Vagabond Drifter Camper Buildout and Mods

Charging the house battery solely from solar?

I currently have my house battery set up like that. Less solar charge going to it because I don’t have as much to power and have a smaller house battery.

 

In my opinion, power needs should be determined by how much you want to spend and how much you will use it.

The Blue Sea ACR is hands down the best isolator for the price. The RedArc BCDC is much nicer, but at 2x-3x the price is it 2-3x nicer? I don’t think so *for most people*

Best bang for your buck is, in my opinion, 2x 100W Renogy panels (like $260 total), and a $30 charge controller linked to a battery in the bed. It’s not the best, or most ideal but it’s cheap and easy. I ran my fridge and charged two phones in 100 degree temps (so lots of sun but fridge also ran CONSTANTLY) in Utah last summer with just 100W of solar.

Right now I have a lithium Battleborn battery installed in my non-Vagabond camper and, so far, really like it. I have it paired with the Victron battery monitor, which I absolutely love, but going to Lithium introduces other costs - many standard solar chargers won’t charge lithium, and your Blue Sea ACR won’t work either. You will need a dedicated DC charger for lithium (like the RedArc).

The Victron solar controller and battery monitor are awesome because of the built in phone apps which allow me to monitor battery while I’m driving or in bed. The solar app is nice because I can see what amp rate my battery is charging at when picking a camp site so I can maximize my charging efficiency.

Right now I don’t really have the ability to charge my battery off my alternator - but the 2x 100W panels I have been using have been more than sufficient to keep the battery charged *when it’s sunny out*

 

should gave gone with goal zero... the 100w panel hooked right up trough anderson power pole and it manages the charge all by itself no need for anything else keep it simple

 

not enough power with goal zero to run everything.

Yup, will not be an issue keeping it charged. One panel is more than sufficient to run my fridge, the second will charge and when I am parked the third can come out if I need it if I need more amps. Plus they will actively top up the battery when I am not camping and keep it topped up. Plus keep in mind you are not using the power full time except for the fridge.

As @danneskjold said, victron is the way to go for charging the batteries, I am gathering everything now, but starting a new job, moving and a host of other shit that has gone on has not moving as fast as I would like as a lot of my finances are tied up for a bit.

 

Didn’t you just get that last week?! Have you even had a chance to use it yet? Not sure you’re in a position to really recommend it yet, or try and shame others.

There’s a lot of reasons Goal Zero isn’t popular here, but I personally didn’t go with Goal Zero but it’s really designed for people who don’t have permanent or semi permanent set ups. It’s expensive, proprietary, and takes too long to charge. Great for people who car camp out of a van, or only on weekends, but I think it’s lacking for a dedicated “expedition” rig.

 

what part of anything that I said was aimed at shaming anyone? Simply sharing my observations so far. Just because it's more expensive doesn't mean it's not as good as a cheaper setups that one can permanently install. I liked that it was mobile light and simple if it sucks in the field I will sell it and wire up something else at that point but on paper at least it looks like a win win. But that's just me different strokes for different folks.

 

I think you're right that an ACR is probably enough for most people.
I'll readily admit that my system is overkill most of the time. To me, it's worth having a setup that's robust enough to cover those uncommon scenarios.
And, like I mentioned, I think I'll get better long-term battery life with the BCDC vs the ACR, but that remains to be seen.

It's funny how different people's priorities drive their purchases/builds, and I think it's what makes seeing the details of other builds so interesting. Like I would love to have a Victron monitor, but can't justify that cost to myself right now. But the BCDC was the obvious choice in my mind, despite the price...

 

you don't have to have it all at once, the victron are nice, but save up for it. Upgrade as you go. get what you can afford and as finances become available you can upgrade.

the most expensive part of my setup will be the lithium battery, I'd go AGM, but I want the ability to use all the 100amps or pretty much all of it at 12 volts. Really the battery will just work as a gas tank and I will probably hardly every use more then 30 amps in a night, doubtful at that. (fridge running 12 hours(18 amps), lights for a bit (5 amps), maybe a stereo(2amps), tv (5amps(haha), fan, etc. If i break out the margarita machine I'll need to get the generator out.) and with 200w and an optional 100w panel, i should be able to bring in 9-15amps an hr (I reduced the amps due to dust/etc)

The biggest factor for me was that I am tired of having to run the truck on a trip, I want to off road somewhere, camp, hike and do my think for a few days to a week. Maybe a few moves, etc. but want to still have power. Basically I am looking to base camp as I am tired of the setup camp, break down camp drive somewhere (hopefully offroad), rinse and repeat. It is tiring and not nearly as much fun, all depends on the trip though. Throw in the dog maybe a female companion and hikes, and my offload time is limited, couldn't imagine with kids, jesus that would be a handful and my truck would never be what it is today.

 

I would say those numbers are extremely optimistic. I don’t think I’ve never seen higher than 9 or 10 amps out of 200W of solar.

 

That’s for 300w, I also have a renogy 100w foldable on a long lead that I can maneuver to get better solar.

For the two on the roof which would be 200w, I would only expect to see about 7-8amp on a super sunny/clear day and they are directly into the sun. from testing before with solar panels, I don’t think that is unrealistic if you face into the sun and have them up. flat on the roof, hell no, I would probably only get 7-8 for 300watts if that and 4-6 for 200watts. Enough to run the fridge and charge the battery while i am driving or the truck is parked.

 

Hmm, does anyone have the list of 80/20 parts for the solar panel mounting? had it saved on my computer and I cleaned everything up the other day for files and managed to delete it. And for the life of me I cannot find the damn post on Taco World.

 

See post #1403 for part list.

Post #1394 has another option just using aluminum angle which looks pretty cost effective.

I just velcroed a flexible panel down and it's been working great.

 

All this battery talk has me thinking what I should do on my build.

I am leaning towards a single battery setup with solar. Group 31 AGM and use one or two 100 watt solar panels ontop of the Drifter. I like the idea of having a removable solar panel so I can park in the shade and move the panel to a sunny area if needed.

I am not familiar with solar, never used a solar panel before. Will there be any negative impacts of connecting the solar panels to a single battery setup? For example the solar panel providing not clean power and disturbing the Tacoma electronics, ecu, etc? Or does a good MPPT controller take care of this and only provide clean power to the battery?

 

This thread from Expo was helpful when I was doing my setup.
https://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/solar-power-faq.60087/
Not sure if it has been kept up to date but it has a lot of information.
Do your research and actually figure out what the demand of your system will be. Then multiply it by 2 and use that value.

Look into ctek isolators. They have a very good reputation.

 

Awesome will definitely check it out.

All I will be running is a fridge and some exterior LED lights in the future. I don't need too much power.

 

As part of my buildout, I removed the bracket to hold the prop rod. I temporarily stored the rod along the side, but very recently discovered it fits between the (sleeping) bed rails. I’m mentioning it because some folks might incorporate this for holding up the tent fabric while the top is closed. Off course, the support pole isn’t designed for this kind of force, and the tent fabric might rub on the pole.

It seems like most simply slide the platform back. Nevertheless, someone may find this useful.

 

We get it

Try posting over here
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/at-habitat-pictures-ideas-aaand-bs.532519/

 

As far as we understood it for a 2nd gen trd sport - no. We also preferred the dual set up under the hood rather in the back so that’s where it lies. Will report back on any issues.

 

Also with early 2nd gen TRD OR without a trac you can’t really fit a second under the hood

 

I had a 2nd battery on the passenger side of the engine bay but the Toyota tin metal welds tore loose so I had to relocate it to the back seat of my access cab. This is in a 2009 TRD OR.