Powering the Mini Camper .. Full Solar install Renogy 100AH Core Mini

[@goingagainstthegrain]

The cost of RVs aren't worth the money to invest in (especially with their fine print warranties.) You did a superb job on this project! Mini camper looks solid! Thank you for giving us some ideas on the build of the camper and the solar array set up!!!

[@fawzimansour8385]

You,r right especially when you,r dealing with the Scumest of the Scums on the Universe

[@blackspruce1861]

They are way too expensive for me thats for sure !! you're very welcome glad you liked it !!

[@jafjavier4939]

the best way to buy any vehicle is to not buy brand new, and in RVs, it's better to get a builder or build one yourself

[@lynnethebeautifulone4145]

Fantastic upgrade to your Mini Camper. Me myself and I love that orange strap. 😁

[@blackspruce1861]

thanks !! lol I guess I don't hate it but would have preferred black

[@masterofmanythings1]

I had renergie on my sailboat their panels work great for 3 years being in salt water before I sold the boat and everything was still working just like it was new. Their customer support is awesome as well you will get somebody you can understand any day of the week

[@blackspruce1861]

Thats awesome !! I called them once with a question and the guy was pretty knowledgeable

[@bryans8656]

You seem to be very good at visualizing the steps before you start the actual work. Great job.

[@blackspruce1861]

Thank you , glad you enjoyed it !!

[@marcobrian1619]

It's great that chaps like you, play about and also record what you do and how you do it.... This vid has given me a great idea to my work van with a spare 200ah 12v pack IV got kicking about...

[@Fiona-OutEquipPro]

Fantastic job on the solar setup in your mini camper! The system looks super efficient and well-planned for your space.👍👍👍

[@blackspruce1861]

Thanks!! I'm pretty happy with it too.

[@SniperKingz]

Literally just watched your other renogy vid last night, so waking up to this is a nice surprise. Out of the all the Whipples that post, your vids are my favorite, Ryan. You explain things really well and show off a lot of good tricks while building.

[@katherineburden5416]

Dave and Brooke are awesome too!

[@blackspruce1861]

Thats awesome thank you !!! I'll keep em rolling out this year ,'' I hope ''

[@blackspruce1861]

They sure are !!! don't forget my nephew, their son Mick " betting on Alaska " is his channel

[@katherineburden5416]

@blackspruce1861 I subscribe to the entire family. You, Brooke and Dave and the son and daughter. You are all very talented!

[@jolenejennings1660]

Black Spruce, where are you?? Hubby enjoys your builds and I'm highly jealous of your autumn-ness!!!! 🍁🍂

[@marklownox]

Your camper is looking great. Good job on the solar install.

[@blackspruce1861]

Thank you !!

[@kfd308]

Great build! Thanks for your time and effort to post!

[@blackspruce1861]

Thank you !! no problem . I should have another on this camper up soon

[@samhill3496]

Glad ou did this vid. A lot will transfer to my small camper top on my S10 pickup. Simple light and fairly compact. even for a small cabin as well. All good.

[@blackspruce1861]

Awesome , glad it will help !!!

[@suezaple4950]

Awesome work as always love your projects ,

[@blackspruce1861]

Thanks !!

[@ksredsfan]

Another great informative video thanks Ryan the mini camper looks awesome hope you have alot of years use out of it

[@blackspruce1861]

Thanks !! i feel like ive been dragging my feet on the next steps but I'm looking forward to getting it done and doing some camping with it

[@jimsteele7108]

Awesome, You do the best projects! Fun channel, thanks for the video.

[@blackspruce1861]

Thank you !!! I'm glad you liked it I plan to keep them rolling this year !

[@katherineburden5416]

Great video Ryan!

[@blackspruce1861]

Thanks Katherine !

[@GleeChan]

Hey, I was the 100th like. Anyway, entertaining/informative as usual. I like how you took the time to talk about electrical. I notice a lot of channels like these just skip over that like it's not interesting. Since I was young I've worked electrical with my Dad so I'm always interested in how people go about things in their projects. So thanks for including it. You'd be surprise the amount of people who hook something up but just talk about the mounting process and that's it.

