Solar panel

I just purchased a 2022 Heartland North Trail 24BHS trailer and I have a small, roof mounted solar panel installed by manufacturer. Anyone has any technical info on this? Dealer has been useless and I got nothing in my manuals.20221222_161609.jpg
 

centerline

Well-known member
thats a 30watt panel.... it may or may not be equipped with a PWM controller, depending on how many batteries the rv has.

its enough to keep the battery charged while in storage, but will give little to no help when camping.... and nothing in that system can be upgraded for better performance, but it would all need to be replaced....
 
thats a 30watt panel.... it may or may not be equipped with a PWM controller, depending on how many batteries the rv has.

its enough to keep the battery charged while in storage, but will give little to no help when camping.... and nothing in that system can be upgraded for better performance, but it would all need to be replaced....
Thanks. It does have a 10 amp renogy wanderer controler.
I guess it's useless. I hope I can at least use the wiring with a larger panel since it's wired through the walls and roof.
 

centerline

Well-known member
Thanks. It does have a 10 amp renogy wanderer controler.
I guess it's useless. I hope I can at least use the wiring with a larger panel since it's wired through the walls and roof.

not totally useless if it works... as it will keep the batts charged when the trailer isnt plugged in.

but yes you could probably go as high as 120watts on that wire... its pretty small gauge.
yes, the "Wanderer" is a PWM type controller. they are best for output less than about 80watts, and after about 100watts, the MPPT controllers start to be the controller of choice, as it will put more power into the batteries than a PWM type controller could...
 

taskswap

Well-known member
I have the same panel, and talked about it briefly in a video I did on my solar upgrade to our Milestone. If you look very closely you'll see the panel has more or less useless wiring and sizing (it's really just about good enough to maintain your battery in storage, so there's that). But the wiring through the roof is much larger, mine was 10GA and yours looks about the same.

The issue is, I tried to trace it and also tried to get Heartland to tell me the routing but both of those were no-go in my case. YMMV. The wiring coming into my PWM controller was more like 16GA so somewhere there must be a junction where they're splicing it. I could never find mine so I just ran a new wire with a new entry gland further forward, into the front closet in the master bedroom. It was easy to hide in there (I did it where the W/D would go) and run down to a frame rail and into the front storage compartment.
 
These panels are typically designed to help charge the battery on your trailer while you're out camping, which can be especially helpful if you're boondocking (camping without hookups). They can also be used to power small appliances like lights and fans. From what I've read on https://yenex.com, it sounds like these panels are relatively low-power and not meant to completely power all your appliances and systems, but they can help extend the life of your battery. If you have any specific questions about your panel or setup, I'd recommend reaching out to the manufacturer for more information.
 
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taskswap

Well-known member
I think it's also valuable for storage. A 20-30W panel is useless while camping but if you're storing your camper over winter, they're PERFECT for keeping your batteries charged in the off seasons. There's nothing worse than having a modern camper that you can't get "into" until the slides are run out but the battery is dead so you can't actually do that. So kudos to Heartland for that?

It's a swing-and-a-miss though. At least in my Heartland, the wiring was all 10AWG stuff, exactly in-spec for a modern solar installation design. But right at the end they terminate it out as 18AWG? It's just kind of crazy. It's something where they went 90% of the way to "this might actually set us apart" and then phoned it in at the end...
 
Congratulations on your recent purchase of the 2022 Heartland North Trail 24BHS trailer! It's exciting to hear that it comes equipped with a small, roof-mounted solar panel. This feature offers great potential for off-grid adventures and sustainable camping experiences.
 
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