Adding suitcase solar question

jrhamel

I have a question about adding wiring for a solar suitcase. In our 400 we have a dual heavy duty distribution stud which already has wires connected to it, I assume they are from the rooftop solar. Can I add a second set of wires from the suitcase to that or do I need to get a 4 terminal stud? 

bergger

A solar suitcase usually has a solar controller built into it.  If this is the case attach the sae solar plug directly to the battery terminals.  It is super easy to do.  This is how mine is set up as done by NuCamp.  If your suitcase does not have a controller then youll have to run it through the factory controller, if possible, or add a controller dedicated to the suitcase.  Both of which I do not have the knowledge to explain. 

CharlieRN

jrhamel said:

I have a question about adding wiring for a solar suitcase. In our 400 we have a dual heavy duty distribution stud which already has wires connected to it, I assume they are from the rooftop solar. Can I add a second set of wires from the suitcase to that or do I need to get a 4 terminal stud? 

I'm not sure what is connected to the "dual heavy duty distribution stud" but if you have factory solar, one set of wires (positive & negative) would be from your solar panel via the factory controller. It may also be the case that you have a second set of wires running from the battery terminals to an SAE port, which could a provide a convenient way to connect additional solar generation. The output from whatever solar setup you use must connect to the battery via a solar controller. I'm not sure what capacity the factory controller for the 400 is, but suspect that its not capable of handling much additional solar generation.

That may not matter however. As @bergger indicates, many solar suitcases are sold as kits and include the controller. The kit may or may not also include wiring that has an SAE connector. If it does, you can simply plug into the output from the controller into battery using the SAE connectors. The positive connection from the suitcase controller to the battery should be fused. Again, I'm not sure what the setup is on your 400 but if it's similar to my 320, the connection from the SAE port to the battery has a 30 amp fuse in line.

While the SAE plug is convenient, you could also use alligator clamps to connect the controller to the battery, again with an in-line fuse. I recently got a Renogy 100w solar suitcase kit that had a waterproof controller and about 10 feet of cabling but clamps (and an in line fuse), not an SAE plug. It's pretty simple to wire an SAE plug in however - I just ordered a 10 gauge, 30' extension cable for the suitcase, along with a 2' SAE pigtail.

jrhamel

So let me back up, I don't have a SAE plug on the trailer yet, I will be putting one on. My plan was to connect that to the dual heavy duty distribution stud that is already installed and connects to the batteries. My original question is can I add another set of wires to the dual heavy duty distribution plug or do I need to get a 4 stud? My solar panel does have a charger. 

qhumberd

I have a 2019 that did not have factory solar but the prior owner had the dealer put in the SAE and the "dual heavy duty distribution stud" as you can see from the pictures (the black wire covering on L below is going to the SAE plug on the driver side).. When I put in my battery monitor I opened and added some more wires (the second pic below shows the distribution stud before I started.  Be careful as this stud is always live unless you disconnect your battery (it does NOT go thru the battery disconnect switch)

So should be pretty easy job.

jrhamel

@qhumberd, thank you that is exactly what I was looking for.