Ronbo Posted February 14, 2015 Report Share Posted February 14, 2015 I ordered my charge controller yesterday. I have purchased all the essentials except for the panels. I am having trouble finding 6 of the grape solar 160 watt panels. We will see whatr happens. I plan on having the install completed by end of April. Ron C. 2013 Dynamax Trilogy 3850 D3 2000 Kenworth T2000 Optimus Prime Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wa_desert_rat Posted February 15, 2015 Report Share Posted February 15, 2015 We could do a west coast solar rally. The fairgrounds in Moses Lake, WA have been hosts to many FMCA and Winnebago rallies and the summers here have a lot of solar spills. http://www.grantcountyfairgrounds.com/rvpark.php There are no solar installers here but that would mean no "home turf" so all installers who want to attend could come and be on an equal footing. WDR 1993 Foretravel U225 with Pacbrake and 5.9 Cummins with Banks 1999 Jeep Wrangler, 4" lift and 33" tires Raspberry Pi Coach Computer Ham Radio Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Gell Posted February 16, 2015 Author Report Share Posted February 16, 2015 It may be a few days until I get back with a full post re the rally. I coughed hard this morning and pulled a muscle in my ribs, or something. Wife was afraid it was more serious so off to ER. After 7 hours wait, they admitted me overnight to administer IV antibiotics for pneumonia. I expect to be stuck in here a day or two. 2001 Volvo 770, Detroit 60 Series, Gen 2 Autoshift Passenger assist elevator to enter cab - for when we need it, or sell it? '05 Travel Supreme Select 40 RLQSO 5th wheel 2016 smart car We started full timing on December 1st 2014 Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness - Mark Twain Not all that wander are lost - J. R. R. Tolkien Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ramblin Reck Posted March 22, 2015 Report Share Posted March 22, 2015 This post is my personal recap of the Solar Rally we participated in Mayo, Fla in January of 2015. Attendees were Jim and Cathy, Jim and Wilma, Ron and Theresa, Jack and Danielle, and George and Ann Marie. The Rally couldn't have turned out better. There were two rigs that did a complete install and two rigs that did a partial install. So we had a total of five fifth wheels there in our group (counting Jack and Danielle). We all helped each other when needed, asked questions, shared thoughts and information throughout each day. We really could not of had the success we had if it wasn't for three things; great people, we were all prepared, and we had two “on-site” experts there to assist. Of course there is a social aspect of everything RVing! We excelled at this too! Each day we would stop working on our rigs by 4pm for a social hour followed by a pot luck dinner under the pavilion at the RV park. We ate, talked about our day, our project’s status, and threw out questions and ideas. All our ladies did a terrific job of preparing and presenting all sorts of food each day. We thoroughly enjoyed everyone’s company! We had a great time. The Rally was conceived by a post on an Escapee forum by Jim Gell back in August 2014, He asked if there was any interest in a group of RVers that wanted to get together to learn, design, and install their own solar system at a “solar rally”. The concept was to learn together (through sharing information) and for each RVer to develop their own requirements, plans, schematics, bill of materials, and ultimately purchase, and install all the components at a common location. Jim was the point man and coordinated the logistics of the rally. Thank you Jim. I knew at some point I was going to install my own solar, so I thought this was a great opportunity to learn the right way to develop and install a system, by someone you has been there and does that. The fact that the solar rally was to be in Mayo, Fl helped in our decision, as it was only a 5 hour drive (yes, we are still working). Of course there is a ton of solar information available in many forums and other websites, but the structure of this rally was a great way for me to learn, ask questions, and build the system that I would design correctly based upon our requirements. For me, understanding the design and function was important. Jim had coordinated early on with Jack Mayer to help with our solar planning. Jack volunteered his time and expertise to help guide each of us during all the development phases prior to the rally itself, except for doing the actual installations. Jack was a tremendous asset throughout this process and provided timely, accurate recommendations, and assessments based upon my questions and requirements. I would not have been as confident as I was building this system if it wasn't for Jack's help during the development process. We all agreed in August when we signed up for the Rally, that Jack would review and “approve” all plans and schematics that we developed before the solar rally so we could hit the ground