This installation was completed in August of 2024. The customer contacted me from a recommendation from a previous customer.  The customer had a small travel trailer with some existing Victron and Battle Born components.  The customer had a Victron SmartShunt, MPPT 100/50 Solar Charge Controller, and an Orion XS 12/12/50 DC to DC charger, along with a Battle Born GC3 battery installed at a grand design rally.  The customer now wanted to upgrade the system to provide more capabilities.  We discussed the customer’s needs and I came up with a proposal.  I initially proposed adding a Multiplus 3KVA inverter charger, 730 watts of solar and a second GC3 battery, to which the customer agreed.  We set an installation date and the customer brought the trailer to me for the installation.  My initial proposal was to add two 365 watt REC solar panels and remove the factory 170 watt panel that was in place.  Once I had the trailer in possession to begin the work, I discovered the two large 365 watt panels wouldn’t fit as I had planned because the front fantastic fan was installed slightly off center on the trailer and didn’t leave quite enough room for the large panel on one side of the fan housing.  I had some discussions with the customer and we changed the solar plan from two 365 watt panels to eight 100 watt panels.  I had six of the 100 watt panels in stock at the time and will add the last two at a later date.

The installation was completed in two days. I added six 100 watt solar panels to the roof of the trailer.  I had to replace the OEM Furrion roof penetration with a new clam shell roof penetration for two reasons.  One, the Furrion had proprietary connectors that were not compatible with the industry standard MC4 connectors on the new solar panels.  Two, the Furrion box and connectors were falling apart due to UV degradation.  The new panels were paired to the existing Victron SmartSolar MPPT 100/50 Solar Charge Controller.  This more than tripled the original solar capacity of the trailer (the original 170 watt Furrion panel was removed and I put MC4 connectors on it in place of the proprietary connectors so the owner could more easily sell it in the aftermarket).  I also added one Battle Born 270 amp hour GC3 lithium battery to the existing GC3 battery.   The batteries were mounted in the pass through storage compartment at the front of the trailer rather than on the A-frame of the trailer like the OEM set up.  I added a Victron Multiplus 12/3000/120 pure sine wave  inverter charger.  The Multiplus was installed so that it could power the entire main breaker panel.  The Multiplus was also mounted in the front pass through storage area.  I added a VE Bus Smart Dongle to the Multiplus to allow the customer to control it from the Victron Connect app.  I wired the inverter to the new batteries via a Lynx Distributor.  I also incorporated the existing Smartshunt battery monitor and Orion XS into the installation.  Finally, I added a Midnite Solar Baby Box DIN rail breaker box with a 15 amp MNEPV circuit breaker between the solar panel input and the MPPT to allow for circuit protection and isolation of the solar panels from the system as needed. 

The installation was pretty simple and straight forward.  After everything was installed, I tested all the equipment.  While testing the Multiplus, I discovered the internal fan was making a lot of noise when active.  I removed the Multiplus from its mount and took the fan shroud apart to try to determine what the issue was.  I found an internal wire was loose and touching the fan blades as they spun, which was causing the noise.  I was able to move the internal wire out of the way to correct the issue.  I replaced the fan shroud and remounted the Multiplus.  Under additional testing, the fan noise was gone.