[@blackspruce1861]

Awesome !! Thanks , I know what you mean . I know what you mean there have been a few things I've wanted to figure out and like you have noticed they skipped over the trickiest parts and I never got the info I wanted . thats part of the reason I've tried to put in as much detail as I can .

[@TonyGeneseo]

Awesome video ! “ Evergreen “ for sure !! Take care Ryan

[@blackspruce1861]

Thanks !! I try to make em all evergreen if I can , you too Tony !

[@dang6832]

None of mine ever came with a gasket. Silicone to the rescue. Besides it sticks so well I never had to put screws into my brickwork. Very nice. Clean and wonderfully set up. I may have gone with the 200ah just for those lean days with no sun though.

[@blackspruce1861]

thats good to know . it just came in a plastic bag with no instructions so I had no idea if it was supposed to have one or not , and it had that channel that one would fit in so I was pretty suspicious of it lol . I could get another r 100 amp hr I guess if I find out its not enough

[@1979manolis]

You the best youtuber in this moment

[@blackspruce1861]

Thats awesome !!! Thank you !!

[@bowslap]

Ryan, this has snowballed into quite a sophisticated little camper! I’d like to see how it holds up under a road trip….I wonder if a small airbag suspension setup would be beneficial or unnecessary. Indiana roads are pretty rough anymore, and I’ve driven through Michigan more than once as a trucker with 2.5 million miles…so I feel qualified in rating road conditions, lol. If it proves roadworthy, I might consider replicating such a setup as it would be far more efficient than pulling my 30’ Keystone Outback travel trailer all the way up to, say, St. Ignace for vacation.

[@blackspruce1861]

Thanks !! I'm looking forward to finding out myself . Michigan definitely has quite the proving grounds as far as rough roads goes lol . I've got a little more work to do before I can get it plated ,but hoping to get a winter camping trip in with it this year

[@michiganengineer8621]

Very nice setup, one of my nephews added solar to his mini-van (he's trying to vanlife it I think). Your rig would probably be just about perfect for his setup except for heat LOL

[@blackspruce1861]

Thanks !!! I was going to install a heater this video but decided to do it in the next one so hopefully that will be up early February , and hopefully I will be pretty much finished and get it on a winter camping trip

[@CoastGord]

I swear...it's like watching myself, methodically...without the snow...good job

[@blackspruce1861]

Thats awesome !!

[@ronethridge9875]

Good idea 💡💡😂😂🎉🎉 thanks much

[@blackspruce1861]

Thanks !!! I'm glad you liked it !

[@modwrath810]

My marine lead acid battery is 122 ah , 12 v and it weighs 60 lbs but it runs my 200 watt solar system on my cabin beautifully. And if need be I have 2 of them and do use two if I'm camping more than a weekend.

[@Ebikelover]

Awesome video Ryan, Nothing wrong with orange

[@blackspruce1861]

Thanks!! yeah I can live with it I guess lol

[@kingrafa3938]

Nice solar power set up;

[@blackspruce1861]

Thanks !!!

[@lomagibson664]

Awesomeness ❤❤ you have such great videos! God bless

[@blackspruce1861]

Thank you , you as well !!

[@chrislonsberry1974]

Very nice and educational video! Thanks!!

[@blackspruce1861]

Awesome glad you liked it!

[@peterdebad1]

Well done! Thanks for the idea. I may use your idea....🤔 Peace!

[@blackspruce1861]

Thanks !! thats what its there for

[@lawrencedavidson6195]

Nice neat work. I would have wired the panels in series instead of parallel tho. Greetings from Jamaica.

[@blackspruce1861]

Thanks ! the inline fuse and branch connectors they sent were meant to go parallel

[@ozmanfidaar6311]

I'd insulate the battery and attached a 12v adhesive heater on the bottom of the battery that is thermostatically controlled. Good work though!

