The EAA AirVenture Oshkosh annual event brings aviators and aerospace enthusiasts together from around the world. Over 608 thousand people attended AirVenture 2021 generating $170 million economic impact for the five counties in the Oshkosh, Wisconsin area. More than 10,000 aircraft flew into the Oshkosh Wittman Regional Airport and other airports in the area to attend the show. While open, the Oshkosh airport averaged 116 takeoffs and landings per hour making the KOSH Control Tower the busiest in the world the week of the show.

AirVenture is hosted by the Experimental Aircraft Association. They have literally everything from space ship prototypes to experimental flying cars. This video documents our journey through EAA AirVenture 2021. We walk you though the Antiques and Classics, Warbirds, Boeing Square and of course the awesome experimental aircraft.

The video covers our grounds tour of AirVenture 2021. We have some nice 4k footage of the warbirds, Boeing Square, Antiques and Classics and of course lots of Experimental airplanes.

It is the time of the year that many of us need to winterize our beloved RVs and put them in storage. You may have your RV Tech on speed-dial, but before you give them a call check out this article and video. The reality is you can save a ton of money and winterize your Camper yourself. Anyone with some tools and basic mechanical skills can do this.

Winterizing a Motorhome is not as difficult as it appears. I will walk you through step-by-step on how I winterized our Grand Design Momentum 397TH that has 2 full bathrooms and a Splendide Washer, but the procedures are basically the same for any Motorhome, Fifth Wheel or Travel trailer.

Passion Highway How-to Winterization Video

RV Winterization Steps

1. Gather the Required Tools

When starting a project like winterization we need to make sure we have all of the tools we need so we can complete the project in one session:

• RV Winterization Antifreeze
• Large Bottle to Siphon from
• Short Garden Hose
• Air Compressor
• Air Compressor Regulator
• Air Line with Shutoff
• 1 1/16″ Socket
• Socket Extension Kit
• 1/2″ Drive Socket Wrench
• Hot Water Tank Flush Tube
• Hot Water Tank Storage PVC Cap

2. Turn off Hot Water Heater, Holding Tank Heating Pads and Water pump

We need to verify that all of the water systems are turned off in the coach. A water heater will be damaged permanently if it is drained with the electric heating element on.

Check your monitor panel and verify that the Electric Water heater, Gas Water Heater, Water Pump and Water Tank Heater are turned off.

3. Bypass Water Heater and Configure Coach Water Systems for Winterization

RV Manufacturers all have different ways of configuring the water systems in their campers. The main thing we need to do is bypass anything that we do not want antifreeze to run through such as a drinking water faucet or Water Heater.

In our Grand Design 397TH, the water heater and all systems are bypassed in the main water compartment. They use a system called Nautilus that has knobs that are turned to the winterization setting.

3. Flush System With Air to evacuate the majority of water

It is impossible to get all water out of the system, but we want to do everything we can to get as much out as possible. The only reliable way to do this is to use an air compressor with a fitting that connects to the water inlet of the RV. That said, however, we cannot push high-pressure air into our coaches. Most cap out around 50 PSI. We need to have a reliable step-down air regulator. I use a Viair Portable Air Compressor, a Viair Step-Down Regulator and pair it with an RV Air Line Hose that is designed for winterizing a RV.

4. Connect Antifreeze Holding tank to RV

RV winterization fluid is sold in 1 gallon bottles. One gallon emptied fast in a large coach. I found a perfect 5-Gallon Food Safe Water Bottle that I use to siphon the antifreeze from. I also use a Drinking Water Safe Garden Hose that is long enough to get to the water bottle.

The connection process is simple. One end of the garden hose drops into the 5-Gallon Bottle and the other end connects to the RV Fresh Water Inlet. The on-board RV Water pump is used to siphon the antifreeze and pressurize the system.

5. Turn on Water Pump and Prime Antifreeze through the System

The Motorcoach water pump will do the work to pressurize the water lines with antifreeze. All you need to do is go to the furthest most water faucet in the coach and open the water valves one side at a time (e.g. Hot first, then cold). When turning on the faucet you will initially hear air flowing out. When the fluid comes through the end of the faucet watch out! It will blast out quick and spirt the fluid all over the place. I try to cover the faucet with my hand to help direct the fluid down toward the drain.

Go step by step through the coach one faucet at a time. Don't forget to prime water into the toilets and any outdoor water outlets you may have (e.g. Showers, Outdoor kitchens, etc).

6. Winterize Splendide Washer

Most RV Washers are designed to be installed in a RV, but some aren't. It is very important that you look at the washers owners manual to ensure that you know how a particular model is winterized. In our Fifth Wheel, we have a RV Specific Splendide Washer. It has winterization procedures that are easy to follow.

I always save the washer to the last device to flush. I do this so I am sure that as much of the water as possible has been evacuated from the coach. If water were left in lines of a washer it could cause catastrophic damage and be very difficult to fix. The Splendide Washer alone weights over 200 LBS! We don't want to remove it for repairs, so we need to make sure we take our time and insure that our washer is properly winterized.

I walk though the steps in the video above. I would recommend watching our video if you have a Splendide Washer. The process works by starting and stoping various cycles. For example, I start a wash cycle with cold water only. I then turn to the B – Spin Only cycle that engages the washer water pump to evacuate the water from the system. I then stop the spin cycle, start another wash cycle on Hot. I let the water fill up so I can visibly see it in the tub and then stop it and change to the B – Spin Only cycle. I do this a couple of times to ensure that all I see in the tub is the pink antifreeze.

7. Fill all Drains with about 1-2 cups of water

The sinks in the RV are similar to what one would find in a house. They have 1/2 U shaped drain pipes under the sinks, showers and washer that trap water in them. The traps are called J or P traps because they are somewhat shaped like a J or P depending on how you look at them.

Water is held in the U section on the right of the picture above in order to keep smells from the holding tanks from coming up through the sink into the RV. It is important that we dump some antifreeze into the sinks, bathtubs, showers and areas where we have drains.

Don't forget about kitchen sinks that have two drains! Both sides need to be filled with antifreeze!

8. Close up the Water Heater and put away all of the tools

The final step is to make sure everything is ready for winter. Install the drain cap, close the pressure relief valve and reinstall the water heater cover. Remove all hoses and make sure the water panel is left in the winterization mode.

I also like walking around and putting painters tape over toilets and places that could accidentally be used by someone. It is a good reminder that this toilet, sink, etc. is not safe to use.

Final Thoughts

Yes, it really is this simple. The key is to take your time and follow the process. You can always run more antifreeze through a fitting than you need. It is cheap insurance. The key is to make sure that the entire coach has antifreeze in the lines and the water is pushed out of the system.

RV waste management is the most dreaded task a camper owner must deal with. No one likes to talk about sewer lines and waste disposal, but it is one of the most important systems in a coach. If holding tanks are not properly managed it can cost thousands of dollars to repair and take a camper completely out of service for weeks if not months.

If you are reading this I'm sure you know that your RV has holding tanks, but you may be one of the countless people that were not properly trained on how the systems work when you bought your rig. Don't feel bad if you are. Every new RV owner has faced this challenge. I certainly had no clue when I bought my first rig. I had to ease drop on a few of my campground neighbors and experiment to figure it out.

After reviewing this article, you should be able to manage your sewer and waste water systems like a pro.

Gray & Black Tank Video Guide

How Does the Sewer and Waste Systems Work in a RV?

We would never send our teenage kid onto the road without knowing how to read a fuel gage and fill up with gas, yet most RV buyers have never been properly trained on how the sewage and water waste systems work. We buy our rigs and are sent down the highway. The vast majority of new RV owners find themselves at a campground or dump station not knowing how to connect or operate the sewage disposal systems.

Let's try to clear some of this up.

Holding tanks

There are some RVs that have composting toilets, but these are generally installed aftermarket. For this article I will focus on the average camper that has standard wastewater systems.

Wastewater Holding tanks are separated into two categories – Blackwater and Graywater. Blackwater tanks hold waste from the toilets and Graywater tanks hold water from showers, sinks, dishwashers, washers, etc.

In some small RVs it is possible to only have one tank where all water including the toilet is drained. Any waste water tank that holds toilet water is always defined as a Blackwater tank.

RVs with water systems also have Freshwater tanks. These tanks hold clean water used in sinks, showers, toilets and anywhere that requires fresh water.

The Freshwater tank feeds clean water to all areas in a coach. The runoff water is then directed into one of the two types of holding tanks. For example, when a sink faucet is turned on clean water will be siphoned out of the Freshwater tank and then drain into the Graywater tank. Water used to flush a toilet is also pulled from the Freshwater tank; however, when the toilet is flushed the wastewater is directed into the Blackwater tank.

In most RVs, the Graywater and Blackwater tanks are often the same size and work the exact same way. The primary difference between Black and Gray tanks is what waste is directed into them and where they are mounted. Black tanks generally sit directly below or very close to the toilets. Gray water tanks tend to be mounted in various places under the floor of a coach.

Blackwater tanks must be mounted below and close to a toilet because solids are dropped into them. The waste tube would clog up quickly if the contents from a toilet had to navigate through twists and turns.

Graywater tanks can be mounted just about anywhere as long as they are below the lowest drain (e.g. shower). PVC plumbing pipes like we have in a house are used to direct dirty water into the tanks. Gray water plumbing lines can make bends and turns so the tanks do not need to be directly below sinks and bathtubs. Solid materials such as food particles from dishes should never be flushed down a sink drain.

Graywater Tank Management

Graywater tanks receive more runoff water than Blackwater tanks. They generally fill up fast. Taking showers and cleaning dishes are the two activities that generate most of the gray waste water that flows into a Graywater tank. When the Gray tanks are full, they have to be dumped or runoff water will backflow into the camper through low drains such as the shower.

When one is staying at a full-hookup campsite, the gray water tanks can be left open and draining into the parks sewer system. When connected to a RV park, Graywater tanks do not typically need to hold water. The waste gray water is drained out of the coach like a house.

Blackwater Tank Management

Blackwater tanks generally only hold waste from the toilets. Blackwater tanks are generally the same size as the Graywater tanks, but they can take quite some time to fill up. Most people can camp for two weeks or more without filling up a Blackwater tank.

Blackwater tanks need ample water in the tank to help breakdown toilet paper and solid waste into smaller particles that can be evacuated out of the sewer line.

Flushing a toilet is fast in a camper. RV toilets are actually more closely related to how an outhouse works than what we find in a home. Waste from a toilet drops directly down into the Blackwater tank.

RV Toilets do not flush like one in a home. The user decides how much water to use per flush. It is common to see people step on the drain lever and release it quickly without letting sufficient water run into the tank.

Low water levels in a Blackwater Holding tank will eventually create a condition commonly referred to as a “Poop Pyramid.”

Poop Pyramid is a funny sounding name, but the damage that can be caused by piled up solid waste in a Blackwater tank is very difficult and expensive to repair.

What is happening in the “Poop Pyramid” situation is solids drop directly below the toilet into the Blackwater tank. If the waste is not completely immersed in water it will start to dry out and bond to the bottom of the tank. As more solids are flushed a triangle shape is formed that looks like a Pyramid.

The diagram above illustrates what is happening. The solid waste exiting the toilet creates a pile that extends above the top of the water level. The solids dry out creating a hard brick-like material. If left unchecked, the solids will develop into a virtually indestructible waterproof structure. As the Pyramid grows in size it will eventually clog the bottom of waste line exit hole at the top of the tank. At this point the toilet will back up and not function.

Suffice of to say, we do not want Poop Pyramids forming in our Blackwater tanks. The easiest way to prevent this from happening is to add several gallons of water into a holding tank after dumping it and then use ample water when flushing to ensure that the water level is always above the waste.

Water will break down toilet paper and solids into particles that can can be drained when the tank is dumped. If solids raise above the water line they will dry out and build a Poop Pyramid.

Campground Sewer Line Connections

Most RVs have a single dump line that is usually located somewhere in the middle or back corner of the rig. The waste lines are always on the Left side of the coach, which is referred to as the service side.

In Class-type Motorhomes and Buses the waste line may be installed in a compartment that is on the left side of the coach typically forward of the rear tires.

Although the waste lines may look somewhat different, they all function basically the same way. RVs typically have quarter turn twist on/off fittings called lugs that are designed to make it easy to connect and disconnect hose extensions that stretch from the coach to the dump station.

Most rigs have some sort-of cap that covers the connection point to the rig. These caps have rubber seals that can stick and make them difficult to remove. Twist the cap LEFT to remove it and RIGHT to install.

Camco makes a nice Sewer Fitting Wrench Set that is good to have. The tool locks into the connectors creating leverage that makes it easier to remove caps and fittings. NOTE: in position pictured below he has the tool set to loosen or remove the hose from the fitting.

It is very important to keep in mind that the caps are there to prevent water and waste from dripping out while traveling. DO NOT stand in front of the cap when removing it or you may end up with waste water pouring into your lap or onto your shoes!

It is a very good idea to wear high quality Gloves any time you are working around sewage systems. I personally use this set of Heavy Duty PVC Work Gloves. They are completely waterproof and designed for people who work with harsh chemicals. The gloves have a solid textured finish that makes it easy to grab onto fittings and hoses without them slipping out of my hands.

Sewer Line Connections

The first step in setting up your coach to drain its tanks is to connect the RV to the dump station drain hole. The connections are generally standard on the RV end, but they are not always the same at a campground or dump station. The dump station could also be several feet from the RVs sewer line connection as well.

Hose Extensions & Fittings

Some RVs come with waste lines, but they are almost always garbage. When dealing with sewage lines we don't want our hoses to disconnect or leak. We also need to ensure we have long-enough hoses to reach most dump stations. At a minimum, one should carry at least 20 feet of hose. That will reach most dump stations, but not all of them. I personally carry 30 feet of hose to be safe.

I'm not trying to be a Camco commercial, but I have found that they make the best standard sewer-line fittings for campers. They sell practically every possible combination of connectors that accommodate nearly every situation. I like sticking with the same brand when dealing with waste water so I can ensure that everything will fit and seal together properly.

Camco sells two different types of waste line hoses. I personally prefer their RhinoEXTREME hose extensions. The hoses are made with high quality crushproof parts that hold up better than other hoses I have tried.

The Camco RhinoEXTREME kit pictured above comes with a Bayonet Elbow connector that will fit almost all dump stations. The connector will twist and lock onto most stations making a secure leakproof seal, but it can also be pressed into a dump station that has stripped or missing threads. Most of the time this kit is all one needs to dump their rigs.

I personally bought two of the RhinoEXTREME Hose Kits so I would have 2 15 foot hoses that can be connected together to make 30 feet if needed. This also gave me two Bayonet Elbow fittings that is nice to have in case one breaks or is lost.

