Summertime Strategies for Staying Cool with RV Solar

Summer is a great time to take your solar-powered RV or van into a gorgeous, off-grid location! The sun angle is high and there’s plenty of daylight hours to optimally charge your RV batteries using rooftop panels.  But, after living full-time in our camper for nearly 12 years now, we have found that the ONLY drawback to solar is needing to be parked in the full sun. From May through September, a relaxing camping trip can become brutally hot depending on where you are adventuring.

So, how can you take advantage of parking your rig in the shade to keep it cooler, save money by staying in off-grid campgrounds, and also run completely on solar?  Portable panels and solar suitcases to the rescue! 

We’ve spent the last month in the greater Yosemite National Park area, deep in the gorgeous Sierra Mountains. The conifer and oak forests in this part of central California provide necessary shade from the extreme heat, making camping in the summertime pleasant. With the help of the forest canopy, our rig stays cool inside – preventing us from using all of our precious solar energy just to cool it down.  But, our rooftop array stays completely shaded.  

With one simple “hack” we switch our solar collection from our rooftop array consisting of 2 x 100W flexible panels to our lightweight 400W solar suitcase (with an extension cord). This portable panel keeps our batteries charged, so that we can continue to run all of our appliances without needing an electrical hook-up, even in the heat of the summer.  Check out our favorite hack...

Choosing an off-grid campground saves us a ton of money!  Paying $10/night for a spacious campsite along the river without electrical hook-ups is far more appealing than a crowded RV park or state park with electricity that charges upwards of $50/night.  By powering our rig with solar, we estimate that we’ve saved over $200K on camping fees over the past 12 years on the road!

This blog contains our affiliate links. As Renogy Solar Ambassadors, we can offer you an additional 10% off nearly every product in their line by using our promo code CANLIFE at checkout.  It’s win-win…WE get a small commission, and YOU get a discount.  This income helps keep us on the road and all of our resources and solar coaching free of charge. As a part of our business model, we support a variety of nonprofit organizations focused on reducing carbon emissions, environmental education, sustainability, and youth/community development. Thanks for your support of our carbon negative mobile business!

What are the Main Differences between Portable Panels & Solar Suitcases?
While both of these styles are portable and relatively lightweight, portable panels are typically made from lighter weight materials, allowing you to get more wattage per pound.  They are specifically designed with easy portability in mind so their panels are very thin and kickstands are minimal in weight and size.  Alternatively, solar suitcases are more similar to more traditional solar panels (only hinged in the middle to make them foldable) and have an integrated, durable stand or kickstand. Overall, they are a bit more heavy duty. Both styles of panels are sturdy, efficient, and fold up into their own durable cover or case.  

What Should I Consider When Choosing a Portable Panel or Solar Suitcase?

There are a few considerations when choosing the best portable solar panel or solar suitcase for your mobile lifestyle.  Make sure the panel:

• Fits your energy needs.  See our Solar System Sizing Worksheet to determine your average daily watts hours.

• Fits your available storage space (when not in use).

• Integrates appropriately with your rooftop array (if applicable).

• Is a size and weight that you can easily lift and adjust throughout the day.
  
  

How Do You Combine Portable Panels / Solar Suitcases with Rooftop Arrays?Lightweight portable panels and solar suitcases can be used by themselves or in conjunction with a rooftop array. Panels ranging from 100W to 400W are ideal for RV’s and vans.  In addition to allowing you to park in the shade, and still be able to charge with solar, these panels are the perfect way to quickly add some additional surface area to your overall system during low solar days (and work very well in the fall, winter, and spring when the sun angle is lower in the sky).  When combining arrays together, you should always choose panels of the same wattage.

Here are a few options for combining rooftop arrays with a portable panel or solar suitcase on an extension cord:

Plug & Play Options:

• If you have a battery bank on the tongue of your 5th wheel or travel trailer, you can simply use the provided alligator clips to attach the solar suitcase (with integrated charge controller) directly to your battery bank.  

• If you have a “solar ready” port on the side of your rig, use the included MC4 connectors and an appropriate adapter (if needed) to plug the solar suitcase (with integrated charge controller) into the port. See this video for details.  

