Nav's "It takes a village" off-road trailer build

Looks like everything came out really nice. Digging the tent setup with entry from the trailer.

 

Thank you! We really like it too.

 

How much all in did you end up spending? If you don't mind me asking that is.

 

PM sent.

 

Solar panel installed and working!





Here I’m close enough to pick up Bluetooth from both truck and trailer solar systems.

 

Can't believe I missed this for TWO YEARS.

Trailer is awesome John!

 

Haha! Welcome to the party. I just need to keep up with the thread better.

 

I never knew you got a trailer lol and I did disappear from the forums for a bit. Looking forward to see your solar setup come together so I can steal your ideas, er, I mean learn from what you do.

 

It’s already setup and working, but I’m replacing two 100ah lead batteries with 300ah lithium. The aging lead batteries are giving me less than half their rated capacity, so this should be a substantial upgrade.

Solar panel is Renogy, as are the controller and Bluetooth module.

The photo above shows a single panel; I’m adding another to help balance the load from the Dometic 75DZ fridge and diesel heater.

 

Nice setup. That new battery is going to be great! I'm leaning toward Renogy components (at least for the inverter) and a Victron Smart Shunt. I'm still looking into charge controllers though.

I'm in the market for a new fridge as well since my old 50L beer fridge finally wore out on me, and is a bit too small for the family. How are you liking that Dometic?

 

I have a 55IM that I bought new and really love. The side opening is great for how I have it mounted, and it seems very efficient.

I also got a 75DZ that has an issue, and @Dometic ’s support is absolutely not existent without a retail receipt.

So… the fridges are great when they work, but Dometic’s support is awful.

 

Bummer they aren't standing behind their product for you. Seems like they make everything under the sun for RVs and Campers... you'd think they'd have a better handle on support.

 

Yep!
It’s the new CFX3 series, and their customer service even admitted it was made within the last two years (by serial number), so in theory it should fall under their 5 year warranty… but nope!

 

Wow, eff those guys! That's some bullshit for sure.

 

Mounted a fire extinguisher and rewired the lights.



Then added a second solar panel to better feed the upgraded batteries.

 

Looking good! When/where is the next trip?

 

BBNP for Christmas/New Years.

 

Hell yeah. Man, I sure do miss that part of the world. We're heading to AZ to see my mom for Christmas. Hopefully we can camp out at the Grand Canyon on the way. There's nothing like the isolation you can find out in Big Bend though.

 

Yep, it’s our annual tradition, this will be our 7th Christmas down there. Love the stargazing and the quiet.

AZ should be good too! Hopefully a little warmer than Idaho for y’all.

 

Made it to Marathon for our annual trip to BBNP.

Solar panels are charging the battery even when “stowed”.