Off-grid, on wheels

Show us your system
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After many questions, I finally went to a marine / auto-electrician and engaged him to fit a solar system and DC-DC charging system from the truck.

The configuration finished as:

  • 2 x 440W Trina Vertex panels (similar to those used in solar farms)
  • SmartSolar 150/35
  • Orion TR Smart 24/24 17A
  • BMV712 Monitor

This supplements the existing Multiplus II 24 3000 70 and cares for my bank of 4 x 12V 120Ah AGM batteries.

The most it has generated is 2kWh in a day and I never get below 90% charge which is replenished in the couple of hours after sunrise.

I’m happy with it, now covering charging from solar, truck, shore power and, if necessary, a small generator.

Thank you for your all guidance so that I could have sensible conversations with the electrician.

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Work in progress…

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One of the panels

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The vehicle…

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You might want to add battery balancers. I have 24V and 48V banks made from 12V batteries and they dont work well without them. Check the voltages to see how they are charged.

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This could be the little brother of Goliath … the “evil” truck from Knight Rider …
Given the huge surface area of the trailer and the apparently “ridiculous” regulations for road traffic and cargo transportation, you could attach quite a few more panels.
I can’t wait to see how the project continues … In any case, more pictures please.

That’s the beauty of this section … You can also get to know completely different “countries” and conditions.

May I ask where you can transport the load in front of the cab?

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I’m in New Zealand and have changed the “usage” of the trailer from “trailer” to “caravan” which makes registration and insurance easier but doesn’t change the road-legal mechanical checks. Quite understandable, it weighs 10-11 tonnes.

For the moment, I have no need for more panels but when this bank of batteries decides it is time to stop working, I will probably put in lithium and add more panels at that point.

The load on the front of the cab is mostly legal. It was made up by the engineering part of the vehicle testing station so I can take it off for the certification tests then take my chances with any over zealous police people.