Typical solar panel clamps meant to go between solar panels (and thus called mid clamps) are half inch thick, which in my case added up to 2 inches between the 5 panels and I was trying to minimize rear overhang as much as possible. By bolting the lower inside flange of the solar panels to the unistrut I was able to secure them without a mid-clamp and one could argue my method is safer since it's a bolt through a hole instead of a clamp pinching the panels down. Would it be possible to bolt them down flat to a roof? I imagine it's possible, but probably not as simple as mine being lifted and thus giving me easy access to the underside of the panels. Perhaps you can run a piece of unistrut along under the panels so as to only lift them an inch or two, but still give you something to bolt them to? Or perhaps unistrut run between the panels that you can bolt the panels to, but it runs out the sides to give you access to bolt it to the roof or something? I hope you're able to figure out a solution!

On their website for the Mega 1 near the bottom here oupes.com/products/oupes-mega-1-home-backup-portable-power-station-2000w-1024wh they have listed <20 ms UPS switching time.

I'm very well aware of the difference in solar production based on the orientation to the sun. I thought for a long time while planning my system about how I could create a mounting mechanism that allows the panels to tilt and decided ultimately to just go flat for a couple reasons. We don't typically camp in the winter when tilting is especially helpful. I installed a lot of solar panels that would hopefully help to overcome some of the inefficiency of flat mounted panels in the winter. If I tilt the panels on their long sides so that they don't stick up as far then they would shade each other. If I tilted longwise so as to avoid shading then they'd stick up in the air like a sail (they're 8 feet long) and be a big liability when wind kicks up suddenly. Plus there's the additional weight and complexity which added cost and effort on my part to figure it all out. The whole project was a lot to figure out in the time frame I was trying to get it done in and I can still add a tilting mechanism in the future potentially. I have done tests with my panels in the winter such as this one kzbin.info/www/bejne/fn_Cg32dh56moNk where we took it out camping in the winter for the first time as well as this one kzbin.info/www/bejne/aojRhYWEibOIjqc where I tested the power production on the shortest day of the year. The difference of power production from the longest to the shortest day of the year is significant. Shortest day of the year can charge the battery 51%, longest day of the year can charge the battery 200%. If you're looking for the best power production in the winter then you most certainly must tilt the panels. In my case it's a rare enough use case that I'd just use a generator to supplement in the winter if needed. Alternatively I'd just use the propane furnace in the winter instead of the heat pump mini split to reduce my electricity consumption.

Make sure to click on the link in the video description to get the 5% off!

@@Familyadventure369 Sorry about that. I may have accepted too many products to review...with tight turn around times. I have a couple more to publish over the next few weeks then I'll get back to my adventures backlog that is now 18 deep! Part of the issue is product review videos are much easier to make (less editing time) and we've been so busy going on trips, all I've managed to get edited with the little time I have available between trips is reviewing products.

Understandable and product reviews are important im not criticizing just threw me for a loop was all im still a huge huge fan of the channel brotha keep up the hard work but dont let the editing time affect life family is important and part of that is balancing work youtube channel editing trips and product reviews i just would hate for you to get burnt out with it all and quit doing such amazing work😊

​@@Familyadventure369thanks I agree and thanks for the feedback!

That would be a nice feature to have, depending on how it's implemented.

I have the android system version and it's buggy. Would not purchase again. That's the more expensive version. Also the update button is the only button stuck in chinese.

@TY-kb9fc that would be annoying, bummer.

@@justinfowler2857 I have no way to measure that. Considering the whole trailer is a lot of drag I suspect that the panels don't add a ton more drag but probably some. In the future when I have an electric truck that gives me a lot more detail about energy consumption I will have the ability to tow a similar 2185 travel trailer down a certain distance and then do it again with mine and see if there is a measurable difference. If I am able to pull that off someday I'll probably make a KZbin video doing it.

@@davidscott3292 good point

@@benkanobe7500 No there isn't a schematic. I intended to create one but couldn't decide what software program to use and ultimately I figured it would take too much time and I knew it all in my head. There isn't really anything special about being able to charge an electric car from the trailer though. The main thing the Tesla mobile connector requires is for the ground and common wires to be connected (bonded) together which I did in my breaker panel.

No problem, but I'm not sure what comment this is in response to.

@@peterkn2 Yep, they need to improve the software. I want them to let us customize our own interface, like the widgets in an Android phone.

