RV Battery Charger and Portable Solar Panel System for Boondocking

Updated 05/07/2019 | Published 05/04/2019

Products Featured in This Question

Redarc In-Vehicle BCDC Battery Charger - Dual Input - DC to DC - 12V/24V - 40 Amp

(91)

$589.00

60-Amp MIDI Fuse Kit for Redarc In-Vehicle 40-Amp BCDC Battery Charger

(22)

$90.00

Question:

We have a Rockwood 2608BS trailer that we haul behind a 2015 F150. Our battery bank is 540 amps. We are going to Alaska for 3 months and will be boon-docking a lot, moving from place to place and need to depend on our battery system. We are looking at the Redarc In-Vehicle BCDC Battery Charger - Dual Input - DC to DC - 12V/24V - 40 Amp Item # 331-BCDC1240D. We have a 7-way trailer plug. Do I get the power for the charger directly from the black wire in the 7-way? Do I need to run a new heavier wire to the 7-way in my truck? eg: 8 gauge or larger. Is it better to run a 6 or 8 gauge wire from my truck battery back to a new/different plug and then have the second plug from my truck go to the charger? something dedicated for the charger only We also are looking at solar. We are not sure if we need 100, 200, or more watts. We do not plan on attaching the solar to the trailer, but to have a stand alone system that we can set up when we stop. Any thoughts on this? Thank you.

asked by: Bob M

Expert Reply:

Yes, Redarc DC to DC battery charger # 331-BCDC1240D is the right choice for charging your trailer's 540-amp battery bank.

This unit can mount in the cabin of your vehicle, along a chassis frame rail, or in the engine compartment and it will connect to the vehicle's battery for input power, not to your 7-way. Use the heaviest gauge wire you can for all connections. Redarc recommends 6-gauge for runs up to 16-feet and 4-gauge for longer runs; this applies to battery input power, solar input power and output runs to the battery bank. This is covered in detail in the linked instructions. Redarc also recommends using low-resistance 60-Amp MIDI Fuse Kit # 331-FK60 to enable best charging performance. You can add a solar panel for connection to the Redarc by using the yellow input wire.

If you prefer a stand-alone portable solar system rather than a trailer-mounted setup we offer several such systems shown on the linked page including the 200-watt Go Power # 34282610. This 2-panel system can be used with 30-foot extension cable # 34270356 so that your panels can be in the sun collecting power while the RV is parked in the shade. This system can be moved as needed so you can connect it either to the vehicle battery or the RV battery bank.

I linked a series of articles on solar power for reference.

expert reply by: Adam R