Foretravel Owners' Forum For owners and Fans of Foretravel Motorcoaches March 01, 2026 ...

Think batteries alone are over $10k.

Forgot about the batteries.. couldnt get past the 24v system in a 12v coach

100W panels?? That will take 33 panels! Why not use 375W panels it would only take 9. Is there an advantage to 100w panels? Not criticizing just asking.

see ya
ken

With 100W and 90W and 115W sets in the other zone they are able to fit them into all the available space more efficiently.  That is how I managed to get as much solar as I have planned.  9 375W panels would not fit on my 38' coach and fit around the 2 A/C units, 2 fantastic fans, Fridge vent, microwave exhaust vent, 2 tank vents, and 2 Hadley horns.

Guess you are running series\parallel. What is the final voltage going into your solar controllers?

Safe to say $15-20K?

Jim - If you mean total operating voltage AM Solar has posted on their website the operating voltage for each panel.  So would thaT be 312V (12 100W with 20V operating voltage and 4 90W with 18V operating voltage) for one controller and 352V (14 100W with 20V operating voltage and 4 90W with 18V operating voltage)for the tother controller.  I am not sure if I am properly answering your question so forgive me I gave you the wrong info.  They once had 115W panels in the build but I see now I only have 100W and 90W panels in sets.

Oscar. believe your controllers can only take 150 volts max, so they would need to parallel some panels, [voltage stays the same but current increases] and series some [voltage increases, but current stays the same]. or they could run all in parallel which would require massive sized wires. If they specify  150 volt controllers, suspect they are going series/parallel. But they are experts and might know something I don't.  My old 45 ft Newell with basement airs, could probably have taken 4000 watts  

Today they did more internal wiring and have the leads now up through the refrigerator vent.  They installed four sets of 100W panels.  They hope to finish the front solar array tomorrow and start on the rear solar array next week.  I am hoping to get some pictures on the internal wiring tomorrow.  In the picture with the four sets of panels the one panel set was not yet installed for they had to reorient the panel set to fit better and the feet were going to have to be moved to the side so it could be tilted.

What about the 4 inside corners?

I like the orange strings off the lift.  I wonder how many coaches they hit before doing the strings.

To add to Jim's question, is tilting for a walkway/maintaining roof, or to tilt for more sun in the winter months?

Yes to both.  I would not be tilting the front 4 sets of panels for maintenance for they are beyond my A/C units.  I will see what my consumption is when we get to our wintering spot this year near Temecula, CA.  I prefer not to tilt any for additional sun unless I have to.  The Solar Irradiance figures for that area and the direction the side of my coach will be facing with my panels down flat are:
Nov - 3.34
Dec - 2.79
Jan - 2.99
Feb - 3.73
Mar - 5.28

If I tilt them 41 degrees from vertical:
Nov - 5.36
Dec - 4.91
Jan - 4.95
Feb - 5.14
Mar - 6.15

So if you multiply your total panel wattage by the solar irradiance factor that in theory is what you can expect to produce given clear blue skies and no obstructions.  My total panel wattage is expected to be 3320W.  So, for example, in Dec I would only be able to produce 9,262.8W in perfect conditions with the panels down flat.  If I tilted just 3 sets of the 100W two panel sets (total of 600W) that would increase to 10,534.8W.

Oscar, I am confused. Understand that with proper tilt to get max. sun, solar production will be greater, but not sure how you would get over 9000 watts out of 3300 watts of panels?
Mine are flat, but even under ideal conditions, have never seen more than 90% of their rated capacity.
I need your secret.