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Old 07-20-2015, 04:55 PM   #1
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Overland Solar portable kits?

Saw these briefly at the Expo West this spring - has anyone had any experience with his kits at all?

http://overlandsolar.com/collections/po ... solar-unit

I am really intrigued by the tri-fold nature of these panels packed up as they won't eat up a lot of space. Looking to add a portable unit to help keep my 4D topped off (primarily run the fridge, fan and some lights) while Im parked for a few days at a time in the Nat'l forest. Out here the goal is to usually keep to the shade at camp, hence a portable system vs a roof mounted panel (which I will do eventually too). I am mostly interested in a quality product that is durable, easy to use and efficient. I'm not opposed to the eBay/amazon cheap units but if this is a better product id rather buy once and not have to replace a few yrs later...

Was also looking at the Zamp 200W however it's quite a bit larger

Thanks for any input

Cheers

-d

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Old 07-20-2015, 06:01 PM   #2
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Re: Overland Solar portable kits?

I saw a number of these at the NW Overland Expo both at the vendors booth and hooked up to different rigs. They come in different sizes and panel quantities. They look well built.
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Old 07-20-2015, 06:30 PM   #3
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Re: Overland Solar portable kits?

I have one of there 90w trifold units. The unit works great. Although I have only used it a few times. I believe it will be a great thing to have. I bought it at the NW Overland Expo.

It is made with German built Bosch panels and has a great warranty.

It fits under the rear bed of my RB50 perfect.
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Old 07-20-2015, 08:55 PM   #4
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Re: Overland Solar portable kits?

Seems pricey in terms of Watts per dollar.

I do like that they use Bosch cells. That was a big selling point in the portable solar it I bought.


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Old 07-20-2015, 11:01 PM   #5
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Re: Overland Solar portable kits?

Have you seen this kit?
http://www.amazon.com/Renogy-Foldable-S ... rds=renogy

Its 100w vs 150w for the kit you linked, but its $360 less. The folded dimensions are the same for length and width, but I'm sure the 3 panel kit is thicker.
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Old 07-22-2015, 05:33 PM   #6
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Re: Overland Solar portable kits?

At the end of the day I ended up pulling the trigger on a portable system from Brian at Overland Solar. He spent a bunch of time discussing options with me this am with me and I opted in the end to go with his 90W Portable unit. Should work for the limited needs I have right now, and it is super compact all folded up. Sounded like he had a few other SMB owners who bought the 150w and returned it only to get the 90w for it's adequate needs and much smaller folded size

As a side note he mentioned that Sportsmobile was going to be stocking his portable units later this summer/fall for add-on to their builds as well

We'll have a 4+ day camp trip next weekend out to a local lake and seeing how I get just about 2-2.5 days on my current non-solar setup relying on my 4D battery alone before needing to fire up the van to recharge, this will be a great 1st test run. Report/pics to follow...
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Old 07-22-2015, 06:49 PM   #7
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Re: Overland Solar portable kits?

Are u running multiple 4D batteries?
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Old 07-22-2015, 07:25 PM   #8
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Re: Overland Solar portable kits?

I'm running a single Deka 4D AGM battery. It the extra big one SMB offered as an up spec. Battery was replaced last Fall and currently gets me approx 2ish days before dropping below 12.4-12.5v
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Old 07-22-2015, 11:15 PM   #9
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Re: Overland Solar portable kits?

Looking forward to your further assessment on solar panel. I am picking up two 4D tomorrow for my build out.
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Old 07-23-2015, 07:38 AM   #10
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Re: Overland Solar portable kits?

Quote:
Originally Posted by alta825
I'm running a single Deka 4D AGM battery. It the extra big one SMB offered as an up spec. Battery was replaced last Fall and currently gets me approx 2ish days before dropping below 12.4-12.5v
How do you connect the solar panels and charge controller to the house battery?

I am considering getting one of these setups to replace my portable generator.

Thanks
R
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