We have ordered a new 25G with factory solar. My understanding is that on this unit they only use a 1000W invertor. Has anyone tried to have them upgrade the invertor? Why don't they install the 2000W invertor? I would be willing to pay an upgrade charge for it. 1000W does not seem like that much wattage.
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I just looked at some recent documentation that GDRV sent me regarding the factory solar set up. From what they show, the inverter is 2000 watts. But things are always subject to change. There are severe parts shortages affecting all manufacturers right now. So if they run out of one particular unit, they may substitute another. Hang in there. If you receive a 1000 watt inverter, it's quite simple to change it out. A swap of the inverter, wiring and fuse would be pretty straight forward. The factory normally does not have the ability to upgrade since they try to standardize their inventory.
JimJim and Ginnie
2024 Solitude 310GK - 2020 F350 Dually
GDRV Technical Forum Moderator
GDRV Rally Support Coordinator
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Originally posted by JBRV2020 View PostWe have ordered a new 25G with factory solar. My understanding is that on this unit they only use a 1000W invertor. Has anyone tried to have them upgrade the invertor? Why don't they install the 2000W invertor? I would be willing to pay an upgrade charge for it. 1000W does not seem like that much wattage.
JBRV2020 -- whether 1000W is enough of an inverter is dependent on a lot of other issues (what is powered, how long the items are powered, and if a battery upgrade is planned. If you'll provide more context of the planned usage that will help the forum provide feedback on the setup.
HowardForum moderators are not GD employees--we are volunteers and owners presumably just like yourself. Unless specifically mentioned otherwise, we have nothing to gain should you choose to purchase a product or engage a service we discuss on this forum.
2017 Ford F-350 DRW, '19 315RLTSPlus
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GDRV-Megan -- can you confirm that the website is correct, i.e. the Solar Package in the 25G comes with a 1000W inverter? (See post with picture above.)
TIA!
HowardForum moderators are not GD employees--we are volunteers and owners presumably just like yourself. Unless specifically mentioned otherwise, we have nothing to gain should you choose to purchase a product or engage a service we discuss on this forum.
2017 Ford F-350 DRW, '19 315RLTSPlus
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Originally posted by JBRV2020 View PostWe will be using the trailer mostly outside of shore power. Battery upgrade will happen with 3 125AH AGM batteries. Don't wont to fight the Lithium upgrade with truck and converter at this time. Maybe sometime down the road.
A 1000W inverter will provide ~8A of 120vAC (max sustained). Since the general rule (math) is 10amps of DC for every 1 amp of AC, with the inverter running full tilt you're consuming 80amps per hour.
Given that the maximum discharge of an AGM is 80% of it's rated value and that you'll have three batteries, a full battery set will give you (125*3)*.8=300aH. ("aH" means "amp hours".) Pulling 80 amps of 12vDC from the batteries (running the inverter at max) means a bit under 4 hours of run time before you've exhausted the batteries. 300/80 = 3.75 hours.
The length of time the batteries will last changes based on the scenario. The less pulled from inverter the better. How much DC is being pulled for the refrigerator controls, furnace fan, powered vents, lights, etc, will affect the total run time, too.
A single 300W solar panel will not provide much in the way of a recharge. There's a hundred reasons why the batteries won't "see" the full 300W from the panel.
Bottom line: if you're going to spend an extended time disconnected from shore power, get a generator. You'll need it. Lots of threads here on the subject (do a search for "generator").
Also, I highly encourage you to consider getting a quality battery monitor. It's expensive, but a Victron BMV-712 will be your best friend to track usage and the capacity of your batteries.
Again, hope this is not too overwhelming. If something isn't clear, please feel free to ask more questions.
Howard
P.S. If you swap out the inverter from one with more capacity, you'll use your battery capacity up even faster. Any wiring and breakers/fuses associated with the circuit will require validation, too, to ensure they will handle the larger inverter. (If your head is spinning...welcome to the club. This is a complicated subject.)Forum moderators are not GD employees--we are volunteers and owners presumably just like yourself. Unless specifically mentioned otherwise, we have nothing to gain should you choose to purchase a product or engage a service we discuss on this forum.
2017 Ford F-350 DRW, '19 315RLTSPlus
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NYSAAO -- moved your post to it's own thread here: https://gdrvowners.com/forum/solar/7...or-solar-setupForum moderators are not GD employees--we are volunteers and owners presumably just like yourself. Unless specifically mentioned otherwise, we have nothing to gain should you choose to purchase a product or engage a service we discuss on this forum.
2017 Ford F-350 DRW, '19 315RLTSPlus
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Tl1hughes -- moved your question to it's own thread here: https://gdrvowners.com/forum/solar/7...es-it-all-work
Howard (Moderator)Forum moderators are not GD employees--we are volunteers and owners presumably just like yourself. Unless specifically mentioned otherwise, we have nothing to gain should you choose to purchase a product or engage a service we discuss on this forum.
2017 Ford F-350 DRW, '19 315RLTSPlus
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