Another nice component to have on hand when connecting to various dump stations is a Camco Sewer Hose Seal. These rubber donut shaped gaskets slide onto the end of the RhinoFlex Bayonet Elbow that comes with the kit above to create an air-tight leakproof seal. These are not always needed, but they are cheap and nice to have on hand.

The final product I like to use when draining RV tanks is the Camco 45 degree clear elbow.

I believe a clear 45 degree elbow fitting is essential when connecting to a rig. One end of the elbow connects directly to the exit line coming from the camper. The hose then connects onto the other end of the 45 degree elbow. This device provides three key benefits:

• You can see what is going on in the line. Without a clear sightline it is possible that water could be streaming into the line without knowing. The clear elbow lets you see exactly what is going on between the camper and the hose.
• The rigid hard plastic catches and redirects the water pressure exiting the RV. The direction change helps slow the water down before entering the hose, which helps prevent leaks and hose blow-outs.
• The 45 degree angle of the elbow helps improve waste line life. Without a 45 degree connector, a sewage hose has to bend nearly 90 degrees when connected to a camper twice (once at the camper and once on the ground). The hard angles put stress on the hose that will eventually cause it to fail at the worst possible time — when it is under pressure with a high volume of water flowing.

Sewer Connection Procedure

Connecting the hoses and fittings together is a simple lego-like process. Every hose and fitting has a male and a female end. The female lug connectors on one end twist onto the male lug connectors on the component it is connecting too.

It generally only takes a few minutes to connect all of the lines and fittings together. It is important to fully twist the connections together to ensure a secure leak-proof connection.

The picture above isn't exactly the same parts we have been discussing, but it shows how everything connects together. The components fit into each other creating a relatively leakproof seal. When a RV is connected to a dump station it is very similar to how a home is connected to a septic system. The lines and fittings are there to ensure that the waste water is routed out of the RV and into the dump station efficiently.

It is important to use high quality fittings and lines so you don't have leaks. High pressure water flowing from a camper can rip low-quality hoses in seconds making a big mess. Trust me on this one — buy the best hoses and connections you can find!

Lug Fittings and Challenges

The lug-type fittings we have been discussing are the RV industry standard connection type, but they are not the standard for high-pressure hoses in any other industry. Fire trucks, Port-A-Potty, swimming pools, etc. use compression fittings called Cam-Locks. Cam-Locks cannot be accidentally disconnected and it is nearly impossible to get one to leak.

Lippert (LCI) is a company that is huge in the RV industry. LCI acquired a company in 2014 called Waste Master that made a kit to convert problematic RV Lugs Fittings to reliable truly leakproof compression Cam-Lock fittings. Lippert put their engineering and production talents to work making the LCI Waste Master System readily available to consumers.

I made the transition to the LCI Waste Master System in our coach. This video walks through the procedure to change to the Waste Master Cam-Lock hoses and fittings. This change does require some plumbing skills, but it is something that can be done by any handyman or RV tech. I installed our system at a campground.

Draining Holding Tanks

Now that we have our hoses connected to the sewer, it is time to review the procedure on how to drain the Gray and Black tanks. The Gray tanks are generally less problematic than a Black take so we can start there.

Gray Tank Dumping Procedure

Gray tanks are designed to catch run-off water from sinks and showers. The water is soapy and dirty, but it should not have any solid materials. A properly maintained Gray tank is very quick and easy to dump.

Food particles and other debris should not be drained into the Gray tank. It can damage sensors, create unpleasant odors and make the difficult to clean. To ensure we don't make the mistake of sending unwanted stuff into our Gray tanks, we use strainers in our showers and sinks.

RV's have different sizes and configurations of Graywater tanks. Most only have one, but larger RVs may have two or more tanks. Campers generally have a service bay where water connections and drain knobs are located, but it is very possible that not all drain valves are located in the compartment.

RV Manufacturers distribute holding tanks in the frame to help manage weight. Tanks that are mounted further away from the service compartment may have their dump valves in a different location or even under the coach. It is very important to look under your rig and in all compartments on the left (service side) of your coach to ensure that you have identified all drain valves.

The above picture is of our Grand Design Momentum 397TH Nautilus Service bay. All RV manufacturers set their service bay up differently, but the components generally do the same thing (fill water, winterize, sanitize, drain, etc). In our coach, there are three handles at the bottom of the service bay that are labeled Black Tank (Left behind water filter) and two that are Labeled Gray Tank.

There is not an official standard on organizing service bays, but generally when you see two handles side by side they should be in the order from Left to Right as Tank 1 and then Tank 2. Some RV Manufacturers mount their drain lines vertically vs horizontal like pictured above. When the handles are in a vertical orientation, the top handle is usually Tank 1 and the one below it is Tank 2. It is rare to find more than two Gray or Black tanks in a camper, but it is possible.

The drain handles in the above picture are in the closed position. Pushed in is closed and pulled out is open.

Time to pull the handle!

The fun part of draining the tank starts when we release the water. We just need to be very careful when doing this. Water is heavy and powerful when it starts to drain. Opening a handle quickly can create more pressure than the hose and/or fittings can sustain. We need to open the pull valve about 1/4 of the way first and then monitor what is going on through the clear fittings we installed earlier.

Both Gray tanks can be drained at the same time, but it is best to drain one tank at a time so you can monitor the process and ensure all is working correctly. If you encounter an issue, it is easier to determine what tank has a problem if you drain them in sequence. It doesn't matter if you start with Gray Tank one or Tank two.

The water will start to flow slow when cracking open the drain valves, which can be misleading. The PVC Pipes from the tank to the exit point can be a significant distance. We need to give the water time to develop a full and even flow before opening the valves further. When the water is flowing at a consistent rate and you have verified that the hoses and fittings are good, it is safe to open the valve in increments (e.g. 1/2, 3/4, full).

Campground Gray Tank Management

Gray tanks fill up fast — especially when connected to a virtually unlimited water supply at a campground. If you are camping in a warm location (above freezing day and night), you can leave the gray tank valves open and let the gray waste water continuously flow out of the camper into the campground sewer system.

When the valves are left open, the coach functions very similar to a house. You do not need to monitor tank levels or worry about how much water is being consumed. This is the main reason why RVers like full hookup sites. It takes the stress out of worrying about running out of water or filling up the tanks.

The Campground Exception

There are two conditions where you do not want to leave the Gray tanks open at a campground or full service hookup site.

1. When the temperature is close to or below freezing the valves should be closed — unless you are emptying the tanks. RVs that are designed for cold weather have their tanks mounted in areas that should not get below freezing as long at the heat is on inside of the coach. Cold weather RVs also generally have heating pads mounted on the holding tanks that keep the water warm so it will not freeze.

The lines from the tanks to the drain penetrate the bottom of the coach and are directly exposed to cold air. Water in the drain line will freeze and can damage the PVC pipes, fittings, and connectors. The cold air can also make its way up the line and super cool the water release valve making it impossible to open or close.

When camping in cold climates, it is a good idea to disconnect the drain lines and close all connections when you are not draining. Store everything inside, let the water tanks fill to 2/3's or more in the tanks and then drain. Rapidly flowing water when draining will not freeze — stationary water left in lines exposed to freezing temperatures will.

2. When your Black Tank is 2/3's full or needing to be drained. Gray water pressure is needed to fully clean out the PVC drain pipes after emptying a Blackwater tank. When nearing the time to dump a Black tank one should close the Gray water valves and allow water to accumulate.

The general rule of thumb is to let the Blackwater tank fill up to 2/3's full before emptying it. The water in the tank helps break down the solids making it easier to drain. It can take a day or two to fill up a Gray tank, so closing the valve when the Black tank is at 2/3's should provide sufficient time for the Gray tank to fill without being at risk of the Black Tank overflowing.

Black Tank Management

Dumping the Blackwater tanks is similar to dumping the Graywater tanks, but Blackwater tanks have some quarks that we need to be aware of. We cannot dump a Black tank and go like we can with Gray tanks. We need to ensure that a Black tank is fully dumped, clean and prepped so we don't develop a “Poop Pyramid” like we discussed above.

Keep Ample Water in the Blackwater Tanks!

I have mentioned this throughout this article, but it is worth saying again. Solids that are flushed into a Blackwater tank need to be fully submerged in water at all times. Toilet Paper and Poop that is above the water level will start drying out and form a solid material that cannot easily be drained from the tank.

Blackwater tanks are ventilated. Air is designed to circulate through them and vent through the roof to reduce smells in the rig. The constant airflow accelerates drying out everything that is above the water line. The air circulation also evaporates some water that is held in a tank over time. We need to use black tanks regularly to ensure ample water is in the tank. RVs that are going to be stored for extended periods of time must have their Black tanks fully dumped and cleaned.

Black Tank Dumping Procuedure

To properly dump a Blackwater tank, we need to fill up our Graywater tank. Graywater is used as the last step to clean the plumbing lines. We need to have as much Graywater in the tanks as possible so we can get good pressure to push out any debris left behind after dumping a Black tank.

The general rule of thumb is to start planning for a Black tank flush when the tank is around 2/3's full. 2/3's ensures that there is ample water in the tank and it usually takes quite some time to get to that level. The longer solids are submerged in water the more likely they will be broken down and suspended in the water vs laying on the bottom of the tank. It is also very helpful to plan on dumping a Black tank after a road trip. The sloshing around of the water inside of the tank helps break down the solids as well.

Black tanks take quite awhile to properly dump, clean and prep. It is best to plan dumping when you are at a full hookup site in a campground. There are often lines of people waiting at dump stations and not all of them have clean water that may be needed to flush and prep the tank.

Time to Pull the Handle!

At this point we have the sewer lines connected, the Black tank is 2/3's or more full, we have inspected all fittings and we have ample Gray water stored to help clean the lines when we are finished.

The next step is to open the Black tank valve, but the procedure is different than what we discussed in the Gray Tank section above. Black tanks need to have as much pressure as possible flowing out to help clean the tank. The gunk that is held in suspension in the water also creates friction that slows down the rate of flow.

When dumping a Black tank, we need to fully open the valve in one clean motion. The valve should be opened quickly, but not too hard. We don't want to break a handle, cable or valve. The idea is to pull it so it glides open with a smooth and even pull until the fully open stop is felt.

A bit of Graywater leaking is not the end of the world, but we most certainly do not want to spill the contents of our Blackwater tank on the ground. It is Very, Very important that you are monitoring the hose and connections while you are opening a Black Tank dump valve (don't look at the valve, look at the exit point and connections). If you see anything that looks out of place close the valve immediately and inspect.

It is nice to have a second person that can keep an eye on the hose and connection as well, but realistically most of the time we are going to have to do this on our own. Approach draining Black tanks with extreme caution. If anything looks out of place close the valve immediately and inspect. Stopping the flow is not instant. The shutoff valve can be several feet from the exit point.

Flush the Black Tank

Although we have drained the black tank, the tank is not actually clean. Solids and other debris end up sticking to the tank and they do not get flushed out. Toilet paper can stick to sensor inside of the tank causing them to stop reading properly. Solids will start drying out and create a near-permanent bond to the sides and bottom of the tank.

We need to flush the black tank with fresh water to help clean it out. Most RV's the a Black Tank Flush fitting that makes this process easier.

The Black Tank flush fitting connects to a fresh water hose that channels clean water directly into the Black Tank. The pressurized water sprays against all sides of the tank helping loosen the debris and submerge them into water making them easier to drain.

One of the challenges of flushing is that it is very difficult to capture the debris and encourage it to flow out of the drain opening. The contaminants need to be fully suspended in water to make it easier to evacuate out of the tank. To properly do this, we need to close the black water tank valve and allow the water flowing in through the Flush valve to fill up the tank. When the water fills the tank it covers more surface area. The water level increase also creates more pressure that will help push contaminants out of the drain when the release valve is opened.

The steps to flush the tank are:

1. Connect a water hose to the Flush Valve (do not use a drinking water hose)
2. Close the Black Tank release valve
3. Turn on the water and allow it to flow into the tank
4. Monitor the tank level at the control panel inside of the RV
5. When the Tank monitor indicates that the tank is 2/3's full turn off the water
6. Open the Black Tank release valve and visibly inspect the color and cleanliness of the water coming out of the tank
7. If the majority of the water flowing out of the tank looks dirty, let the tank fully drain and repeat the above steps

The water coming out of the black tank after flushing will never be perfectly clean, but after 2-3 full flushes it should be primarily clear. An excessively dirty tank could take 4 or more flushes. Keep flushing until you do not see any solid particles flowing out of the drain.

Parts I use for Tank Flushing

I thought you may find it helpful to see some of the parts I use for flushing our tanks.

Ready Black Tank for use

Now that we have the Black Tank clean, the final step in the process is to ready it for use.

1. Verify the Black Tank Dump Handle is in the closed position.
2. Add 2 Gallons of fresh water through the toilet
3. Add 1 Gallon of Water to the toilet tank (fill to middle ring)
4. Sprinkle 1 scoop of Happy Camper into the toilet water and let dissolve
5. Aggressively flush toilet releasing the 1 gallon of Happy Camper treated water into the Black tank
6. Add 1 more Gallon of Water into the toilet tank and then sprinkle 1 more scoop of Happy Camper into the water
7. Flush the tank releasing the second batch of treated water into the Black Tank

The key to prepping a Blackwater Tank is to ensure that it has ample water to cover solids deposited into it. The 2 gallons of Fresh Water plus the 2 gallons of Happy Camper treated water should be sufficient; however, if you are going to be staying for extended periods of time in the same location or expect to have heavy use of the toilets add 1 or two more treated batches of Happy Camper to the tank.

When Boondocking we all want to conserve water, but the toilet is not the place for conservation. We need to keep the water level above any solids in the tank. Use ample water when flushing solids into the tank.

Final Thoughts

With proper care and maintenance the Gray and Black tanks should last for decades in an RV. The best way to insure that all of the steps are followed every time the tanks are filled and flushed is to create a checklist. It is also important to let visitors to your camper know how to properly flush the toilets. If you are uncomfortable having these types of conversations with guests, post a flushing procedure placard on the wall by the toilet.

A good way to verify that enough water is being flushed is to teach people a counting system. For liquids only (e.g. #1), have them hold down the flush bar for a count of 1 to 2 (i.e. count off — One-one-thousand, two-one thousand). We want to add about 1/4 to 1/2 gallon to the tank. For people depositing solids (e.g. #2), flush bar for a count of 3-4 while brushing the toilet bowl with a brush. We need to add 3/4 to 1 gallon of water into the Black tank after depositing solids.

