RV Solar Install in 4 Days

In this How To video I walk through each step for installing BougeRV solar system with 200watt 9bb solar panels totaling 800wats on our 2019 Grand Design Imagine XLT 21BHE. I have included amazon affiliate links for the products I use and stand behind for a small commission of your support. If you enjoyed this content and want to see more How to and Review videos, please like this video and subscribe to my channel.
Tools & Hardware
1. BougeRV Solar Starter Kit
2. BougeRV 200w 9bb solar panels (2)
3. Solar cord entry kit
4. Battery Shut off Switch
5. 8awg duplex battery cable
6. 40amp inline fuse (2)
7. 8awg Ring Terminals (5)
8. Wire Fish Tape
9. Butyl Tape
10. Dicore Lap Sealant
11. Wood for controller and fuse mounting
12. Expanding foam with but repellant
13. Heat Shrink
14. Wire Cutters
15. Wire Strippers / Crimper
16. Zip Ties
17. Heat gun or torch
18. Crescent Wrench
19. Adjustable Flashlight
20. 6” Flathead Screw Driver
21. Phillips Head Screw Driver
22. Drill Driver and Bits
23. Stepped Drill Bit
24. Electrical tape
25. Rubber Gloves
26. Screws for mounting Inverter (Plywood if needed)
27. Scissors
28. Needle Nose Pliers
29. Self-tapping stainless-steel screws (Grounding)
30. Knee Pads Product Links
Product Links #commissionsearned
- Bouge RV Starter Kit with (2) 200w Panels - amzn.to/3V6mWhK
- Bouge RV MPPT 40amp Solar Charge Controller w/ display - amzn.to/3OG0cRY
- Bouge RV 20 Feet 10awg Solar Extension Cable, Red & Black - amzn.to/3OhiSaL
- Bouge RV Y Branch Solar Connectors, Parallel Adaptor Cable - amzn.to/3tZaFQv
- Bouge RV 200w 9BB Solar Panels (2) - amzn.to/3yg5Ftf
- Bouge RV Solar panel mounting feet & hardware (2sets) - amzn.to/3xQnIon
- Duplex Marine Tinned Copper Wire 8awg 25ft - amzn.to/3boK2Op
- Battery Shut off Switch with 4 connectors & Shrink wrap - amzn.to/3QK2uB1
- Redarc 40amp inline fuse kit with connectors - amzn.to/3xPnnSW
- Bouge RV White Solar Double Cable Entry Gland Box - amzn.to/3OBmqUX
- Camco Butyl Tape Kit with hardware (2 needed) - amzn.to/3OvcbBO
- Gorilla Waterproof White Patch & Seal Tape - amzn.to/3tYGSr2
- Dicore Lap Sealant 501LSW-1 (4 Pack) - amzn.to/3Ohgxg4
- Dometic Polar White Roof Vent (Optional) - amzn.to/3QK2uB1
- EWCS 10awg Marine Grade Wire Black 100ft - amzn.to/3tU1fpe
- Great Stuff Foam Pest Block - amzn.to/3OmECls
- Heat Shrink Wire Connector Kit - amzn.to/3w3yUP0
- Heat Shrink Tubing - amzn.to/3tP4Yn8
- #06 x ½” Stainless Steel Self Tapping Screws - amzn.to/3D3iyaO
- Dewalt 20v Max Cordless Drill Combo Kit - amzn.to/3CwHwPy
- Dewalt 20V Max LED Work Light / Flashlight - amzn.to/3EdtF1i
- Klein Tools Multi-tool, Wire Stripper, Cutter and Crimper - amzn.to/3OnYNA6
- Electrical Fish Tape / Cable Snake 15ft - amzn.to/3tPEG42
- E-Tek Butane Torch - amzn.to/3hWDGWv
Follow us on Instagram - @ozarkfloating
Follow our other KZbin Channel - ‪@larisonlifestyle‬
Be sure to check out our website - www.ozarkfloating.com If you have a product you would like for me to review, please reach out. [e-mail]

[@Shadowonyx23]

Great video. Explained very well. Taking a lot of these products and methods to achieve a similar thing on my RV. Thanks!!

