While our 1970 Avion C11 was originally built to run on a combination of propane and shore power, our truck camper now runs 100% on electric power. We manage this with an extensive array of solar panels and two large LiFePO4 batteries that we assembled ourselves. This project has been a long and heavily researched process culminating in us assembling the entire system ourselves. With this power infrastructure, we are able to live off-grid for long periods of time.
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Two years ago, we installed a solar array on the roof of our truck camper. The ten-panel array looks impressive. But how efficient is it, really? Today, we are reviewing the amps, volts, and watts yielded to determine how efficient our solar setup really is.
Compare solar panels: mounted vs. unmounted, solid vs. flexible, their manufacturers, dimensions, laminate, and junction box placement.
Fixing things on the road is part and parcel of our nomadic life. Having built this camper from the shell out (including the brake lights), no mechanic knows more than us about our rig's inner workings. And, yes, we have a timeline of brake light errors.
We creating a 100% renewable energy home on wheels with Velcro and aluminum rails to mount flexible solar panels to a vintage Avion C11 truck camper roof.
A battery management system (BMS) is an electrical component that enables a pack of individual battery cells to operate as one. It protects individual cells, safeguards against extreme conditions, and is essential for multi-cell stacks such as ours.
Before assembling our DIY lithium battery we are optimizing our battery cells for solar panel charging by top balancing our battery cells.
When we first stripped the electrical system out of our 1970 Avion C11 truck camper, it was still in the days of acid cell batteries. Lithium cell batteries were on the market but outside of the budget of most any RV owners, including us. But in subsequent years, lithium has not only became a viable choice but also the rational choice for most RV builds. With our extended history of meticulous build projects, this wasn't going to be a simple upgrade. No, we decided to develop our lithium batteries. (You can read more about our thinking on that point in our articles Best Camper Battery and What To Know When Choosing A Lithium Battery For An RV)
We make a custom battery box for our DIY lithium batteries featuring buck riveted aluminum, high impact rubber, and a plexiglass viewing window.
Bus bars (busbars) are short strips of conductive metal for high current electric connections. Learn how to build DIY bars for lithium battery cells.
Calculate the height, width, and thickness of copper bus bars for a high current DIY lithium battery using a battery cell arrangement and an ampacity chart.