ALINER solar ready plug.

[bruce wayne]

My 2019 ranger 12 came with a "solar ready" plug in the sidewall of the trailer. However, when i tried to plug my renogy 100 solar cell into it it didn't appear to connect, (by looking at the gauge on the cell. Not a great big deal, but i have to open the battery box and use the spring clamps on the battery. Any thoughts?

PS: the renogy works great! I don't think it would keep up using the fridge on DC, but for, lights, fan, etc, its perfect, even in W PA, where we get about two days of sunshine a year.

 

[Econ]

Someone with a better memory will come along but I see your still on line. The plug for the "solar ready" has something like reverse polarity than the more popular plug. Get your multi meter and head down that road. Personally I would replace the plug and rewire it. You only need that plug if you insist on your charge controller inside and permanently installed. My CC is portable

I recall there were complaints about the wire guage used. Years ago I concluded this was whiz bang suggested by the marketing dept.

 

[TimAZ]

The “solar ready” plug on our trailer was connected directly to the battery with no charge controller, not even a fuse. IMO it’s just a marketing gimmick, a check-off for buyers.

The solar panel needs a charge controller in the circuit and should be setup for the specific type of battery it will be charging. Funny how the RV dealers and salesmen seen to gloss over that detail.

 

[MEGEDH]

My 2019 ranger 12 came with a "solar ready" plug in the sidewall of the trailer. However, when i tried to plug my renogy 100 solar cell into it it didn't appear to connect, (by looking at the gauge on the cell. Not a great big deal, but i have to open the battery box and use the spring clamps on the battery. Any thoughts?

PS: the renogy works great! I don't think it would keep up using the fridge on DC, but for, lights, fan, etc, its perfect, even in W PA, where we get about two days of sunshine a year.

Don't know what type of connector your Renogy panel has but this adapter may work. I installed a charge controller at the battery so I can use my Jackery solar panels with an extension to chase the sun and plug into my Zamp connector at the Aliner sidewall. Aliner doesn't include a charge controller since the Zamp panels have one built in.

 

[Hilldweller]

Mine didn't work either. I metered it out, polarity was correct, got my voltage at the plug, so I poked around in there.
My conclusion is that they used such light gauge wire that when you connect your Renogy panel(s) to it, the voltage drop is so severe that the charge controller doesn't see the battery.
I wired an SAE dongle to the battery and have it tucked under the lid of the battery box.

 

[Dnodoz]

My 2019 ranger 12 came with a "solar ready" plug in the sidewall of the trailer. However, when i tried to plug my renogy 100 solar cell into it it didn't appear to connect, (by looking at the gauge on the cell. Not a great big deal, but i have to open the battery box and use the spring clamps on the battery. Any thoughts?

PS: the renogy works great! I don't think it would keep up using the fridge on DC, but for, lights, fan, etc, its perfect, even in W PA, where we get about two days of sunshine a year.

Look inside the trailer compartment where the wires feed in. It’s only a positive and a negative going through to the battery. We found ours weren’t reversed polarity. Very simple plug to trace. We actually added two more of these ports so we can plug in two additional briefcase solar setups at the same time.

 

[Yacoma99]

Both of our Aliners came with Zamp brand solar port. I was told an adapter was needed to run other brands of solar.

 

[Hilldweller]

Both of our Aliners came with Zamp brand solar port. I was told an adapter was needed to run other brands of solar.

That's what I was trying to point out --- even with an adapter mine didn't work. The Aliner wiring was too light-duty.
Zamp connectors are just common SAE connectors.
Since I already had bought the Renogy solar-to-SAE adapter, I got the SAE-to-ring terminal dongle and attached it directly to the battery. I don't have to open the battery box; the connector just sorta lives in the little gap at the top.
Works great with my Renogy 200w solar suitcase (that they don't sell anymore).

 

[Econ]

That's what I was trying to point out --- even with an adapter mine didn't work. The Aliner wiring was too light-duty.
Zamp connectors are just common SAE connectors.
Since I already had bought the Renogy solar-to-SAE adapter, I got the SAE-to-ring terminal dongle and attached it directly to the battery. I don't have to open the battery box; the connector just sorta lives in the little gap at the top.
Works great with my Renogy 200w solar suitcase (that they don't sell anymore).

