Dual Battery and Solar Panel System Questions

[000]

I'm starting to plan out the power system for my rig and am having a bit of hard time wrapping my head around everything. I am planning on starting with a dual battery system and then adding a solar panel later when I am more ready to add a fridge to the mix.
At this point I am leaning towards the National Luna dual battery kit. My main question is how I am going to tie the solar panel into the dual battery set up later. Will this work well with adding in a solar system or should I be looking in a different direction? Any suggestions or pointers would be greatly appreciated!

I'm certain that the national Luna setup is awesome, but with very limited electrical knowledge and plenty of internet research I built the system for my Tacoma for about $300 including the interstate deep cycle battery. I used the blue sea marine battery isolator, heavy duty circuit breakers from the local diesel shop, 1g cable I scored for free. I mocked up and cut the cables at home, then borrowed the big crimpers at the truck shop that I bought the cable ends from. It was pretty easy and after building it myself I have a better idea of how it works than if I just plugged stuff in. I have the trd off-road so I don't have the abs stuff that sits on top of passenger wheel well. If you have the abs stuff there you won't be able to put your battery there. This is where I mounted a battery tray I welded up from angle iron. I had to fab up a mount to relocate the emissions pump so that it sits right above power steering reservoir. I have been running my refrigerator with this setup for over a year and it has been working perfectly. I get a 2-3 days without turning on the truck in average weather. I don't usually stay in one place a longer than that, but I'm really wanting to get a solar system to extend my stays if I want without charging with the truck especially in hot weather. I am seriously considering the flexopower system. It looks straight forward, compact, and supposedly near indestructible. I haven't talked to anyone who has used it yet so I'm still researching. Good luck with your project!


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[000]

wrmmt- sorry for the thread drift but fridge's kinda fit in the discussion.

Does anybody use the "thermoelectric" coolers or do I need to stick to the ones with the real compressor.

Doug

I believe that the thermoelectric coolers keep things cool for trips across town or drinks cool, but not to keep food at safe temperatures especially for extended periods. I got my edgestar 43qt fridge on open box direct as a scratch and dent for $250-half price! After mounting it on a slide in my rig and using it regularly for over a year I will never not have a fridge. Consistently cold dry food is awesome, plus loading it the night before and plugging it into the house saves a ton of time leaving in the morning. Sometimes I use it for shopping trips if I have other errands to run, sometimes I adjust it to freeze and bring ice cream to surprise friends when there shouldn't be ice cream within 20 miles. Money well spent!


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[taliv]

I have the National Luna dual battery system. I am not an expert on it, but would be happy to share pics or whatever.

my setup is 2 starting type batteries and 2 alternators (220 amps each) in my truck (factory). I have 3 deep cycle batteries (102 AH each) in my trailer. The NL system is basically a solenoid that waits 5 min after you turn it on, and then allows the 3 trailer batteries to be charged from the truck batteries.

In my experience thus far, a couple hours of driving will take the trailer batteries from 12.2v to 12.6v reliably, but no further. (more specifically, the monitor will show the truck batteries at 14.2v when the engine is running, and show the trailer batteries at whatever they are, up to 14.2v, but when i disconnect the truck and trailer, the trailer batteries never show higher than 12.6v on the monitor.)

when charged from shore power, the battery monitor will read up to 14.2v. I think what I'm saying is I never get a full charge from the truck, through the NL system.

 

[W4P]

I have the National Luna dual battery system. I am not an expert on it, but would be happy to share pics or whatever.

my setup is 2 starting type batteries and 2 alternators (220 amps each) in my truck (factory). I have 3 deep cycle batteries (102 AH each) in my trailer. The NL system is basically a solenoid that waits 5 min after you turn it on, and then allows the 3 trailer batteries to be charged from the truck batteries.

In my experience thus far, a couple hours of driving will take the trailer batteries from 12.2v to 12.6v reliably, but no further. (more specifically, the monitor will show the truck batteries at 14.2v when the engine is running, and show the trailer batteries at whatever they are, up to 14.2v, but when i disconnect the truck and trailer, the trailer batteries never show higher than 12.6v on the monitor.)

when charged from shore power, the battery monitor will read up to 14.2v. I think what I'm saying is I never get a full charge from the truck, through the NL system.

That's advantage of ctek smartpass or similar DC to DC charger. They take voltage,current and control,boost as needed to give full charge on auxiliary battery. Lots of YouTube videos and reviews. Incredibly easy plug and play.


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[GertJantH]

I went into the expense to buy a portable solar panel prior to our Africa adventure with our Series 3 Land Rover.
This is the blog post about the system.

During our travels in Africa we actually moved nearly every day, so our dual-battery-system was charged all the time when needed. And when we stopped for a longer time we could charge the Engel fridge in the 220V plug of the camping, B&B or lodge we stayed.

In the end we only used the solar panel once in Namibia on a camp site without electricity and we left the panel in Tanzania with our daughter.

 

[FJ Montana]

Noticed you’re in Bozeman, did you take it someplace and have it installed by a company or did you do it yourself? I have a 2000 Dakota I’m trying to modify with a two battery system.

