Randyretired

Awhile back I said I would give some feedback on some used panels purchased from Santan Solar. These panels are mounted at just a little more than 30 degrees for fall power. So with the sun so high this time of year the sun hits the panels at a noticeable angle. Yesterday at 11:30am these six 285 watt panels produced 1430 watts. Solar noon here is 1pm. That is acceptable to me. The panels came with a 1 year warranty and are in excellent physical condition. It would seem if the power output is reduced it is only a minor reduction.

Kirk you are correct and I should have specified the GFCI requirement is for residential properties and not campgrounds.

I keep hearing people talk about a liveable wage but I don't know what that means. A liveable wage here in Western Colorado wouldn't cover rent in Denver, Aspen and many other places in our state. When you look at places like New York City the chasm widens even more. Add in the inflation we are seeing and prices changing nearly daily and business owners are left to try and make sense of an unstable mess. Businesses need to balance enough pay to attract and retain workers while keeping their prices low enough to attract customers. It is certainly complicated.

Vaccinating everyone on the planet or even 70% is a tall order. I wonder if it is even possible in my lifetime. I tend to think of herd immunity as a far off dream. As with most viruses covid will continue to mutate and a boosters will be needed. However, if enough people in the US are vaccinated and with booster vaccinations as needed covid should be manageable.

Hi John. The NEC allowed larger receptacles such as the 30 and 50 amp used for RV's to be excluded from the GFCI requirements until recently. Now nearly every outdoor or garage circuit, not just receptacles require GFCI protection. For instance AC circuits run outdoors require GFCI. The single receptacle for specific appliances tripped me up a number of years ago. I put a built in vacuum with the main unit up high in the garage but failed to use a single receptacle. The inspector didn't miss it. Now of course it will require GFCI protection.

As has been stated campgrounds don't require GFCI but all residential outside and garage receptacles are now required to be GFCI protected. Even 30 and 50 amp circuits. I think many more are going to have problems keeping their RV's plugged in. Often when any circuit is used a ground fault in another circuit may trip a GFCI. A very small current may backfeed from the common neutrals back through a ground. GFCI's are so sensitive it sometimes will register this. In my experience removing the neutrals seems to be the best way to isolate the problem. The mini split we installed will trip a GFCI as soon as the compressor starts. According to the manufacturer it is a known problem.

RV Colorado isn't on your list but here in Western Colorado restaurants and many other businesses are short of help. The Wendy's we were at yesterday has a help wanted sign and an additional sign that says Please be patient we are very short on staff. Help wanted signs are common throughout our area. I was recently in Lowe's and Home Depot and each has a help wanted sign. The hydraulic supply store I was in yesterday also has a help wanted sign. If my traveling about is any indication there would seem to be a significant shortage of workers here.

Some years ago I replaced just the rear tires on a pickup. I wanted snow tires. The local shop sold us some Cooper tires and I drove home. Problem was it wondered all over the road and was a challenge to stay in my lane at hwy speeds. The local shop first insisted the front end on my pu must need repair. He drove the pu and said that is dangerous. Finally he put the old tires on and the pu was safe to drive again. He contacted Cooper and they said some tires just don't play well with others and authorized a return. Changed brands to another snow tire and all was well.

Some enjoy campgrounds and some of us prefer more seclusion. We setup for boondocking and consider a campground only when we have to. Different RVing for different preferences.

Before I bought the HDT I checked with the DMV about plates. Recreational plates were available and only required a weight (they even recommended a place that would certify they had weighed the truck) and just declare recreational use. The plates have RT to signify recreational truck. An HDT can also be licensed as a motor home if certain conditions are met. Unfortunately the personnel at the DMV don't always give accurate information. When I inquired about if a CDL is needed I was told it was but a class B would be sufficient even though I was towing a trailer in excess of 10,000 pounds. A CDL isn't required. Colorado plates are not cheap and any savings is welcomed.

I have a HDT plated in CO. It has recreational plates. Licensed this HDT about 16 years ago and never had a problem. However, beginning about 4 years ago I have had to fill out a paper declaring weights and miles driven every year. Not a big deal as long as gross weights don't exceed 55,000 pounds and a mileage limit that I can't remember but is more than we do. If our HDT were to be over the 55,00 pounds or driven to many miles there seems to be a federal tax that needs to be paid before the new tags are issued. With recreational plates a CDL isn't required but the plates would need to be changed for any commercial use.

