Moving on up to full time boondocking in a big honkin 50Amp Class-A - Any first hand experience??

[liamlunchtray]

Howdy All - Last year I built out a pretty capable setup in our Class C, pretty much exclusively through what I learned in these forums:

• 2420Watts of panels
• Multiplus 12|3000|120
• Smart Solar 150|100 & Smart Solar 100|50, Orion 12|12-30 DC/DC
• (2) 12v 300AH Power Queen
• Cooper & Hunter 9kBTU Minisplit

We did about 7 months of full time boondocking and it served us really well. Ideally I think 1 more 300AH battery would have made it perfect. We have since decided to sell our house and hit the road permanently. Our small Class-C is an amazing rig, but ultimately just a little too small for myself, my wife, and 2 dogs. We've decided to make the jump into the deep end and buy an older large (Likely 42') higher end RV. We're heading out into the great beyond and when we find the right rig we'll buy it. That means I will be doing this install like some wingnut out in the desert somewhere. The goal is big and simple. I'm likely going with an all in one like the EG4 type stuff (or maybe 2 in parallel?), as many panels as I can fit racked up over everything (5k watts or so?), and a big battery bank (20kwh? 30kwh?). In order to simplify things I would love to avoid another minisplit install if possible. They are absolutely the best option, but also the most complex to install. I know Im not really going to have an opportunity to use the rig first and do things the best way possible with a proper energy audit and all that good stuff.

So I was curious if anyone here has been running a large install like this without a minisplit. Was it sustainable? How many rooftop air units did you have? I'm not afraid to oversize if it means I can just run everything. I work from home and we are nerds so our power needs are always high with computers and starlink and whatever. The overhead power draw on a big rig like this is going to be dramatically more than I'm used to, so I dont feel like I have enough knowledge to guestimate.

Any first hand input would be appreciated. Hopefully this isnt entirely a "how long is string" question.

Liam

 

[HarryN]

I don't know exactly the answer, but the larger class A RVs that I have seen use 3 each 15 K btu RV type air conditioners.

Even with that, people in them talk about it not being quite enough on a really hot day.

One of my friends full times in his Class B home built setup, but a key reason why it mostly works is that he pulls a fairly healthy trailer with stuff as well and has storage units in a few places to deal with the seasons, etc.

I helped him with the power system in the trailer and in the van, built the way he wanted, but IMHO it still is not enough power to be really comfortable unless he drives to follow the seasons.

My personal conclusion is that if I were to do it, a trailer would be part of the equation, no matter the tow vehicle size. Probably also at least a 6 kW generator of some kind for use sometimes.

 

[Daddy Tanuki]

Howdy All - Last year I built out a pretty capable setup in our Class C, pretty much exclusively through what I learned in these forums:
View attachment 210237

• 2420Watts of panels
• Multiplus 12|3000|120
• Smart Solar 150|100 & Smart Solar 100|50, Orion 12|12-30 DC/DC
• (2) 12v 300AH Power Queen
• Cooper & Hunter 9kBTU Minisplit

We did about 7 months of full time boondocking and it served us really well. Ideally I think 1 more 300AH battery would have made it perfect. We have since decided to sell our house and hit the road permanently. Our small Class-C is an amazing rig, but ultimately just a little too small for myself, my wife, and 2 dogs. We've decided to make the jump into the deep end and buy an older large (Likely 42') higher end RV. We're heading out into the great beyond and when we find the right rig we'll buy it. That means I will be doing this install like some wingnut out in the desert somewhere. The goal is big and simple. I'm likely going with an all in one like the EG4 type stuff (or maybe 2 in parallel?), as many panels as I can fit racked up over everything (5k watts or so?), and a big battery bank (20kwh? 30kwh?). In order to simplify things I would love to avoid another minisplit install if possible. They are absolutely the best option, but also the most complex to install. I know Im not really going to have an opportunity to use the rig first and do things the best way possible with a proper energy audit and all that good stuff.

So I was curious if anyone here has been running a large install like this without a minisplit. Was it sustainable? How many rooftop air units did you have? I'm not afraid to oversize if it means I can just run everything. I work from home and we are nerds so our power needs are always high with computers and starlink and whatever. The overhead power draw on a big rig like this is going to be dramatically more than I'm used to, so I dont feel like I have enough knowledge to guestimate.

Any first hand input would be appreciated. Hopefully this isnt entirely a "how long is string" question.

Liam

i ran a minisplit along with the rest of a 800sqft cabin/cottage initially on 4kw of panels and 30kw of lithium batteries and had no issues at all. you are looking at 5kW of panels, 30kW of battery...

Get the minisplit you will love yourself later...

 

[jberger]

Couple of thoughts
Look for a coach chassis based unit, it will get you a much better platform to build on and weight will not be a factor. Newel, Prevost, Wanderlodge, etc.

