What Solar Panel System Would Be Needed To Boondock In A Keystone Outback 328RL Travel Trailer
Updated 04/18/2023 | Published 04/17/2023
Question:
I have a keystone 328rl and I just ordered 2 Renovy AGM 12 volt sealed batteries that are 100ah each to replace the stock batteries. I would like to order a rooftop solar panel system to keep them charged and provide extra power if we don’t have electric. We don’t really boondock so it’s really for backup. I thought about getting two more batteries and wiring them all together if that would give me more power. But I don’t know how many watts or panels I need. I want a full system that I can use with my phone wirelessly as well. Can you make a recommendation please thx.
asked by: Jim
Expert Reply:
It's a very common misconception that solar power is able to completely replace shore/generator power and while it can be useful it's not really at a level yet that would really allow you to do much. There's a lot that goes into figuring out the size of the solar panel system needed to adequately recharge your trailer's battery bank so we built a solar calculator (which I've attached a link to below) to help figure out what you'll need.
Essentially you'll need to know the wattage draw per hour for every appliance you plan on using and adding up how many hours you'll being using each appliance for to determine the size of the battery bank you'll need.
For example, the Go Power Weekender ISW RV Solar Charging System # 34282183 you were looking at is only going to give you about 10 amps per hour in peak conditions. You'd also be limited to the 1500 watt capacity of the inverter so you'd only be able to run smaller items like lights, water pump, fridge, etc. and would not be able to run an air conditioner. If you plan on running AC you would need such a large battery bank that it wouldn't be practical at all due to cost and the amount of space you would need to for both more batteries and panels.
Adding more batteries will definitely increase the amount of time you can spend boondocking/off-grid but you would still need to really limit the amount of power you're using. Another factor that tends to hold everyone back is simply just mounting space for the panels. With multiple AC units, vents, antennas, etc. there really isn't enough space on most trailers in order to mount the required amount of panels to fully go off-grid.
I recommend going through the solar calculator and figuring out exactly what you're planning on powering before we pick out any solar systems so that you get exactly what you need and also take a look at the roof of your trailer to ensure you have the space.
