Blog

Wow, what a crazy (almost) first half of 2020!

Boys' Ski Trip to Breckenridge, CO
January 2020

In January, we took our yearly "boys" trip, and included myoldest son (and had a fantastic time, despite a couple of the guys getting sick!).

New RV Solar Stuff and New Baby!
February / March 2020

In February, I ordered a complete solar, inverter, and battery electrical system setup which was delivered freight and dropped off in my garage.

In March, William, our newest arrival came almost a month late -- and right at the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic. A few days before he was born, our state implemented a "Stay at Home" order and we were forced to wait even longer on picking up our new RV and installing the new power system.

Passing time and Getting Our New RV!
April 2020

During our "Stay at Home" order we passed the time the best we could, trying to keep busy with home projects. Although we still fully planned on selling our home (and to that end, continued pairing down our things and packing), we decided it would be a fun project to build a garden.

Battery, Solar, Inverter and Power System Installation
April 2020

After about a month of "hunkering down", we decided to go ahead pick up the new rig. We got it from the dealer, did our walkthrough, and then my son and I made the drive up to my dad's to install the new electrical components (solar, batteries and inverter system).

It was crazy, halfway into our drive, we ran into a mid-April blizzard. Luckily the F350 tows like a dream and we didn't have any issues. The snow, as quickly as it came, melted by the middle of the next day so our installation plans were thankfully unaffected.

Here are the major components (excluding cabling, breakers, and miscellaneous parts):

Solar System Components:

• 4 - 365 Watt REC Alpha Series Solar Panels (1,460‬ total watts)
• 1 - Victron SmartSolar MPPT 150/70-Tr Solar Charge Controller

Battery System Components:

• 6 - 24V 50ah Battleborn Lithium Batteries (when converted to 12V makes 100ah each)
• 2 - Lynx Power In Modular DC Bus Bar
• 1 - Lynx Shunt VE. Can (1000A shunt / battery monitor / fuse)

Inverter / Power System Components:

• 2 - 3000 Watt 24V Victron Multiplus Inverters
• 1 - Victron Autotransformer 120/240V AC-100A for step up, step down and split phase balancing
• 1 - Orion 24V to 12V DC to DC Converter
• 1 - Victron Color GX Display Unit

I was lucky enough to enlist the help of not only my dad, but also my electrician friend Corey. And later on, I had my brother to help with the installation of the solar panels! I'm truly the luckiest guy in the world to have guys like these in my life. This was a super stressful installation for me due to a few technical issues with the inverter - but thankfully a phone call with customer support on Monday made for a very quick fix and all's well that end's well.