The clear line you saw in the video is the inlet for antifreeze when winterizing the water system of the trailer. It works fine for that purpose, not being too kinked. Also the outdoor shower water pressure is fine and doesn't use the clear line anyway.

How is the 6-20 better? With the 6-20 I can't charge from receptacles that are higher than 20 amps. I've used this setup to charge from many friends and families homes and typically I am able to reach their dryer outlet (either NEMA 10-30 or 14-30) which is a 30 amp circuit. The second most common receptacle I've found in people's homes is the 14-50 which is a 50 amp circuit. I can always transfer fewer amps than the rated max of the wire, but never more for the hours it takes to charge an EV.

@@spuddy4063 thanks that's very kind of you! EVDANCE also sells a J1772 extension cord.

I should also mention that this extension cord can also be used by EVs with other charge port types, but obviously with an adapter. For instance I have a Tesla to J1772 adapter I could use.

@@ThomasGrantBennett I'm somewhat surprised you've had multiple instances of ICEing in just a couple months of EV ownership. I can only think of one instance where it has happened to us. Not at superchargers since this wouldn't work for them. We have been completely ICEd at one supercharger and there have been others where one of multiple plugs was blocked so we weren't inconvenienced.

@@ElectricTechAdventures Because I don't have L2 charging at home I suspect I do more destination charging than you (maybe?). But I use my NACS extension every Sunday at my In-laws, and I've been ICEd (both in EV and in skiing terms) at the ski resorts a few times.

I have never parked at a ski resort in a Tesla. Where I typically go there aren't usually destination chargers, at least that I know of. But I'm going to leave this extension cord in my frunk and it'll be there when we need it!

Will do!

@@ElectricTechAdventures I forwarded a link to your unboxing to the US Tesla owners in my life !

No, it's been 2.75 years and many thousands of miles since I installed the panels and there's zero effect on the driving.

Good point, it could be smaller. I think the pole design needs to be changed too.

Yes it has a rain fly. I'm doubtful it would make enough of a difference.

I hope you have a great trip! I've loved the ability to sleep in my cars with climate control on overnight.

Tesla has not published that number, but others have reported 80 kWh. I think its 75 kWh usable though.

No leaks and I've now camped in it 12 nights total. It's a comfortable mattress. The biggest drawback is it's size while rolled up. I have another one I'm going to review soon that might be smaller.

The only sound the entire video is just me talking so what are you talking about that is background noise?

You commented on wrong video mate.

Thanks for the insight. Do you care to share any specifics of your experience?

To be fair we actually don't watch shows in any of our vehicles very often. We generally reserve watching movies for the longest of days where we're somewhat desperate. As the kids have aged up the number of times where we've put on movies has declined as they're way into listening to audio books now. In fact during our Florida keys road trip spring of 2024 we drove a total of 121 hours and the kids listened to 10 audio books amounting to 59 hours of audiobooks. I had the tablet and suction cups ready and waiting, but we didn't show the kids a single movie or show the entire trip and they never brought it up either. That being said when they do watch shows (mostly at home while not on road trips) we've told them from an early age that they have to agree on a single show to watch and sometimes in the past that has devolved into fighting over the desired shows and thus tears and thus nobody gets to watch anything. We fought those battles early and now days (for the last 2 ish years) they're really good when we tell them they can watch a show that they just run downstairs to do so and there's no fights and they watch the show. Occasionally when they're good and the time is available we let them watch three shows so they each get to pick what they want the most and the others always stick around to watch all the shows anyway so obviously they're not THAT picky. In general though there are many better things to do with time like playing outside with friends and luckily we have good neighborhood friends so they're not constantly begging to watch a show.

Thanks, I appreciate that! What type of content do you like the most? For instance if you were to rank Tesla road trips vs, RV, vs eBike, vs Tech reviews related to all that etc...?

@@edrodrigues3333 trailer tongue weight varies, even between the same model. Depends on installed options etc

@@ElectricTechAdventures I would suggest you log on to LOA. Not one 2185 owner has your numbers. Wouldn’t want this bad info to get out just so you can get a free hitch.

