Add power to your RV from the sun with a solar charging panel
A nice selection of RV solar panels that can keep your batteries charged in your RV when you go camping off-grid. Boondocking or dry camping trips are some of the most fun in an RV. It surely makes things much more comfortable to have a reliable source of solar power from your panels. We offer units that are designed to be installed on the roof and also portable RV solar panels. It really just depends on what fits your application and your needs best.
Rigid solar panels, those with hard rigid frames, are the most common and most reliable panels on the market
Rigid solar panels are those panels that have solid frames and are not flexible. In fact, most rigid panels have either glass or polycarbonate material as the face protecting the solar cells. Rigid solar panels tend to have better warranties and will usually last longer in the real world. RV customers will be recommended a rigid framed solar panel with an aluminum frame for almost all installation applications. We do this because solar panels are really for a longer period of time on an RV that a 5-year warranty. My grandfather kept his fifth wheel camper for almost 30 years.
New over the last few years are the more modern flexible solar panel offerenings that are perfect for certain types of RVs
Flexible solar panels are designed to be able to curve a certain amount around a radius. The panels are perfect for campers like Airstream travel trailers and even teardrops. Their warranties are usually not as good as their rigid solar panel counterparts because they lack a solid structure to hold a more reliable glass frame. Flex panels suffer from turning white and installers often neglect to remove the protective film from the panels which over time will surely destroy the output of the solar panel.
There are portable solar panels that are often just 2 rigid panels joined with a hinge. Legs and charge controller with a bundle of connectors are meant to provide easy connectivity without the need for permenant installation.
Many of the portable RV solar panels are just two smaller rigid solar panels with a hinge installed. These portable kits also have a charge controller installed on the rear of the panel. Learn more at applications and when you should choose one of the units in our Portable Solar Guide. Another item that is included is connection wires and adapters for easy installation on solar on the side ports.
A selection of 5 current portable Solar kits with hot pricing
Portable solar kits are perfect for bringing solar charging to remote locations without much prewiring or permenant infrastructure. Some portable kits include legs and others include portable power packs to charge. Here are a few Go Power! portables and a few other items that may be of interest to you.
What is the physical dimensions of your solar panel?
Solar panels have varying lengths and widths that will need to take up room on your RV roof. It is important to get efficient solar panels from a reliable manufacturer like Go Power.
As an example, as of the time of writing this article, the Go Power 190 watt panel is 59.06″ long and 26.3″ wide and the Go Power 100 watt panel is 47.09″ long and 21.46″ wide.
Learn more about laying out these solar panels on your roof in our RV Solar Layout Guide
Bigger is not always better on solar panels
Larger panels are harder to place when considering how many thru roof penetrations are on the average RV. There are people who recommend all kinds of crazy sized residential panels for RV use. It is our recommendation to stick with more reasonably sized panels. They are easier to install and can be arranged to be impacted less by shading.
190 watt panels seem to be the standard size used on most RV’s
Solar Panel Voltages
There are a lot of different voltages that solar panels can operate on. Go Power panels are designed for RV applications so they are optimized for RV usage. The operating voltage is 18.4 Volts DC on the 100 Watt Retreat.
