Considering Zamp solar over Honda 2200 generator

rmcarthur

We are trying to decide whether to use a 140 watt portable Zamp USP 1002 and if it will be sufficient when boon-docking for a month at a time in the forests of Montana, Idaho and Wyoming. Will it be able to provide us with the electricity we need in our 2016 T@B CS, to keep the fridge, lights, and water pump running? We really do not use our A/C - in fact, we have never used it. 

(Edited to reflect CS)

Sharon_is_SAM

Well, you can’t realistically run A/C off of battery/solar.

Regarding is your 140 watt portable Zamp panel enough - it depends.  First, how much sunlight will you get in those forests?  How stingy are you with your appliances?  How big of battery do you have?  Your frig and Alde can run off propane and you can use solar lanterns and flashlights.  

So, you see, you need to define how much power you need first, then do the math.  Most boondockers recognize the need to upgrade to at least two 6 volt batteries for 225 amps.  If you have plenty of sun and limited use of your battery, you may get away with 140 watt panel, but you need to plan for those days when you can’t recharge your battery - so I would start with more available amps.

Cbusguy

You can get more bang for your buck not buying zamp

Denny16

Yes, there are alternatives to Zamp.  Yeti GoalZero makes a line of solar charge panels and has lithium battery based “generators” thst charge of their solar panels, that will work for dry camping.  As previously mentioned, first figure out how much electric you need.  Is your fridge a two-way (electric only) or three-way (propane).  Then go from there.  What you choose will depend on how much entourage need.
cheers

rmcarthur

We have a deep cycle battery. The fridge does not run off propane, the Alde does. We are pretty outdoorsy, so we will be biking, hiking and kayaking most hours on a daily basis. In other words, we use our T@B to sleep in, not live in. Our T@B has an outdoor kitchen in the back, but it is not uncommon to cook on a grill and only use the sink to clean our dishes. But we are not averse to being stingy with using our water pump. The fridge is our biggest concern. We will have an "Arctic" cooler that keeps ice frozen for up to 8 or more days. I think your advice of using two 6 volt batteries is wise. 

nhmike

We have a 2016 cs-s and a Zamp 160 suitcase.  Before purchasing the Zamp I contacted the company directly to get their recommendations.  I was very impressed by the company and I am happy to recommend them.  The first weekend we tried the solar we tried to run the refrigerator.  When reality struck we were thankful to have our dependable ice cooler.  The camper battery was dead the 2nd day.  Our campsite was semi-shade.  We had just put in a new single group 27 battery (ended up the battery was defective and we replaced it the next week with a group 29 battery that is at least better).  The experience proved to be educational.  If a mistake could be made, I instinctively did it.

We generally use electric hook-ups and the solar panels stay home.  We are looking forward to (hopefully) getting over to Brighton State Park in VT later this summer and will be using the Zamp since electric hook-ups are not available.  I look forward to it and will be better prepared.  We have selected a sunnier camp-site, will not plan on not using the refrigerator and will have the Zamp to  maintain the t@b's battery.

In the future I will change over to a 2 six volt battery system as recommended by most on the forum. 

When we first got the camper I thought about getting a little honda generator.  But, when I camp I would rather listen to the woods around me.  Just a personal preference.  The Zamp is real quiet.

Sharon_is_SAM

@rmcarthur - how many amps for your battery capacity?  

Marceline

nhmike said:

We have a 2016 cs-s and a Zamp 160 suitcase.  Before purchasing the Zamp I contacted the company directly to get their recommendations.  I was very impressed by the company and I am happy to recommend them.  The first weekend we tried the solar we tried to run the refrigerator.  When reality struck we were thankful to have our dependable ice cooler.  The camper battery was dead the 2nd day.  Our campsite was semi-shade.  We had just put in a new single group 27 battery (ended up the battery was defective and we replaced it the next week with a group 29 battery that is at least better).  The experience proved to be educational.  If a mistake could be made, I instinctively did it.

We generally use electric hook-ups and the solar panels stay home.  We are looking forward to (hopefully) getting over to Brighton State Park in VT later this summer and will be using the Zamp since electric hook-ups are not available.  I look forward to it and will be better prepared.  We have selected a sunnier camp-site, will not plan on not using the refrigerator and will have the Zamp to  maintain the t@b's battery.