@@edrodrigues3333 I've perused LOA many times. My numbers are not out of the ordinary, which is a wide band of weights. Many people don't cite their weight source, whether it's a tongue weight scale of some sort, or they're doing math at a CAT scale. Also I haven't seen anybody specifically empty out their entire trailer of all their personal belongings to check that tongue weight. Cite a source and we can discuss details otherwise there's no point in generically stating what's right or wrong. As an example on this page community.lanceowners.org/topic/lance-2185-tongue-weights the last two posts on the page are more useful. One person said they had 1080# tongue weight (without stating how they measured it) then they made modifications and the tongue weight came in at 860#. They never mentioned whether the trailer had all their personal belongings removed. In my video I removed everything that didn't come with our trailer and I stated that in the video. I've now been using that weigh safe hitch since May 2021 (3.25 years) over thousands of miles and I monitor the tongue weight regularly. Our tongue weight hovers around 1200# now as I stated in this followup video after my significant modifications to the trailer adding lots of equipment. kzbin.info/www/bejne/anfcgGOpbMR_a7c There is about 100# of variance up or down from there depending on which of the water tanks is fuller, and whether we have bikes on the back of the trailer. I always put the heaviest cargo into the bed of the truck or on the floor where the bottom bunk is in the very back, and I put the lightest cargo in the passthrough storage of the trailer to minimize the increase of tongue weight from cargo. I've towed in many types of terrain from mountains to flat and with strong side winds with zero sway. Here's an example of strong side winds we've towed the trailer through. kzbin.info/www/bejne/d6eZZ3t5arJ5jZIsi=S6gPxmn1f8qo9BPY&t=746

@@ElectricTechAdventures Your own CAT SCALE numbers don’t agree with the gauge. Which is not the best way to measure it anyway. My number of #1100 doesn’t even include the equaliser hitch and bars. It’s straight off the tongue. Under #800 is not a good number. You can get to #860 if you put a lot of weight in the garage, but don’t try to tow it. Makes it very unstable, I’ve tried.

@@TonyMiguel-ko7cz hard to know how to pronounce for sure.

Yep

@serraios1989 I pre setup mine before my trip. Once you have the clips in just fold up the frame for next use. Alot of tubers completely disassemble the tent and have to redot from the start.

@@Lionheart732 Thanks for the tip, I didn't think to do that.

@@Lionheart732 Yes the space the AC Tent takes will be less of an issue for you in a 5 seater I imagine.

Thanks, I hope you have a great time! Feel free to report back here how the tent works out for you.

@@GKGK-yh2ec If our roofs were steeper than the graphs would perform better in the winter. As it is our roofs are tilted such that it accentuates the higher production in the summer. What do you mean you hope my neighbors were not hurt? How would they have been hurt?

I've had the same question, meaning how much electricity does the screen consume and is that a noticeable amount of range reduction? I've now driven several thousand miles with the screen (including a road trip to Missouri from Utah which was around 2,200 miles) and I don't see a difference in energy consumption or range. I've looked at the energy consumption screen and nothing looks abnormal there either. Considering how little electricity is consumed by screens in general vs the motors I don't think there's any concern.

Thank you kindly for your clear response!​@@ElectricTechAdventures

At 15:36 in this video I discuss the battery degradation report. It answers your question of how many miles have been lost since the vehicle was new.

Here's the URL that'll take you directly to that time stamp kzbin.info/www/bejne/gXeThWWAd8dmoKMsi=fNHgiOhrrpPvdxDs&t=936

Thank you for your reply. My 2024 MS has 63,500 miles with 5.66% battery degradation. I think calendar aging is more significant than miles in my case.

@@teachingmaterial2011 do you mean 2014? Or did you put 63,500 miles already on it in half a year?

@@ElectricTechAdventures I meant 2014. It has been a long day.

I agree

@@ElectricTechAdventures I did look at their website and the price is pretty reasonable. I'd pay a bit more for a rain fly option that would cover the ceiling windows and create an air gap which I would think would help in both sunny and hot or cold temps

@@markodeen4105 It does have a rain fly that I mentioned briefly and then put it to the side because it wasn't going to rain and I wanted to be able to look out the clear ceiling. I should have put it on anyway to illustrate what it could look like with it on and then taking it back off. Frankly I kind of forgot about it myself.

@@ElectricTechAdventures Actually I do remember you pulled it out after the draft diverter!

Thanks! That's interesting to hear of your results camping in your Volt. I haven't heard of Volt camping, but I'm glad to hear it works too! Being able to run the HVAC system of a vehicle without an engine running is a huge perk in my opinion. And it's not just a perk for those who perhaps want to camp in their car, but often it's a simple as our baby falls asleep while we're driving (happens often) and when we get to our destination we can let them finish their nap in a cooled/heated vehicle keeping them safe and comfortable without interrupting their nap.