When we think about the freedom and adventure of RVing, it is easy to forget that most campers will not function for long without being connected to some-sort of external power system. This article will walk you though all of the steps required to size, design and install a solar system in a RV. This article is written for the Newbie RV owner that wants to explore the world off-grid without needing to always be connected to a generator or shore power.

The goal of this article is to help you learn what is needed to build a RV solar system from the ground up and get you to the point of being able to confidently discuss off-grid solar systems with anyone. I have done my best to cover every topic in a simple and easy understand way. After reading this you should be armed with all of the info you need to install your own solar system or know what to ask for when hiring someone else to do the installation.

This is a long post that covers everything from definitions to sizing. You may want to save this page to your browser bookmarks so you can find this reference again as you design and build your system.

Table of Contents

Solar and Electrical Terms We Need to Know

If you found your way to this article you likely know what solar is, but let's run through a few key terms to ensure our terminology is the same.

Solar Array

When one sees a group of solar panels installed on a RV, house, building, etc. the term most often used to describe the installation is Solar Array. A Solar Array is made up of a group of two or more Solar Panels that are electrically connected together.

The term Solar Array is an informal reference to a group of connected panels that make up a system — it is not a scientific term.

Photovoltaic Array

When exploring solar, you will encounter the term “Photovoltaic Array.” Solar Array is a generic term that refers to the installation of solar panels. Photovoltaic Array is the scientific term used when describing power outputs and efficiencies of panels.

It is possible that you will see people interchanging the terms Solar Array and Photovoltaic Array, but Photovoltaic Array is the proper PRO term used to describe power outputs of interconnected cells inside of a single panel or the combined output/efficiency of a complete solar installation. Solar Array should be used when generically referring to a solar panel installation.

A Photovoltaic Array is defined as a grouping of solar cells that make up a single solar panel or group of panels.

Solar cells are the small square sections you see when looking at a solar panel.

The term photovoltaic (PV) originates from two root words: “photo” (light) and “voltaic” (voltage).

When you see the abbreviation PV, they are usually discussing something related to input or output specifications of one or more panels (e.g voltage or amps).

One must carefully read the docs referencing PV to determine what values are being discussed. Sometimes it is one panel and sometimes it is all panels combined.

Watt (W)

Watt (W) is a unit of power, and power is the rate at which energy is produced or consumed. Think of watts as a measure of electrical flow. Does an electrical device need a big flow or a small flow to work?

The easiest way I have found to describe Watts is to think about a garden hose. The amount of water that can flow through a hose is similar to Wattage. A small hose cannot move as much water as a larger one. This is the same concept in electricity. Lower wattage devices will not consume as much power as a higher wattage device.

A 100W light bulb, for example, uses energy at a higher rate than a 60W bulb. The 100W bulb is going to require a bigger flow of electrons to work than a lower output bulb.

Watts are calculated by multiplying Voltage times Amps of a device. In the 60W bulb example, we do not know the amperage, but we do know the operating voltage of 120V. We can determine the amps by dividing the rated wattage by 120V.

Watts (W) ÷ Volts (V) = Amps (A)
60 Watt Bulb ÷ 120 Volts = .5 Amps

In the solar context, Watts is the rate that the solar energy flows power from the panels to the RV Charge Controller.

Watt Hours (Wh) / Kilowatt Hours (KWh)

A common term that surfaces when we research solar is Watt Hours (Wh). This can be confusing at first. Watts and Watt Hours can sound similar, but they are different.

A Watt Hour (Wh) is a measurement of the amount of work performed or generated during a period of an hour. RV appliances and electrical devices perform “work” and that requires energy in the form of electricity that is supplied through batteries from a camper if it is not connected to grid (e.g. shore) power.

Watt Hour Example: All electrical components are rated in Watts (W). When seeing the term Watt (W) without Hours (Wh) next to it, the rating is referring to how much power the device will require to operate for one-hour. A 60W lightbulb, for example, will consume 60 watts of energy every hour, which equates to 60 Wh per hour.

When discussing Watt Hours, we are looking at how much energy is needed or has been consumed over time. A 60W bulb would consume 600 Wh's in 10 hours of use.

Watts (W) x Hours (H) = Watt Hours (Wh)
60 Watt Bulb x 10 Hrs of use = 600 Watt Hours

Kilowatt Hours (KWh) is Watt Hours that exceed 1,000. Utility company's use KWh to make the numbers easier to read. 1 KWh = 1,000 Wh. In the bulb example above, let's assume it was operating 24 hours a day for 7 days (168 hours). It would have consumed 10,080 Wh's. TO make the larger numbers more manageable, we divide Wh's by 1,000 to get KWh

Watt Hours ÷ 1000 = KWh
10,080 Watt Hours ÷ 1000 = 10 KWh

Megawatt: It is rare to see the term Megawatt used in a RV, but it is possible if calculating a year or more of use. Mega means million. The math works the same as converting to Killowatt. The only difference is you would divide by 1,000,000 instead of 1,000. In our 60W bulb example, it would have to be operating 24 hours a day for 6,849 days to get to 1 Megawatt!

Amps (A) and Amp Hours (Ah)

Amps is an abbreviation for Amperage. Amperage (Amps) is a rating that states how much power a device will require to operate at peak or in the case of a battery how much power it can deliver when fully charged.

Think of amps like water flowing through a garden hose. The amount of water that can flow through a given size hose is like Amps. For example, a big hose found on a fire truck is going to deliver a larger volume of water than a small garden hose at your house. A weather radio may consume 0.2 Amps whereas a space heater may consume 15 Amps.

Every electrical device will have an Amp rating. Most of the time when device manufacturers reference Amps, they will just put the letter “A” by the number. “A” stands for Amperage/Amps. The picture above is the back of the power transformer for a Ring Alarm system. In the Output section lists 2.5A. What this is saying is the Ring transformer can deliver power up to 2.5 amperage. This does not mean it consumes 2.5A 24×7, but it can deliver up to 2.5A without damaging the power supply or whatever may be connected to it.

Amps and Watts can sound the same, but they are different. In our gardenhose example, Amps would be the volume of water flowing through the hose, whereas, Watts would be the power generated by the water running through the hose (i.e. think pressure washer or hydroelectric dam).

Amp Hours

Similar to Watt Hours, Amp Hours are the amount of Amps that are delivered in an hour.

Think about the process of filling a swimming pool with water. It could take days to fill a pool with a garden hose and a few hours to fill with a fire hose. Both methods will fill the pool to its max capacity. Larger hoses deliver more water and reduces the amount of time it will take.

In electricity, a 1 amp continuous output device would equal 1 amp hour. A 2.5 Amp device would equate to 2.5 Amp Hour. In the swimming pool example, a small hose may deliver 10 gallons an hour whereas a large fire hose could deliver 100 gallons an hour.

Let's take our 60W bulb example from above. A standard 60W bulb will consume approximately 0.5A in an hour. To find out how many amps a Bulb will consume in 10 hours we just multiply the amperage by time in hours.

Amps (A) x Hours (H) = Amp Hours (Wh)
.5A Bulb x 10 Hrs of use = 300 Amp Hours

Voltage (V)

Voltage is a term we use all of the time, but it can be a bit tricky to grasp the concept of what it means. Voltage is potential energy. It is like the amount of water behind a Dam. High voltages are like being behind a large dam. Low voltages are like being behind a small one. The more water there is behind a dam, the more potential energy the dam can deliver.

The term Potential energy can also be a bit tricky to understand as well. It is a bit easier to think about this as water. If you have ever used a siphon hose to move water from one bucket to another then you have experienced how potential energy works. The higher bucket has a higher potential than the lower one that is empty. A siphon hose creates the conduit that will move the water from the higher potential to the lower potential.

Next, think about what happens when the water levels equalize between the two buckets… The siphon hose stops flowing water — the potential energy between the two buckets has equalized. When the potential energy is the same, water — or in the case of electricity — electrons will not move.

The image above is showing what happens when siphoning water. When the two buckets have the same level of water, the siphon stops working. This is what happens in Electricity with Voltage. Higher voltage electrons want to move toward a lower voltage.

A battery, for example, may have a nominal voltage of 12.6 V. A battery charger must be rated for something above that (e.g. 14.6 Volts) to work. The battery charger has a higher potential voltage so the electrons want to move toward the battery until the battery voltage equalizes with the charger voltage. When the voltages equalize a battery will stop charging. This is similar to what happens when water stops flowing in a siphon.

A brief aside about battery chargers. If a battery charger does not reduce its output when the battery it is charging is full, it could damage the battery. Pushing more voltage into a device rated for lower voltage for extended periods of time may cause permanent damage. Always use a battery charger designed for the battery it is charging. Using a constant voltage lithium charger on a lead acid battery will destroy it.

Converter and Inverter

One of the most common terms that get interchanged by new RV owners is Converter and Inverter. They sound the same, but they are different.

A Converter gets its name because it “converts” standard 120 Volt Alternating Current (VAC) house-style electricity down to 12 Volt Direct Current (VDC) automotive voltages. The RV Industry calls these devices Converter/Chargers.

The difference between a Converter/Charger and a standard battery charger is the amperage output. Converter/Chargers are designed to power the 12V items inside of a coach when plugged in then the surplus power is used to charge the on-board batteries. Most standard auto battery chargers are designed to charge the batteries only. They have a lower output current and generally are not designed to power other DC powered devices like lights and a radio.

A Converter/Charger is a simple device. The electrical plug that powers it connects to a normal house-style 120 VAC socket. The other end has 12 VDC positive and negative terminals that connect to the DC Bus of a camper. The Converter/Charger pictured above is manufactured by Progressive Dynamics and rated for an 80 Amp output. Common stock RV converter/chargers generally range from 35-60A.

Inverters

Inverters are similar to Converters, but they work in the opposite direction. A converter changes AC voltage to DC. An Inverter changes DC voltage to AC. Inverters are used when a standard household-type electrical device needs to be powered from batteries.

It is common to see RV's ship with an inverter if the coach has a residential refrigerator. A residential refrigerator needs AC power to operate. When traveling, a RV needs AC power to keep the refrigerator running. The AC power is supplied by an Inverter.

High-end RV's with upgraded electrical systems may come with larger inverters, but generally larger inverters are installed after-market by owners who upgrade their electrical systems.

Solar System Components

Solar systems are actually fairly straightforward. Basic systems have two main components. The Solar Panels that convert light into electricity and a charge controller that transforms the voltage coming in from the solar panels down to something that can charge the batteries.

Solar Panels

Solar panels used in RV's typically come in one of two configurations — Monocrystalline or Polycrystalline.

Monocrystalline and Polycrystalline panels are both made from silicone. Monocrystalline panels are made from a single block of silicone that is cut to a uniform size and shape that are called wafers.

Monocrystalline panels are the most efficient because they are cut from pure-blemish free silicone stock. Mono panels cost more than Poly panels because the Mono manufacturing process is expensive and time consuming.

Polycrystalline panels are also made from silicone, but their construction comes from multiple silicone sources that are bought together to form the cells. The process is less expensive, but the imperfections in the Poly cell lowers its efficiency.

It is easy to identify the differences between Mono and Poly panels.

• Mono Panels are cut at a 45 degree angle at each corner because they are made from a round-stock of silicone. If manufacturers were to cut a perfect square they would have too much loss in material.

• Poly panels are perfect squares. They are manufactured out of multiple sources of silicone so the manufacturers can utilize every inch of space when forming the panel. The square shape provides more surface area that improves cell efficiency. This helps offset some of the loss due to how the panels are made.

Panel Construction (Rigid vs Flexible)

There are two types of construction methods of Solar panels used in the RV industry – Rigid and Flex. Rigid panels are generally what is thought of when someone thinks about a solar panel. They are the rectangular shaped aluminum framed panels that we see everywhere.

We see rigid solar panels everywhere because they are virtually indestructible. Rigid panels have been manufactured for decades. The manufacturing process is efficient and the panels are tested by power companies and large installations worldwide. Rigid panels are proven technology that will withstand years of highway driving, rain, hail, tree limbs bumping them, etc.

The drawback of installing Rigid panels on the roof of an RV is they are bulky and need to be hard-drilled into the roof. Each panel will require 6 to 8 physical mounting points securing it to the RV roof. Every hole has the potential of creating a leak point. Accordingly, Airstream and rigs with metal roofs have the additional challenge of drilling through metal to mount the panels. If they are ever remove or change the panels, there would be unsightly holes in the roof that would not be easy to conceal.

Flexible Solar Panels

Flex panels are starting to show up more on RV's. The flexible nature of the panels make them easy to mount onto unusual shapes like an Airstream roof.

Another advantage to the Flex Solar Panels is they are adhered to the surface with a peal and stick adhesive. If they ever need to be removed, a heat gun and some elbow grease can pull them up without damaging the roof.

Flex panels are not as durable as rigid panels. It is very common to see nicks and cuts in a Flex panels that was caused by a tree limb or something nicking them.

Cuts will not necessarily prevent a Flexible Solar Panel from functioning, but they will reduce their overall efficiency.

Another issue with Flex panels is how the top surface is constructed. Flex panels have a soft plastic surface that covers the silicone wafers (Rigid panels are made with tempered glass). The soft plastic is susceptible to UV damage and will deteriorate over time. The top-surface clouding will cause the the entire panel to lose efficiency.

Flexible Solar panels have their advantages, but they are more expensive and will not last as long as a Rigid panel. Most quality flex panels come with a 10 year warranty, but the warranty does not cover labor to remove and install the replacement. Flex panel manufacturers may not cover panels damaged by nicks and scrapes either. Given the choice, rigid solar panels will work better for most RVs.

Charge Controllers

The second primary component of a RV Solar installation is the Charge Controller. What they do is normalize the electrical power coming in from the solar panel to something that can safely charge the on-board batteries.

There are two different types of Solar Charge Controllers — PWM and MPPT.

PWM Charge Controllers

PWM stands for Pulse Width Modulation. PWM controllers act like on/off switches. When they are on, the voltage coming from the panel feeds directly into the battery bank directly. The power output from the panel is not altered. When a battery is fully charged, a PWM controller will toggle the solar panels on and off to keep the batteries in absorption.

PWM systems required that the solar panels are precisely matched to the batteries being charged. If you have a 12 VDC normal battery bank, the panels will need to output a voltage slightly over 12 VDC ~ something around 18 VDC. If you remember our definition above about voltage potential, this is where it comes into play in solar. As soon as the panel output falls below 12 VDC, it stops charging the batteries. A PWM controller would switch the panel off so the battery doesn't try to feed the panel.

Installing multiple solar panels in a PWM system has to be carefully thought out. PWM controllers have a max input amp rating that cannot be exceeded and the solar panels need to output voltages over 12 VDC to work, but they cannot exceed 18 VDC or it can damage the batteries and components inside of the RV. Most of the time PWM systems have one or two panels.

