ADDING SOLAR ON THE COLEMAN 17B CAMPER. (on the way to off grid)
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- Опубліковано 6 вер 2024
- a video showing my setup for solar power on the Coleman 17b Camper. showing views of the battery connections and the charge controller and the wiring all the way through the entire camper.
Thank you all for watching and all the support you give me and this channel.
LINKS INCLUDED FOR YOUR CONVENIENCE. ALL LINKS WILL TAKE YOU TO AMAZON AND IF YOU PURCHASE USING MY LINK I WILL GET COMMISSION AND THANK YOU FOR USING MY LINKS TO SUPPORT MY CHANNEL.
NILIGHT 12V PANEL: amzn.to/4c4oq3W
BATTERY TERMINAL QUICK DISCONNECT CONNECTOR: amzn.to/4e7p16v
BATTERY DISCONNECT: amzn.to/4c2QMLN
12 V FUSE BLOCK: amzn.to/3Va1zx2
10 GAUGE SAE SOLAR FEMALE PLUG: amzn.to/3wT6SsG
10 GAUGE WIRE FOR SOLAR: amzn.to/3wT7cro
BUS BAR(FRONT OF CAMPER): amzn.to/3V9GYZy
CHARGE CONTROLLER(FOR SOLAR): amzn.to/3KrFxkj
My 2024 Coleman 17b have a Solar on the Side connector for my Solar Cell.😊
I love the simplicity of the wiring. It makes it real easy for you to hookup an ammeter voltmeter to your ground so you can see how many ah's are left in your battery. FYI, If you do decide to hookup a ammeter, I would suggest this one because it works great and it's cheap "aili Ammeter 100V 350A".
I use this ammeter on my rv and it's great.
I thought so too! Everything is right where you need it and accessible! And for under 60 bucks. And thanks for showing others that recomendation. I have more multimeters than i could ever use with both hands. Thanks for watching!
Well done dude. Hopefully you keep similar content coming. I’m planning on buying a 17R next year and want to install solar, but have no idea how. Creators like you are a huge help.
Dude i really appreciate it. I plan on doing another video on the 17r its just be so cold and rainy lately and the thing is covered in dirt and mud. Doesnt make for a good video. I have another video coming somewhat soon on an inverter i installed on the vehicle i use to pull the travel trailer so you might like that in the mean time. Eventually i want to add an inverter to the actual camper but its much harder and more expensive but overall solar isnt that hard so dont worry. You got this and the youtube community will help you out sir.
Also i like your video on the bunk in the truck bed. I like the slide out concept.
@@BULLETENVY I saw a video where someone did something similar, so I guess I reverse engineered it in a way 😂. It was a fun project for my son and I. Thanks for watching man!
ive seen a few others on there too. people are so creative. also anytime dude. i try to keep up with my subs even tho numbers are growing daily.
I know very little about electrical work, and I'm planning to buy a 17b next month, and one of the things that we talked about was making sure that it had a solar power supply hooked up. You make it look super simple, so I will keep watching your improvement videos.
Well thank you very much! It looks simple because I've don't so many solar projects over the years. It is very much work tho. Enjoyable work. But work. I have faith in you tho. There are so many videos online that can help you and you can follow them or get creative. Either way having a back up power source is a great peice of mind. I've done it small for now but I do plan on expanding bigger in the 17b. Thanks for the watching!
Great video! I have a very similar 2016 Coleman and was looking for ideas on where to mount my battery bus bars to do a solar install. Thanks for posting!
Thank you so much! I'm glad it helped. I appreciate the support. New coleman video coming out in a week or less.
If you disconnect the battery you should also disconnect your solar panels.
I would suggest building in a switch to disconnect your CC (charge controler) from your panels when battery is removed.
I eventually am going to put a switch between the charge controller and the battery but as far as the panels I just open the door and unplug it. I moved the panel input to right below the door of the camper.