 

[89BurbonBoy]

I think the only difference between the SC-80 and USI-160 is the higher amps to handle winch mode. If you have any questions send an email to Tim at Traxide (tell him Dave from Rolasolar referred you). One of the good guys that likes a chat.

My setup is a portable 200watt rollable solar charge kit that charges a 130Ah AGM lead acid battery in the teardrop camper. I also run a lithium power pack which has an 1000w internal inverter and 80ah battery. I will put photo up of the setup soon.

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Hello, so I’ve been looking through this thread and get the basics, but on my truck which I’m an planning to do dual batteries and a solar panel set up on. I was wondering if I could possibly have a trickle charger on both under the hood batteries? And then the possibility of a third golf cart type battery in the cabin, reason being is I want to be able to run ham radio with out the engine having to be on,plus a large power inverter?
Any thoughts or opinions are greatly appreciated
Thanks

 

[Boort]

@MontanaDakota4x4

Noticed you’re in Bozeman, did you take it someplace and have it installed by a company or did you do it yourself? I have a 2000 Dakota I’m trying to modify with a two battery system.

You might want to get in touch with Matt@OffGrid4x4.com. He specializes in clean dual battery installations. I got to see his handiwork on a Lexus and a Tacoma at the Denver area OB meetups over the last few months. It impressed me so much that I met up with him at Juniper Overland in Arvada. They have a lot of DIY kits for adding Dual Batts to Toyotas the day I was there they were working on an Fx50 and there was a RAM in the lot though I'm not sure what it was getting done.

They offer the electrical components for a universal install https://www.offgrid4x4.com/collections/dual-battery-systems/products/diy-dual-battery-system You'll need to figure out how to mount the 2nd batt in your 2000.

After I recover from the cost of Sliders and suspension upgrades I'll likely work with Matt on the Dual batt and electrical upgrades for my 4Runner.

Boort

 

[wrmmt]

Noticed you’re in Bozeman, did you take it someplace and have it installed by a company or did you do it yourself? I have a 2000 Dakota I’m trying to modify with a two battery system.

I did the install of the dual batteries myself. As far as shops, Dark Horse Customs has been doing the more involved work on my rig recently. They've been great to work with!

 

[1Louder]

Hello, so I’ve been looking through this thread and get the basics, but on my truck which I’m an planning to do dual batteries and a solar panel set up on. I was wondering if I could possibly have a trickle charger on both under the hood batteries? And then the possibility of a third golf cart type battery in the cabin, reason being is I want to be able to run ham radio with out the engine having to be on,plus a large power inverter?
Any thoughts or opinions are greatly appreciated
Thanks

You don't need a 3rd battery. In a dual battery setup you are isolating your starting battery from all of your accessories. So it will start your vehicle and not drain down. Your second battery will run all of our accessories and yes it can/will drain down. Your solar setup will charge your starting battery first and then charge your second battery. What you may need is a very large Amp Hour battery as your 2nd battery. 95AH or more. You might list want you want to run off of an inverter and for how long. Otherwise things like Ham radios, fridges, lights it is all math. What does each device draw and how long will you be running it.

It is good you want to include solar in your setup because it doesn't matter how big your batteries are at some point they need to be charged! Can you add a 3rd battery? Yes but check the dual battery controller/system you want to install because you need to make sure it can be added into the mix.

 

[89BurbonBoy]

You don't need a 3rd battery. In a dual battery setup you are isolating your starting battery from all of your accessories. So it will start your vehicle and not drain down. Your second battery will run all of our accessories and yes it can/will drain down. Your solar setup will charge your starting battery first and then charge your second battery. What you may need is a very large Amp Hour battery as your 2nd battery. 95AH or more. You might list want you want to run off of an inverter and for how long. Otherwise things like Ham radios, fridges, lights it is all math. What is each devices draw and how long will you be running it.

It is good you want to include solar in your setup because it doesn't matter how big your batteries are at some point they need to be charged! Can you add a 3rd battery? Yes but check the dual battery controller/system you want to install because you need to make sure it can be added into the mix.

Thank you for the information. As far as listing all the components I want to run, my build is in its infancy and I just want to get a solid foundation.

 

[Rolasolar]

You don't need a 3rd battery. In a dual battery setup you are isolating your starting battery from all of your accessories. So it will start your vehicle and not drain down. Your second battery will run all of our accessories and yes it can/will drain down. Your solar setup will charge your starting battery first and then charge your second battery. What you may need is a very large Amp Hour battery as your 2nd battery. 95AH or more. You might list want you want to run off of an inverter and for how long. Otherwise things like Ham radios, fridges, lights it is all math. What does each device draw and how long will you be running it.

It is good you want to include solar in your setup because it doesn't matter how big your batteries are at some point they need to be charged! Can you add a 3rd battery? Yes but check the dual battery controller/system you want to install because you need to make sure it can be added into the mix.

Good advice above, 89BurbonBoy always a good idea to work out you power draw before deciding on the size of battery and inverter. There are some good examples of wiring diagrams at Traxide . I do like how your can back feed solar charge from any battery with the Traxide controllers. Also have a chat with a local installer for advice.