Owner guide

RV Solar Panel Sizing & Installation Guide

Most solar installs fail the owner not because the panels are bad, but because the system was sized to the roof instead of the actual daily power draw. Here’s how to size it correctly before you buy anything. Add up the ...

Active corridor: Montana · Wyoming · Idaho · Washington — case-by-case beyond.

Field notes

Most solar installs fail the owner not because the panels are bad, but because the system was sized to the roof instead of the actual daily power draw. Here’s how to size it correctly before you buy anything. Add up the watt-hours every 12V device draws per day — a compressor fridge (600–900 Wh), CPAP (30–60 Wh), lighting (100–200 Wh), water pump and fans (100–150 Wh), plus anything run through the inverter. A boondocking-focused rig commonly lands between 1,500 and 3,000 Wh/day. That number, not roof space, is ...

Start With Daily Watt-Hours, Not Panel Wattage

Add up the watt-hours every 12V device draws per day — a compressor fridge (600–900 Wh), CPAP (30–60 Wh), lighting (100–200 Wh), water pump and fans (100–150 Wh), plus anything run through the inverter. A boondocking-...

Battery Bank Comes Second

Panels charge the bank; the bank is what actually gets you through the night and cloudy stretches. Size usable capacity to 1.5–2 days of draw with no sun at all. With lithium (100% usable) that’s simpler math than wit...

What Installation Actually Involves

Roof mounting and sealing (a bad panel seal is a future roof leak, not a solar problem), wire routing sized for the run length to avoid voltage drop, a charge controller matched to panel voltage and battery chemistry,...

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Pricing teaser

Trip fee $75 within 30 miles, then $1.50/mi. Labor ~$150/hr (1-hour minimum, billed in 30-minute increments). Diagnostic $150 applied toward repair if you proceed.

Active corridor: Montana · Wyoming · Idaho · Washington — case-by-case beyond. Credentials (text): Victron Professional Certified Installer · weBoost Authorized Installer · Peplink Certified Associate · Dometic Professional Certified.

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