# Our off-grid trailer solar system



## Hitch (Oct 19, 2016)

Even though our solar system went into a trailer I thought it might be helpful to anyone else looking to add an off-grid solar system.

This was actually quite a long process for us. I started talking to installers last August, after we ordered our trailer. Eventually I settled on who I wanted to use but his prices were pretty high so we did a lot of back and forth tweaking the design and labor to settle at a place we were both happy with. 

Our system was really tailored around our setup. We own a piece of secluded property in the Sierra Nevada foothills. The trailer is stationary and we are completely surrounded by tall trees. Our window to capture a lot of sunlight is limited so we focused more on the battery bank and using our 30amp inverter to charge the batteries.










We added five 170-watt solar panels with room to add more. So far I’m getting 700-watts peak / 3.4 kWh yield with the panels still needing to be dialed in. I’ll set them to the summer solstice in a few weeks.










I only took a few pics of the install. Here’s the main panel under the bedroom closet pulled out and the back side. The drain pipe comes down a false wall between the closet and washer and dryer hookup on the other side. In hindsight we could have probably popped up through the false wall, which would have been only a few inches away and concealed the wiring coming down. Either way the install is clean.



















The wiring is coming down through the cabinet above. The Victron MPPT 150/85 is mounted on the top with a shut-off switch. I also had him install an outlet in the closet for the cell phone booster (pictured) and a Starlink modem..whenever our number comes up.



















The next shelf has the MultiPlus-II 12/3000/120-50, SmartShunt 500A/50mV, fuse block and shut-off.










On the bottom shelf are four BattleBorn 2GC batteries (400amps total)..with room for one more. The floor below the batteries was reinforced for the weight. He put a piece of plastic over it so no one touches the battery terminals. Next to the batteries is the Main and the DC shut-off.










We were only able to spend a day in a half up there after the install. But things seemed to work fine. Basically I could turn on anything in the trailer and it worked. I’m looking forward to putting the system through its paces over the next few months.


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## doc- (Jun 26, 2015)

If you're only spending weekends there, wouldn't it have been a heckuvalot cheaper just to charge a couple batteries at home off the grid and bring them there when you go? Car batteries hold 600-1200W-hrs each.


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## CKelly78z (Jul 16, 2017)

Rather than upsizing your solar system for more capability, why not expand your solar collecting field by cutting/trimming back a few trees to get the full range of the sun's movement throughout the day...a much cheaper option that will supply you with firewood, and/or building materials.


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## Hitch (Oct 19, 2016)

CKelly78z said:


> Rather than upsizing your solar system for more capability, why not expand your solar collecting field by cutting/trimming back a few trees to get the full range of the sun's movement throughout the day...a much cheaper option that will supply you with firewood, and/or building materials.


The trailer is oriented to capture the southern sky. Right now we’re able to keep the trailer powered on with the fridge running 24/7 when we’re not there. Come winter we may not be able to do that. But we’ll see, I need to see how it performs over the next 6 months. If anything, I have space to add one more battery.


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## damoc (Jul 14, 2007)

Very nice.


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## Steve_S (Feb 25, 2015)

A Very Nice clean Professional Installation with Quality gear that will do exactly what it should. Well chosen system.
One 12V/100AH BattleBorn LFP Battery = 1,280Wh / 1.28kWh.
Acceptable Max Charge Rate of 0.5C or 50A
Hitch has a Victron 150/85 TR which can output up to 85A charge current. 
* In Parallel, the batteries will share the Charge & Load between themselves. I series they do not. You cannot exceed 50A Charge or BMS will trip and cutoff for safety.

*Battle Born Spec:*


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