[@jacobsupgrades]

@Kyle Atkerson, thanks for the comment I'm glad I could help out.

[@wethepeople4145]

Thanks for the careful and well planned video. I have the exact RV and need to install solar. Job very well done. Very valuable video!

[@jacobsupgrades]

@We The People, I'm glad my video can help you out. We love our solar set up. Let me know if you have any questions when you tackle your project.

[@titobarboza1563]

Very clean work, thinking about the camper life and off grid power would be great for bfe trips!!

[@jacobsupgrades]

@titobarboza1563, Thank you! Camper life is amazing we wish we started sooner. BougeRV solar is essential for off grid travel.

[@Lambert7785]

good job

[@jacobsupgrades]

Thank you, I appreciate it.

[@dboutdoors06]

Great video!

[@jacobsupgrades]

Thanks! Pretty easy to install the solar. You plan to do a solar install on your rig?

[@dboutdoors06]

@@jacobsupgrades yes, just getting started on 400 watt system for our rv.

[@jacobsupgrades]

@@dboutdoors06 , that's awesome! If you have any questions along the way reach out, I'd be happy to help.

[@dboutdoors06]

@@jacobsupgrades sounds good, thanks.

[@JTCOLORADO2008]

Great video! Did you have to find the studs to screw the panels in?

[@aronking6683]

Your video is an excellent step by step publication of what I need to do. I did have a question. What type of battery wire did you buy as I have never seen batteries wires wrapped in white sleeve? And how did you figure out how to remove the microwave, I liked the idea of running the wires thru that area.

[@jacobsupgrades]

@Aaron King, that wire is called 8/2 AWG duplex marine wire. amzn.to/3ehOcZP The red and black wire is double insulated for more protection and easier routing. The microwave is face screwed into the cabinetry and requires a Phillips head screwdriver to remove. Be ready to unplug it before setting it down. We haven't had any issues with running the wires down thru the microwave, and honestly it was so easy. Would highly suggest this route.

[@aronking6683]

Thank you for all the knowledge. Your install video is probably the best install video I have very seen. I did have one more question, when you installed the solar panels do you remember the size of the screws you used to install them onto the roof?. The Renogy kit I purchased came with 1 1/4 screws. Another video I watched used 1 inch wood screws.

[@jacobsupgrades]

@@aronking6683 I'm glad I can help. I used the BougeRV Solar Panel mounting kit/hardware with 1.5" screws. amzn.to/3TAJsyy

[@brianusa394]

I didn’t read through all the comments so excuse me if this was mentioned. When you mounted the roof panels did you put a wind deflector at the front end I order to keep wind from getting under while driving. I would be concerned that at highway speed the air flow will make a wing out of the panels and that could cause future problems. The deflectors I’ve seen where a length of angle aluminum screwed and glued at front of lead panels I don’t know if it’s needed on the side as where I’ve seen it was just a 1 panel installation

[@jacobsupgrades]

@brianusa394, thanks for the question. I did not use wind deflectors for the lead panels. I made sure to set the front panels back far enough from the font of the camper that most of the wind is deflected up and over everything. This is why I started my solar layout from the rear of the camper. I have not had any issues with uplift of the panels with the provided mounting screws and additional dicore sealant. Make sure the feet are very secure to the panels before mounting in place.

[@jjm9902]

Thanks much for this vid! Plz tell me what length screws you used to attach panels to the roof. Hope ur out camping somewhere today. 😊

[@jacobsupgrades]

@jjm9902, glad I could help. I'm not sure what length they are. I didn't measure them before hand. All the mounting hardware came with the BougeRV solar panel mounting feet as a kit. I don't think they specify length of the screws but here's the kit I used. amzn.to/3MOUj5h

[@jjm9902]

@@jacobsupgrades Thanks again... and for the Amazon link. I'll just use the 1" screws I have.