MPPT Charge Controllers

MPPT stands for Maximum Power Point Tracking. MPPT controllers are basically DC to DC converters. They take input voltage form panels and step it down to a safe voltage for the system being charged. All MPPT controllers are designed to convert higher voltages coming form solar panels down to 12 VDC. The common input voltages for MPPT charge controllers are 50, 75, 100 and 150.

MPPT charge controllers are the most flexible. They let you find the best panel that fits the roof and then it does the conversion required to charge the batteries. Accordingly, by having higher input voltages solar panels can be connected in series that multiplies the voltage of the panels and does not increase amps. The advantage of this is lighter weight wires can be ran between the solar panels and charge controller.

Series and Parallel Connections

When discussing multiple solar panel configurations, it generally doesn't take long to get into the discussion on how they will be wired together (e.g. Series or Parallel).

The reason the wiring discussion is important is because how you connect the panels determines what charge controller you will need, what types of panels you can use and the gauge (thickness) of the wires running between the solar panels and charge controller.

Parallel Connections

Parallel connections are the most common wiring in the auto and RV industry. RV Batteries, for example, are almost always wired in parallel. What parallel means is all positives connect to each other and all negatives connect to each other.

When batteries or solar panels are wired in parallel, the voltage stays the same. Two 12 VDC batteries that are connected in parallel output 12 VDC to whatever they are connected to. This is the most common configuration in two battery automobiles and RV's.

What happens in a parallel connection is the output doubles. In the picture above, two 12 V 100 Ah batteries were connected. The result is it is now like having one big 12 V 200 Ah battery. The batteries are joined and double their capacity without changing the output voltage.

The challenge with parallel connections in solar arrays, however, is when two panels are connected in parallel their output amperage doubles. The higher amperage needs to be carried through wiring from the panels to the charge controller. In solar installations it is generally better to keep the amperage as low as possible.

Series Connection

Series wiring of batteries connects the positive terminal from one battery to the negative terminal to another battery. The cross connects would continue in the positive to negative configuration until the last battery. There would be one open positive and one open negative. Those would connect into the system.

The batteries in the photo above are 100 Ah 12 VDC. What happens in a Series connection is the voltage doubles to 24 V, but the amperage output remains the same.

Doubling of voltage is what happens to solar panels that are connected in series as well. Two 32 V / 9 A output solar panels would output 64 V at the charge controller when connected in series, but their amperage would remain the same at 9 A. The advantage of this configuration over parallel is that it would take a smaller gauge wire to carry 9 A in a series connection vs 18 A in a parallel connection.

Series-Parallel connections

In large complex solar installations, it is common to see panels wired in a series-parallel configuration. This configuration has to be thought out carefully. Everything needs to be identical in each section to work properly.

Series-parallel is a configuration where there could be groups of panels in series and then the groups combine together to form a parallel connection.

The diagram above shows 4 groups of solar panels (one per row). Each row is connected in series and the outside connections are in parallel. The panels are 19V 8A.

• The total output of the above series-parallel configuration is 38V 32A.

• If all 8 panels were connected in parallel, the output voltage would be 19V at 64A.

• If all 8 panels were connected in series, the output voltage would be 152V at 8A

Series-parallel allows solar installers to get more wattage on the roof while keeping the input voltage and amperage into something that a charge controller can handle. Series-parallel also allows for installers to use smaller sized wires. The 32A output can be used on 10GA wires that are common in RV's that have preinstalled wires. The 64A output of the parallel connection would double the size of the wiring required.

Series wiring in this example would work fine with the standard 10 Gauge wiring in RVs with pre-wired solar connections. The output voltage, however, is too high. 152V output would push it outside of the specs of most charge controllers that cap at 150V input.

When designing a solar array, it is important to calculate the output voltage and amperage based on series, parallel, and parallel-series configurations. This will help you then pick the appropriately sized charge controller and wiring.

Sizing RV Solar Systems

The surface area on an RV ultimately defines the capacity of the system. The easiest way to start is to measure the roof and determine approximately where a solar panel could be installed.

Both images above are Grand Design RV's. The layout of OEM components on the roof such as air conditioners and vents determine where panels can be installed. The top photo is a 2020 Grand Design Momentum 376TH. The second is our 2020 Grand Design Momentum 397TH. They are both big rigs, but the roof layout is different.

Our rig was ordered with factory solar. The panel at the bottom of the picture shows the OEM panel. GDRV installed the panel in a location that is off center, but they did not leave room for a second panel. We added two more factory Jaboni panels in the front. The two panels in the front could not be even due to a LCI Cellular LTE antenna.

The image above is a mockup I created to add two panels to the OEM install. The measurements are not exactly to scale, but it helped get in the ballpark. We added two panels, ran larger wiring from the roof to the charge controller, relocated the wiring into a junction box and left the OEM panel in place. This configuration gives us 900W of solar capacity. To achieve more we would have to move the OEM panel and patch the holes in the roof. The panels are wired in series.

Calculating Solar Panel Output

After roughing in the initial lay-out I was able to calculate the output power needed to size the solar charge controller and wiring. The first step was to look at parallel connections. The panels output 9.3A max output. 3 panels in parallel would output 27.9A and maintain 39.85V.

The next step was to look at panel output when wired in series. The panels output 39.85 V maximum open current voltage. 3 panels in parallel would output 119.55V and maintain 9.3A.

Determining Charge Controller Size

The Grand Design Solar install came standard with a Jaboni 30A MPPT charge controller. The easiest solution would be to use the OEM controller; however, when looking at the Jaboni Charge Controller specs, it will not work with 3 300W Solar Panels.

If we refer back to the above calculations, 3 panels in parallel would output 27.9 A. Although this is within the limits of the input amperage, the max size wiring supported is only 10 AWG. 10 AWG is max rated to 30A for solar installations. This configuration would push 10 AWG wiring to its limits, which increases heat and voltage drop.

Next we look at 3 panels in series, which output 119.55V. The max input voltage for the Jaboni Charge Controller is 45V. The Jaboni Charge controller can only support 1 300W solar panels in series.

The OEM charge controller can only support parallel connections due to the limitation of input voltage. Operating 3 panels in parallel is technically possible, it would push the amps on the wiring to the max supported by the Jaboni charge controller. Another limit of the Jaboni Charge controller is it can only output a max of 30A. 3 panels in series has the potential at charging at more amps with a different charge controller. Therefore, we eliminated the OEM Jaboni charge controller from our system.

Victron Charge Controller Options

Victron makes a wide range of solar charge controllers and are frequently used in RVs. It is important to find a charge controller that will fit the system without buying one that is too large or too small. A large system will not be as efficient as a smaller one. A small system can overload and shut down if more power than it can handle is pushed in or out of it.

Victron lists all of their charge controller's on there website. At first glance it may be confusing, but it isn't too hard to narrow down the product needed for our install.

The first item I looked at was what devices support Bluetooth. I wanted a controller that can be programmed and monitored directly from the Victron smartphone app. The devices that have integrated bluetooth are called SmartSolar and have a picture of a smartphone next to them (top row of image above plus the leftmost controller on the second row).

Now that we have narrowed to the Victron SmartSolar devices, we need to determine what controller we need. The output voltages are available in different configurations — 12V/24V/48V. Output voltage is the voltage that the system uses to charge the onboard battery bank. This is not the input voltage from the panels. I chose 12V output.

I like keeping everything at 12V in an RV because that is the standard voltage used in vehicles. Higher voltages are more efficient, but they require step-down DC to DC converters to work with inside RV systems and it increases the risk that an RV tech or someone not familiar with high-voltage systems could accidentally cross wires that could cause significant damage to components.

After determining the output of 12V in our case, the next step is deciding what controller we need based on the specs of the panels. Victron conveniently lists the input and output capability of their controllers in the name. The MPPT 150|70 can handle input voltages up to 150V and will charge at 70A. A MPPT 250|100 can support up to 250V input voltages and charge batteries up to 100A.

To pick the controller we need to refer back to our solar panel specs. The higher voltage input in general is more efficient because we can run smaller gauge cables from the roof. Looking at our 3 panel series connection, we would output a max of 119.55V, which takes us out of the 100V and below input controllers. We can use either the 150V input or the 250V input controllers.

Now we need to look at our charging potential to see what size controller we need. We need a bit of math to get us in the ballpark. In our 3-panel configuration we will be outputting 119.55V at 9.3A. The controller will step down the voltage to 12VDC. When stepping down voltages, the amperage will increase. We need to see how many amps we will be outputting to confirm the approximate controller size we need.

To calculate charging amperage, we need to reference the panel output wattage. Our 3 panel configuration is 900W (300W x 3). 900W output divided by the end-voltage of 12V works out to the maximum amperage output potential of the system (900W ÷ 12V = 75A).

Our 900W system will need a charge controller that can output somewhere around 75A. Next, let's look at the specs of the Victron charge controller specs that are in the 75A range to pick the best one for our system.

Victron controllers are built to compensate for panel and cable loss. When looking at the reference table, the SmartController 150|75 would work for our system. Our 900W panels are below the 1000W rated input specs. Our output voltage of 119.55V is below the 150A input voltage. And our input amperage of 9.3A from the panels is below 50A max limit.

In our 3 panel configuration the Victron 12VDC SmartSolar 150|75 will match our system perfectly. However, we may add another 300W panel to the system. What would happen if we did?

Victron Series Parallel Charge Controller Sizing

Based on our 397TH roof configuration, we could add one more Jaboni panel if we relocate the OEM panel. Adding another panel is somewhat easy, but the math changes if we do. We need to run though the numbers to ensure we have expansion capabilities.

4 300W panels in series would output 1200W at 159.4V. This output voltage would force us into the significantly more expensive 250V charge controller. However, if we configure the panels in series-parallel we can easily keep the output voltage below 150V.

Connecting 2 sets of panels in series and then combining those two panels in parallel changes the math.

To calculate the Series-parallel configuration we start by calculating the series legs. In the image above, each row consists of 2 300W Jaboni panels that output 39.85V at 9.3A each. The 2 pair series panels (row in pic above) works out to 79.7V (39.85 x 2) at 9.3A. The two series pairs are then combined into parallel, which works out to 79.7V at 18.6A.

Series connections add voltages together and leave amps the same. Parallel connections leave the voltage the same and add the amperage. When combining two series connections into a parallel leg the voltage will remain the same as the series pair and the amperage will double.

By changing to a series-parallel configuration, we are able to keep the voltage below 100V. This opens up the option to look at the 100V and up controllers; however, when referencing the 100V Victron Charge Controller specs, they only support panel configurations up to 700W.

Although our voltage output is lower than 100V, the series-parallel configuration will still require a 150V|X system that can handle the output load of the 1200W panels.

The SmartSolar table above shows the Victron Charge Controller specs that may fit. By adding the 4th panel we push outside of the 150|75 controller because our system will output more than 1000W. The 150|85 is now the best fit. It will support a panel configuration up to 1200W and charge at 85A. It would also possible to jump up to the 150|100, but that would additional cost that isn't necessary for the 1200W panel configuration.

I chose the 150|85A controller for our installation. Although we have 900W initially that will work with the 150|75, I will be adding another panel to our system. By stepping up to the next charge controller size I can use the same controller to work with our 900W system and support the expansion to 1200W.

System Wire Sizing

Solar to Charge Controller Wire Sizing

Now that we have landed on the number of panels and the charge controller, we need to calculate the size of wires we need. We will have two connections to cable — the feed from the Solar panels to the Charge Controller and the feed from the Charge Controller to the Batteries.

The system I have been documenting will start with 900W panels, but the plan is to expand it to 1200W in the future. When sizing, we need to look at both configurations and size to the largest wiring requirements.

We need to compare both 900W and 1200W system configurations because it is possible that a smaller system could put a heavier amp load on the wiring. For example, one could have a smaller system in parallel that multiples the amperage on the cables and then move to series in a larger system. In this situation the smaller parallel configuration would put a heavier amperage load on the wires.

We can use tables and reference data to determine wire size, but fortunately there are a number of online calculators that make the process easier. One of the calculators I like to use is hosted on the Renogy website. It is important to keep in mind that not all sizing calculators are designed to compensate for solar. Renogy sells quality solar components. Their calculator is safe to use for sizing solar wiring.

When reaching the Renogy calculator, select Solar Cable Gauge Calculator. Next we need to enter the specifications for the proposed configurations. We can start with the wire size from the panels to the charge controller. I will use the numbers generated for the 900W and the 1200W examples.

900W Configuration (3 300W Series)

For the 900W system, we need to round up to the next full number. I rounded the 119.55V output of the 3 series connected panels to 120V and rounded the 9.3A output to 10A. I entered 40 feet to ensure that I calculate the maximum length possible. Quality cables that are designed for solar have low loss. I used TemCo cables so I entered 2%. After entering the number click calculate button.

The wire gauge size needed for a 900W system would be 14 AWG minimum.

Next, we need to calculate the specs of the 1200W Series-Parallel panels.

In the 1200W Series-Parallel wire calculator, I rounded up the output voltage from 79.7V to 80V and the amperage from 18.6A to 19. I left the distance and the loss the same.

The wire gauge size needed for a 1200W system would be 10 AWG minimum.

Based on our calculations, the 1200W Series-Parallel system will require the largest 10 AWG cables. We need to use the 1200W configuration for sizing the wires.

I like bumping up to the next size cable. Larger cables will improve efficiency and provide for expansion down the road if needed. In our 1200W configuration, the 10 AWG wiring will support a max of 30A. If we jump to 8 AWG, we can safely carry 55A. The one size up adds significant headroom and only marginally changing price and weight.

I chose to run 8 AWG wiring from the roof to the charge controller.

Charge Controller to Battery Bank Wire Sizing

The next step of the process is determining the size of wires needed to charge the battery bank. The Renogy Wire Size Calculator is technically designed for solar panel to Charge Controller, but we can use the calculator to get into the ballpark of what we need to connect to our batteries as well.

Using the Renogy solar calculator for the battery interconnect cable is the easiest since we are on this page already. All that is needed is to change the Solar Array Voltage and Operating Current to the output specs of the Charge Controller. In our case, we are using the Victron 150|85 that has an operating voltage of 12VDC and a max charging amperage of 85A. The distance from the charge controller to the batteries should be as short as possible. I used 6 feet in this calculation, which is about double the actual length of approximately 3 feet.

The Renogy calculator indicates that we need to use a 2 AWG size wire to connect to the battery bank. This will support the max charge amperage and voltage. However, before locking in 2 AWG, we need to reference the Victron Charge Controller documentation. We need to verify that the Charge Controller has terminals large enough to fit 2 AWG wiring.

