A Women's RV Forum run by Women RVer's!

Just want to introduce myself and let you know a little about me. After RVing for 20+ years with my late husband, I am about to venture out solo/fulltiming for the 1st time. I plan to leave PA in 2/3 weeks (if weather & RV prep. co-operates). I will head to FL to visit my brother and have him help in organizing rv (pantry shelves, etc.) then I plan to head to NM to take advantage of the annual pass for state parks they offer for camping. Living on a fixed income, this should help with expenses in saved campground fees. Hoping to join the WIN group there as I get more information as I proceed. Also I need to have solar panels installed on either RV (2014 Coachman Freedom Express TT) or tow vehicle (2007 Chevy Tahoe). Any advise on this or suggestions on how and best place to accomplish this would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Welcome to the forum, Jean. Sorry for the loss of your husband, but it sounds like you've got a great plan to continue the things you enjoyed together.

Hoosier Welcome

Seen solar panels mounted on the RV and portables that are setup at the site, don't recall seeing them on the TV. The portables are easier to keep aimed at the sun and thus are more efficient. When just mounted on the roof they are not always aimed the most efficient and thus roof mounted panels are often over designed to compensate. There are solar sites that give you all the numbers until your mind is mush.

Welcome to the group and you might look in the get together thread to meet up with others along the way.

Welcome Jean from SoCal! So very sorry on the passing of your husband. Been there, done that and it's hard. But good for you to continue the rv life! Hope to meet up with you down the road sometime!

Welcome, Jean, from WA state. Hope to meet ya down the road someday.

welcome Jean, good for you to continue with the rv life, looking forward to many more posts and stories of your travels

Jeaniesrvtravels wrote:Just want to introduce myself and let you know a little about me. After RVing for 20+ years with my late husband, I am about to venture out solo/fulltiming for the 1st time. I plan to leave PA in 2/3 weeks (if weather & RV prep. co-operates). I will head to FL to visit my brother and have him help in organizing rv (pantry shelves, etc.) then I plan to head to NM to take advantage of the annual pass for state parks they offer for camping. Living on a fixed income, this should help with expenses in saved campground fees. Hoping to join the WIN group there as I get more information as I proceed. Also I need to have solar panels installed on either RV (2014 Coachman Freedom Express TT) or tow vehicle (2007 Chevy Tahoe). Any advise on this or suggestions on how and best place to accomplish this would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Welcome from the Left Coast!

About the solar panels on a TV -- check out a blog called RV Sue and the Canine Crew. She tows a 17' Casita with a big van and has her solar panels mounted on the van. I'm sure she can give you some pointers, as she almost exclusively boondocks and relies on her panels for all of her panels.

Keep us posted on your adventures and journey. We're a great cheering section!

Laura

Hello and welcome to the forum.

Thanks for the welcomes. I will take your advise and continue to research solar panels. I like the idea of portable panels for flexability and not having to climb on roof to adjust when necessary. Will check out threads for meet ups down the road - when i figure out how. LOL

Welcome from Illinois Jean (or do you prefer Jeanie?). When it comes time for me to finally buy an RV, are your brothers rates cheap for helping me too?

A big Texas welcome. If you mount panels on roof you can't park under trees. There is a new product I've heard of; thin portable panels that you can just roll up to store. Welcome to the forum. I LOVE New Mexico and plan on being there maybe the month of August; possibly in Cloudcroft.

I will disagree about solar panels being better if you don't have them permanently mounted - as I'm totally solar with mine permanently mounted - and they don't have to tilt either. Lots has changed over the years. I would not want to be without solar. But what Karen said about trees is correct. However, you also don't want to have to run cables too far either to use the others - so all depends what will be best for you. My original intentions were to not mount, but I'm glad I did.

Welcome - sorry that should have come first! Glad you found your way over here and hope to meet you on the road. I think you'll truly enjoy the NM state park - but remember, you'll only be in the southern ones during the winter. However, as it turns to spring, the others will be a new adventure. I love NM. Depending on when I come back up from Baja and the direction I travel, a gtg could be in the future (or with some of the other ladies down here now, also - as they'll be traveling around the SW, also).

Once again I agree with Beth and then toss in the ease of theft when those panels are set away from your vehicle. We love that we have solar on our van roof, permanently attached.
Velda

A solar panel that is aimed directly at the sun will be more efficient than one just laying on the roof. There is nothing wrong with the panel mounted flat on the RV roof, you just need to understand it may not operate at it's full rated capacity. Depending upon angles to sun it might only be 80% efficient. You need to allow for that in your calculations. There are advantages and disadvantages to any set up.

Personally, I'd rather overdesign the system and have it all securely mounted so I did not have to mess with it.

Solar Panel Orientation http://www.alternative-energy-tutorials.com/solar-power/solar-panel-orientation.html

The internet is flooded with information on solar systems.

It's only maybe a 2% or so difference being mounted - as long as I park in the sun. And I like that they can't be stolen either - and I don't have to move them all day long ... but it is personal preference. Mitch has solar not mounted and she's very, very happy with it down here in Baja ... loves how it's working. So it's whatever works best for who is using it. She does have to move the panels during the course of the day to follow the sun - probably negates the 2 or so percent unless you're really diligent about moving them every time needed. But both works ... well. I LOVE solar.