Solar 2.0

After two summers in Alaska and Canada with many nights off grid, we can happily and confidently say that adding solar to our setup was worth every penny and effort.

If we had to do it over at this time, there are only a few small changes we would make.

WindyNation no longer sells SunPower flexible panels. Our panels still work but some of the connectors are suffering from unboxing, boxing and being blown over. We contacted WindyNation and they have said that repairing these should be easy. If we had to replace them at this time, we would go with Renogy Eclipse Lightweight Suitcase panels. These fold in half saving even more space and are designed for portability.

As we initially wanted to fully load our system with 1000 watts of panels (seven roof panels and three ground), we chose a Victron 150/70 controller. After two years of actual usage, a slightly smaller Victron 150/60 would have been sufficient and supports up to 860 watts of solar panels in a 12V configuration – ample for a 6 roof and 2 portable setup.

We still haven’t gotten around to adding the 6th roof panel. Currently our batteries need more help but that is a different story.

If you’re interested in doing a solar install yourself, we’ve cataloged all the bits and pieces in product links online on kit.co/AllThePlaces2Go/airstream-diy-solar

If you would like more detail or something explained, please don’t hesitate to contact us.