Just put down a down payment on the same one. Looking forward to hooking up my solar just like you. Good content👍🏼 keep the ideas coming
Congratulations George. And yes sir I plan on getting some in the next couple weeks. Thanks for watching.
Hello and good video! When these things say they are "Solar Ready" I know what you mean by it not having anything really for the solar setup. I just purchased a 2025 Latern 17R and it is "solar ready" From what I gather, it simply has the connection ports in pre installed areas but that is it. The roof should have a port to accept up to two solar panels I've read and that port you moved is used if you want to install a briefcase type solar panel that you can move around the outside of the RV to keep it in sun. I see a spot in the front outer storage of the camper that says it is pre wired for an inverter. I am going to look into it more but apparently everything should be "pre wired" and all I am to do is install the missing pieces. Charge controller, inverter and panels. All of my outlets in the RV are just like yours. They say "Inverter outlets" on them yet they do not work unless I am plugged into shore power on the side of the RV. Same with the microwave and AC unit. I want to find a way to wire it up so I can use everything all the time whether I am plugged in or not. The only quick solution I have found is to hook up a Solar Generator like the Anker system that plugs into the main power on the side of the RV and acts like a gas generator would. This might be the route I go but Id really like to create my own custom kit if I can. I want at least 800 watts of solar as I know the AC unit alone can draw up to 1500 watts I was reading. If I cant match the charge to the usage, I'd drain the batteries swiftly.
Well thank you for the support and watching the video. Glad you liked it. So I totally get what you're saying about it not being solar ready but yours may have things that even mine doesn't. I don't have anything pre-wired or anything that says inverter spot or a spot on the roof for wires to run through. None of that. Just a connection to plug in an SAE connection that wasn't even connected to the battery. I think you can handle installing all the solar though. The easiest way that I found to put an inverter in there was just to run wires from the battery to an inverter that mounts inside and use those plugs. But your way with the anchor generator might be even simpler and you'll have access to everything where I would not.
Love the free energy! Nice camper
Thanks! I share it with this hottie.
I bought a 17r they said that it comes solar ready I’ll have to take a look and see but the video was a help .
Glad to help :) I assure you it's not solar ready. It doesn't even include a charge controller. If you find different please let me know.
Just bought a 2024 and it's has a plug to plug solar panels in
That's awesome I'm so happy for you. Look under the plug and make sure and see if it's connected to the battery for one and for two if it has a charge controller because those are two things that I show in the video that you absolutely need for it to truly be solar powered.
im buying a 17r right after thanksgiving. one of the first thins im doing is hooking up solar to the solar ready plug. you have a great set up i wish you explained better where each plug was and where it goes like a wiring diagram since you said its just an emply plug
so the solar panel is plugged into the plug which goes to the controller and then you have wires coming from the controller to the buss bar, which then is switcdhed by a disconnect?
Well the reason I didn't show where the plug was originally was because mine came with some really Tangled wiring and was not professionally done and it was just hanging down so I wanted to get it off as soon as possible. If you're doing this I would highly suggest watching a few videos on how to hook up a charge controller in any solar system. I know it seems difficult but it's actually extremely simple. It's all direct current so think of it as a straight line. You run wires from your battery to your charge controller with fuses in line of most everything. Then you run wires from the solar panel to the charge controller and honestly that's it. The bus bar is basically just a power distribution board so you could also think of the bus bar as the battery. Everything red from the battery connects to the Red Bus bar and black to Black. As long as you have the black grounded to the frame and all power going to that red bus bar then another wire from the bus bar to the battery then you're good. I really hope I didn't overcomplicate that.
I'm super happy you're getting a camper. It's going to be a great journey for you.
@@BULLETENVYo
My understanding is that if you cut off the battery when PWB is accepting a charge from the solar panels the PWB will fry. I assume you have not seen that issue. Otherwise bypassing the cutoff for the solar charge might be better on the charger. The PWB should stop charging anyway when the batter is full.
