Determining Solar Panel Wattage Compatibility On A 2020 Forest River Sunseeker Class C Motorhome

Question:

I have a 2020 Sunseeker Class C by Forest River that is pre-wired for Solar on the Sideinch with a Go Powerinch solar connection plug in. In the brochure for my 2020 RV, it states that it is, quote, Pre-wired for a portable solar kit. Simply plug in an 80 or 120-watt portable solar kit!. My question is, would the 130 Watt Go Power Portable Solar System you have be ok to use, or should I limit a kit to 80 or 120-watts since thats what the brochure says? In other words, is it ok to go over the 120-watts or should I worry about the internal wiring of the RV or such? Does Go Power even make an 80 or 120-watt kit anymore? Thanks.

asked by: Ellwyn T

Expert Reply:

From what I can find the 2020 Forest River Sunseeker's were prewired for Zamp Solar with an MC4 connector on the exterior wall and they only have a 100w panel listed as an option. A lot of manufacturers like to throw buzz words like "solar ready" out there to seem like they're giving you an amazing setup when really they only ran a wire from point A to point B or didn't even do that but slapped a sticker on the wall because there's enough space for you to install a system yourself. I'd like to know exactly what you have in the motorhome before confirming that it would actually be compatible.

That being said, the Go Power Portable Solar Panel with Digital Solar Controller - 130 Watt Solar Panel # 34282730 has a 6.74amp output (in peak conditions), which 16awg wire could easily handle so more than likely the wiring you have will be suitable. I would just do a little bit of exploring and see exactly what you have since manufacturers aren't always as truthful as they should be.

Worst case scenario, this system has a solar charge controller and multiple connectors that you could use to just attach the system directly to the battery any way.

expert reply by: Kevin C