What gauge wire do I need for fridge circuit?

Id use a small one, can always upgrade. The one I posted is just a example for glamping!

 

I meant wire gauge

 

I like the way you set up your pannel, is it on a piano hinge up front, what did you use for rear slide to adjust angle

 

Nope, other way around. Voltage drop across a wire is proportional to the resistance of the wire which decreases as wire size goes up. Think of it like garden hose vs fire hose, bigger hose means bigger current at the same pressure(voltage).

If you plan on other mods or think you might it is a good idea to run one heavier cable to a distribution box and branch from that rather than multiple runs from the battery. Like sub panels in a house. Wiring can get complicated quickly but this is one way to keep it under control.

 

Go with 6ga. Also note your solar wont keep up with the fridge as its only putting out 8amps optimally, so you will be short a bit if camping without moving anywhere for awhile. May want to supplement with propane until you put in a second battery, especially when its hot out! One sure upgrade you will want are dome lights and reverse lights, and your will have a power supply line for it set up already!

Also, consider putting one of these waterproof circuit breakers near your battery to protect it if your positive cable run shorts:

Bussmann CB285-30 Surface-Mount Circuit Breakers, 30 Amps (1 per pack)

$37 Bussmann CB285-30 Surface-Mount Circuit Breakers, 30 Amps (1 per pack)

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01FWMM260/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_nyCfCbP5J2K5V

 

Thanks! I was actually looking for a way to decrease wind resistance due to the rtt, and I saw @RedBeard1 had a similar setup, so I went a this route and checked two boxes at once.

It’s not a piano hinge per se, but three hinges riveted to a length of 1.5” aluminum angle. The struts I just made with some scrap aluminum I had on hand,

 

This, very definitely. The feed to auxiliary fuse box needs a breaker or appropriate fuse in just the same way any other hot wire needs a fuse. Located as close as possible to the source(battery in this case). Breakers are handier allowing easy shutoff to work on downstream circuits. Pick a breaker rated for the max of the auxiliary box and feed cable, whichever is lower.

 

Good advice. I didn’t get to this today so it’ll be another trip with propane. No biggie. I’ll probably have to refill at some point. We’re headed to Baja Ca for a couple weeks, leaving tomorrow (we were supposed to have left Friday).

I’ll do this the right way, after the trip.

Anyone know of a reliable/accurate tank gauge for propane? The one I ordered from Amazon is pretty useless. It reads full until it’s totally empty. When the gas runs out, it lets you know that you ran out of gas.

 

Any opinions on these particular batteries (edit: link fixed):

http://www.lithiummoto.com

Thinking of picking one up. They seem well made.

 

I’ll definitely go this route. I have the breaker @OnHartung'sRoad mentioned on my solar panel. I need to throw an aux fuse block under the hood also. I’ve got four leads coming off the battery to various equipment and it’s getting messy!

 

Thanks for the math info!

We are headed to Baja too! Know of any nice secluded spots?

 

Is it one if the strip gauges? They indicate the temperature differential of the tank at the boundary of the gas and liquid but those tend to equalize over time just sitting there. Only under use does the gas cool sufficiently to give a reading. Since the metal over the empty portion changes temp more readily than over the filled area pouring warm on the strip is supposed to highlight the difference giving the strip gauge something to indicate. A pressure gauge can be misleading since it reads the pressure of the gas over the liquid A scale it the most accurate way though. The tare weight should be on the tank and anything more is propane. Weigh it empty and filled to calibrate.

Bad link, just showed e-tandems. What's it for, battery backup for starting?

 

Oh man, that Baja trip was with my last girlfriend before I met my wife about 25 years ago, but pretty much any Mulegé gulf side beach is nice if you go between it and Bahía Concepción. If you are sea kayaking, Espiritu Santo Island is awesome. Check out grey whales this time of year at Scammons Lagoon or Magdalena Bay too.

Sounds like a great trip, and a lot Warmer than mine - and I love those last minute projects preparing for them. I just put in a second battery and am boxing a small portable 12v diesel powered heater for my RTT for a Christmas trip I am leaving for in a couple days to Texas, through New Mexico and Arizona from my home in So Cal. Have fun on yours!!

 

Oh yeah, if you can’t get a propane tank strip online, try a local RV store, else if the tank is easy to pick up, just use a hand scale to weigh it to see the amount of propane- weigh the tank empty and full, then the percent weight of any difference is the amount it is full. Or near the beach, I’ve just looked for the dew line on the side of the tank in the morning (only if you keep it outside all night).

 

Your setup is awesome! I now know who to hang out with if a zombie apocalypse comes.

 

Don’t want to go too far off topic so bear with me. Solar is not the saviour many believe it to be. It is simply too expensive when done right over other technologies like inverter generators. IMO the ONLY reason to go solar is noise. I have 400w of solar and 600ah of battery capacity and I am roughly at $2600CDN. This price doesn’t account for the fact that I have a family friend at interstate and got the batteries at cost saving 50%. Otherwise my battery bill is $1600 alone. My batteries weigh 340lbs between the 4 of them. I am currently spending my days rotating between all of my batteries in the garage as I top them up with my charger because they aren’t getting enough charging from solar over the winter to overcome the loss from sitting. One had even dropped enough that a skin of ice had formed in one battery because acid reverts to water when the charge drops. I could have killed a $400 battery if it froze and damaged the plates.

Now my Honda generator was $2600 out the door and gives me 3000w starting and 2800w running (constant). A much better value per watt IF you can live with the noise. In my case I need the generator during the day (tire warmers for my race bike) but only need to run my lights and maybe my tv at night. I can also run my 24” fan to quickly exchange the air in my trailer and still top up my batteries (barely) off of solar.

Get a small Honda generator for when you are parked and it will be much cheaper and more reliable. It works awesome on cloudy days. Buying a Honda isn’t cheap but they are simply the quietest generators available. Honestly if I did it again I would just go with the generator and the battery bank with an inverter. When I use my race trailer for camping with the family I can go a weekend without the generator which is nice but it sure costs a ton for this option.

For the OP I would go propane for the fridge and a small Honda generator for the rest of your loads. Maybe a small battery bank for night which can be charged via the truck when moving and the generator when parked. That will give you the biggest bang for your buck if you can live with the generator noise when needed.

 

Lots of good advice in here

If it hasn't been said already, make sure your main power cable from the battery to load (ie fuse panel in the rear) is well protected with split loom and appropriate grommets. A high current breaker near the battery will work very well for a convenient disconnect and will generally protect the cable run after it, but I've seen a situation where an intermittent short was causing significant damage to the cable but not tripping the breaker. In fact, the incident occurred in a police interceptor wherein the operator smelled smoke, but the breaker did not trip. The cable was rubbing against a sharp corner on the driver's seat mount. I guess in that case you could say the cable was routed poorly too, but it was definitely not protected with loom.

 

excellent, i def have been thinking about something like that but quick dissconnect if I want to chase the sun once parked

 

Thanks a ton for the leads! Camping near the border at Imperial Dunes tonight. Headed through Calexico in the am!

 

It isn’t a strip gauge. It’s one of the needle style gauges. The tank is a bit of a hassle to access so I suppose the best method in this case is to pick up a strip gauge and watch the dew line as OnHartung'sRoad suggests.

Fixed the link. I’d use the battery for my aux in a dual setup. But might replace the main/starting battery with one as well if appropriate (I think I’d read somewhere that this type isn’t a good use case for starting)...