If you’re interested in adding solar-power to your truck camper rig, you’ll want to check out this video of Mello Mike’s 340 watt solar power system. His system isn’t the largest found in a truck camper, but it is effective and keeps him powered up year round. Mello Mike’s solar power system consists of a Zamp ZS-30A PWM charge controller, two Solar Cynergy 120 watt polycrystalline solar panels, one Renogy 100 watt monocrystalline portable solar panel, and two Lifeline 6 volt AGM batteries providing 220 amp hours of power.
Mello Mike is an Arizona native, author, and the founder of Truck Camper Adventure. He's been RV'ing since 2002, is a certified RVIA Level 1 RV Technician, and has restored several Airstream travel trailers. A communications expert, he retired from the U.S. Navy in 2004 as a CWO3 after 24 years, worked in project management, and now runs Truck Camper Adventure full-time. He also does some RV consulting, repairs, and inspections on the side. He currently rolls in a 2013 Ram 3500 with a 2021 Bundutec Roadrunner truck camper mounted on top.
We recently received this question from Lucas Ginter of Bozeman, Montana about lithium batteries and solar power system sizing. Hi Mike, I recently bought a 2004 Bigfoot 2500 10.6E truck camper and I am working [read more]
Ah, boondocking. Just the thought of it evokes images of camping atop a remote, desert mesa or in a cool, heavily wooded mountain forest. If you enjoy beautiful vistas, peaceful solitude, and clean air when [read more]
Every now and then, a technological breakthrough occurs that has a major impact on the RV industry. One that is creating a lot of buzz and excitement within the boondocking community is the lithium Iron [read more]
Hey Mike! You finally alluded to the question I have had with all of the Solar Power YouTube videos and blogs I’ve seen, and I even saw one person ask a similar unanswered question on one of the Solar articles on the site.
You mentioned that you had wiring running from the battery bank to the main DC system of your truck camper. Do you have a How-to for setting that portion up? That is the only thing I cannot find with all of the information I’ve seen so far. I assumed there had to be some way to power lights, water pump, etc. off of Solar if you had it, versus relying exclusively off the 12V battery that comes in the outside box of a Lance rig.
Hey Mike! You finally alluded to the question I have had with all of the Solar Power YouTube videos and blogs I’ve seen, and I even saw one person ask a similar unanswered question on one of the Solar articles on the site.
You mentioned that you had wiring running from the battery bank to the main DC system of your truck camper. Do you have a How-to for setting that portion up? That is the only thing I cannot find with all of the information I’ve seen so far. I assumed there had to be some way to power lights, water pump, etc. off of Solar if you had it, versus relying exclusively off the 12V battery that comes in the outside box of a Lance rig.
Thanks for any advice you can provide!
Shaun