Yes it does stop charging when the battery is full and flipping the disconnect on the battery actually shuts everything off at the same time. At least in my experience even if you left solar panel plugged in nothing would even accept charge from the solar panel but I usually just disconnect the panel for safety anyway.
Thanks for the video, I'm interested in one of these trailers and wanted to understand more about how it was "solar ready" What is the model of the charge controller?
Well I'd be happy to answer any questions you had and I hopefully soon we'll be putting up a video of an entire overview of the whole camper. And I think I still have the box for the charge controller so I'll go out to the garage and find it and get the model for you if I can. Just be aware solar ready doesn't mean anything other than it has a plug that will accept a solar panel. You would have to do all the wiring yourself. It's just a marketing gimmick. Also I'm glad you like the video. Thanks for watching.
Hey guys, I’m sorry about my rooster crowing😂 dog I have so many roosters growing, and I’ve never never apologized in the video for a rooster crowing that was crazy😂
Ah just tryna be professional I guess. Plus he was basically up my butt he was so close. It was frekin loud on my end. Aint tryna bust peoples ears out on youtube lol.
I cant find in the specs..in the manuals.. in the videos.. nowhere.. what battery does it come with... gel? Amp hours?
I'm not 100% sure and I've moved my camper somewhere else for storage currently but I think I remember it being a deep cycle battery and it was either 93 amp hours or 96
If you're needing to order one I'm pretty sure you would be able to call Camping World and order it through them or at least figure out which one to order and if they didn't know you could always just go look at one on the lot because I'm sure they all come with the same battery. If I can remember I'll go by tomorrow and check it out and let you know.
@BULLETENVY ill prob end up getting same ones I have in van. In the mean time I could use a shore power adapter..and use vans solar and inverter to keep trailer charged. Looking to pick one up Wednesday
That sounds like a fantastic idea. You could just keep a Solar trickle charge on it at all times when you're not using it. As far as the battery goes I would get at least 96 amp hour or higher. There's a lot of extra room in the battery box. About 2 in on each side so it should fit slightly bigger.
I just bough a 2024 17b. What does the power inverter actually powers? While in 12 volts it seems the only the 12v works. Yhe awning works and wter pump, but electrical outlets don't, nether the microwave or A/C. So! For what is the power converter for??
Well first off congratulations. Secondly I feel your pain. I don't understand why it's wired in such a way but there are 2 separate systems. 12v system that runs off the battery. And "sure" power that is 110 v ...I think. It's the outlet power. The way it was explained to me and keep in mind this was two or three years ago so the information is not fresh but I don't think it's an inverter. I think it's a converter. All it does is take the power from the sure power that you plug into the side of the RV and charge the battery with it and that's it. This camper does not have an actual inverter so unfortunately you have to install one yourself. I've been wanting to do a video on that but I wanted to make sure I had all my information correctly and could do it properly. Once I have the time to do that then I will most definitely put a video out on it.
what is the brand and name of the solar charge controller?
Not sure as I threw the box away and doesn't say on the front but I'll try to find out. I know they sell a similar newer model on Amazon tho. It's a 30 amp.
Might be a nice video but your phone was held in the wrong orientation while filming. It only takes up 20% of my TV screen.
Yea I know. This video was made a while ago and I've been learning the processes of recording on UA-cam every day now but if you look about 5 minutes in or less I did fix the orientation and it Smooths out. I hate that I did that. Check it out after 4 or 5 mins. Thanks for the helpful tips.
what are you using for a inverter
Well currently I do not have an inverter for it... yet. The one i want to add is a bit pricey so waiting to get the money to get a 3000 watt. Hopefully i will show in a future video. The solar that was shown in the video is strictly just to charge the battery that runs all the lights and fridge that came with the camper. Once the inverter is installed tho it will be the same concept just with more batteries.
love the video by the way
@@BULLETENVY
Thanks Mike. Really appreciate that. Doing my best to put out good videos for all you guys and gals.