[@markwitkop7022]

Side Note. Install under sink? In our current camper, 4yr of ownership, we have had to replace 2 faucettes on both, Kitchen, (2x) and bathroom sink, (2x) Spraying from the cracks made electrical under the sinks questionable on my part. Possibly a splash gaurd? Cheap piece of plastic taped over electrical. Looks good what you are doing.

[@jacobsupgrades]

@markwitkop7022, thanks for the comment. This concern crossed my mind being under the sink. With limited concealed mounting options this is the best solution we could come up with for our floor plan. I mounted it under the lower shelf for additional protection. Adding flashing over the control panel may help direct water away in a worst case scenario but I would not cover it completely because it needs to circulate air. Do you plan on installing solar on your rig?

[@joeborgione5477]

Great video! Couple (maybe more) questions: did you just screw your panel mounts into the roof or did you mount them into roof supports? What length screws were used? How come the controller needs its own ground wire? There seems to be a mantra of mounting the controller as close to the batteries as possible, I suppose to mitigate voltage loss: are you satisfied with the charging performance at that distance? Thanks!!

[@jacobsupgrades]

@joeborgione5477, Thank you! Yes I screwed the panel feet directly into the roof, I'm positive I only hit a couple roof supports during the process. The whole roof sheathing of our camper is a plywood type material so I'm not concerned with them lifting up. I used the screws that were provided with the BougeRV solar feet & hardware kit - amzn.to/3xQnIon I think 1-1/2" but don't quote me on that. The controller needs to be grounded incase of a power surge that it doesn't fry the controller and disable it. As long as you use the appropriate wire gauge between the controller and battery based on your distance there should be no voltage loss. So far we love this solar set up. It's been a game changer for our full time travel while working full time out of our camper. We have since upgraded our battery bank to lithium and we have more power than we could imagine. Here's my install video on the battery bank - kzbin.info/www/bejne/pKOoh3h_jtx-gsk

[@joeborgione5477]

@@jacobsupgrades Awesome! Thank you! I’m in the planning stages for my travel trailer solar panel install. I’ve been using portable panels and it’s time to upgrade.

[@jacobsupgrades]

@@joeborgione5477 You will love upgrading to mounted panels. No more hassle of pulling out the panels and cables each time you move and worrying about wildlife or other people accidently running them over.

[@Mr.Ed_Wayner]

Really interesting to watch the install. Would be interesting to see this install in a drivable RV. With 800 watts are two batteries enough? Are the batteries lead acid or lithium?

[@jacobsupgrades]

@edwardwayner451, Thanks for the comment, I'm sure this same install process could be applied to a driveable RV. We have deep cycle lead acid batteries nothing fancy. Plenty of power during the day to charge 2 laptops, a monitor and now our Starlink RV. Starlink does drain the batteries down at night but we're about to switch to (2) Unowix Defender X100 Lithium Iron Phosphate batteries. We have plenty of solar but its our battery bank holding us back.

[@SuperSushidog]

​@@jacobsupgrades We found the exact same thing. We have been FT for the last 4 years in a 35ft Class A motorhome. We started with 2, GC-2 FLA batteries that our coach came with, but we found this was inadequate for our needs. We mounted a 620w solar array on the side of our MH that virtually lifts itself into place with gas struts. Being able to adjust the angle precisely for our latitude and month enables us to produce 25-30% more power than flat mounted panels - even more in winter, when the sun is lower on the horizon. But most of this energy went to waste as our batteries filled up too soon and went into float mode early in the day. In January, we installed a custom built 560ah LiFePo-4 battery, made with 8, 280ah prismatic cells. We used a Heltec 330amp BMS and a 5a active balancer, to start our onboard 5,500watt generator and keep everything safe and balanced. We built our 12v battery with grade "A" LiFePo-4 prismatic cells having an 8,000-cycle mfg. projected life at 80% DOD or 6,000 cycles at 100% DOD. This means that if we cycled them 100% every single day, 365 days a year, they would last over 16 years! It only cost us $1,500 to build it, including the BMS. The main reason we chose these cells is that they fit perfectly under the steps of our motorhome where our old pair of GC-2 golf cart batteries used to reside, saving 35lbs compared to our old FLA batteries - not to mention having over 5 times the capacity. We cut a small hole in our steps and installed a tiny computer fan to keep this space at close to room temperature and we insulated the battery compartment too. So far, our system including the liftable array, wiring, breakers, a new Progressive Dynamics 80a Li compatible converter/charger, 600w PSW inverter (to run our TV and PC), an Epever 50a MPPT controller, and a Renogy battery to battery charger (to protect the alternator, allowing it to charge the battery while driving) cost us around $3,600. We saved much more than this in RV park fees year after year because we boondock most of the time.

