Three Road Trip Examples
Exploring the great outdoors in your RV is an adventure that comes with freedom, fun, and sometimes a few technical realities—especially when it comes to power needs. With the rising popularity of solar, you may wonder how many panels are right for your camping experience. To help you envision life on the road, we’re looking at the journeys of three families, each with a different solar setup. Meet the Smith family, the Moore family, and the Lacroix family, as we follow their experiences using 115-watt, 230-watt, and 440-watt solar panel setups, respectively.
The Smith Family: Minimalist Explorers (115W Setup)
The Smith family loves simplicity and are testing the waters of using solar for their RV. They have a single Xantrex 115W Solar Max panel mounted on their RV roof, and a single 12V, 105Ah deep-cycle lithium battery from Xantrex. They’re all about weekend adventures—escaping city life for quick getaways. Their trips are usually nature-focused digital detoxes, so they only bring along essential electronics. During the day, they hike and explore the trails while their solar panel and MPPT solar charge controller harness the sun’s energy to charge their house battery. At night, they charge their cameras & phones and run a fan for cooling.
Conveniences:
Their solar setup is incredibly straightforward and affordable, perfect for beginners. On sunny weekends at campsites without electrical hookups, the Smiths can comfortably charge their mobile devices, run LED lights at night, and even enjoy a cool breeze from a small fan while sleeping. They appreciate the silence of solar—no noisy generators interrupting their peaceful evenings under the stars.
Challenges:
Not every day is sunny. During a rainy weekend at Yellowstone, the Smiths discovered the limitations of their solar setup. They returned from their hike to see a partially charged battery due to cloudy conditions. Overcast skies had reduced their ability to fully recharge their lithium battery! They now had to ration power. This meant avoiding the use of multiple devices simultaneously, limiting device recharging, and turning their fan off at night to conserve precious battery life.
Bottom line: The 115W setup is perfect for short, sunny getaways, but challenging for extended or cloudy trips.
The Moore Family: Comfortable Travelers (230W Setup)
The Moores are seasoned RVers who want more independence without breaking the bank. They opted for two 115W Solar Max solar panels (230 watts total) and two 125Ah deep-cycle lithium batteries from Xantrex (250Ah total). Their setup strikes a balance between comfort and simplicity, ideal for their week-long road trips.
Conveniences:
With 230W of solar power and 250Ah of battery, the Moores comfortably run LED lighting, charge multiple devices, operate a small, efficient 12V fridge, and power their coffee maker in the morning using their Freedom XC inverter charger. Some days, they’ll use their laptops for a few hours to allow the kids to catch up on schoolwork or entertainment without worry. They love their moderate setup, finding it reliable during typical weather conditions.
Challenges:
However, their comfort has some restrictions. On a five-day journey through the Pacific Northwest, rainy days and cloudy skies were the norm. With reduced solar energy available to recharge their house batteries, they quickly realized the limitations of their system. Charging their laptops, brewing coffee, and the continuous draw from their mini fridge drained their house batteries quickly. They had to become more conservative with their power usage. They also learned the reality of slower recharge times in less-than-ideal conditions. It took several sunny days afterward to fully recharge the depleted batteries, limiting their off grid stays in unpredictable weather.
Bottom line: The 230W setup provides great balance for week-long trips, but careful energy management is required during poor weather conditions.
The Lacroix Family: Off-grid Adventurers (440W Setup)
The Lacroix family craves extended adventures far from civilization. They invested in two 220-watt Solar Max Panels (440W total) and two 240Ah 12V deep cycle lithium batteries from Xantrex (480Ah total). Their system provides comfort during longer off-grid experiences.
Conveniences:
Life on the road feels more like the comfort of home. Their system easily runs LED lights, charges multiple devices simultaneously, and continuously powers a 12V fridge. During a two-week desert excursion in Arizona, with the addition of their 3000-watt Freedom XC PRO Inverter Charger, the Lacroix family was able to make coffee each morning and run an electric skillet to cook dinner. With a larger battery bank and increased solar output from their two 220W panels, their batteries can recharge faster and keep their devices running longer for a stress-free boondocking experience.
Challenges:
Even with their powerful setup, the Lacroix family experienced limitations. Powered by their Freedom XCPRO 3000-watt inverter charger, they tried using their rooftop air conditioner to stay cool overnight, but quickly realized even their sizable battery bank could rapidly drain under heavy load. Air conditioning and heavy appliances remained impractical without an appropriately sized battery bank and proper load management practices.
Bottom line: The 440W setup is excellent for extended off-grid stays, but even robust setups have practical limits and a higher upfront investment.
Choosing Your Adventure: Realistic Solar Expectations
Each family’s RVing journey illustrates key insights into what to expect from different solar power setups:
- 115W (Smith Family): Ideal for short, minimalist trips. Requires strict energy discipline, especially under cloudy skies.
- 230W (Moore Family): A comfortable next step up. Offers more flexibility and convenience, suitable for longer journeys, but still requires careful power management.
- 440W (Lacroix Family): Great for dedicated off-grid explorers. Offers significant comfort and independence yet remains impractical for heavy appliance use over extended periods of time without careful load management practices.
Choosing the right solar setup comes down to knowing your travel style, comfort preferences, and the realistic limitations of solar and battery power. After all, the best adventure is the one that matches your needs, balancing comfort, convenience, and honest practicality on the open road.
Note:
The charge and discharge scenarios described above are illustrative examples only. Actual performance may vary depending on the specific use case and various factors, including load types, power requirements, and weather conditions.