[@blackspruce1861]

Thanks I think I will look into that . I'm getting ready to install the heater for the camper one though I had is to put a vent through the wall so that compartment would get heat from the heater , that way it doesn't have extra drain on the battery at night when its not charging it would only be powering the diesel heater

[@ozmanfidaar6311]

@@blackspruce1861 That's also an excellent idea, in fact, I was contemplating similar approach to improve my heating system.

[@vmlinuxz]

I was thinking about a project like this mounting solar panels to the side of my motorhome. Then propping them up for a sun awning. The problem is the brackets that need to support them would get in the way.

[@blackspruce1861]

its pretty low profile when hey are down but yeah they do stick out there a ways when propped up

[@FordDude66]

Nice and clean install of your solar in the mini camper. That should do a nice job giving you some power without the noise of a generator. Todd from da U.P.

[@blackspruce1861]

Thanks Todd!! I'm sure looking forward to a trip with it

[@blacksabbath12]

You can get a heating pad for the battery. Only uses like 10 watts if not less

[@blackspruce1861]

Awesome I'll check into that !

[@pauletteconstantino9131]

I lov his work

[@blackspruce1861]

Thank you !!!

[@J9_j3]

you need a physical switch between battery and inverter. even when it's off there is substantial phantom drain. built these setups before, would have been helps to know back then. shunt would be also would an advisable add-on to help you monitor state of your battery much more precisely.

[@blackspruce1861]

Thanks for the info , I better go out and throw a tester on the battery and see where the voltage is

[@Kralphrn]

Great video!!!

[@blackspruce1861]

Thank you !!

[@jimmysorrells3888]

Instead of getting another battery in close your battery compartment from the outside cut a hole on the inside put a vent their that way the heat will get to the battery and keep it warm or just go ahead and buy another battery with a built-inheater on it

[@blackspruce1861]

Thats what I'm thinking too . originally I was going to mount my diesel heater in that compartment so I figured that would be enough to keep it warm , but the stabilizer for that corner of the camper is right in the way for the exhaust. Now I'm working on mounting it in a different spot and I'll put a vent through that wall to keep the battery warm . hopefully I'll have that video up in a week or two

[@frank4fun64]

fuses? tin foil baby !! nice job as always

[@blackspruce1861]

LOL , thanks !

[@Tsiri09]

Just because I don't trust road debris- I think I'd make a box (metal or wood) to fit over the panels while it's on the road to keep them from being damaged.

[@blackspruce1861]

thats a possibility

[@bntravelin2]

Instead of bare stranded wire into the mppt put ferrals on the wire. It changed how many times I had to tighten the contacts

[@blackspruce1861]

Thanks for the tip I'll have to pick some up !

[@neb_setabed]

Do they make heating pads/ heating covers you could put under the battery instead of heating the entire compartment

[@blackspruce1861]

I saw another comment saying they did so I may have to pick one up

[@qvarsell]

How many W is the heater? I guess it will not last. I predict your LiFePo4 will run out of juice eventually. And that it is not charging enough to drive the heater. In that case you could try to insulate the battery even better and add heating directly to the battery instead of to the whole room.

[@blackspruce1861]

That heater isn't a permanent solution I was just using it to test it out . I'm installing a diesel heater now . It will heat the inside of the camper and I'll have a vent to heat that compartment . I hope to have that video up in a week or two

[@effieschwartzcraighill]

This might be a very silly question, but why not mount the solar panels on the roof?

[@blackspruce1861]

The mounts landed on the a rib no matter how I turned them . I may eventually put them on the roof , but I want to get the right mounting hardware . I'm always Leary of mounting things on my roof

[@effieschwartzcraighill]

@blackspruce1861 that makes a lot of sense! Thanks! And thanks for the content, always enjoyable

[@johnRedfern]

Cool idea what the solar panels but you should have picked the different spot instead of covering your window

[@blackspruce1861]

Thanks ! I plan to cut a couple of extra prop rods that will lift the panels higher if I want to see out more

[@Tsiri09]

Where did you get that thermostat control for the battery compartment?