System Integration Options:
If your battery bank is stored inside your rig rather than on the tongue, simply create an external wire “pigtail” with one end connected to the battery terminals (or DC bus bars) inside and either MC4 or Anderson connectors on the other end so that you can quickly connect a portable solar panel when you need it. This integration can be accomplished in a few ways:

• No rooftop panels, no charge controller inside. You will need a solar suitcase with an integrated charge controller to connect to your RV pigtail or solar port.  

• Integrated rooftop panels, charge controller, same panel wattages. You can combine a rooftop array and a portable panel into the same charge controller inside your rig, only if two conditions* exist: 1) the combined total possible amps/volts/watts doesn’t exceed the limits of your charge controller AND 2) the wattage of the individual rooftop panel(s) and portable panel(s) are the same (or very similar).  For instance, when we combine our 2 x 100W flexible panels (wired in parallel on the roof) with a 100W solar suitcase, it allows us to increase our solar collection by 100W on lower solar days.  To do this, use a positive bus bar to bring both positive, fused wires from each array together; and a negative bus bar to combine the negative wires.  Then wire both the positive and negative bus bars to the charge controller. Alternatively, you can use Y-branch connectors with an inline fuse to combine the positive and negative wires together, then run them directly to the charge controller.  
  
  *The first condition is an important matter of safety -- insuring that the total possible amps/volts/watts does not exceed the maximum input for the charge controller will keep it from overheating, shutting down, or worse -- always check the specs!  For the second condition, it's a simple matter of physics.  If your solar panel wattages are not equally matched, the system will always choose the lowest value, causing you to lose the benefit of the higher wattage panel.  While this is especially crucial when panels are connected in parallel, there is also a concern if your rooftop array and portable panel / solar suitcase are wired together in series -- even if the amperages match.  As soon as you disconnect the portable panel / solar suitcase from that series connection, you've interrupted the circuit -- leaving your rooftop panels without their partner and not charging.
  
  
  

• Integrated rooftop panels, charge controller, different panel wattages.  If your rooftop array and portable panel wattages are different (e.g., 2 x 100W on the roof combined with a 400W portable panel), you can eliminate the issue discussed above by installing a simple battery switch and a couple of circuit breaker switches (as shown in this video). Doing this will allow you to connect either your rooftop array OR your portable panel / solar suitcase to a single charge controller inside your rig.  This is the perfect solution for us when we have our rig in the shade.  When we put our 400W Lightweight Portable Panel out in the sun, it keeps our 2 x 100Ah LiFePO4 PRO battery bank topped up while we use our laptops and satellite internet for work during the day.  Then, when we want to use our lights, fan, and other electric appliances at night, we have plenty of energy left in our battery bank. 

• Separate charge controllers. You can also combine a rooftop array and a portable panel with an integrated charge controller and skip the combination altogether.  One charge controller (located inside your rig) can monitor your rooftop array, while the other is permanently attached to the solar suitcase, as shown in this video.

How Much Do Portable Panels & Solar Suitcases Weigh?
Something to keep in mind with portable panels and solar suitcases is that you might have to relocate the panel for optimal charging as the sun crosses the sky throughout the day.  For some people, the size and weight of these panels can be difficult to manage, so this should be an important factor when determining which style and size is best for you.  At approximately 17.6 lbs, Renogy’s 200W portable panel is relatively lightweight and easy for most folks to move, but their 400W solar suitcase weighing in at 30 lbs could be a struggle for some less able-bodied folks.  It’s best to always fold up the panel before moving it to a new location.

So, start planning that summer camping adventure now!  With many hours of sunlight and the high solar angle in the northern hemisphere, solar production is at its peak.  Portable panels and solar suitcases are the secret tool for maximizing the best of summer sun and keeping things cool inside your rig.  Happy camping!

Shari & Hutch left behind careers and a comfortable home in North Carolina to travel in “Hamlet,” the vintage camper they lovingly restored and outfitted with solar. 

What began as a short break in 2012, turned into a love affair with full-time RV life. We’ve parlayed their higher education backgrounds and thirst for adventure travel into writing, photography, video production, and public speaking gigs. 

Learn more at freedominacan.com, and follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.