They are an order of magnitude better built than a typical fiberglass/rubber roof RV, especially in the longer lengths and were built on million mile chassis. An old coach is normally a much better build machine than any modern RV.
These units will get you big tanks (Fresh and Waste) for longer boondocking, usually have hydronic heating which uses diesel for heat and hot water while also using very little electricity. Tons of rooftop space for solar without worrying about the integrity of the roof system, weight, etc.
Huge lower bays for equipment storage and mounting, etc. Solid electrical systems. A lot of these coach units have air driven toilets which really cuts down on water use, normally they use 1/3 the water of a standard rv toilet so that's more time between dumpstations, especially if you have a unit with a combined waste/grey tank.

Gree now makes a roof top, inverter unit that gives you minisplit type efficiency without the installation hassle. They use the same 14x14 opening as a standard roof AC but with much better results. These inverter style units will probably get you 2-3 x the runtime of a standard rooftop AC.

You say you don't want to deal with installing another minisplit, but the HVAC is probably your biggest power use over time, so that's where you need to start. Going hydronic on the heat will reduce your heating power needs by a bunch, leaving the standard RV fridge as the next place to upgrade. It seems counter intuitive, but installing an efficient residential fridge goes a long way when boondocking. You have much more space and you don't need a separate freezer either.

The coach RV normally has a huge lead acid battery bank that is simple to upgrade to LFP. Most of the time these banks are on large pull out drawers, so the physical installation isn't a problem either.

 

[justinm001]

I have a 40ft Prevost XL2 dual slide and is the perfect vehicle ever. Anything over 40 gets complicated to find spots. Ohio state parks are basically only 40ft limits and others seem to be similar. Also with 40 I get a tag so over 10k cargo capacity and very easy to maneuver in small towns.

I run mine with 2x5kw Victron Quattros 48v then a 3rd Quattro 12v. I have a crazy 6 AC units on this rig which come in handy to cool off quickly. So 4 are on the 48v inverters and 2 are on 12v. With the 12v 5kw it's a bit hard to start the 15.5k AC unit but works, never ran both at same time yet. I can run a few on the 48v side no problem.

I wish I had a smaller generator and am very tempted to remove the 20kw and replace with a Honda portable. With the solar and inverters it's not really needed.

Also we do mainly day/weekend trips and the alternator is the biggest help, so if you're planning similar I'd focus on that. It's very nice to park and know I'm at 100% when we start boondocking. Plus worst case if any issues with inverter precharging or anything I can just turn the key and use the chassis battery to get everything on.

 

[chrisski]

Running a single AC off solar while boondocking in the day could be sustainable, but difficult and expensive and involve a ground mount. Running two ACs while boondocking would not be sustainable boondocking. This would involve a ground mount that makes it homesteading. Running a single AC off boondocking 24 hours a day with a 20 kWh - 30 kWh is possible, but the array required for that would make it more like homesteading.

So I was curious if anyone here has been running a large install like this without a minisplit. Was it sustainable?

I have a fifth wheel and have enough solar to run a single roof top AC during the day.

If you're asking to run 1 roof mounted AC with roof mounted panels only, than AC during the day is, not the night. For me to run this, 1650 watts of flat roof mounted panels did not cut it. and I had to ground mount 900 watts of ground panels which I aimed towards the sun three times a day. TO actually charge the battery, I added another 300 watts for a total of 1200 watts of ground panels.

If I wanted to charge my batteries for 24 hour operation, I would want a total of 3 kW ground mount array on top of my 1.65 kw rood array. My fifth wheel could fit 3 kW of roof mounting, but then I'd have to put these panels over the AC, vents, and skylights.

Gree now makes a roof top, inverter unit that gives you minisplit type efficiency without the installation hassle.

Can you post a link. I have only found a single furion unit that is not yet available. The spec sheet for the 18k BTU inverter unit still pulled almost the same as a 15k BTU. My 15k BTU unit can't keep up over 90, so perhaps the 18 k BTU unit will.

order to simplify things I would love to avoid another minisplit install if possible.

I don't think minisplit installs are practical for larger Class A buses or even a 5th wheel like I have. These bigger RVs have vented ACs and mini splits aren't vented. Also, larger than 12 k BTU mini splits go to 240 volts, and bigger Rvs have 15 k BTU ACs. I would like to see a successful 120 v mini-split AC install on a class A or 5th wheel, but don't thinkits possible.

I run mine with 2x5kw Victron Quattros 48v then a 3rd Quattro 12v. I have a crazy 6 AC units on this rig which come in handy to cool off quickly. So 4 are on the 48v inverters and 2 are on 12v. With the 12v 5kw it's a bit hard to start the 15.5k AC unit but works, never ran both at same time yet. I can run a few on the 48v side no problem.

