In order to provide a secondary solar solution to our RV, we were fortunate that Go Power loaned us a 120w portable solution (Model number GP-PSK-120) to review.
We took the portable solar panel with us on an extended camping trip, with the understanding that our RV would be in shade in several locations. We enjoy camping in forested areas. Being surrounded by trees is a great way to keep the RV cool, however, it’s not that great for the permanently mounted solar panels on the roof of our RV. In full sunlight, our roof panels can produce 20 amps of power (controlled by MPPT controller) and can keep our 3 Trojan T-1275’s at 100% power, even with heavy usage. However, that changes considerably when the panels are in the shade.
We camped for 2 days strictly using the roof mounted panels to gain a better understanding of just how much power they gathered during the day in our shady location .….It was not good. We had to run our Yamaha generator each night as the batteries were down to around 45%. While the generator was running we would charge items like our Camera, Phones, Go Pro’s and AT&T Hot Spot and laptop (to do some video editing).
Our goal was to use the Go Power 120w solution to boost battery power. After using the Go Power 120w portable device for 2 days, I can tell you the device is worth EVERY penny! Rather than ending each day with 45%.... the batteries were near 90% charge by the evening. We probably could have achieve even more battery power, but we left camp during the day to ride our motorcycles… and when we returned … the portable panel was in the shade. I don’t want to spend my entire day moving the panels to achieve the 100% battery charge, so hitting 90% and monitoring them while in camp is fine with us.
In the end, this addition allowed our 2,000w Go Power Pure Sine inverter to charge up our devices and not have to listen or depend on the generator. This is EXACTLY the type of dry camping we are trying to achieve.
Yep, the Go Power 120w portable solution is a game changer!
Go Power! GP-PSK-120 120W Portable Folding Solar Kit - http://amzn.to/2qiVXkk
Go Power! 30' EXPANSION CABLE - http://amzn.to/2v11wZq
DJI Phone & Camera Gimbal - DJI OSMO Bundle - http://amzn.to/2fcqFen