Based on the Renogy calculator and the Victron Charge Controller documentation, 2 AWG wire size will fit the terminals and carry the 85A max charging load.

Charge Controller Distance to the Battery Bank is Important!

The Charge Controller should be mounted as close as possible to the battery bank. To illustrate why this is important, I changed the battery calculation slightly. I increased the distance from the controller to the battery bank from 6 feet to 10 feet.

Adding 4 more feet to the distance the minimum wire size moved form 2 AWG that will fit the charge controller to 0 AWG that will not fit the output terminals of the charge controller. Mount the Charge Controller as close as possible to the Batteries.

Choosing House Batteries

The heart of a RV solar system isn't the solar panels it is the battery bank. The solar panels do not actually operate anything. Their sole purpose is to charge the batteries that store the power required to operate the equipment in the RV.

Battery Bank Voltage

When selecting batteries, the first decision to make is the voltage configuration that will be used. Higher voltage battery banks such as 24V and 48V configurations improve overall efficiency of a solar system, but changing battery voltage from 12VDC adds risk. Most RV's and vehicles in general are built around 12VDC.

Standard 12V configuration enables us to jump start from one vehicle to another without damaging the electrical system. All DC powered components installed in an RV including systems such as the furnace, slide controllers, generator starter, lights, radio, water heater, etc. are designed to solely work off of a 12V system.

When deciding to change from 12VDC to something else, the battery bank must be isolated from all other RV components. A device called a DC to DC converter must be installed between the battery bank and the RV components. DC to DC converters will step down the battery operating voltage to 12V that is safe to use internally.

DC to DC converters function similarly to solar charge controllers. They are reliable, but they do add another point of complexity and failure point in the system.

The further we move from standard, we move further away from what RV techs, mechanics and most RV owners understand. Solar connected systems are complex and have very expensive components. A simple mistake like trying to charge a 24V battery bank with a standard 12V charger can cause permanent damage to parts, blow fuses, and could start a fire!

In a home or off-grid situation, higher voltages are preferred, but in an RV I highly recommend keeping everything 12VDC. Keeping the electrical system as close to standard as possible is safer.

• We may need to leave our rigs at dealers for maintenance,
• We may sell our rigs to someone that doesn't understand the system,
• We may have a breakdown and need to jump start the generator from the tow vehicle,
• We could brake down on the road and a tow truck driver is not familiar with the system.

Battery connections

Similar to solar panels, batteries can be configured in parallel, series and a combination series-parallel. For this discussion I will generally target parallel configurations since we like sticking with 12V in a RV.

It is important to note that there are some RVs that have installed 6V Golf Cart Batteries in their rigs. 6V batteries need to be wired in a Series-Parallel configuration so they output 12V into the RV. Series-parallel is similar to the discussion above regarding solar panels. Two 6V batteries are connected in Series. The output of those two batteries are connected to the the other two-group of batteries in parallel.

The 6V configuration is not as common now that there are more powerful 12V options, but it is possible that you may encounter a 6V parallel-series connected system if you are upgrading an older rig. It is always a good idea to take pictures of existing wiring before changing anything and then test voltages with a multimeter. It can cause significant damage to systems if 6V and 12V systems are inadvertently connected to each other.

Battery Chemistry

There are 3 types of chemistries used in most RV Batteries – Lead Acid/Wet Cell, AGM/Gel Cell and Lithium-Ion. Outside of those chemistries, there are a myriad of marketing differences from one battery manufacturer to another. We may hear about cold craning amps, deep cycle, marine, maintenance free, etc. Regardless of what the batteries are called, they all end up being one of the 3 chemistries.

Lead Acid / Wet Cell

The Lead Acid Battery is by far the most common battery found installed in RVs. The technology has been around for over 100 years. Lead Acid batteries are also routinely called Wet Cell batteries. The reason they are called wet cell is because water needs to be added to the batteries regularly.

Lead Acid batteries require a lot of maintenance from owners. When Lead Acid batteries are charged the internal cells generate heat. The hot plates inside of the battery heats the surrounding water that is intended to keep the cells cool. The water will heat up above its boiling point and create steam that evacuates outside of the battery. When the battery cools, the escaped steam is lost and the water level decreases. This process happens during every charge cycle.

The lower water level exposes the internal lead acid plates to air, which exposes them to high-heat during charging. Heat will destroy the charging plates reducing their overall power output. This is why wet cell lead acid batteries must be regularly serviced with water. One charge cycle without water covering the internal plates will cause permanent damage to the battery.

Another disadvantage of lead acid batteries is they are not efficient at storing electrical loads over time. A fully charged battery that is disconnected form everything will lose 5% of its capacity every week. A battery sitting 1-2 months without a trickle charger will be completely dead.

Fully discharged lead acid batteries will destroy them. A fully charged battery pushes the Acid electrolyte that holds the charge into the surrounding water. As the battery discharges, the acid attaches to the lead plates. When removing the Acid from the water the freeze point increases. Frozen water expands and will destroy the lead acid plates and can crack the housing. This is the main reason why car batteries die in winter.

Most of us have been taught to trick charge our batteries when in storage, which is great advice. The problem of trickle charging lead acid batteries; however, is the plates always stay warm. The warm plates evaporate the water in the cells. Batteries being trickle charged still need to be inspected regularly to ensure water level in the cells is sufficient. If water goes unchecked, the cells will be exposed to air and overheat during trickle charging. This is why we find lead acid batteries that will not hold a charge after winter storage even though they were stored in a warm location and trickle charged.

Sealed Lead Acid/Maintenance Free Batteries

Sealed Lead Acid Maintenance free batteries are very common. Battery manufacturers love marketing sealed lead acid batteries as being Maintenance Free. Unfortunately Maintenance free batteries and lead acid batteries are one in the same. They are made up of the exact same chemistry.

The only difference between a sealed lead acid battery vs a standard lead acid battery is accessing the cells. Standard serviceable lead acid batteries have caps that can be removed to enable inspection and water servicing. Sealed battery caps are designed to capture and cool the steam released from the water when the batteries are charged. When the hot steam cools it creates condensation that is directed back into the cell.

Although sealed lead acid batteries will last longer without maintenance, the process of converting water to steam and back does not capture 100% of the water. Over time the water level will decrease and expose the lead plates to air. Maintenance Free batteries that are never serviced will suffer the same fait as standard lead acid batteries that are not serviced properly.

Interestingly, standard lead acid batteries could outlast maintenance free batteries if they are properly maintained.

It is possible to add water to some maintenance free batteries, but this process generally requires removing labels and prying off the covers. When servicing them, however, the water recapture system can be damaged turning them into standard lead acid batteries that need to be regularly serviced.

AGM/Gel Cell Batteries

AGM/Gel Cell batteries and lead acid batteries function basically the same way. The difference is the material that holds the charge (e.g. electrolyte). Lead acid Batteries use water. AGM (Absorbent Glass Mat) batteries use a Fiberglass material that is situated between the lead plates. Gel Cell batteries use a gelatin material that holds the electrolyte. The electrolyte is exchanged between AGM and Gel cell batteries in exactly the same way that Lead Acid and Water works. The main difference is stability. AGM and Gel batteries do not suffer from evaporation like lead acid batteries and are truly maintenance free. They cannot be serviced.

Gel cell batteries are not commonly used in RVs or solar. They do not work well when high charge or discharge rates. Starting generators, moving slides, etc. can overdrive a gel battery and cause it to internally short circuit. Accordingly, fast charging form large solar systems will also damage a gel cell battery. The main reason we see gel cell batteries is they work very well in slow discharge conditions and they can operate in environments that have high heat better than AGM or Lead Acid.

AGM batteries are commonly found in RVs. AGM batteries are sealed and can be mounted in any configuration — sideways or upside down. AGM does not off-gas as much as Lead Acid batteries, but they still create toxic fumes when charging. They cannot be installed inside of a living space and must be vented externally.

AGM batteries will not last as long as a properly maintained Lead Acid Battery and they are more expensive; however, the maintenance free design of an AGM battery and the ability to mount them in any configuration make AGM the most common aftermarket battery used in RVs.

Lithium Ion (LI) Batteries

The new kid on the block is the Lithium Ion battery, which is often abbreviated to LI. Lithium batteries hit the market initially in laptop computers, smartphones, and personal devices. The consumer electronics market drove the initial LI use case because the batteries can be built in virtually any shape or size. LI technology was pushed into high-demand applications by Tesla the electric car manufacturer. Tesla vehicles use a powerful LI battery configuration that carries their vehicles 300 miles or more on a single charge.

Automobile and consumer electronic manufacturers have invested billions of dollars into research and production of stable and safe Lithium Ion battery technology, which has enabled aftermarket battery manufacturers to create drop-in sized batteries that have the exact same shape and voltage output of a normal Lead Acid, AGM or Gel Cell battery.

The drop-in form factor of Lithium batteries has rapidly moved LI into the mainstream market making LI the most common battery chemistry used in solar and high-power applications.

The main advantage of Lithium technology is they can deliver to their full rated power. A 100AH LI battery can deliver a full 100AH at a stable voltage from fully charged to fully discharged. Lead Acid, AGM and Gel Cel batteries all suffer from the same technology limitations. A 100AH traditional battery chemistry, for example, can only safely deliver 50% of its rated capacity (e.g. 50AH). Discharging a traditional battery beyond 50% will decrease its output. Several deep discharges of a traditional battery will destroy them. LI batteries can be fully discharged and recharged thousands of times without damaging the battery. Most quality LI battery manufacturers cover their batteries for 10 years or more. Lion Energy batteries come with a lifetime warranty. They are guaranteed to deliver no less than 80% of their initial rated capacity for 3,500 full charge/discharge cycles.

LI battery chemistry holds voltage consistent as they discharge even when under a significant load. A traditional battery will have a voltage drop when delivering full power and the voltage will drop over time as the battery discharges. Voltage fluctuations of traditional batteries can damage equipment, which is another reason why it is not safe to discharge traditional batteries beyond 50% of their capacity.

LI batteries are also completely sealed and maintenance free. Like AGM batteries, they can be mounted in any configuration — on their sides or even upside down. Where LI batteries further diverge from traditional battery chemistry is they do not off-gas. They can be safely installed inside the cabin of an RV. Mounting inside is critically important for small RVs like an Airstream that does not have large external storage compartments. Many Airstream owners install LI batteries in the storage compartment under the bed. LI chemistry is the only battery option that can be safely used inside a living space.

The final key differentiator between traditional batteries and Lithium ion is the weight. A type 27 lead acid battery will weigh somewhere between 54 to 70 lb. A Lion Energy UT1300 Lithium battery weights 23 lb!

The primary disadvantage of LI batteries is the upfront cost. LI batteries can be 5 to 10 times more expensive than traditional battery technology. It is not uncommon to pay more for LI batteries than all other components of a solar system. The advantages of weight, discharge capacity, safety and stability make them a very good choice for RVers.

I recommend looking close at LI batteries for any solar system build. If you are on a budget, starting off with one or two batteries and expand the battery bank over time might be a better choice than building around traditional battery technology. Adding capacity later is relatively easy if the system is installed in an area that has room to add more batteries.

LI batteries have a better return on investment over time than traditional batteries because traditional batteries need to be replaced every 2-3 years. It also takes 2 traditional batteries to deliver the same output capacity of 1 LI battery.

Battery Bank Sizing

As I discussed above, the number of solar panels are defined by the size of the roof. RVs do not have an unlimited roof space. There is a limit to the maximum amount of power than can be generated per day. Battery banks are similar. Batteries take up space in the RV and they are expensive. The more power on board, the longer a RV can be powered by the rig, but again there is still a charging limit. We can't fill our coaches with batteries and not have sufficient solar to charge them. We need to size a battery bank with our solar array.

The challenge with battery bank sizing is that if the batteries will only be charged by solar panels, the time to charge plus the consumption rate need to be look at. A small 100W panel charging a 12V battery on paper will charge at 1200Wh in full sun. One Lion UT1300 battery holds 1250 Wh's (105Ah x 12V). In a perfect world it would take a bit over an hour for a 100W panel to charge a UT1300.

Of course, we do not live in a perfect world. We cannot charge batteries at the full panel rate. There are losses in the system from the wiring used to the energy consumed by the charge controller to covert panel voltage to 12VDC. In my 1200W system, I landed on an 85A Victron Charge controller. The max rate I can charge at is 1020W (85A x 12V) per hour.

Another consideration we need to take into account is the hours of sun available. The standard usable solar calculation in the US is 5 hours per day. There will be days where we receive more than 5 hours of sun and there will be overcast and rainy days where there will be no charging whatsoever. We need something to calculate from, so 5 hours is a good baseline to use as an estimate. In my 1200W system, I will generate approximately 5,100Wh's per day (1020W x 5h).

Now that we know the approximate amount of power we can generate per day, we can look at optimal battery bank sizing. A Lion UT1300 holds 105Ah of power, which equates to 1,260Wh (105Ah x 12V). I can effectively charge 4 UT1300's from dead in 5 hours (5100Wh charging ÷ 1260Wh/UT1300).

It isn't a good idea to cycle batteries fully dead and up frequently. The larger we make our battery bank, the less likely we will need to fully discharge the batteries. For planning purposes, we should try to get to 2x more battery bank storage than what a solar array can deliver to keep the battery discharge rate down to approximately 50% of capacity.

Battery life is extended if do not discharge fully regularly. A full discharge would equate to 4 UT1300's in our 1200W solar array (e.g. 5,100Wh used and recharged). If we size the bank somewhere between 6 and 8 LION UT 1300's we will increase the lifespan of the batteries by not fully discharging them and have more reserve power on hand to cover cloudy days.

Calculating Energy Consumption

One needs to balance the size of the battery bank with the amount of energy that will be consumed while taking into account the length of time it will take to charge the batteries.

It may be easier to take the batteries out of the equation for a minute to bring the point home. A 1200W solar array can deliver 5,100Wh of power per day on average. 5,100Wh is our daily consumption limit.

If one consumes more power than a solar array can deliver in a day, then the there will not be sufficient power to charge the battery bank. Every watt consumed form a battery bank over what the panels can push back into energy storage will slowly deplete the battery bank to the point where they will eventually be fully discharged and disconnect.

In a perfect world, one would just add solar panels and batteries to cover everything, but as we have been discussing RVs have limited space. It isn't possible to make our roofs bigger. What we need to do is to limit our energy usage based on the amount of charging power the panels can provide.

RV solar sizing is a different approach than what would be done for a home install where we build a system to fit the consumption. We do not have the space in a RV to satisfy max consumption, so we have to fit our consumption into what our system can deliver.