I take it these 6 X AC units are run off battery and can't be sustained by solar. I'm estimating this would take a 12 kW to 15 kW solar arrays to power these ACs.

In honesty, I think you need more than the two standard ACs to cool a bigger RV down.

Two takes my fifth wheel hours if its 105 F+ out, which happens half the year here.

 

[corn18]

If I were full timing, I would just follow the seasons. So much more practical than trying to cool an RV without a genset or shore power.

 

[justinm001]

I don't think minisplit installs are practical for larger Class A buses or even a 5th wheel like I have. These bigger RVs have vented ACs and mini splits aren't vented. Also, larger than 12 k BTU mini splits go to 240 volts, and bigger Rvs have 15 k BTU ACs. I would like to see a successful 120 v mini-split AC install on a class A or 5th wheel, but don't thinkits possible.

I take it these 6 X AC units are run off battery and can't be sustained by solar. I'm estimating this would take a 12 kW to 15 kW solar arrays to power these ACs.

In honesty, I think you need more than the two standard ACs to cool a bigger RV down.

Two takes my fifth wheel hours if its 105 F+ out, which happens half the year here.

Each AC is under 1500w, but running more just means they're on less often. I typically startup my coach, turn on 4+ ACs and in 15 minutes it's nice and cool then down to just 2 which will run off my alt.

It's been a while since summer so can't really remember but I think 2 15k keep my rig nice and cool, but it's extremely well insulated. Mine are ducted and I'm redoing the ceiling and ducts to make it even better. Plan is to duct all together so I can run front ones and it cools across so they're completely silent.

Blackout shades and window tint does a great job. I bought clear uv tint for my windshield but was too hard to put it on myself so is on the list to have installed.

 

[liamlunchtray]

Couple of thoughts
Look for a coach chassis based unit, it will get you a much better platform to build on and weight will not be a factor. Newel, Prevost, Wanderlodge, etc.

I think that a full on bus chassis unit is going to be out of budget, but the focus is on the semi-monocoque rigs that are just a notch lower. 2003-2008 Monaco/HR/Beaver, Country Coach, Foretravel... We have an all fiberglass rig currently and I'm not going back to the rubber roof hellscape.

 

[liamlunchtray]

Gree now makes a roof top, inverter unit that gives you minisplit type efficiency without the installation hassle. They use the same 14x14 opening as a standard roof AC but with much better results. These inverter style units will probably get you 2-3 x the runtime of a standard rooftop AC.

You say you don't want to deal with installing another minisplit, but the HVAC is probably your biggest power use over time, so that's where you need to start. Going hydronic on the heat will reduce your heating power needs by a bunch, leaving the standard RV fridge as the next place to upgrade. It seems counter intuitive, but installing an efficient residential fridge goes a long way when boondocking. You have much more space and you don't need a separate freezer either.

I was actually just looking at those Gree units - I think theyre selling them rebadged under a few different names. Looks like theyre 8.5 EER, so not nearly as good as a better minisplit, but dramatically better than a standard rooftop air. We tend to follow the seasons a good bit, so maybe that combined with a couple of the 8.5EER units would be enough to make it work without trying to find homes for air handlers and all that. We did it on our Class C, and it works great, but it was definitely a pain in the ass. I can swap out a rooftop unit in an our or so. Way less of a heavy lift than a full multi head minisplit.

 

[SoggyShoes]

I think that a full on bus chassis unit is going to be out of budget, but the focus is on the semi-monocoque rigs that are just a notch lower. 2003-2008 Monaco/HR/Beaver, Country Coach, Foretravel... We have an all fiberglass rig currently and I'm not going back to the rubber roof hellscape.

You might want to check out National RV. They made really solid rigs. Especially the ones built on the Ford F53 frames and the diesels. Those Ford F53 frames with the V10 are really solid. A mechanic told me they were originally built to be a fire truck.
We have 2001 Dolphin and love it. There gas models had a lot of features that were usually only on diesel models like pre-plumed for washer/dryer and large holdimg tanks. Ours even has a bathtub that is perfect for washing the dog. We have taken multi-week trips with a family if 4 and a dog.
I am putting in a a 24v Victron twin multiplus 3000W system in a few months (waiting on batteries from Amy), but with the propane and generator, biggest limiting factor for boondocking has been the waste tanks filling up.

https://www.rvtrader.com/National/rvs-for-sale?make=National|7782234

 

[justinm001]

I think that a full on bus chassis unit is going to be out of budget, but the focus is on the semi-monocoque rigs that are just a notch lower. 2003-2008 Monaco/HR/Beaver, Country Coach, Foretravel... We have an all fiberglass rig currently and I'm not going back to the rubber roof hellscape.

Take a look here, there's some non-standard coaches that are super cheap. Super-C is another option. Im with you and wouldn't go back to rubber roof or even the paper thin walls many cheaper rvs have.

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