Beginner looking for advice on setup

[15PSD]

Here is what I am planning for a setup in my 1st gen Tacoma. I already have the Victron charger, 500a smart shunt and high amperage fuse blocks. Does anyone see anything wrong with the proposed setup? I have a 105ah Lithium battery on order but it's a ways out so I will be using an existing 100ah AGM I already have for now. Thanks!

 

[Tesota Overland]

I recommend dedicated fuses placed at both of the charger outputs and using that fuse you've already got on the aux battery for your load distribution. The manuals for those parts should contain the fuse ratings you'll want to use and confirm whether they're necessary.

Also recommend going with MRBF mounting bars over MIDI style fuse holders for batteries unless space is a concern, it'll connect directly to the post and save you a short cable and a couple of lugs that you'd normally use for the fuse holder: https://www.eaton.com/us/en-us/catalog/fuses-and-fuse-holders/marine-fuses-and-mounting-bars.html

A solar disconnect/circuit breaker and battery disconnect switches are also a good idea so you can de-energize the system completely before working on it. Both of these are readily available at various online retailers and are relatively inexpensive.

For your loads you'll definitely want a smaller fuse block of some sort to protect your loads and wiring. The fuse connecting your battery output is to protect the cables, not the loads themselves. I know it starts to seem redundant with so many fuses all over the place but they all protect different things in your system.

 

[15PSD]

Thanks for all the tips. I was planning for all appliances attached to the bus bars to be individually fused but I think I will put a small fuse panel in its place. I will move the bus bars under the hood to add another battery there in the future.

I forgot to add my battery switch between the AUX battery and the smart charger. I will purchase a properly sized breaker for the solar panel like you suggested. I will update my drawing with the parts I ordered and hope you guys can critique it when I'm done. Thanks!

 

[15PSD]

How does this look?

 

[NatersXJ6]

I’m not sure you will get enough voltage from a single panel to enable the MPPT function, and I don’t know if it will charge without reaching that threshold. IIRC, you have to be at battery voltage plus 7? I don’t remember exactly, just that a few years back I chose two panels in series to ensure that I was able to charge by hitting 28+ volts all the time. The MPPT manuals and panel specs should be available online easily.

 

[Mickey Bitsko]

One 100w panel is the plan?

 

[VanWaLife]

I don't have any comments on your schematic, but I have added a second battery and a lot of electrical components under the hood of my Toyota here in the PNW...one thing to get figured out before starting is where rain is going to drain when it rolls off the hood, and add standoffs to your devices where needed. Also I've learned to love my rivnut tool for mounting electrical devices.

 

[NatersXJ6]

Rivnut tool is definitely a good suggestion!

 

[dstefan]

You might think about the need for the solar component at all, especially in the north west. I have essentially the same set up with a 25 amp National Luna, DCDC charger. I have a built-in MPPT controller, and I have used my 105 watt portable panel at times early on.

However, I find I just don’t need it. I’ve gone as long as four nights and five days without driving the truck or using portable solar, and my hundred amp hour Battleborn was only down to 40%. True I wasn’t using an inverter except for a small 300 W to charge camera batteries . But I was using 12v heating pad. My fridge was running 24/7. We were charging multiple other devices and running lights so it depends on your draw and how long you plan to camp stationary.

edit: forgot to say it was in the low 80s as a high and we used our Max air fan constantly, including on low all night too.

 

[15PSD]

I’m not sure you will get enough voltage from a single panel to enable the MPPT function, and I don’t know if it will charge without reaching that threshold. IIRC, you have to be at battery voltage plus 7? I don’t remember exactly, just that a few years back I chose two panels in series to ensure that I was able to charge by hitting 28+ volts all the time. The MPPT manuals and panel specs should be available online easily.

I planned to start with one 100w panel on the top of my Roofnest tent. then add another at a later date. Would I be better off with multiple 50w panels? I am new to solar so excuse my ignorance.

 

[15PSD]

I was thinking of the solar setup as a supplement to help top off my house battery(s) when needed. On that rare occasion I'm camping in the clear sky; getting a good charge from the solar charger for those times I spend a week or so out at a single location.

 

[15PSD]

Excuse my ignorance but can I monitor both solar charging and the charge from the starting battery/alternator from one smart shunt?

 

[Ozarker]

Excuse my ignorance but can I monitor both solar charging and the charge from the starting battery/alternator from one smart shunt?

Depends on the device, guessing, probably, if not you could switch the circuit so that each can or could be observed. A "shunt" simply impedes or diverts part of the current, generally for another circuit. It being "smart" may just automatically adjust the level of current under certain conditions, that might include a meter to observe voltage/amps/watts. Read the specs on the device.
You asked above about panel sizes, go with the highest watt size at a usable physical size. 100 watt will likely be smaller in area than 2- 50 watt panels due to the physical sizes of panel dead space, frames and mounting hardware needed.
1-100 watt panel isn't much for a week outback. Depends what you use it for and how often, but your starter battery shouldn't go dead just sitting hooked up to 100 watts.

Have you computed the watts needed for your intended and expected use? That's where you need to begin. What do you need to operate and for how long?

That tells you the size of the battery bank and panels required, which then leads you to the design and gizmos required for operation.

BTW, IMO, going the solar generator route, Bluetti, Jackery, etc. with panels is the least expensive/easiest way to go. Having an extra battery is also a good idea. (The cheapest, but more difficult way is to build your own batteries). Example, A Bluetti EB2A is 200 Ahr and probably is much more expensive than the battery you ordered, no switches, meters, shunts, gizmos needed and about the same size as the battery.

 

[NatersXJ6]

I planned to start with one 100w panel on the top of my Roofnest tent. then add another at a later date. Would I be better off with multiple 50w panels? I am new to solar so excuse my ignorance.

I don’t know, but I can tell you that I chose 2 panels wired in series so that I would specifically avoid a failure mode. The Victron data all says that MPPT charging requires panel voltage of battery plus 5 to initiate charging. Today for example, a cloudy and cold day, my panel voltage was varying around 34-35 with battery voltage around 12.8-13. Charging abiut 2-3 amps after a short drive. If I only had one panel, 17-17.5 volts, I wouldn’t make the threshold to start charging. If I used a AGM, I might never make the threshold due to the higher battery voltage. That might not matter… until it does. My fridge and some other electronics are constant draws, so I want power replenishment without waiting for a sunny morning and a 25% dead battery to coincide. The trade off is that I charge no matter how hot it is, and I boil off water sometimes… that is easy to manage by frequently adding water. All things in life require compromise, I chose this as right for me.