@@ElectricTechAdventures Camping in a Volt is complicated as the car does not have camp mode. The car normally shuts down after two hours so I had to put the car in Neutral and have an elastic band hold the gear selector button depressed to keep the AC on. After 8 hours it consumed only 18 KM of range my starting battery range was 135 KM. The Volt can on'y charge on a Level 1 or 2 Outlet.

@@spuddy4063 Oh, wow that's quite the work around to get it to keep the HVAC system on! I didn't even think about whether or not a Volt has a camp mode. That's cool that you figured out how to get it to do what you wanted!

@@brucefrazier9051 I'm not following you... What does 3K 24/70 synced refer to?

Oh, I think you're referring to the inverter is 3k VA (yes), the batteries are in a 24 volt DC configuration (yes) and the 70 is the amps the DC to DC converter can output (yes). I created a video that goes over all those components and here's the link to it kzbin.info/www/bejne/mqTIkISNbMt3o80 and additionally here's a playlist of all modifications (not trips) related to the trailer studio.kzbin.infoPLhYygFlMh_bdUV3KcSWNLRnPi4-WUWkFl/videos

Thanks, I'll check out the video. I've got my matching Victron but haven't completed the wiring . Running the Montana on 1 till things are completed. Using Eve 3.2 v cells to create the 24 V arrangement. I'm stationary in the Ozarks using 18-320 watt panels and really studying all the mini split options. Thanks for responding

@@brucefrazier9051 No problem I wish you the best on your project!

@@RoaringRanger I'm not concerned about that generally myself because before going camping I route the car and determine how many percent on the car battery I need to get to the next source of electricity. It's certainly possible to go into a remote location and not have enough energy to get back out...just like any other fuel type vehicle. Tesla has written the software to automatically turn off camp mode, sentry mode and cabin overheat protection at 20% state of charge to help ensure the user doesn't run the car to zero using those features. However obviously if you need more than 20% to get to a charger you'll be in trouble.

I just checked TeslaFi and I haven't charged the Model S over 90% since February 22nd 2024 apparently, which I'm just finding out myself. I'm not surprised though since right now I'm exclusively charging the S from our travel trailer's solar panels. The state of charge is all over the place, but generally 40-60%. It did recently get to 90%, but I'm realizing now I should have let it charge to 91% to let TeslaFi get a data point on it's estimated range. On February 22nd 2024 the estimated range at 100% was 245 miles. It's probably still in that general area of range.

Right, but what is the difference between the estimated range you are getting and the actual mileage you get? I know the estimated range is based on more ideal driving circumstances, so the actual real world range will be lower, but how much lower is what I really want to know. My car tells me the estimated range is for 100% state of charge is like 235 miles, but when I take a drive of 23.5 miles the charge drops more like 15% as opposed to the estimate which would be 10%. So my actual range seems way off from the estimated range the car gives me. Just using the miles I drive in a given trip divided by the percent decrease of the state of charge, I am getting between 1.6 and 2.0 miles of driving (a wide range, I know) for every 1% of charge that is lost/used. I figure this means my real range has to translate between 160 and 200 miles. This is not necessarily a concern for me because I can comfortably live with my car as a daily driver getting charged every day at home, but if batteries that drop below 70% of original charge become less stable and prone to failure, then I would like to know. Can you tell me about how close your cars estimated range is to what actually get? Does a 24.5 mile drive drop the state of charge by 10% as estimated, or is it typically a drop closer to15%?

