbitschura
SE MN
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LouLawrence wrote:Do you have solar panels on the roof? Have you tried to follow the wires leaving the jack? Currently we have no solar but I am curious to learn what is connected to what. We don't dry camp often and have a genny we really love.
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ScottG
Bothell Wa.
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You could just take a volt measurement of the connector. If it has 12V then you at least know it's hooked to something.
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