Getting back to 5,100Wh's of max daily consumption, we need to estimate what it will take to get there. It can get a bit tricky to do the calculations since some components operate on 12 VDC and some use an inverter to convert to 12 VAC that has an overhead loss. We don't need to worry too much about all of that. We just need to get into a rough estimate of what we can consume per day and make sure we are looking at the same numbers.

We can back into the numbers by looking at amps per hour or by watts per hour. I find it easier to convert to watts per hour first so we are looking at solar panel output through to the batteries using the same numbers.

The quick way to convert into Watt Hours (Wh) is to reference amp rating of the appliance on its label and multiply by the operating voltage. For example, a computer is rated for .2A at 120 works out to 24 Watts per Hour (.2A x 120V = 24). That same computer would consume 576 Wh per day (24Wh x 24 Hours).

Some always on appliances like a refrigerator are not technically running 24 hours per day. The inside temp stabilizes and power consumption is reduced. For calculations, let's assume a fridge runs for 12 of the 24 hours consuming 480 watts per hour. That works out to 5,760 Wh's consumed by the refrigerator per day!

A Refrigerator operating for 12 hours per day consuming 480 Watts per Hour will exceed our solar power generating capacity in a single day! For those of you who are planning on operating off-grid, a RV fridge running on propane is a more efficient use of power.

We all have dreams of living off-grid with no external power running our Air Conditioners all day, but the reality is that it isn't possible in a RV. We need to strike a balance of what we absolutely need to power off of electricity and use alternative power sources such as propane whenever possible. It is also important to unplug any component that isn't being used. Every plugged in electrical device will consume small amounts of power even when turned off.

Final Thoughts

On the surface solar looks to be complicated, but the reality is there are only 4 main parts that make up the system — solar panels, wires, charge controller and battery bank.

For those powering AC appliances like an Air Conditioner or Microwave, there is one more component called an inverter that turns battery power to standard household appliance power. I will write more about inverters in a future post.

We can spend a lot of time doing an energy audit trying to calculate the exact power needed, but the reality is the max solar power is limited to the space on the roof. Solar panels are cheap. Find a panel that will fit the roof the best and get as many of them as you can fit on the roof. Then take the specs of the panel and move forward though the system calculating everything needed from the wire size to the battery bank.

July 2020 was the highest month for RV shipments in over 40 years. According to the RV Industry Association (RVIA) report, 43,035 RVs were shipped. This is a 53.5% increase in Shipments from July 2019. August is on track to do the same.

Towable RVs lead the sales surge with over 39,160 sold in July. Motorhomes represented 3,875 of the units sold.

Coronavirus has driven interest in camping and family activities that are safe. I expect to see sales strong through at least 2021.

Campground Infrastructure is a Problem

The challenge I see with the sales surge is campground infrastructure and availability. Although manufacturers and dealerships can increase their throughput, campgrounds are not being opened at the same rate and many of the campgrounds out there have dated infrastructure. 40,000 new RV owners a month are going to want a place to take their rig that have modern amenities like 2 or more AC's, Microwaves, several TV's, etc. that put a demand on RV park power grid.

According to a post on Wikipedia, there are 13,000 private camp grounds plus 1,600 state parks in the US. If we assume each park will have 60 sites, that leaves us with a capacity somewhere around 109,000 RV park camping locations. Three 40K per month deliveries (120,000) will exceed the total number of camping locations in the US!

My numbers may be off some, but the point I am trying to make is that we have been experiencing campground availability issues before the pandemic. The increase in sales is going to put further pressure on campgrounds as demand increases.

Did I hear someone reading this say Boodocking? Maybe, but most new RVs are not set up to truly function off-grid day one. Accordingly, many of the deliveries are going to first time RVers. New RVs will need power upgrades, water upgrades, etc. before the can Boondock for more than a few days at a time. Campgrounds are easier for new RVers.

Low Supply and High Demand = More Expensive Camping

I don't have a crystal ball, but the math is the math. 2020 RV deliveries are up 50% or more month over month from 2019. As new people enter the market they will want a place to use their rigs. With campground availability somewhat fixed, the demand for spaces will very likely drive up cost.

When I started RVing it was $20-$30 a night to stay in a campground. I have been seeing $50-$60/night averages over the past couple of years. Record demand could push average prices to $80+ per night.

Now May be the Time to Open a Campground

If you have thought about running your own campground some day, now may be the day to think seriously about making the dream a reality. A campground can be built for around $20K per site. 60 sites at $20K each = $1.2-$1.5 million capital investment.

Renting each site for $70/day would generate $4,200 every day the campground is full. Clearly a campground isn't going to be full every day, but let's assume the site would be 50% full on average. This 60 site campground would generate $766,500 per year at 50% occupancy. There are certainly expenses needed to pay staff, mow the grass, etc., but a well ran site in a good location could completely pay off the initial investment in a few years. From that point forward, a campground could be a cash generating machine.

We received a notification this morning from TSD Logistics that said, “the EFS app not showing the TA and Petro discounts.” Discounts from other truck stops appear to be updating correctly. The issue appears to be with the feed between TA/Petro and Electronics Funds Source (EFS) the company that manages the debit cards.

TSD stated, “The discounts are still there, but just not showing on the app correctly.”

Although this does not appear to be an actual discount issue, it will be prudent to check any transactions you have made at TA or Petro Truck Stops over the past few days to ensure your account has been properly credited.

We will update this post when this issue has been resolved.

I have spent two years researching the optimal battery to use in our Grand Design Momentum Toy Hauler. We are heavy power users and work from our camper. We needed reliable power. The worst thing that could happen is being in the middle of nowhere and have a battery failure.

Lion UT1300 Battery Review. Lion makes one of the best Lithium batteries on the market. Weighing in at 23 LB, the UT1300 delivers 1.5x more continuous amps than their competitors; it has an excellent BMS with low temperature protection; and its LiFePO4 Lithium chemistry is safe. 2 Lion batteries can power a 3000W Inverter.

Next I will discuss why I chose Lion Energy UT1300's over every other drop-in Lithium Battery on the market.

Power Density

The UT1300 is a 1,344 Watt Hour (Wh) Lithium battery that is rated to deliver 105 Amp Hours (Ah) at a rated voltage of 12.8 Volts DC (VDC). The battery weights 23 pounds (lb). The small 23 lb battery holds 58.4 watts per pound of power — 4.6 Ah per pound. How does this compare to their competitors?

The table above shows the weight of the top 5 drop in lithium battery vendors. They are all solid performing batteries, but weight is certainly an issue when every pound added to a rig takes away from payload. The Lion UT1300 is the clear winner in this category. It packs 58.4 Wh per pound. The Victron LFP100 is the most expensive on the list and it only delivers 38.8 Wh per pound.

Chemistry

One of the items that make the Lion UT1300 stand out over the crowed is the type of Lithium cells they use to construct the battery. They use what is called Prismatic cells.

The key to storing a lot of power per watt is having efficient battery packs. Lion utilizes a Prismatic cell design that can hold more power than Cylindrical cells used by most of their competitors. The rectangular shape of a Prismatic cell makes it easy to stack them next to each other getting more energy density in a smaller area. Cylindrical cells are obviously round. They cannot be stacked as efficiently.

The old saying comes to mind, “You can't fit a Round Peg in a Square hole.” The round shape of the most common lithium battery construction takes up more space and adds weight — this is why most other Lithium batteries on the market are bigger and weigh more than Lion.

Challenge with a Prismatic Design

The main challenge with a Prismatic cell design is the battery would be completely usable if one of the cells fail. A failed Prismatic cell would take a 12.8 VDC battery down to 9.6 VDC rendering it unusable in a camper.

There is no redundancy built into the Prismatic design.

Cylindrical cell batteries have redundancy built in. Each cell holds a smaller portion of the overall rated capacity. When a cell short circuits, it will take itself out of the loop while allowing the other batteries to continue to provide power. The capacity will drop some when a cell fails, but it would likely go unnoticed unless someone is capacity testing the battery.

There are two schools of thought on Cylindrical Vs Prismatic.

• Failed Cylindrical cells generally go unnoticed and the battery will keep operating. The advantage is the unit can stay in service and a trip would not be interrupted.

• Some prefer a complete failure of the battery if a cell goes bad. It can be difficult to know if a battery is bad after it is installed. Knowing 100% that a cell failed without needing to remove all batteries to test individually is a benefit. Lion has a lifetime warranty. If a UT1300 discovers a bad battery, Lion will replace it for free.
  • Battle Born has a 10-year warranty. A few cells could fail during that time and the user may not know they needed send the battery in for replacement.

Lion has a small LED display on the top of the battery. Pressing the button next to the display shows the state of charge or if there is an internal issue. It is easy for an end-user to identify a battery that may have failed by pressing the test button on each battery. A failed battery would show a red LED in the 20% position.

The Lion Battery Management System (BMS) will take the battery out of service if an internal cell is damaged, which allows the rest of the battery bank to function as normal.

Continuous Output Amperage

What made me take a long and hard look at the Lion UT1300 is its continuous rated output. Most of the batteries on the market are capped at what is called a 1C rate.

A C–rate is a measure of the rate at which a battery is discharged relative to its maximum capacity. A 1C rate means that the discharge current will discharge the entire battery in 1 hour. For a battery with a capacity of 100 Amp-hrs, this equates to a discharge current of 100 Amps.

Source MIT: A Guide to Understanding Battery Specifications, December 2008.

The C rate is the continuous output rating of a battery. The vast majority of batteries only have internal electronics called a Battery Management System (BMS) that can withstand a max of the batteries rated amperage. The 1C rate is the most common since a full load at that rate would completely discharge a battery in 1 hour.

The challenge with C-ratings is that most of the time we are not running devices that pull over 100 amps for an hour, but the rating is the max a battery can deliver continuously. If exceeding 1C for more than a few seconds, most batteries will hard disconnect shutting down power completely. Everything connected to the battery shuts off instantly, which can cause serious damage to devices that have circuit boards, heating elements, and compressors.

Most of us don't need to pull 100 amps continuously for an hours, but we do use coffee makers, microwaves, vacuum cleaners, hair dryers, etc. that can pull 1500-1800 watts (117-140 amps at 12.8 VDC) for short periods of time.

Lion UT1300 has a 1.5C Rating

The Lion UT1300 has an awesome Battery Management System (BMS). The combination of the excellent BMS with Prismatic cells enables Lion to deliver the impressive 1.5C output. This means a Lion battery can deliver 150 amps continuously. Technically the UT1300 can deliver 157.5 amps continuously, but they detune it so the batteries do not overheat.

The reason a 1.5C rating is essential is when we need to power inventors or other high-surge devices from a battery bank.

An inverter is a device that converts DC power from a battery bank to standard AC power like one uses in a house.

A common inverter size used in RVs is 3000W. The Victron Multiplus 3000 12 VDC to 120 VAC is one of the most common inverters on the market. A Victron Multiplus can pull 3000 Watts from the batteries and it expects to have sufficient amperage available to do so.

The math is simple to determine how many amps the Victron can pull.

3000W ÷ 12 VDC = 250 Amps

It would be rare to run an inverter at 3000W for long periods of time, but a coffee maker and a few other items running in a Coach can easily push up against the 3000W limit.

The advantage of the 1.5C rating of the UT1300 is that two batteries can deliver 300 amps continuously until they are dead. Two UT1300's can run a 3000W inverter no problem whatsoever. A 3000W inverter at max load would still leave an additional 50A of continuous power to run the DC bus in the camper from the 2 UT1300's. The 150A continuous power output rating is a key differentiator for Lion.

Battle Born C rating Comparison

Battle Born is the most widely used Lithium battery by RVers. I am using them for comparison because most are familiar with their products. Battle Born makes an excellent battery. I am not trying to discourage anyone from buying Battle Born. They make high-quality products.

Each Battle Born battery can output 100A. Since the 3000W inverter needs 250A for surge, it will take 3 Battle Born batteries to power a 3000W inverter. 3 large Battle Born vs 2 small Lion batteries makes a meaningful difference in weight and space required.

The 3-battery Battle Born configuration would provide the additional benefit of running ~30 minutes longer due to having 300 Ah of stored energy vs 210 Ah for the Lion, but the Battle Born configuration adds nearly $1k more in up front cost and 47 more pounds.

It is a costly project to install inverters into a camper. Batteries can be added later to increase capacity if needed, but the minimum spec of 250A continuous for a 3000W inverter must be met or the inverter could be damaged. The $1K more for a 3rd battery would nearly pay for a $1,427 Victron Multiplus inverter.

Build Quality

The Lion UT1300 components are assembled inside of a hard plastic shell.

The Lion case is not completely sealed like a Battle Born battery. It is possible to disassemble a Lion battery by removing 14 small screws that hold the top of the battery housing to the case.

Although it is possible to disassemble a Lion battery, there are no user serviceable parts inside. It would also void the lifetime warranty.

Battle Born batteries are UL Listed and completely sealed from the environment. The case is epoxied during final assembly. It is impossible to disassemble a Battle Born battery without completely destroying the case.

Lion Batteries are not UL listed or completely sealed, but they are for all intense and purposes virtually indestructible. This video from Full Moon Adventure Club puts the Lion UT1300 battery through several 10 ft. drop tests. To kill one he shoot it with a gun. The shot ultimately destroyed the battery, but the video clearly shows how stable and reliable they are.

Cost Comparison

Lion's suggested retail price (MSRP) for the UT1300 is $999, which is the same price for Battle Born. As of this writing, Battle Born has their batteries on sale for $949. That is the lowest price we have seen for a Battle Born battery.

Lion occasionally sells their batteries through Costco. When they do, the price cannot be beat. Costco offered 2 UT1300's for $1,399.99 ($699.99 ea) plus sales tax. Shipping was free. I was fortunate enough to buy 6 batteries from Costco. This is a copy of my receipt for 2 of them.

I have seen the Costco sale twice since I started researching Lion batteries. The last sale was in June 2020 and the one prior was March 2020. If you are planning on buying Lithium batteries and have time to wait, I would keep a eye on Costco and RV forums. Lion or Costco does not advertise the batteries when they are on sale.

I have no idea if Lion will ever sell through Costco again. They may have sold at a loss to introduce their batteries to the market. I have no idea how they will market in the future. I would not wait to buy hoping for a discount. I believe that even at full price they are worth the investment.

Lion UT1300 Life Expectancy

Life expectancy of the Lion UT1300 can be a controversial topic. The debate on how long a UT1300 will last gets people in discussion groups going. The comments generally center around how Lion Energy wrote their “Limited Lifetime Warranty.”

This warranty for the unit is extended to the original purchaser or user and it covers defects in materials and workmanship. The Safari UT 1300 has a limited lifetime warranty of the battery cells, rated at 80% of the capacity (105Ah x .8 = 84Ah).