[@jacobsupgrades]

@@SuperSushidog Thank you for the very informative comment! I have never seen a solar array mounted on the side of a motor home but it would make a lot of sense for adjusting them to your needs. I'm sure it doubles as an awning for shade in the warmer months as well. I'd love to see your set up.

[@SuperSushidog]

@@jacobsupgrades I just sent you an E-mail with a couple pics of our set-up.

[@jacobsupgrades]

@@SuperSushidog , Thanks I'll check it out!

[@michaelmilton4427]

Hello I'm wondering why you didn't send the wires down through the fridge vent?

[@jacobsupgrades]

@Michael Milton, I have used the fridge vent in the past but I wasn't a fan of cutting the screen to pass wires through creating an entry for pests. Using the Solar cord entry box is the preferred water tight method. I did use the area above and along the fridge to route the wires.

[@steverussell2659]

How did you find the roof truss locations? Or did you just screw directly into the roof panel only? I need info on how important it is to screw into a truss rather than just the roof panel

[@jacobsupgrades]

@steverussell2659, I screwed directly into the roof panels not trying to line them up with the truss locations. The plywood roof sheathing beneath the TPO roofing is plenty study to hold the panels. I was more concerned with their alignment on the roof. We've driven around 15,000 miles with them mounted this way with no problems.

[@steverussell2659]

@@jacobsupgrades Thank you so much for the information

[@scottduffy808]

So does your RV already have a inverter? I would like to install solar on my toy hauler but I would like to install a inverter to so I can run 110 volt utensils as well, just need to muster up enough confidence to make the leap.

[@jacobsupgrades]

@Scott Duffy, I currently have a 500watt pure sine wave inverter installed and have a video for it link below. I'm about to install a 1,000watt go power with remote on/ off switch to run our new Starlink Internet. I plan to post an install video of that as well. kzbin.info/www/bejne/rHeYfatrgMmGapI

[@jacobsupgrades]

Highly suggest a pure sign wave inverter rather than a step up inverter. It won’t ruin your electronics whereas the step up inverter is not good for electronics. Email me if you have any questions related to supplies and/or detailed instructions on the install. I’d be happy to help. [e-mail]

[@jacobsupgrades]

@Scottduffy808, here is my 1,000watt power inverter install video. kzbin.info/www/bejne/ep6xgJV4Z8Z5b6s

[@honeybadger6127]

any leaks after all those new penetrations in the roof?

[@jacobsupgrades]

No leaks after a year of solar on our rig! I used quite a bit of dicore sealant on each screw to help prevent water intrusions.

[@honeybadger6127]

@@jacobsupgrades - do you treat the rubber membrane on a yearly or quarterly basis (to prevent breakdown of it over time)?

[@jacobsupgrades]

@@honeybadger6127 I try and clean the roof and camper once every few months to keep buildup off the roof. I usually inspect all the lap sealant once a year and do touch ups as needed.

[@HamburgerParade]

Why not run it through the pantry?

[@jacobsupgrades]

I didn't want to lead a pathway for all the critters and bugs right to our pantry. Also this gave me access to the ceiling above and access at the floor below the fridge due to the access panel. You could run it through the pantry but I'm sure drilling holes at each shelf down wouldn't be fun.