What is the Best Solar Panel Setup for a 2019 Coleman 1805RB

Question:

My 2019 Coleman 1805RB has a Furrion Solar Prep - Can you assist me with products and information so I can do the following: 1. get the best solar to charge my 2 batteries installed a second battery for additional time boondocking 2. be able to charge batteries from tow vehicle while driving 3. install inverter so we can watch tv, plug in laptop, charge phones while boondocking 4. Install backup camera for the bracket that came with the travel trailer

asked by: David H

Expert Reply:

I certainly have everything that you will need for your camper but first we need to determine how much solar you need as there are several factors that go into selecting the proper size solar panel. The best way to do this is to go camping like you would normally while monitoring your batteries.

The only thing you will need is a battery monitor. What you will want to do is fully charge your batteries then monitor them each day. This should then give you a good idea of many amp hours you are using each day. For example, if you have a 200 amp-hour total rating and your batteries are at 50% after the first two days then that means you use around 50 amp-hours in one day.

If this is the case then I recommend using the Go Power Weekender ISW Charging System part # 82183 which will have everything that you need to get started such as a 190 watt solar panel, 1,500 watt inverter, 30 amp power transfer switch, and everything in-between that you will need to make all of this work. It should also retain the pre-wired solar panel port you have on your camper.

For a system that will allow you to charge your batteries while you are driving you will need to look into a DC/DC charger for which I recommend the Redarc In-Vehicle BCDC Battery Charger part # 331-BCDC1240D which will actually take a small amount of power from the tow vehicle's battery and use that to charge the two trailer batteries while you drive.

If the camera mounting bracket you have on the rear of your camper is from Furrion then you can use the Furrion RV Observation Camera System w/ Monitor and Bracket part # FOS43TASF.

expert reply by: Conner L