56 replies to this topic

[LT Traveler]

Dang you guys are killing me, I thought we were done spending money at least for a little while! Definitely appreciate the input, I think I'll get Steve to add this to the build and then plan on buying a small PV cell that we can plug in as needed.

[jcfly]

Congrats on the new camper! Be sure to post pics when it arrives.

[pods8]

I believe they pre-wire all of them for solar these days. But I would ask them to terminate the wires in the roof and install a roof plug. Then....like Barko1 says.....in the future it's an easy install.

My camper had the pre-wiring....but when it came time to install the solar I had no idea where the wiring was terminated in the roof. Luckily I was at the FWC factory for another reason and had them locate the wires and teminate them in the roof with a plug. I think the plug was $9.00.

Oh that's nice. Looking back over your install it looks like you have the plug mounted under your panel right? How much vertical clearance is required when its all said and down to clear the bent over wires (coming out of the plug that goes into that)?

[DLN]

Congrats on the camper buy, you're going to love it. 8 weeks now, they must really be bangin' em out these days. It took 14 weeks back in 2006 when we ordered our now gone Eagle.

[leadsled9]

Oh that's nice. Looking back over your install it looks like you have the plug mounted under your panel right? How much vertical clearance is required when its all said and down to clear the bent over wires (coming out of the plug that goes into that)?

Yes, the plug is under the panel. The panel is mounted 2 3/8" above the roof and there is plenty of room for a nice gently radiused bend.

[LT Traveler]

Hey guys, sorry for the questions but I'm a total newb at all this stuff. If we add the plug that Leadsled is recommending to the wiring that I would ask FWC to add then can we simply buy a small portable solar panel that would plug into that and charge the battery?

Second question. Can we store the camper on the jacks or do I have to build a rolling dolly/support box to store the camper on? I thought we could just store on the jacks but just some someone recommending not doing that on Exped Portal.

[leadsled9]

Hey guys, sorry for the questions but I'm a total newb at all this stuff. If we add the plug that Leadsled is recommending to the wiring that I would ask FWC to add then can we simply buy a small portable solar panel that would plug into that and charge the battery?

Second question. Can we store the camper on the jacks or do I have to build a rolling dolly/support box to store the camper on? I thought we could just store on the jacks but just some someone recommending not doing that on Exped Portal.

First answer. No, you have to install a solar charge controller (brain) to handle the charging of your batteries. Under the Truck Camper section there is the "Ultimate Solar" thread. It is a good read.

Second answer. Best to store it on a platform....not on the jacks. If I ever decide to take mine off for storage....I'm getting one of these:
http://www.harborfre...ires-42708.html

Put some 4X4's on the trailer....set the camper on top.... and then when it is stored you can just roll it around to where ever you want. If you want more security than just having it sit on the trailer....you can incorporate some eye bolts to secure the camper to the trailer using the same turnbuckles that come with your camper.

[LT Traveler]

Got it ok thanks for all the guidance and help.

[pods8]

Devils advocate: I store mine on the jacks when I take it off my truck. I do lower the camper way down though so the camper is only ~1' of the ground though (way to wobbly and might stress the brackets/frame while extended), it does fine assuming you aren't running in/out of it. If I do need to go into it for something its 1 person only and moving slowly to avoid jarring it around while only supported by the jack brackets.

If you need to move it around I'd get a cart, otherwise I wouldn't really worry. If you did want some extra insurance while on the jacks you can make some X style supports out of plywood to rest the camper one (FWC uses something like this at trade shows see this post here: http://www.wanderthe...dpost__p__33721).

[leadsled9]

Devils advocate: I store mine on the jacks when I take it off my truck. I do lower the camper way down though so the camper is only ~1' of the ground though (way to wobbly and might stress the brackets/frame while extended), it does fine assuming you aren't running in/out of it. If I do need to go into it for something its 1 person only and moving slowly to avoid jarring it around while only supported by the jack brackets.

If you need to move it around I'd get a cart, otherwise I wouldn't really worry. If you did want some extra insurance while on the jacks you can make some X style supports out of plywood to rest the camper one (FWC uses something like this at trade shows see this post here: http://www.wanderthe...ost__p__33721).

If you are storing it on jacks....why not lower it all the way to the ground so you are not putting any stress on the floor by walking around in the camper? I don't think it is a good idea to be walking around in the camper while it is suspended in the air.