Under extreme use (maximum charge and discharge rates) the battery cells expected life cycle is 3500. At “normal usage” the expected life cycles will be greater.

Lion Energy UT1300 Limited Lifetime Warranty

80% Rated Capacity Exception

My main concern when reading the Lion warranty was the 80% capacity exception. Are they really selling 84 Ah batteries? I discussed this at length with the Lion support team. This is their response that came in via text.

Although the Lion warranty doesn't specifically spell this out, 80% is effectively prorated over 3,500 full cycles (fully charged to dead and back = 1 cycle). Another way to think about this is that the battery may lose up to 21 Ah of capacity over time — not all at once. Adding one or two more batteries to a bank would offset a loss in capacity.

The above graph shows the potential Lion UT1300 loss of Ah capacity by number of cycles. To reach 3,500 cycles, the batteries would need to be fully charged and then fully discharged every day for 9.5 years.

In an extreme use condition it is theoretically possible to get less than 9.5 years of life out of a UT1300. A battery would have to be cycled multiple times per day. Most RVers will not need to cycle batteries daily.

The solution for aggressive cycling is to increase capacity by adding more batteries to the bank. The added capacity will reduce battery cycles overall and increase battery life.

It is purely speculation about how long Lion or any Lithium battery will last at this point. The only data we have are from lab tests. To know for sure, we need to use Lithium batteries in the field for 10 or more years. Of course, the chances are that the next owner of the RV will be the one to find out. Most people sell their rigs every 3-5 years. The ones that do sell, can often get more money over their RV Book Value because they have installed Lithium batteries.

What Does My Install Look Like?

The key advantage for me was the small form factor of the UT1300 battery. Six batteries easily fit in my front generator compartment with room to spare. The 6 UT1300's store 7,560W (630 Ah) of power. It is nice to know I have power available if I need it.

I have a 900W (soon to be 1200W) solar system on the roof to keep the batteries charged when Boondocking. If they were dead it would take 8 hours to fully charge at 900W. It will take 6.3 hours to charge at 1200W (why I'm adding another panel). In reality, it isn't likely that I would fully discharge the battery bank. I would start the generator before getting to that point. The 5500W Owen Generator charges the battery bank quickly and efficiently when needed.

I try to capacity test the Lion UT1300 battery bank every month to ensure I am getting full capacity. I have yet to take them all down to shutting off, but I have pulled over 630 Ah and they kept going.

When discharging, the 100% full Lion UT1300 voltage will hover around 13 VDC. As the battery stabilizes the voltage will hold around 12.8-12.9 VDC. At 5%, the battery voltage will drop to about 12.5 VDC. At 1% I generally see around 12 VDC. The percentages are the Victron BMV-712‘s calculations. I have discharged past zero and they kept going!

Final Thoughts

The Lion UT1300 is a solid battery for the money. They have been working perfectly for us. Keeping weight down and power up was our priority. The Lion UT1300 fit our use case perfectly.

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We all love our RVs, but it is certainly expensive to move them. Whether we pull them or drive them, it takes a lot of fuel. My first trip across country was between Denver and Michigan. I filled up a 6 times at truck stops consuming about 132.6 gallons of diesel. The fuel cost alone was close to $500. After the trip I started researching Fuel Savings Programs. This article will walk you though what I discovered and explore PROs and CONs of each program.

Good Sam Fuel Discount Program

Good Sam Members qualify for Discount fuel at Pilot Flying J Truck Stops. The benefit is called the Good Sam Fuel Discount Program. Good Sam has 1.7 million members. Their Fuel Discount is the most widely used by RVers.

Good Sam offers fixed fuel discounts based on membership levels. Standard annual members receive 5 cents off per gallon for Gasoline and 8 cents off per gallon for diesel. Life members receive 6 cents off per gallon for Gas and 8 cents for diesel. Elite Members received the largest discount of 7 cents per gallon off for gas and 9 cents per gallon for diesel.

The Good Sam Fuel Discount Program also offers savings for Dump Stations, Propane, Campgrounds, and Camping World.

How to use Good Sam at Pilot Flying J

The Good Sam Discount Program works like a loyalty card. With Loyalty programs, the first thing to do is insert the Loyalty card, not your credit card. On the pump, there is usually a button to select that says Loyalty. Select Loyalty and then insert the Good Sam card.

The pump will then ask to insert a credit card. At that time you would insert a normal credit card. Sometimes the pumps want to know if it is Credit or Debit. Select what is appropriate. The pumps may also ask about adding car washes or other products. Those options can be skipped by selecting NO. After the last question is asked, the pump will change the display to show the discounted price and it will ask you to select the grade of fuel.

It is very important to watch the price display to confirm that the discount is applied. I have had issues where my Good Sam card was not read by the pump properly and the discount was not applied. I have also accidentally inserted my credit card first. If either happens to you, cancel the transaction and start over.

Good Sam Fuel Program PROs & CONs

Good Sam RV PLUS Card

It can be confusing, but Good Sam actually offers two different Pilot Flying J discount programs. The first one discussed above is a discount program that is tied to a Good Sam Membership. The Good Sam RV PLUS Card, functions like a debit card. When using the Good Sam RV PLUS card, the card applies the discount and processed the payment. Other credit cards are not required to pay at the pump.

The RV PLUS Card and the Fuel Program Loyalty card appear to function the same. They both provide a fixed discount per gallon of fuel. What's interesting about the RV PLUS Card is they do not offer higher discounts to Lifetime or Elite members. The RV Plus program states that it discounts at least $.05 off every gallon of gas and $.08 off every gallon of diesel in the United States, which is the same as a standard Good Sam Membership.

What makes the Good Sam RV PLUS Card Different?

The difference between the RV PLUS and the Fuel Discount Program differs on how the payment is processed. The Fuel Discount Program requires a credit card to be used to pay for the transaction.

The RV PLUS Card is actually a Credit Card that is tied to a checking account. It functions like a debit card — when a transaction is processed with the RV PLUS, Good Sam withdraws the payment from a personal or business bank account. Pilot Flying J treats these transactions like a cash payment and they remove the credit card surcharge that add to the price per gallon for everyone.

The advantage of the RV PLUS Card is it qualifies as a cash payment and the savings is applied immediately at the pump. Good Sam then further discounts the price at 5 cents a gallon for gas and 8 cents per gallon for diesel. The following table is from the RV PLUS website that shows how the fuel savings works.

In the example above, a RV PLUS cardholder would save 14 cents per gallon for Diesel. A Gasoline fill up would have saved 11 cents per gallon.

RV PLUS Sign Up Process

The RV PLUS Card requires that one complete an online application.

The first page of the application verifies that the Good Sam Membership is valid and that the phone number entered is the primary one linked to the membership. The subsequent pages ask for banking info and some personal information.

Good Sam does not run a credit check. They just validate that bank details provided are active and that the person applying is a Good Sam member. After submitting the application, it can take several weeks to receive the card. I would not recommend using a campground as the shipping address. It is a credit card that is linked to your checking account…

RV PLUS Card PROs and CONs

TSD Logistics Fuel Card

TSD Logistics is a bulk transport company based in Texarkana, Texas. Truck operators like TSD negotiate volume discounts for fuel with Truck Stops such as Loves, TA to reduce their fuel expenses. As a small transport company, they cannot negotiate aggressive discounts like larger trucking firms on their own. A few years ago, the brilliant TSD management created the TSD Logistic Fuel Card program and opened it up to RVers or anyone that can fuel up a diesel vehicle at a truck stop.

The TSD Logistic Fuel program is unlike anything else out there. TSD is not trying to make money off of fuel sales, they are trying to drive down fuel cost for their fleet of big rigs. When they expand their fleet to Motorhomes, Buses, trucks pulling travel trailers, etc., they exponentially increase the pumped gallons through their books. The more fuel they consume, the lower their cost is per gallon.

The savings per gallon is calculated instantly and passed directly to the cardholder. TSD outsources the cards being issued through a company called Electronic Funds Source (EFS).

EFS helps fleet operators negotiate rates and reduce operating costs. The EFC program utilized by TSD is called the EFS Fleet Program. TSD Logistics pays EFS to manage their discount program and issue credit cards to their RV customers. TSD Charges a service fee that helps them cover their overhead to process the transactions and the fees they incur from EFS.

TSD Service Fee Explained

The service fee is a bit confusing when first looking at it. They charge 10% of the savings for non-commercial use (eg. RV drivers). 10% sounds expensive up front, but the key words are of “the Savings.” Their fee is based off of the discounts they negotiated, not the retail price per gallon. The fee is calculated against how much they saved. This is a fair pricing model. The more they save us, the more they make. There is no correlation to the discount received and the retail price per gallon.

Here's an example of the savings I received at TA on August 16, 2020.

The cost per gallon of diesel including taxes and fees on my last fill-up was $2.02. If I had used the Good Sam RV Plus card, my cost would have been $2.37/gallon ($2.459-$0.08). The TSD program is a hands-down winner for Diesel fuel savings.

TSD Logistic Pricing

TSD Logistics maintains a series of spreadsheets in their members only section of the website. The sheets are updated daily and show the exact fuel price by location in their program. The above example the bottom section of the listing of TA Locations. TA alone as 200+ locations. There are 31,592 truck stops that accept the EFS Card!

The key point to note in the price sheet above is that discounts are different by location. Having these sheets in hand when planning a trip can save big money by planning stops at stations with the highest discounts. This information is also available in the EFS Mobile App, but it isn't as flexible as spreadsheets when planning a long trip.

TSD Logistic Tips

There are a few things to keep in mind about the TSD program.

• The EFS card only works at truck stops in the back where the truckers fuel up. It will not work at the consumer pumps even if purchasing diesel.

• TSD only works for Diesel purchases ONLY when pumped from a commercial pump. I have seen a few truck stops that had gas pumps in the back, but they are not eligible for the program.

• Pilot Flying J has banned TSD from their stations due to their exclusivity contract with Good Sam. The EFS card will work at Pilot, but the only discount is the cash price vs credit card price.

• TSD charges a $1.00 service fee when using their card outside of the discount network.

TSD Logistics PROs and CONs

Shell Fuel Rewards Program

The Shell Fuel Rewards Program is a popular choice for consumers. The base program has two levels — Silver and Gold. Silver is the entry level card. It qualifies for 3 cents per gallon discount for either gas or diesel.

The Gold level is initially awarded to new subscribers, but it will fall back to Silver if spending levels are not maintained. Gold status earns 5 cent discount per gallon of gas or diesel.

To stay qualified for the Fuel Rewards Gold level, a subscriber must fill up a minimum of 6 times every three months. Basically every 90 day period, one needs to use the card 6 times to maintain Gold status. Gold can be earned back as soon as 6 fill ups are performed within 90-days.

Shell defines fill-ups as a minimum of 5 Gallons. Stopping and re-authorizing a pump counts as starting another fill up. If you are running close to losing status, fill up to 5 gallons, stop the pump, reauthorize and fill to 5 gallons again. Repeat until meeting the number of fill-ups needed. This can be done over a few days if you have small tanks or multiple vehicles as well. Just make sure you can fill to at least 5 gallons or the pump transaction will not count toward qualification.

What sets the Shell Fuel Reward program apart from the others we have reviewed is that fuel discounts can be earned through shopping and dining at qualified establishments. For example, an additional 10 cents per gallon can be earned by spending $50 or more at participating restaurants. The process of earning the various discounts from vendors is linked to a credit card. If the credit card is used at an in-system venue and the spending level is met, Shell will automatically add the additional discount to the card.

Shell Fuel Rewards Tips

There are some things to keep in mind when using the Shell Fuel Rewards Card.

• They do not notify you when additional points are loaded on the card. You either have to look online or find out when the card is inserted at the pump.

• Earned discounts are a one-time use benefit. It is best to plan large fill-ups when larger discounts are earned to get the maximum savings.

• Shell stops the pumps from filling at 20 gallons of fuel. Regardless of the discount earned, the max award is 20 gallons.

• Pumps will stop and need to be reauthorized if a fill up is over 20 gallons. The stopping and restarting of a pump is a hassle when trying to fill up large fuel tanks.

How to Use the Shell Fuel Rewards Card

The process of using the Fuel Reward card at a pump is similar to Good Sam's discount. They are both loyalty cards.

• The first step is to process the loyalty card. There is an option on the fuel pump display that says Rewards. This must be selected first.
• Then either swipe the Loyalty card or type in the phone number associated with the account (Alternate ID).
• After reading the card, the display will show the discount level you are at and ask if you want to apply it to this fuel up. Normally you would select yes.
• Then insert the payment method and keep an eye on the fuel pricing on the pump. The numbers should decrease by the reward amount.

Final Thoughts

It is good to have as many of the fuel savings cards as you can. The more you have the more ways to save. If you have a Diesel vehicle, the TSD Logistics program is a must have. Nothing else comes close to TSD.

Good Sam is an excellent choice for gasoline drivers that can stop at Pilot Flying J stations. The cash price at the pump makes the Good Sam RV PLUS card a solid choice.

Shell Fuel Rewards is an excellent all-around gas card. There are over 14,000 Shell stations in the US. The added value of earning fuel savings from dining and other vendors in the program automatically is nice to have.

There are, of course, many other savings programs out there as well. Costco, Sams Club, Meijer and other big box chains have loyalty programs and inexpensive fuel. It is worth looking at everyone. There is always a new kid on the block coming up with a savings program that will lure in customers.

Starlink is a satellite Internet constellation being constructed by SpaceX – an Elon Musk company.  SpaceX is launching small satellites that orbit the earth lower than other satellite internet providers.  The lower orbit requires more satellites, but the advantage is the satellites will be closer to the end-users.  The low orbit satellites are expected to provide internet as fast, or faster, than traditional terrestrial internet options such as cable modems and even 5g cellular.  

What is Starlink? Starlink is a satellite-based internet service provider that is owned by SpaceX an Elon Musk company. The objective of Starlink is to provide high-quality internet everywhere on the Earth.

Starlink Plan and Current State

SpaceX is currently planning on launching 12,000 Starlink satellites into orbit over the next few years.  The large number of satellites will cover most of the earth with internet — providing high-quality affordable internet to essentially the entire planet.  

As of August 18, 2020, there are 655 Starlink satellites in orbit.  I have not been able to test the internet throughput speed numbers yet, but Musk has spoken about his performance objectives.  He expects Starlink to deliver one gigabit per second upload and download speeds with a latency between 25 and 35 milliseconds.  Musk’s goal is to push the network to sub 20-millisecond latency initially and then 10 milliseconds or below as the network is built out. Achieving these performance goals will make Starlink one of the fastest consumer internet providers.

Why does Starlink Need so Many Satellites?  

