SoCal Tear Drop Owners! Post up!

[Yulli]

Does anyone use solar power with their Teardrop? I would like to see a pic of anybody's setup.

I have a solar panel for mine. I just attach to the battery and it does its thing. The power cord has clamps like a battery jumper. I have another connector I can put on so it's permanent and then just plug the solar panel in.

 

[coastsider]

Does anyone use solar power with their Teardrop? I would like to see a pic of anybody's setup.

I'm also very interested in this as well. Specifically cost, number of panels, Amps and watts etc. And what make is best? I like the look of the Goal Zero stuff. I have 2 deep cycle batteries, a fridge, led lights, fan and radio to power. I'm guessing 2 x 30 watt panels would keep my batteries topped up indefinitely? I also carry an ARC pak to power a second fridge sometimes.


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[BlackRubiX]

I have a solar panel for mine. I just attach to the battery and it does its thing. The power cord has clamps like a battery jumper. I have another connector I can put on so it's permanent and then just plug the solar panel in.

Yulli what size panel do you have? I was looking at a 100 Watt, do you think that's overkill?


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[Yulli]

I have a 60 watt. I got it from Overland Solar. Guy told me if I were to keep it set up all day that it should keep me going all day. My fridge really drained my battery on a trip cuz of the heat. It had it constantly running. Once I had the panel set up it held it at a constant voltage but never tripped the power supply on the fridge.

I eventually wanna get a little Honda generator as well. I know they can be obnoxious but honestly where I camp others aren't around and it's quiet enough to put off over behind a tree and be peaceful enough for me.

 

[Keith Starr]

I have a 60 watt. I got it from Overland Solar. Guy told me if I were to keep it set up all day that it should keep me going all day. My fridge really drained my battery on a trip cuz of the heat. It had it constantly running. Once I had the panel set up it held it at a constant voltage but never tripped the power supply on the fridge.

I eventually wanna get a little Honda generator as well. I know they can be obnoxious but honestly where I camp others aren't around and it's quiet enough to put off over behind a tree and be peaceful enough for me.

Speaking of generators check out the new Generac iQ2000, supposed to be real nice: http://expeditionportal.com/outdoor-retailer-2015-new-toys-for-overlanders/

 

[Yulli]

Looks snazzy. Don't know much about the company. I'd like a Honda only cuz I trust their product. Plus a buddy uses one for tailgating every year and never seen a problem.

 

[Chris Cordes]

I run two boulder 30 hard panels and a goal zero solar controller. Running my fridge in the heat, fan all night, and lights as needed it stays fully topped off. The thing to note is that rollable panels ARE NOT as efficient as hard panels. Youll need far more rolling panels to maintain a battery like hard panels. Also be sure to get a solar controller with whatever setup you get. You cant just wire the panel into the system.

 

[BlackRubiX]

I run two boulder 30 hard panels and a goal zero solar controller. Running my fridge in the heat, fan all night, and lights as needed it stays fully topped off. The thing to note is that rollable panels ARE NOT as efficient as hard panels. Youll need far more rolling panels to maintain a battery like hard panels. Also be sure to get a solar controller with whatever setup you get. You cant just wire the panel into the system.

Chris I did get the charge controller but opted out of buying the solar panels SoCal offered. I figured I could find others that were less expensive. Any suggestions of where to buy solar panels in Arizona?


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[mvbeggs]

Aqua Cube- Can't recomend

Treeline highly recommended go with an aqua cube instead of the permanently mounted hot water and favored tongue water storage that might not be as much but is much easier to maintain, etc., not to mention the weight.


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Have to vote against the Aqua Cube. I bought one and used it for 2 trips (~15 days). It didn't work well at all. I could not get it to work consistently with propane from my 11 lb tanks. After going back to the 1 lb'rs, the electronics kept randomly shutting the unit off. Required turning it off and back on to reset. It just wasn't reliable. Sometimes it would work for 10 minutes, other times it would only work for a couple minutes. More of a pain than it was worth. Got one for sale if anyone wants to mess with it.

We've gone back to our Zodi Extreme Shower. Simple, no electronics, and no more trouble to setup and use than the AquaCube.

 

[cactusjk]

Good feedback. I have a really good Zodi Hot Tap custom setup that should be perfect.

Have to vote against the Aqua Cube. I bought one and used it for 2 trips (~15 days). It didn't work well at all. I could not get it to work consistently with propane from my 11 lb tanks. After going back to the 1 lb'rs, the electronics kept randomly shutting the unit off. Required turning it off and back on to reset. It just wasn't reliable. Sometimes it would work for 10 minutes, other times it would only work for a couple minutes. More of a pain than it was worth. Got one for sale if anyone wants to mess with it.

We've gone back to our Zodi Extreme Shower. Simple, no electronics, and no more trouble to setup and use than the AquaCube.

 

[cactusjk]

I am rethinking the 30 gallon water tank and hot water system. Areas of concern include how to keep the water tanks clean, towing with full tanks, and overall system maintenance and reliability.

The hot water system looks good but do I want the "box' on the side, do you have to manually connect propane/water and long tern reliability of the system?

 

[cactusjk]

Did you go with a torsion axle? Directed at Voyager (Doug E.).

 

[Yulli]

the Krawlers come with a leaf spring axle. That's what my trailer has, with ARB leafs.

 

[Doug E]

Did you go with a torsion axle? Directed at Voyager (Doug E.).

Yes. We didn't see the need for the leaf spring since we are off-pavement forest service or BLM road people, not Utah slick-rock crawler people. Also, brakes come with the leaf springs and we didn't see the need for those on the trailer either.

We did get the frame upgrade, however.

You can see from the photos that we are set up to carry 5 jerry cans, one with fuel and four with water, for 20 gallons of water, 25 if we aren't concerned about running out of gas. We also always carry five gallons in our van for a total of 25 - 30 gallons. One thing we like about the water in the jerry cans is that they are easy to clean/care for, we have considerable flexibility in how many we take and where we locate them on the trailer, and we have no plumbing to worry about. If something leaks, we throw it away and buy another.

Doug

 

[cactusjk]

I thought that looked like a torsion axle. We plan on the same kind of use and decided to go with the same arrangement.

I really think jerry cans are the way to go but that onboard 30 gal is tempting.

Yes. We didn't see the need for the leaf spring since we are off-pavement forest service or BLM road people, not Utah slick-rock crawler people. Also, brakes come with the leaf springs and we didn't see the need for those on the trailer either.

We did get the frame upgrade, however.

You can see from the photos that we are set up to carry 5 jerry cans, one with fuel and four with water, for 20 gallons of water, 25 if we aren't concerned about running out of gas. We also always carry five gallons in our van for a total of 25 - 30 gallons. One thing we like about the water in the jerry cans is that they are easy to clean/care for, we have considerable flexibility in how many we take and where we locate them on the trailer, and we have no plumbing to worry about. If something leaks, we throw it away and buy another.

Doug