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Jayco Baja Pop Up Camper Solar Project

In this project, 200W of roof top solar and a battery system were added to a 2014 Jayco Baja pop up camper. This gives it much more flexibility when boon docking.

We wanted to be able to operate a microwave and/or other appliances while being off grid. This camper begs to go off the beaten path! Click here to see all features of this customized camper.

Equipment added includes a 200 Amp Hr LiFePO4 battery (rated 2560 watt hrs), a 2000 watt pure sine wave inverter, a 30A rated solar charge controller, and 20A shore power battery charger suitable for LiFePO4 batteries. To keep tabs on the battery level, a battery monitor was also included. To simplify the operation, transfer relays were added so the system will automatically switch the 120V branch circuit that feeds most of the camper between shore power and the inverter.

Components Installed:

Renogy 200W 12V Monocrystalline Solar Panel Starter Kit Includes: 2x Renogy 100W Solar Panels, Wanderer 30A PWM charge controller, cables, mounting brackets and connectors. Available at Amazon: https://www.amazon.com

Mounting Cross Rails Custom made using 3/4" EMT (qty 2) painted black. Installed on existing roof rack system using custom 3D printed mounts (qty 4) with T-bolts (qty 4).

JITA 200Ah LiFePO4 Battery Available at Amazon: https://www.amazon.com

20 Amp Battery Charger Expert Power LiFePO4 battery charger used to charge battery when connected to shore power. Available at Amazon: https://www.amazon.com

2000W Power Inverter This EDECOA 2000W Pure Sine Wave Inverter converts 12VDC into 120VAC. It includes a remote control with an excellent display and 2 USB charge ports. Available at Amazon: https://www.amazon.com

Battery Monitor Installing a battery monitor allows for an at glance view of the battery state of charge. This LNEX is simple and budget freindly but doesn't fall short. Available at Amazon: (Currently Unavailable) Alternate similar item at Amazon: https://www.amazon.com

Relays: Two of these relays are used to switch 120Vac between the inverter and shore power for the branch circuit that powers everything except for converter and air conditioner. The other is used to disconnect the LiFePO4 battery from the 12V circuits in the camper when the converter is powered up. The converter only powers up when connected to shore power. American Zettler 120Vac 30A SPDT Relay - available at Amazon: https://www.amazon.com For electrical wiring diagram and info, click here.

250A Battery Circuit Breaker/Disconnect Finding a quality high amperage 12V circuit breaker that won't break the bank is a difficult task. I have tried multiple breakers and most of them I knew would fail before even testing them. A breaker rated for 250A but has only 1/4" studs isn't going to cut it. This breaker is one of the exceptions. Available at Amazon: https://www.amazon.com 40A Battery/Trailer 12V Circuit Breaker To protect the camper 12V wiring system from the battery, a 40A 12Vdc rated circuit breaker was installed. This breaker has a manual reset. Available at Amazon: https://www.amazon.com

DIN Terminal Block Makes connecting 120Vac circuits and relays easy. Since I use these in other projects, I buy the components individual but in bulk (i.e. 100 packs). But for this project only, a DIN rail kit could be used: https://www.amazon.com Will also need: 5x20mm Fuse Holder (5 piecses, only need 1): https://www.amazon.com For electrical wiring diagram and info, click here.