Starlink needs thousands of satellites because they are in low orbit that is approximately 35,800 kilometers above the earth.  They are closer to the earth than Hughes NET and most communication satellites.  The advantage of low orbit is that the distance between the end-user and the satellite is closer than their competitors.  

Shorter distance between end-users and a satellite lowers latency. Latency is the time it takes to get a message from a ground antenna to the satellite and back.  

The challenge with low orbit, however, is the antennas on the Starlink satellites cannot see as much of the earth.  Each satellite is small and only weights 500 LBS.  The small size of the satellite reduces the size of the antenna, electronics and power that can be on board.  The result is they need more satellites to sufficiently cover an area with high-quality reception.

The Starlink satellites are always moving.  They are not in a fixed position like most communication satellites.  The Starlink satellites must stay in constant motion to offset the pull of gravity.  The constant movement means that a satellite must always be passing overhead for the system to work.  To accomplish this feat, Starlink needs to have thousands of satellites to cover the planet with internet without service interruption.  

Most traditional communication satellites are in a Geosynchronous orbit, which is a fancy name for staying in one spot in space (they match the Earth's rotational speed). Providers like DirecTV have their constellation Geostationary so ground based antennas point in one direction to see them. The disadvantage of sacking is that the satellites have to be further out in orbit to maintain a precise location. Redundancy is also an issue with geostationary clusters. There is limited space and not a lot of room to park satellites that are only needed if another one fails.

Check out the CNN article discussing what happened when one of DirecTV's satellites had a catastrophic battery failure. Starlink satellites will decommission themselves in situations like this.

Starlink Initial Testing

Starlink has been testing the performance of the Starlink network with the US Air Force.  The testing program is called Global Lightning that is performing both stationary and in-motion tests from aircraft.  

The Global Lightning initial testing results are impressive.  The Air Force is seeing an average of 610 megabits per second from the Starlink network when flying across the country.  As satellites are added to the constellation, it is reasonable to presume that 1GB download speeds are realistic.  

In August 2020, Starlink opened their beta testing program to end-users.  The first set of users are in Washington State, but they will be opening to more states in the coming weeks and months.  The primary limiting factor holding back large-scale testing is the number of satellites in orbit.  They are currently orbiting between Canada and the US.  As the network expands, they will be able to cover more of the country and world.  

Starlink Cost & Installation

One may think that fast and reliable satellite-based internet must be outrageously expensive, but everything we have seen so far indicates that the pricing of Starlink Internet will be competitive with earth-based internet providers.

The Starlink network will, in fact, be easier to get working than installing a cable modem. A tech will not need to be dispatched to install Starlink like is needed for other satellite providers like DirecTV and HughesNET.  The ease of installation will reduce cost by not needing to hire thousands of installers around the world and it will increase roll-out speed.  

Pricing for Starlink Internet has not been released yet, but Gwynne Shotwell who is the President of SpaceX said during an interview, “Is anybody paying less than $80 bucks a month for crappy service…Nope…That’s why we are gonna be successful.”   Her statement has the community speculating that the monthly service fee will be somewhere around $80 per month.  I expect that they will have different pricing tiers.  Faster plans to get to Gigabyte speeds will likely cost more.  Base plans could cost less.

When will Starlink be Opened to the Pubic? 

Starlink has been shipping their ground antennas to the Beta testers.  They are testing installation of the ground antennas and performance of the network.  The Beta program is currently only open to people living in Washington State, but they will likely be expanding to other states over the next few months.  

SpaceX is launching 60 Starlink satellites every two weeks.  If the launches stay on schedule, they should have around 1,000 satellites in the constellation by the end of 2020.  1,000 satellites should provide adequate coverage of the US and Canada in low density areas.  I expect they will open enrolment to consumers that are in qualified areas by the end of 2020.  If they stay on the 60 satellite every other week program, they will have over 2,000 satellites by the end of 2021.  2,000+ satellites will enable Starlink to open worldwide coverage to those in rural areas.  

Will Starlink Always be a SpaceX Company?   

Currently Starlink is owned and operated by SpaceX.  Musk said in an interview that they will eventually move Starlink into its own operating business with the objective to take the business public.  Musk started Starlink to help raise capital to fund the SpaceX intergalactic exploration program with the goal of sending humans to Mars.  Musk said that capturing a significant portion of the estimated 1-trillion dollars spent worldwide on internet connectivity is a good place to be.  

Starlink has big ambitions and is growing fast.  They initially filed documents with the FCC to place 4,000 satellites into low orbit.  That number quickly changed to 12,000.  Musk has said they may send up as many as 30,000 satellites into the Starlink constellation.  This is an incredible number!  According to the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs, only 9,000 man-made satellites have ever been launched into space with only 2,000 of them active now.  

Musk has a reputation for making big things happen.  Based on their accomplishments to date, they will be well positioned to be a self-sustaining busines by 2021.  They need SpaceX to deliver the satellites to space.  The business needs SpaceX now, but when they start generating revenue and have subscribers the business will be in an excellent position to go public. 

How Does the Starlink System Work? 

Starlink satellites are powered with a Krypton thruster that enables them to stay in precise position as they move around the globe.  SpaceX claims that their satellites are the first Krypton powered spacecraft.  Musk has said that Krypton powered engines are the future of space travel.  

The advantage of Krypton gas is less expensive to procure than Xenon that has typically been used in space. A key to being able to operate thousands of satellites is keeping the manufacturing cost low and the operational efficiency high.  

Each Starlink satellite is equipped with four powerful phased array antennas with each being capable of handling an enormous amount of radio wave throughput.  The antenna design enables very efficient transfer of information.  Delivering internet via satellite is significantly more efficient than by wire because the signal travels 47 percent faster as a wave through the vacuum of space than it does traveling along a fiber optic cable.  

• The easiest way to explain how Starlink system works is to compare it to a relay race where a baton is handed from one runner to another
  • An end-user will request a web page from their computer.  
  • The message from the computer is transmitted from their antenna to a Starlink satellite that is passing overhead. 
  • The Starlink satellite that receives the request will direct the request toward another satellite that is closest to the destination website. 
  • The second Starlink satellite can hand the request to another who can hand it to another, etc. until it reaches a satellite that is over a ground station closes to the destination website. 
  • The final satellite will send the request to a ground station that is physically connected to land-line internet to carry for the last mile to the web host.  
  • The return messages come back as a relay exactly the same, but the satellites will be different on the way back. 

• The Starlink constellation is set up with nodes that work similarly to the web we are using today
  • A home router, for example, will hand off to a cable modem.  
  • The cable modem will pass through several hops getting out of a neighborhood until it gets to the Cable Company Data Center.  
  • The local Cable Company will then either hand off the message to a local internet connection or they will carry it through their private network to get it closer to the destination. 
  • The return path via a Cable Company works the same in reverse

Starlink has Significant Advantages Over a Cable Company  

For starters, there is nothing except for clouds between the end-user and the Starlink network that can take the internet out of service. Cable Company networks rely on complex wiring in neighborhoods, under roads, through basements of buildings, along railroad tracks, etc. to get to their data center.  Cable Company networks also require power at every collection point to keep the signal at precise levels.  Water getting into a cable box or a power outage can take an entire neighborhood internet out of service.  Localized maintenance by the Cable Company will often take service down as well.

Starlink mitigates the issues of traditional internet providers by eliminating the complexity of getting a message to and from the constellation (e.g. Data Center in Space).  It is a direct network connection between the end-user and satellite network that also has redundancy built in.  Redundancy does not exist for a Cable Modem user. There is typically only one path in and out of a home. 

When Starlink has 4,000+ satellites, there will always be multiple stations flying overhead most points of the earth 24x7x365.  If one satellite is busy, down for maintenance, repositioning, etc., there will be others nearby that can accept the request.  The more Starlink satellites that are orbiting the earth, the higher the redundancy and bandwidth to handle large data requests from a dense population of users.  This is why Starlink has amended their request to launch up to 30,000 satellites.  Their goal is to provide fast, high throughput and reliable internet for everyone on earth.

Starlink Satellite Upgrades

Upgrades of the Starlink network is easier than traditional terrestrial networks.  Each satellite can receive and schedule firmware updates during off peak hours.  Updates will happen in small groups at a time so the overall throughput of the network will not be impacted.  If an update does not go according to plan, the satellite will autonomously roll-back its software even if it has lost connectivity with the Starlink network.  

The Starlink grid is interconnected and controlled via a proprietary encrypted messaging protocol through the SpaceX command center.  SpaceX only needs to send a command to one satellite and that satellite will pass the message to all of the others in the constellation.  This communications configuration enables SpaceX to manage satellites that are not orbiting directly over an area where they have ground-based antennas.  

The Starlink satellites are designed to be replaced every 8-10 years.  They engineered the satellites to have a short life span so new hardware can be sent up to replace outdated technology.  This is a completely different mission than traditional satellites that were never designed to be upgraded or maintained.  At the end of the useful life of a Starlink satellite, it will slowly decelerate into the earths atmosphere and completely incinerate.  The end-of-life process keeps the orbital space free of junk and is environmentally safe.  

Starlink Disadvantages & Complaints

The main complaint about Starlink has been from Astronomers.  They have expressed concerns about how bright the satellite chains are and how the light pollution is compromising their observations.  The researchers believe the light pollution may negatively affect their future images of outer space.  Radio astronomers are also expecting to encounter interfearance from Starlink’s radio-based antennas.  

SpaceX also received backlash in late 2019 when the European Space Agency announced they had to undertake evasive maneuvers with one of their satellites to avoid crashing into Starlink 44 one of the first 60 satellites in the mega constellation.  

SpaceX has stated that they are working with many agencies and space organizations to mitigate any potential issues and they are actively working towards several solutions to make their satellites less visible.  Recently SpaceX has been applying a darkening treatment to the satellites they have been launching that should lessen the satellite’s reflectivity.  

On August 19, 2020, Winegard issued a press release stating that they had acquired WiFiRanger.

“I am thrilled to welcome WiFiRanger into the Winegard family,” says Grant Whipple, Winegard Company President and COO in the press release.

Kelly Hogan, CEO of WiFiRanger said, “Since 2001, we've pioneered connectivity solutions for the RV park industry — it makes sense for us to align with an established industry player like Winegard.”

WiFiRanger Acquisition or Bankruptcy was Inevitable

I reviewed the WiFiRanger Aspen router in a YouTube video in June 2020. I was disappointed in the manufacturing quality of the router and speculated that they may have issues sourcing the parts they need from China.

The WiFiRanger Aspen is actually WiFiRanger software installed onto a cheap open source Chinese router. In the video, I showed how the wholesale prices for the base router were increasing and they may have difficult sourcing parts.

The quality of their Aspen router is subpar. The Aspen was certainly not worth what I paid for it. The poor build quality of the Aspen router made me question my original plans to utilize WiFiRanger products in our coach. I ended up changing our gear over to Peplink who makes high-quality devices that is built for mobile use.

Consumers expect more for less, not less for more. I suspect many WiFiRanger customers have moved to other connectivity options as well.

WiFiRanger Business Model Challenges

The challenge with WiFiRanger's business model is they rely exclusively on third-party hardware manufacturers to build the equipment they sell to consumers. Any issue in their supply chain limits their ability to generate revenue. Accordingly, if their manufacturers increase costs, WiFiRanger is forced to price their products above their competitors to make a profit.

Winegard Connect is a good example of the competition WiFiRanger has been facing. Winegard Connect 2.0 has an integrated LTE Router and WiFi that is comparable to the WiFiRanger Converge Denali. Winegard Connect retails for $348.57 on Amazon, whereas, the Converge Denali is $450 with a base Category 4 LTE MODEM and $500 with a Category 6 LTE MODEM.

WiFiRanger Release Delays

The cornerstone of the WiFiRanger product line is the Converge, which is an outside roof mounted housing that has internal electronics and antennas. Converge was initially marketed as a device that would house HDTV, AM/FM, WiFi and LTE antennas in a small form-factor aerodynamic shark-fin shaped device.

WiFiRanger encountered issues with power and interference with the HDTV/AM/FM modules. They scaled the Converge back to WiFi and LTE only options.

WiFiRanger announced the release of the Converge product line at an Industry Insider event in March of 2019. The expectation was set that they would be in full production by the RV Industry Open House in September.

WiFiRanger announced the pricing and specs at the September RV Industry Open House. They were not ready to debut the Converge product line as many of us expected.

Two of the three converge devices (Teton and Denali) were released in March 2020 — a year behind their initial industry insider announcement and 6 months after the official RV Industry Open House. The delay very likely impacted their business. Customers like me decided to wait for the release of the Converge vs buying out dated technology.

I am actually still on the waiting list for the Converge Everest that is supposed to support modern 5 GHz WiFi connectivity and gigabyte Ethernet. As of this writing, the Everest is still showing Coming Soon on their website.

Converge Hit and Miss

The initial release of the Converge product line was expected to take WiFiRanger into new RV builds where their products would be installed by RV Manufacturers as OEM hardware. The concept was that the RV Manufacturer would install a base HDTV/AM/FM antenna and a customer could add WiFi and other connected components down the road. This strategy would have provided WiFiRanger with two income sources — B2B with the RV manufacturers and B2C with consumers upgrading the devices.

WiFiRanger's Converge strategy is similar to how the Lippert One Connect system and the Furion Camera Mounts are pre-wired and installed in many new campers.

The WiFiRanger strategy to get their devices into new RVs would have transformed their business; however, I suspect they underestimated their competitors and the industry. Both Lippert and Winegard have proven experience meeting the demand of delivering and supporting thousands of units a month to RV manufacturers and they both have competing products.

WiFiRanger does not have the financial resources, manufacturing facilities or the staff needed to support thousands of customers that would be required to make their way into the production line of a major RV manufacturer.

Acquisition Breaths Life into WiFiRanger

Based on my experience with WiFiRanger and business in general, I don't believe they could have survived much longer. They have supply chain issues, the COVID pandemic likely impacted their business, they have a history of missing key delivery dates, and they do not have the financial resources needed to penetrate the RV manufacturing industry. That is until now…

Winegard is an outstanding company with an impeccable reputation. They already have a direct line into the RV manufacturers and have been providing them with reliable, high-quality antennas for decades.

Winegard has solid product manufacturing capabilities and a proven track record of building top-notch components. What they don't have is good software. The Winegard connect products utilize a cumbersome app that is required to program them. WiFiRanger has built an elegant app that is nice looking and easy to use.

Combining the engineering talent of Winegard with the software development talent of WiFiRanger is a perfect match. Winegard also has the financial resources to deliver industry-leading projects on a production schedule.

I am excited about this merger and looking forward to seeing the next-generation connected devices — Maybe 5g? Wouldn't that be cool…