We served together in the 90s and haven’t seen each other since. We’re heading to the Great Lakes and the UP of Michigan for a bit and then work our way across New England to visit friends in Maine. We now plan to leave in a few weeks for a one year road trip across America. Well, we all know what has happened with COVID-19 and the quarantine. We started planning an Alaska adventure for this Summer in October of 2019 and then head to Georgia from there for Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years. What Are Your Travel Plans Once You Get Back On The Road? I also had some pretty good coaching through YouTube video channels. I felt pretty comfortable and confident going through the installations. I’ve had a lot of training and experience with connectors, wires, and installation and removal of components from aircraft weapons systems. I spent 30 years in the Navy working on avionics. What Part of the Project Was Easier Than Expected?Įasier? That’s a hard one! I think what came easiest was connecting all the components together. They were also available to answer questions and supply drawings when needed. Thankfully I was able to reutilize much of the OEM wiring due to Lance’s excellent design. The hardest part for me has been working with my truck camper and the tiny spaces.Īlthough the 1172 is the top line of Lance Camper, the manufacturing techniques Lance uses to build their coaches leaves very little room to chase and pull wiring for the upgrades. What Part of the Project Was More Difficult Than Expected? The other thing I came to learn is that there are a lot of like minded folks out there who want to see us succeed with our projects (like yourself) that I can ask questions and get answers and solutions for things I’m struggling with. I took advantage of what I could while living Down Under (Battle Born Black Friday Sale) and waited until we got home in February this year to get good measurements and make smart and informed choices (solar panels). Living in Australia while my camper was stored here at home presented some unique challenges in solar and power upgrades. The first thing I learned was to plan and plan some more and never get into a hurry or grow impatient. Since the solar panels are all identical, I connected them in series. They are two parallel arrays in series connected to a Victron 100V/50A MPPT charge controller. Sunpower offered a 170 watt panel where I could mount four and get the power I was looking for. Knowing what I wanted and the limited roof area I have, there wasn’t enough room to mount the number of 100 watt panels for the power I wanted. A bluetooth battery monitor and large inverter/charger were also added.Ĥ x 170 watt SunPower Semi Flexible Solar Panels mounted on the roof of the truck camper I replaced the two batteries with two Battle Born 100 Ah lithium batteries, then added three more in the nearby storage compartment for a total of 500 Ah of lithium capacity. I also ditched the generator.īefore the upgrade, my truck camper had a 100W solar panel, a PWM 30 Amp solar charge controller and two group 24 batteries installed. Tom Morton did a 500 Ah Battle Born upgrade to an identical Lance camper. The spark really came from the Go North Series of the YouTube channel Mortons on the Move. I got inspired to upgrade the electrical system in our Lance truck camper and install solar from your videos. I have a 2017 Lance 1172 truck camper that we are living in for the near and distant future. Sharing your do-it-yourself projects and accomplishments helps us learn from each other.ĭo you have an interesting DIY project to share? Here’s how.
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