In the future I will change over to a 2 six volt battery system as recommended by most on the forum. 

When we first got the camper I thought about getting a little honda generator.  But, when I camp I would rather listen to the woods around me.  Just a personal preference.  The Zamp is real quiet.

How many amp hours is your new battery rated for? The fridge in the clamshell consumes about 3amps when it’s running. Also, it takes a fair amount of energy to bring it down to ~40degrees from ambient summer temperatures (80-100 degrees). If you don’t have a way to plug in your trailer before camping you’ll have to get creative. I’ve thrown a chunk of dry ice ice and some frozen water bottles in mine. Once you’ve chilled it, a 160w solar panel should be able to keep up as long as you have sunshine. Another option besides the dual six volt is a ~100ah lithium. The prices are coming down and it doesn’t add all that tongue weight. 

nhmike

I believe the new battery is rated for 98 amps.  We do have a 30 amp circuit in our storage shed so we cool the refrigerator down a couple of days before heading out.  Thanks for your encouragement.  I’ll consider the lithium.

Cbusguy

@nhmike you don't need 30 amps to run the fridge.    If you don't have these you should pick them up and add them to your kit.   A 15 to 30 amp adaptor and a 50 to 30 amp adaptor.   They were less than 20 bucks each on Amazon.   Allows you to plug into what ever power is available. Sometimes they are refered to as dog bones.

@rmcarthur imo you are talking two different tools for a similar job.    Solar will let you run your fridge, recharge your cellphone watch a bit of tv, pump some water and run your alde on propane.

A generator will let you do all that and run your air conditioning, microwave and if needed your alde on ac.   Plus any other ac appliances you have brought with you

nhmike

Yeah, I know we don't need 30 amp, just happen to have in shed.  Yup, have the adapters.   Main point, we pre-cool the refrigerator before departure.  Looking forward to using the panels when boon docking.  I just can't sacrifice the tranquility of others with a generator for my convenience.  Not judging, just an opinion.    Thanks for input.

Verna

I love my 200 watt Zamp suitcase (10% off when I bought my T@B S Max), and I hope I live long enough to see the end of the 25 year warranty. Twenty more years to go!  

The 200 watts match closely with the 225 aH dual 6 volt AGM batteries in my 400. I’ve always tried to match the amount of aH’s with the amount of watts, as closely as possible. 

I’ve only had problems once and that was due to 4 totally dreary total overcast days. I finally had to connect to my truck to get the voltage up on the batteries.  The sun came out later on that 5th day. In 8 years of owning solar panels, I consider that to be a pretty good record. 

Cbusguy

I had to look, I knew zamp was expensive but wow.   $650 for 140 watts.   That is $200 more than my diy renogy 480 watt setup

Sharon_is_SAM

I think when Pleasant Valley first started including the Zamp ports, Zamp may have been the only plug and play solar option for RVs.  A lot of owners want things to be simple, well made and reliable - cost is secondary.  I can relate because I have a very unreliable printer - MAC connection and I would pay almost anything to get it to work!!!

Cbusguy

@Sharon_is_SAM now I have a better framework for why the question was asked.     A generator or solar panels now  make sense .   I was flabbergasted when I saw the price.   I simply had no appreciation of their asking price.

Not arguing value for dollar or plug and play ability.     

Verna

@Cbusguy, I started with an 80 watt Zamp suitcase for my Silver Shadow teardrop. It worked well with no more than what I had for electronics and no furnace. At the time, there was no easily available, easily installed suitcases for plug’nplay. 

When I bought my T@B S Max, I bought the Zamp 200 watt suitcase, and sold the 80 watt Zamp suitcase. 

While Zamp is expensive today in terms of the many lesser priced brands, Zamp is a high quality brand with few problems. Actually, the 200 watts of flexible panels on my 400’s roof are possibly the last flexible Zamp panels nüCamp installed. I asked for them and they saved the two panels for my build. 

