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Has anyone an opinion regarding a small solar pannel to keep our battery charged?  When we used our RV on a regular basis, it was no problem, but we flew to Washington/Oregon in September to not only visit my sister, but to tour the Oregon coast, the Redwood forrest and Mt. Rainier,St. Helens and Crator Lake.  When we got back our battery was dead.

I was thinking that if we had a solar tickle charger for our battery, that might solve it?

Suggestions?

Julie:

You are the very best.  I have printed out your response and will take your advice.  Thanks!!!

Jack

Has anyone an opinion regarding a small solar pannel to keep our battery charged?  When we used our RV on a regular basis, it was no problem, but we flew to Washington/Oregon in September to not only visit my sister, but to tour the Oregon coast, the Redwood forrest and Mt. Rainier,St. Helens and Crator Lake.  When we got back our battery was dead.
I was thinking that if we had a solar tickle charger for our battery, that might solve it?

Suggestions?

If the RV is going to sit unused, then just disconnect the battery.  It's usually nothing more than lifting up the battery cover and unscrewing a wingnut.  You only have to disconnect one lead, and for the sake of technical correctness it should be the negative one.  The gas detector draws power the entire time the battery is connected, and one of the most commonly forgotten draw items is the antenna booster, which really who can remember to turn that thing off every time?  The coach doesn't need any power to just sit there waiting for you, and the battery will hold most of its' power while you're off galavanting around the world without your KZ.

Mike M.

I bought a small solar panel and found it would not keep up with the draw that the trailer pulls even with everything off, tried pulling fuses to no avail. I finally installed a keyed cutoff switch, actually fit in the battery box with the key sticking out the side and have had no problems since, trailer can sit for over a month and when I turn the key I have battery power, that is without the solar charger.

This spring I bought a 75W solar panel and Morningstar controller from Solarblvd.com .  I did not mount the panel, as I want to be able to move it into sun even if I'm parked in shade.

My wiring method is simple.  I bought a 6' extension cord at the hardware store and cut it in half, so I can utilize the 3 prong plugs for hookup when I reach the campsite.  I wired 2 of its 3 wires (doesn't matter which ones) to the 2 wires coming out of the panel.  The other end of the cord is wired to the "in" side of the controller. 

Ok, then I got a 7 pin RV receptacle (like what's on the back of my vehicle) and I wired the "out" wires of the controller to the hot and ground wires of the 7 pin receptacle.  (I googled "7 pin RV plug" and found several visuals that showed which wire goes to what function on these plugs.)

At the campsite, I set out the panel.  Plug the panel into the controller.  Plug the controller into the trailer's pigtail.  Done.

Oh, but one more thing.  What if the wiring isn't long enough to get me into direct sun?  Simple. We all carry an extension cord, right?  I have a 25' cord and a 50' cord.  I can insert either cord, or both, in between the panel and the controller.  Instant 81' reach from Escape to panel.

When parked in the back yard, I now use the panel to maintain the battery.  I noticed that the WFCO converter doesn't seem to fully top off the battery.  The Morningstar controller will bulk charge at 14.2V until the battery is nearly full, then taper off and eventually trickle charge.  I think the battery will last longer with the solar controller in charge.

Thanks.  Solar has gotten pretty affordable.  The whole setup cost less than $150.  I guesstimate that I can get about 30 amps on a decently sunny day.  But I wanted to be able to cover for dreary days, too.