backup camera & Solar Battery charge

[greenchicken]

I plan to add both of these to my project.

Trying to get all my parts ordered so I can take them into consideration during construction.

Anyone care to make a recommendation for either of these items.

FYI: I plan to have two 12v marine batteries in paralell for power.

[lfhoward]

Renogy makes a really good panel and solar charge controller/charger for the money. I have a Renogy unit that keeps my 3 deep cycle batteries charged, hooked up to a 24 volt 140 watt panel I found on Craigslist. The Renogy is MPPT so it modulates the current to keep the batteries as full as possible without overcharging them. It also takes the 24 volt input and converts it to 12 volt, so it’s flexible on the kind of panel you have.

[KTM_Guy]

What size amp hour batteries are you going to go with? Is solar going to be the only way to recharge the batteries?

I'm looking at the Vmax AGM batteries. Have heard real good things about them. Long life if you keep the depth of discharge in the 20-40% range but can also tolerate some 80% discharges. They claim at a 75% discharge the battery life cycle is 600 charges, so you have a lot of cushion if you need to push the battery every now and then. And look 600 charges, How many camping trips would that be? Many years worth for us. And that is with 75% discharge, if you only discharge to 25% you're looking at 1500 cycles.

You need to know what your daily amp hour usage is before you can plan your solar. Just over the last few days my electrical plans have changed. I am returning my high end smart AC battery charger, and replacing it with a DC to DC charge with MPPT solar controller. I'm planning on two 50 watt panels because I should be able to mount one on the rack and charge while driving along with charging from the alternator. A MPPT controller is 90-95% efficiency, where a PWM is 70-75%. With minimal panels the MPPT makes sense. Panel will probably be Renogy.

Todd

[noseoil]

My working rule of thumb is to have 1 watt of panel for 1 amp of storage, no real reason, but it's what works for me. We have a 95 amp-hour AGM battery % & 100 watts of panel. There's a Morning Star Sun-Saver 10 amp charge controller which runs everything. We seldom use more than 30% of the battery capacity over a 24 hour period & live in a sunny area, so no troubles with the system so far. That includes lights, stereo, TV & a fan at night. The battery is a Trojan (group 27) weighing in at 65#.

Don't have a back-up camera, but it shouldn't be too difficult to install if the build isn't finished yet. Just remember, you will have lots of wires if you have lots of things to run with electricity, so plan accordingly for room and access...

[aggie79]

Regarding the backup camera, is this to be mounted on the teardrop? If not, will it mounted on the TV so that the TD doesn't obscure it? If it is on the TD, how will you: a) power the backup camera; and b) get the video signal to the TV (hard-wire of wireless)? If wired, you will have to think about how to disconnect these if you plan to make your TD cabin removable from the trailer per your other post.

Regarding the solar, do you plan on boondocking or will you camp at campsites with electricity? With all you are planning to incorporate in your teadrop (storage compartment, etc.) and to this point comparatively heavy construction methods, I have concerns that adding two batteries will push you closer to exceeding the capacity of your trailer.

We don't boondock camp. I use a small motorized wheel chair battery to provide some minimal 12v power for the few rare times we are not connected to shore power.

[tony.latham]

I plan to have two 12v marine batteries in paralell for power.

What are you going to power with over a hundred pounds of batteries?



I'm downsizing from one Group 27 to a Group 24.

Tony

[greenchicken]

Not sure how to answer all these questions but I will do my best:

The Backup Camera will be wireless and attached to the back of the TD.

As for power needs: not that much.

Market is flooded with USB Rechargeable lights, speakers, and so on so....

I plan to have some USB outlet in the cabin for charging phones, and such.
I plan to have one of those cigarette lighter - to AC converter for charging laptop, and such.
I have one of those small projectors, so I would occasionally power that too.
Would be nice to have some A/C power in the pantry for a blender or other such stuff.
I will have the roof vent/fan which I will probably being running a lot on warm night.

The one big power sucker would be some kind of space heater for cold nights.

I have a battery charger which I use for my batteries on my jon boat (to keep the trolling motor going).


So whenever possible I will charge the batteries that way. In general I will rarely camp for more then 4 days. And only using most of the above power at night.

Perhaps TWO Batteries is over kill, my only previous experience the trolling motor which sucked 2 batteries dry in one weekend.

[tony.latham]

I plan to have some USB outlet in the cabin for charging phones, and such.
I plan to have one of those cigarette lighter - to AC converter for charging laptop, and such.
I have one of those small projectors, so I would occasionally power that too.
Would be nice to have some A/C power in the pantry for a blender or other such stuff.
I will have the roof vent/fan which I will probably being running a lot on warm night.

The one big power sucker would be some kind of space heater for cold nights.

I had a similar heater in my first (commercially built) teardrop. It sucked a lot of juice and put out a negligible amount of heat. And you won't get anything else from a 12-volt system to do you any better.

Get a down comforter and you'll be cozy warm.

Tony

[GuitarPhotog]

"The Backup Camera will be wireless and attached to the back of the TD. "

Backup cameras still require 12VDC power, which is not wireless. You will need to power it from the teardrop if you mount it there. Don't forget to allow for it in your calculations.

<Chas>

[Shadow Catcher]

Our back up camera, wireless, is powered by the the marker lights.