Now, I’m not saying anyone else’s brands are inferior to the Zamp, it is that when I purchased mine, there were not that many reputable brands on the market. I’m happy, I don't feel like I’m being cheated, and I do expect my panels to work for at least two more decades. 

I have purchased another suitcase like mine from a friend and I have already sold it (for what I paid for it—not intended for profit) to a friend who wants to Boondock but needs solar to be totally plug and play. The new owner will be very happy as I know the original owner took as good of care of this suitcase as I have mine. When you find one of the suitcases used, it is unusual as they do last, and the owners kept using them. 

nhmike

Before buying Zamp I did research to consider my  options.  Though a bit pricey it seemed the Zamp was the best available at the time.  I have no regrets with the purchase and likely would recommend Zamp for the quality.  Others may be available that are just as good at a better price.  LL Bean is pricey too.   

xdr

We have been considering a Zamp solar panel for our new 2021 Tab 400. When we picked it up we asked about the Zamp plug  and they told us it came installed from the factory. I have looked and do not see a plug for the Zamp solar suitcase. Does anyone know where this plug is located? 

Thanks 
mer

Verna

@xdr, the nüCamp factory no longer installs Zamp plugs, unless it is on the order sheet. 

I had two installed on my 400. One above the cargo panel door above the passenger side tire, for extra solar panels or when parked in the shade to extend portable solar panels. I also had one installed on the driver’s side of the tongue box for my ARB fridge freezer that I keep in the truck. 

xdr

Our order sheet had a place for ‘solar option’. I think we assumed when we were told it came with a plug that it was part of the ‘solar option’ package. Well I guess we can stop looking for it! 

Denny16

Ours is on the right or pax side between the cargo door and the wheel, at about waist level, it is a little black plug.

cheers

bergger

xdr said:

Our order sheet had a place for ‘solar option’. I think we assumed when we were told it came with a plug that it was part of the ‘solar option’ package. Well I guess we can stop looking for it! 

Verna is correct.  The Zamp plug is not a standard part on the T@b with or without the factory solar package.  You need to request it be added by NuCamp after production.  We had one installed at the factory on our 2021 trailer. 

MichiganSunshine

I just purchased my 2017 T@B, and tonight I just noticed it has a plug on the cargo carrier.  It, however, has a warning sticker on it not to use anything but a Zamp Solar unit.  Is this the only solar option I have using this plug and is it as simple as plugging a solar panel into?  This is all new to me.  I also live in Michigan where we don't see a lot of sun.  I thought a 100 watt would be enough, thoughts?

Denny16

The Zamp plug is probably worse for the Zamp Portable solar panel kit, that includes as solar controller and the polarity is set for this Zamp solar package.  Other manufacturers solar panels may not be have the same polarity setting.  

Cheers

Sharon_is_SAM

https://tab-rv.vanillacommunity.com/discussion/6230/zamp-solar-connections-explained

The plug is usually on the front tub.  It was originally wired to operate with a Zamp plug (please read the link above).  It is very easy to arrange the wires or use an adapter to use non-Zamp solar.  Any solar panel greater than 5 watts requires a controller.  Many solar suitcases come with built in controllers, so it can be plug and play.  You must have a way to monitor your battery state of charge, so start reading about monitoring your battery and read about battery requirements as well.

Many owners use a 100 watt suitcase or roof mounted panel to start.  Whether or not it is enough depends on how many amps you use in a 24 hour period.  

pthomas745

I've used the SAE port routinely.  That is all the port really is, a standard electrical connector, not a "Zamp" anything.  I've used a couple of different brands of panels.  The SAE port has a good reason to be wired the way it is.....and, it isn't "reverse polarity".  It is just the way it needs to be wired. Note the photo of a port tested with the multimeter.  The wiring from the solar controller just needs to have the positive output of the controller safely inside the plastic housing of the connector.  Not to the big metal part of the connector.

Top photo:  the SAE port wired with the top section as the positive (the part of the connector inside the plastic connector.  The bottom negative section is where the big metal part goes. 

I have a "polarity corrector"gathering dust in my toolbox.  Just wire the controller to the port correctly and it isn't needed.  Took me a year to figure this out.  I thought reverse polarity would blow up my neighborhood.