running with all the materials we needed when we got to the Rally. Thank you Jack. Once we got to the Rally, we were introduced to John Palmer, who was our other on-site expert. He has been installing solar systems for many years and he was able to not only provide a wealth of knowledge but also he had all the specialize tools we needed. John was there to do as much work as each of us wanted him to do (paid) or just hang out and shoot the breeze. John lives next door to the RV park in Mayo, and each morning he would load up what equipment and supplies that we coordinated with him on the back of his 4-wheeler, and he came to each rig like a house call. He had all the equipment, wire, lugs, etc we needed. He custom made my wires to fit on the spot when I was ready. Thankfully he was close, because we made many trips to his place to get “one more thing”. If we had to go to town to get stuff, our Rally would not have been nearly as successful unless each us brought absolutely everything we needed……. Not me.. I’m always going to Lowes… I would be remiss if I didn’t mention Russ, who is a friend of Johns, who happened to be boon docking with this own solar system. Russ lent a hand when needed and was there each day. Thank you John and Russ Prior to the rally, I installed the Trimetric meter early on, to get DC usage measurements. I determined solar panel and combiner box location, identified which AC circuits we wanted to operate on the inverter, installed the AC sub-panel, built a battery box, installed the batteries, installed the MorningStar and Magnum remotes. By the end of the rally, I had a fully functional 640 watt solar system which included, 4 Trojan T145 batteries, 4 Grape 160W Solar panels, MorningStar 60 MPPT, Magnum 2012, and a TriMetric RV2030. Sorry this post got wordy, but I finally had some time to really reflect on how great it is for RVers to get together. At some point I will post pictures and specific details of our solar installation. We hope our "Rally" friends are doing well ! George and Ann Marie George and Ann Marie 2014 Cedar Creek 36CKTS, 640W of Solar 2012 Ram 3500, DRW, Cummins, Big Horn, Q20, Retrax Pro Retired US Army Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack Mayer Posted March 22, 2015 Report Share Posted March 22, 2015 What made this successful was that everyone did their homework, was prepared, was capable of doing work, and helped each other. The reason we "moved" this from the HDT Rally location to the Mayo, FL location was the availability of John Palmer and his shop and inventory. Without that, it would have been very, very difficult to make this successful. So from an execution sense John was the key to success. Jack & Danielle Mayer #60376 Lifetime Member Living on the road since 2000PLEASE no PM's. Email me. jackdanmayer AT gmail 2016 DRV Houston 44' 5er (we still have it) 2022 New Horizons 43' 5er 2016 Itasca 27N 28' motorhome 2019 Volvo 860, D13 455/1850, 236" wb, I-Shift, battery-based APU No truck at the moment - we use one of our demo units 2016 smart Passion, piggyback on the truck -------------------------------------------------------------------------See our website for info on New Horizons 5th wheels, HDTs as tow vehicles, communications on the road, and use of solar powerwww.jackdanmayer.com Principal in RVH Lifestyles. RVH-Lifestyles.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronbo Posted March 22, 2015 Report Share Posted March 22, 2015 great writeup and great rally Ron C. 2013 Dynamax Trilogy 3850 D3 2000 Kenworth T2000 Optimus Prime Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RV fan Posted March 22, 2015 Report Share Posted March 22, 2015 Love to hear of the rally's success. Although I did not participate (in person, just following on the forum here) I can appreciate all the hard work that went into planning for the event. Thanks to Jim & Cathy, Jack & Danielle, and John Palmer. And nice write up George and Anne Marie. This is what Escapees is all about! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim & Wilma Posted March 22, 2015 Report Share Posted March 22, 2015 Great summary George. Wilma and I also had a wonderful time at our Rally. Agree with Jack that John Palmer’s help and inventory of everything from panel mounting brackets to 4/0 lugs and all the electronics in between, helped make it possible to all come together in just a few days. John is one of the more colorful and honest folks you’re likely to encounter and his counsel and opinions (freely shared!) are the product of many years of experience installing solar systems. I would highly recommend contacting John if you want help installing a quality system. Thanks again to Jim Gell for organizing and Jack Mayer guiding us to a successful Solar Rally. Jim & Wilma 2006 Travel Supreme 36RLQSO 2009 Volvo VNL730, D13, I-shift, ET, Herrin Hauler bed, "Ruby" 2017 Smart Class of 2017 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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