Powering Tab 320

Charlessyverson

I have a 2023 Tab 320 Boondock.  I am planning on using it primarily for boondocking.  How many of you boondock with just a 100 amp lithium and rooftop solar?  How many supplement with additional solar?  How many have upgraded to two lithium batteries?  I’m working on getting set up for the upcoming season and would like to get everything set up early.  FYI I anticipate my power consumption consisting of the fridge, occasional fan use, Alde system, few hours of TV use, and some phone charging.  Thank you to all of you experienced Tab owners providing great feedback!

AnOldUR

Adding a second 100Ah battery and having a 200W solar suitcase is what I'd suggest. With your current setup, you'll get about two day without sun. It's not unusual to get a few overcast days in a row, so having more of a buffer will ultimately pay off. Parking in the sun on a hot summer day to expose your rooftop solar is counterproductive. Having a solar suitcase that you can put out in a sunny spot makes a lot of sense.

pthomas745

This all depends on what you plan to use.  If you are staying with the trailer equipment only, and the fridge is your biggest power user at about 25-35 amp hours a day, your 100 amp hour lithium will "probably" work ok.  The issue would be the solar attached to the roof.  To get that 25-35 amp hours the fridge used back into your battery each day, you need to have the trailer in the sun. If you like to tuck the trailer back into the shade, or your campsite doesn't provide enough sun, this is where portable panels would be a great help for your 100 amp hour battery.

If your power plan includes "extra" things like working with laptops, or a CPAP machine, or other such items, then portable solar would be a necessity. (None of the items on your list seem to go as far as a laptop or CPAP).

Owners have done all the things you mention: extra batteries, etc. I would start with examining portable solar setups.  I have a 100 amp hour lithium, use a portable 12V fridge, and recharge easily with a 200 watt portable panel.  And, I use laptops and battery chargers and small inverters to power them.

Examine your trailer and sort out if you have the "solar port", that little SAE connector to add portable solar.

elbolillo

Your biggest bang for the buck would be a portable solar panel along with a MPPT solar charger. Easy to chase the sun and get optimal charging. Depending on your electrical usage, adding an additional 100ah LiFePo4 battery for a total of 200ah would set you up pretty good for extended boondocking, especially if you don't always camp in areas with abundant sunshine.

WayneW

We have a 2021 320S Boondock, 100 ah lithium, factory rooftop solar and a 100w Renogy portable suitcase. We are typically good on power unless we get multiple days of overcast/rain. Without the portable panel we would be very marginal. We are quite frugal with our power. I also have a DC-DC charger that I could use if I had to while boondocking but I haven’t had to use it yet. We boondock most of the time. 

magneto

We have a 2020 Tab 320s Boondock that we use for boondocking in eastern California.  After 5 years of frustration with the Norcold N180.3R fridge, I replaced it with the Isotherm Elegance 65 refrigerator.  In the process, I added an extra battery (for a total of 2 90 A-h AGM batteries) and an extra 100W panel.  On a recent trip where we used the fridge the entire time and the Alde heater at night, we averaged a drain of 7-8 A-h overnight.  The 200W of solar recharged the batteries by noon every day.  Hope this helps.

SLJ

Two 100ah lithium and a solar suitcase here. Lowest my batteries have been is 45% the past two years and that was over a week of rain and cloud cover. 

Greenhil

I have a 2021 320. My power needs are the same as yours. I have a 100ah lithium battery and a 200w solar suitcase. This works indefinitely with sun, but only 2 days or so without because of the fridge.. If I had to do it again I’d go for a 200ah lithium. There are just too many fully shaded campsites here in the Northeast. 

Basil48192

I have a 2021 320S which I purchased in the summer of 2020.  The following year I upgraded to dual, 6V, 235AH AGM batteries and added a 200W suitcase panel and a second Victron controller.  At the time, Lithium was quite expensive and I was skeptical of the cold weather charging limitations.  
Anyway, because they are lead-acid, I have about 117 usable amp hours (50% of rated capacity).  I primarily boondock in Michigan.  I run everything (except AC and Microwave) and can easily camp 4-5 days without a problem.  With sun, I can go indefinitely.  As stated above, the refrigerator is the largest power draw.  

donmontalvo

I have a 2024 320S, came with a single Battle Born 100ah LiFePO4 battery and 380W of solar panels (two curved 190W panels side by side on the roof). The 380W rating is a bit misleading since the sun can only ever reach a portion of the solar panels at any given time, so I hang a 100W flat solar panel off the back of the camper. I installed a 100|30 solar charger for the SAE port in the Nautilus compartment (so I can scale up the panel if I needed to). I find it consistently produces more power than the 380W curved panels on a sunny day.

On a cloudy day the 380W curved panels will produce more than the 100W flat panel, since the diffused light reaches the whole curved solar panel, notwithstanding the loss of intensity due to the diffusion of the light. On a sunny day the flat 100W panel produces more power.

With all that said, I'm happy having both a flat 100W panel and 380W curved panel. I went ahead and installed a second Battle Born 100ah LiFePO4 battery (configured in parallel for 200ah) and a Victron Phoenix Inverter 12|1200...which is as big as I want to go. Unfortunately not powerful enough to run the 1000W microwave (a 2000W inverter would be needed).

Since my use case is nearly always boondocking, and there are times when I may want to use the microwave (rare), I schlep a 2500 inverter generator, which can power the microwave as well as the air conditioner (albeit not simultaneously). I rarely use the air conditioner since I've been a snowbird since October when I retired...so the better I plan, the more great weather I'll experience.

Plenty of space for a second battery.

Inverter fits by the AC, vertically. I installed an on/off switch so I can turn the inverter on when I need it. I also installed a couple USB exhaust fans that come on when the inverter is on.

I installed a 65W triple USB-C PD outlet, plugged into the inverter. The GAN feature ensures it stays cool.

The inverter is currently charging my MacBook Pro, my iPad, and my iPhone.

I spent days collaborating with nuCamp, Victron, and Battle Born, to ensure the set up uses the right wires, fuses, circuit breakers, etc. For safety, reliability, and scalability.

donmontalvo

 nm