​@@jasonpalmer7511 You raise a good point, and I've been writing a script to make a video about the very subject of actual real world range vs the "rated range" which is well known for being...optimistic. Looking in TeslaFi for my Model S at my top 10 longest drives they vary from 197 (used 92% of the battery at 83.8% efficiency and 89k miles on the odometer) to 175 miles (used 95% of the battery at 70.7% efficiency and 81k miles on the odometer). A more recent example from December 2023 when we drove it down to Las Vegas to pickup our Model Y we drove 95% of the battery driving 174 miles at 73.8% efficiency and 135k miles on the odometer. Keep in mind the speed limit on that route was 80 mph... The longest drive we've ever done was 3 hours and 30 minutes to drive 197.21 miles using 92% of our battery at 83.8% efficiency with 89k miles on the odometer. Generally I drive about 75-85 mph while on road trips so all these numbers reflect that. You can expect about 200 miles of range while on road trips with minimal safety margin, but this number can be higher if you drive slower or are going down in elevation, or there's a tail wind etc... Conversely if you're generally going up in elevation, a head wind, going faster it'll be lower obviously. Regarding the Battery Management System (BMS) and the car stating range that doesn't seem to match with the real world, that will typically get more accurate if you run the battery all the way down, then charge it all the way back up which is only something we do on road trips. If you are just driving around town for months/years then the BMS can get pretty uncalibrated which will likely be fixed by not charging for as long as it takes to run the battery down to say around 10% then charge it all the way back up to 100% (then hopefully drive the car that same day to get it back down to less than 90%). We have a destination we drive to regularly that's 25 miles away (we've driven there over 200 times in just our Model S) and the last 10 times we've driven there in the Model S it consumed 11%, (July) 13%, (June) 15%, (Feb and the rest are all winter months) 14, 13, 14, 14, 13, 14, 14% to get there. That's a variance of 70-90.8% efficiency. Why the variance? All kinds of things. Cabin set temperature, ambient temperature, was the car just parked in the garage prior to the drive or was it in the driveway (Our S and Y take turns in the garage for various reasons), was there wind, what direction was the wind going, traffic conditions etc... In short I've learned to not be concerned about the range at all when we're simply driving around town because we have way more than enough range to drive wherever we want to go. Then on road trips I rely heavily on the navigation in the car to see what the estimated arrival percentage is. When doing rough planning I know we can go about 200 miles max, but the distance we actually drive is less than that dictated by the distance we can drive between the superchargers considering environmental variables that the trip planner takes into account (elevation changes for instance) automatically. I mention this because while I like to dive into the details of the metrics, the average person out in the world likely doesn't want to have to be bothered by efficiencies, distances, Watt hours per mile etc... and I want them to recognize that they can just route the car to their intended destination and let the car take care of the rest if they want.

@@ElectricTechAdventures That is really helpful. Thank you for the detailed response. Just to add a data point for others who are here reading about repair costs on a 2015 Model S 85D, I got mine a few weeks ago and the headlight went out a few days later. The part alone (HID bulb) was $130. There were much cheaper options on Amazon ($30 and up) but I chose the Sylvania D3S because it is warrantied for 12 months and, more importantly, the replacement of the bulb was much more difficult than it should be and I didn't want to have to do it again because a cheap bulb burnt out or failed. I have always changed my own headlight bulbs (Mazdas, Acura), but the Model S required jacking the car up, removing the tire and wheel well just to get access to the bulb. Some say it can be done from the frunk, but it's really tight. After watching numerous videos, I decided to price out having Tesla do it because I lack both the proper tools and the confidence to jack the car and start taking it apart. I really cannot afford to break something else in the process! Tesla service gave me appointment three weeks out for a different issue (cellular connection) and never responded when I messaged them about the headlight (Atlanta area). I found two shops that do work on Teslas and both quoted me over $250 just for the labor. I tried looking on Task Rabbit for a freelance mechanic, but didn't see any who advertised experience with Teslas. I did find a mobile mechanic company (instant car fix.com) that quoted me $250 total for parts and labor. They came next day and the mechanic was pretty good about walking through the procedure so I could do it in the future if I choose. But even he struggled for a few minutes to get the new bulb in place. My hands don't "have eyes" like an experienced mechanic, so I think I would have been really frustrated had I tried it on my own. The mobile mechanic work was warrantied for 12 months (parts and labor) and they used the Sylvania bulb. I kept my Tesla service appointment because I have no cellular connection. They have yet to give me an estimate, but I might not even bother to get it fixed because I can hotspot from my phone if I want internet. I cannot, however, use any Teslas phone app features if the car is not connected to a recognized wifi network--which will be most of the time the car is away from home. So far, I am doing fine without the celluar connection, but lacking the real time traffic (even when hotspotting) might push me to get it fixed.

Thanks for sharing this information! I didn't know the headlight bulbs were so difficult to replace. I haven't run into that yet. Also not having cellular data connection and thus no connection to the car through the app would certainly motivate me to get it fixed most likely. Hopefully that's not overly expensive!

I love my solar array powering my mini split. I have no problem simply recommending what I did and I've documented all the big parts of what I did in this playlist kzbin.info/aero/PLhYygFlMh_bdUV3KcSWNLRnPi4-WUWkFl especially because I don't know more specifics of what you're situation is. That being said I'm not a consultant. In the description of my videos I have a link to a google spreadsheet that lists all the components I used in my build if that's helpful to you.