I hear you about muscles and the effort to get the old out and the new in. I had to do it by myself. When our refrigerator quit we were in need of a new one quickly. The one we found was at a Lowe's about 60 miles from us. We stuffed the new refrigerator in the back of a Subaru and hauled it home. It stuck out the hatchback. After the struggle getting the old one out we had a difficult time finding someplace to get rid of it. Did you block off the outside vents?

Changing to a residential refrigerator is a lot of work. I changed ours to a residential refrigerator a couple of years ago after our propane unit leaked. Ours was a 4 door model and the RV replacement was over $4,000 plus shipping. I found an 18 cu ft energy efficient residential refrigerator that the energy guide listed 1,000 kw a day on sale for $500. I added the necessary solar and batteries for less than the difference and no more propane. For us it was worth it and the refrigerator works better. It is a bit of work but you will likely be glad you did it.

A Victron MPPT controller may make your existing panels a little more efficient but unless you are adding more solar that is an expensive upgrade that will only marginally increase your solar output. You will really like the lithium batteries. I just installed 800 ah of diy lithium for our 5er.

X2 where we are building Hughesnet is the only option. Slow, limited and expensive. A few months after their installer installed the dish it quit receiving. $175 to have it realigned. VOIP doesn't work unless you pay an additional $40 monthly. If you have problems good luck. Starlink looks like gold!

Our truck has a small short 42" sleeper. I mounted a 33 watt panel to the roof and wired it to a little controller. Fused a lead to the battery. Works great and it is connected all of the time. Batteries stay charged. I already had that panel or I probably would have chosen one a little bigger just in case.

Dropping down would seem to be good as long as there isn't a large enough step to shade a panel. More than 3-4" drop could cause some shading on adjacent panels at times. The slightly raised edges on panels tend to hold water. I usually just use window cleaner to wipe my panels down but that may be overkill.

I would prefer the isle down the middle. Keeping panels clean can make a big difference in performance. Walking down 11" on the edge sounds dangerous.

Comparing National Parks to private enterprise is off the charts. Private enterprise must pay for the initial cost of park, the operation and make a profit. My point remains that National Parks fees are rising faster than inflation and the cost is now more than some can pay. Your point that only 118 National Parks charge these fees means that only those rich enough can enjoy those parks. Most of these National Parks also charge additional fees for camping and other activities such as $20 to launch or retrieve a boat.

Many of the National Parks are charging some pretty steep fees. As I have watched these fees rise exponentially the improvements do not seem to reflect the higher fees. It does seem to keep some from visiting so it might help to keep the numbers of visitors to a more manageable level.

A few years ago we met a gentlemen that was full timing in an older 5th wheel and pickup. He told us his SS was sufficient to rent an apartment and the necessities and stay home or buy this RV. He mainly moved with the seasons and found mostly boondock areas where he didn't have to pay for campgrounds. He stayed in the long term areas in AZ for the winter and moved slowly north for the summer. Rotating between National Forests and BLM land mostly in the high country in Colorado and Utah. He did that into his 70's until his health stopped him. We would usually meet up with him 2 or 3 times a year and he had made a number of friends he would see every year and enjoyed his travel. There are different preferences but I would like to have a vehicle separate from my RV as I didn't like breaking camp to drive somewhere as we tend to stay in an area for awhile.

I am assuming you plan on using the pass through on the inverters? If you plug 120v into that will the inverters and transformer be able to handle that and pass through the power you need? I don't have the specifications but that could be a problem.

Would there ever be a time you would plug into a 30 amp service or use a 120v generator?

I don't know what will happen if a charge controller encounters voltage higher than it is rated for. Unlike amps which many manufactures specify limits well above the rated capacity I can't find any info on it. There is a lot of chatter on the internet that higher voltage will quickly fry a charge controller but nothing that I have found confirms that. Obviously the NEC suggests 125% for head room plus another 125%+ for wire sizing. My guess is that is conservative as one would expect. For controllers I pulled a number out of space that I will leave 10 to 15% headroom. I don't have any data to back that up and that is just what I have decided. You and others may feel differently. As for wire sizing I usually step up a little to handle voltage loss so I think that covers it. But again that is just me. Of course if it needs to be inspected then the NEC rules.

There are times when solar panels will actually exceed the stated power. One is during certain partly cloudy conditions when the sun can be reflected to intensify the sunlight. This reflected sunlight could also happen from a building or whatever. The second thing to consider is the temperature. Solar panels are rated at a specific temperature, (I think it is 25c?) but at lower temperatures the power can increase. This is why the wire calculations for panel arrays are what they are.