 

[bupkis]

Is it possible to change the wires on the battery for the 'solar ready' to match what is needed by the 'suitcase' solar?

 

[bruce wayne]

i did get my "zamp" connector from renogy. i did check polarity. i did not actually check the size of the wiring from the battery to the connector. i don''t know why a connector would have to be " brand specific" as its just two wires? thanks for the responses and correct terminology. my charge controller does hang from the inside of the suitcase. thanks all

 

[TimAZ]

Is it possible to change the wires on the battery for the 'solar ready' to match what is needed by the 'suitcase' solar?

On many trailers the “solar ready” option is just a wall mounted 2-pin connector (so-called SAE) wired directly to the battery. Without a fuse of some kind it’s an accident waiting to happen. The first thing I would do is install an inline fuse holder where the connector wires attach to the battery. At least that way if somebody shorts the Zamp connector or they hook up a device with reversed polarity, the wires inside the trailer harness won’t melt.

If your solar panel has a built-in charge controller then it’s OK to hook it up through the Zamp connector. Otherwise you’ll need to buy a solar charge controller and wire it between the panels and the battery. Polarity matters and there is no standard for the wiring polarity (or wire colors) of that 2-pin connector, so get a meter of some kind and check the +/- before assuming everything is wired correctly.

 

[SteveP]

i did get my "zamp" connector from renogy. i did check polarity. i did not actually check the size of the wiring from the battery to the connector. i don''t know why a connector would have to be " brand specific" as its just two wires? thanks for the responses and correct terminology. my charge controller does hang from the inside of the suitcase. thanks all

The Zamp connectors mounted to trailers are reputed to have reversed polarity from normal SAE connectors. There are several "reverse polarity adaptors" on Amazon, or you can just flip the wires yourself.

 

[Allen R Glass]

I find it easier to just pop the battery box cover off and connect the charge controller directly to the battery.

 

[Hilldweller]

Is it possible to change the wires on the battery for the 'solar ready' to match what is needed by the 'suitcase' solar?

Yes.

But is the juice worth the squeeze?

The connector on the trailer is flush with the trailer which yields an unpleasant 90 degree bend to your solar panel's wiring when you plug in. And it's not all that secure. So you might plug in, check everything and think you're dandy, wander off, and it dislodges a bit due to gravity and wind and you don't get your battery charged.

Do what @Allen R Glass and I did and wire a dongle to your battery and it hangs out vertically, and your panel's connector is at a happy/secure 180 degrees, the way that @Yi Li (Renogy) would recommend.

Even better would be to get a dongle with the solar connectors at one end and ring terminals at the other. Hook that to your battery. It's just a bit big to fit in the box though. The SAE connector fits great and slips out through the gap.

 

[kitphantom]

We added the Zamp plug-in connector to our travel trailer, since it was just before they started making them "solar ready". We chose Zamp because that was the best choice for us in 2015, when solar panels weren't as easy to come by, and Renogy was having an issue with their controllers, since resolved. After dealing with connecting our previous set of solar panels via the controller and clips to the battery, having an easy plug is so worth it. With the clips, we had to be careful not to knock them askew as we put the cover on the battery box. (With as tight as the battery boxes are, since we have dual 6v batteries, a plug in is almost a necessity. No way would I be using clips in these boxes.)
We haven't had any issues with our connector, but since it matches our solar panel's wiring, that's not a surprise. I expect if we needed to change panel brand for some weird reason, we'd just change the connector, given how ours is set up.

 

[Hilldweller]

If anybody really wanted a good "solar ready" connector to retrofit to the exterior wall of their trailer, Anderson all the way.
Hook some 8 gauge wire to this puppy, an inline fuse, and secure to your battery.

https://powerwerx.com/panelpole-panel-mount-powerpole-white-single

You'd have to make the appropriate dongle/adapter for the panel but it would be really tight.

 

[SteveP]

Hook some 8 gauge wire to this puppy, an inline fuse, and secure to your battery.
https://powerwerx.com/panelpole-panel-mount-powerpole-white-single

Have a double mounted to my battery box with 16" of 10 gauge to the battery. Both positives are separately fused. I added APP connectors to my stand alone battery charger, a solar panel and my 12 volt fridge cord. I can charge the battery and run the fridge simultaneously without opening the battery box.