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Hmm. If you measure the voltage across one of the wires between the panel and the controller you'll measure the drop. There is voltage drop, but its irrelevant in a PWM solar charging circuit because PWM (or direct connection) pisses away the potential energy between Vmp and Vbatt anyway...

We use the front bar + tyre as a "ladder" to get onto the roof, pretty easy until you have a few drinks... ;)

Ahh! I didn't realise you were around or I would have said hello. The weather was amazing and the trip was great. It was a bit tight with three of us in the camper but I survived ;)

I'm pretty happy with how our multiplexed power system works. We have the main DC board with big CBs for inverters, solar, etc then from the main board we have 4 circuits running to the front inside of the camper, rear inside of the camper, the roof, and under the truck. Front/rear of camper...

Southern end of Fraser Island Fraser Island fun with Lisa and Lucia

We're using 24v for the major camper items like pumps, inverters, solar, etc and use 2 x 24v to 12v step down transformers for the small 12v only stuff like lights and chargers. 24v = thinner wiring, less loss, and more efficient devices. It also allows you to use the full output of the...

Agreed. I have the basics onboard + a few electronic copies of the workshop manual on iPad and laptops. We bought the latest model mechanical truck we could find so it wouldn't have all the fancy sensors and electronics to go wrong. (The camper with its 100 odd wireless relays and sensors galore...

You walked up the same steps into my camper Brij :) I got mine from amazon and the shipping was quite reasonable. Alastair: Did you add the black grippy stuff or is that standard now?

Its really well designed and built hardware, but his refusal to accept MPPT as a valid technology choice makes it difficult to impliment in an RV. (He lives in an off grid cabin where adding panels is easy) MPPT really benefits Lithium systems because the average charge voltage is so low (13.2v)...

Stick with 24v for the "big" stuff (inverter, pumps, solar, etc) as they're more efficient, then use a 24->12v dropdown converter for lights / chargers or whatever else can only run on 12v. Double check your fridge as a lot can run on 12 or 24v DC. We're electric only with reverse cycle air...

This isn't a great idea because the heat from soldering will cause expansion of the lug and affect the crimp... Just crimp it properly and be done with it.

If the wire isn't heated this results in a cold joint... not what you want.

We used a similar product (4mm alucubond) for cupboard doors, I don't think i'd use it on the outside as its quiet prone to scratching.

Use an MPPT controller with an adjustable charge profile (I like the Victron units because they have a 5 year warranty) and then connect any panel you like to it. If you're not going to use cell monitoring of any sort i'd stick to 13.8v absorption with 13.2 float.

Joe, when you said it'd be ready by July....you didn't specify which year? ;)

I'll keep that in mind next time i'm doing 60 up a slight gradient ;)

I'd argue that for a lot of mobile users with limited space that energy produced per unit of area (Efficiency) is what matters. We have limited space on our roofs and need to make the most energy for a given area... Per rated watt... The problem for us is your panel will be 3x to 4x larger...

I'd go with 230v if only because of spare parts availability. If a 110v appliance craps itself and you're spending 80-90% of your time away from the US then replacing it will suck.

4 of them + 4 x 100W flexible panels for portable use. (We use -a lot- of power)

We have 300W panels on our truck and have had no problems with bumps and vibrations so far. They're built to survive golf ball size hail storms and generally have much tougher glass/frames than the smaller panels. Your insurance would probably cover any serious damage if it did happen.