Solar panel 2023 Tab 320 boondock

Charlessyverson · February 26

Thanks to the generous sharing of information on this forum, I am looking to add a supplemental solar panel. What do most of you use to supplement the 180 watt rooftop panel to charge a 100 amp hour lithium? Are you using a 190 or 200 watt panel?

Charlessyverson · February 26

Sorry about the typo 100 or 200 watt panel!!

AnOldUR · February 26

If you're asking about a solar suitcase, not upgrading your rooftop solar, we started with a 100W suitcase, but upgraded to a 200W. The 100W worked well, but with the 200W my batteries are often topped off by noon making it possible to store it away and not worry about theft if we leave the campsite for the rest of the day.

Sharon_is_SAM · February 26

Depending on your TV, it may be easier to transport 2 separate 100 watt solar suitcases. The 200 watt is large.

AnOldUR · February 26

Good point @Sharon_is_SAM. Panels can vary, so it's important to shop around. We originally bought a 100W Renogy panel. It's a rigid folding panel with an aluminum frame. We replaced it with a 200W Vevor from Home Depot. The Vevor is smaller and lighter than the Renogy. It's definitely flimsy, but not so much as to be a problem and worth it to us for twice the wattage. We're considering getting a second 200W Vevor.

Renogy has a 400W foldable panel now on sale for $427. It's tempting, but hard to justify unless I could sell the two panel I already have.

pthomas745 · February 26

In theory, in a lab, under perfect conditions, a 100 watt panel can produce 8 amp hours to charge your battery. Under more "normal" conditions, I was happy to get 5 or 6 on a good desert day. So, say your fridge and trailer used 20 amp hours overnight. A 100 watt panel, with the panel in a nice unshaded campsite, might take 6 hours or so to "completely" recharge your battery. (Your fridge would still be cycling on and off and use power while the solar was charging the battery.)

A 200 watt panel will double all these numbers. On my last trip with my 200 watt suitcase, even in the winter with a low sun dropping in the west, I pulled in 8 amp hours. Other days on the trip (in the desert) I was pulling in 12 amp hours pretty routinely Even during high overcast days, I could get 5 easily.

I had two Renogy panels over the years, and they did get smaller and lighter. A single 100 watt panel from 2019 was 41 inches by about 20, and weighed 14 pounds.

The new Acopower 200 watt suitcase is basically two 100 watt panels the same size as the Renogy, just with a hinge so it can fold up! The weight is "only" 17 pounds. A bit bulky, but with handles. Still fits inside my vehicle the same way as the other single panels did.

Many owners have these types of "foldable" panels that are lightweight and pretty easy to work with. There are many examples of these types of Dokio panels.

https://www.amazon.com/DOKIO-Portable-Monocrystalline-Controller-Charging/dp/B07Y8CT1W9/136-2496425-4154804?pd_rd_w=yqtVl&content-id=amzn1.sym.db557a2e-3be2-49be-abd4-60fa573c46fc:amzn1.symc.fc62c953-48b5-4401-9be8-6b4f946ba808&pf_rd_p=db557a2e-3be2-49be-abd4-60fa573c46fc&pf_rd_r=B80HDEG4VAKPAX6FYSF2&pd_rd_wg=mxnMe&pd_rd_r=e7a7ada9-51a4-4e03-bd4e-a4be3ac7e274&pd_rd_i=B07Y8CT1W9&th=1

elbolillo · February 26

I think a 200w panel is a great size. I have a 220w bifacial Ecoflow that weighs 15lbs and packs down to be very thin. There are lots of other 200w panels that are very economical.

For reference, on good sunny days in the Chisos Mountains the 220w panel was able to produce 1.2kwh of energy and my roof mounted panels produced 712w.

RTWCTS · February 26

We've played a bit with solar, batteries and external power supplies over the years. We started our solar journey with a 100W Renogy Eclipse briefcase (no longer available) in our 320 with no rooftop solar and an AGM battery. As @pthomas745 stated, we could consistently get around 5A out of the 100W panel. We eventually added a second 100W panel in parallel to get an average of 10A. We didn't go to a single 200W panel because of the size, as @Sharon_is_SAM stated.
To charge our two portable power stations, we added two more of the 100W panels to our inventory (this is for use other than T@B camping- think home power outage, tent camping, etc.). While boondock camping in our T@B 400, we have been carrying two of the 100W panels and hook them in parallel if we aren't getting much sun on the rooftop panel.
From our experience I'd suggest starting at 100W and see how that works for you. It is easy to add additional panels in parallel to boost your capacity if you need them. Everyone's needs vary and available sunshine varies depending on the campsite. To me experimenting/learning has been part of the enjoyment of camping with a trailer. Our latest toy is the 205KWH of batteries in our new tow vehicle. Looking forward to seeing what and how long we can power things this season (and still have enough electrons to make it home).
Hope you enjoy your journey...

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