[@blackspruce1861]

at menards in the electrical department .

[@worknlikeadog]

It kinda sucks to cover the window but good job all around

[@blackspruce1861]

Thanks !! I might actually move the panels to the roof . the mounts were lining up with the ribs so I would need to find something to make that work

[@thedindon]

Might I suggest a power station instead?

[@blackspruce1861]

they are nice for some thing but for this I like everything being permanently wired in

[@vikumshahara]

❤

[@blackspruce1861]

Thanks!!

[@davidwest3262]

You need support jacks under the trailer when you go camping 😅

[@blackspruce1861]

it has them , I just never used them

[@Chris-yy7qc]

9:40 The solarpanels will suffer a lot when open lead.

[@okmobail6558]

❤❤❤❤

[@blackspruce1861]

Thanks !!

[@shinjiprofile]

Just put the panels on the roof of the camper for more efficiency.

[@yoslick4079]

Better off having a solid wire coming off your battery (fused) to your bus bar instead of from the charge controller, anyone that’s dealt with blown fuses in the charge controller can tell you how much of a pain they are to repair, especially out in the woods or on a lake ice fishing! Jmho..

[@blackspruce1861]

Thanks for the tip ! I have't had any blow yet so didn't realize that was an issue

[@ExelArts]

It probably would have been best to put the solar panels on top

[@blackspruce1861]

I actually may put them up there . I'm always a bit reluctant to mount stuff to the roof and the brackets that they came with would land on the ribs so I would need to figure out something to make it work . but in hindsight I think they would get more sun and less dirty if they were up there . I like this set up much more for stationary situations and higher buildings like my cabin . but with this I could easily reach the panels to clean the snow off .

[@goodcitizen4587]

A battery with built in heating would be more efficient than a small space heater.

[@blackspruce1861]

Thats why I mentioned that they have a self heated version in the works .

[@goodcitizen4587]

Man all that roof space with no solar???

[@blackspruce1861]

the mounts that came with it landed on the ribs of the roof steel . I may end up moving them just not sure exactly how I want to do it , and ive always been a bit Leary of mounting stuff on the roof due to leak concerns

[@CanadianCivilDefenceMuseum]

why wouldn't you just buy one 400W panel?

[@JustBasicGuy]

My guess would be. 1. Availability 2. Shipping cost of a larger panel (usually 100-150w panels can ship as a standard package when you go 200w and over it may be an oversize package you may need it shipped freight) 3. if you have (4) 100w panels and one gets damaged you could unplug it and still have 300w, a single 400w panel would leave you with 0w also not sure where 400W came from as he only installed 200w. he did say the panel was 200w when he first pulled it out of the box but did correct that it was a 200w kit (2 - 100w panels)

[@blackspruce1861]

thats 2oo watts . I'm guessing a 400 watt would be a lot bigger than that

[@LowSkillFarmer]

My brain can't wrap around this build. It has too many layers and I'm stuck on layer one lol

[@blackspruce1861]

LOL , watch it again you'll get it

[@d.eastman2649]

Wouldn't it have been easier to just use a power station?

[@blackspruce1861]

you could go that way but I prefer this due to the way I can hook up the DC power better

[@kellykelly828]

Would make an awesome doghouse

[@blackspruce1861]

my dogs live in our house they don't need one

[@jmiller3605]

Aluminum flat stock, nooice.

[@blackspruce1861]

Yeah !

[@robert4027]

only 2. 100watt panels.....that will take 3-days to charge that battery

[@blackspruce1861]

if it starts at fully charged it will maintain it throughout the day . I don't plan to be in the camper all day using power

[@JustSomeBearWithAMustache]

Big men loves living in hobbits house

[@blackspruce1861]

LOL well I also built a full sized camper .kzbin.info/www/bejne/Z6WnYayNobSVhck

[@Mikelp73]

Silicone, Lol. Lexel/through the roof. Silicone is ish,

[@ervin776]

Bocs de tul kicsi kabel -keves atmerö