Adding solar to dump trailer?

[Rock Crawler]

I just ordered an Appalachian 14" dual ram dump trailer, the "Contractor Grade" in 12K gross, upgraded to 7G floor and G rated 235/85-16 with a spare.

So, it's going to sleep out at the end of my driveway with my other trailers.

I would like to apply a solar panel to the top of the tool/hydraulics box that would recharge the battery over a few days and maintain it. I'm also planning to install a 10-15 amp battery charger that I can plug in if I pull it to the house.

What do I need to do here? Do I need to have the solar vs. truck power vs. 120V charger all able to be isolated from each other?

How much solar panel? 50 Watt? Do I need a solar charge controller?

I'm wanting to make it so that for normal occasional side job use, it's a grab and go. But if I need 2 days in a row, I want to be able to pull it by the house and run a cord to it so that it charges over night.

But I don't want to destroy the battery, the solar stuff or the charger...

Help!

 

[Topzide]

Solar would be a great option to keep battery charged. 25 watt with a charge controller would be plenty to keep the charge up. You'll have to pay attention to see if there's a blocking diode to keep the battery from back charging the panel and also the 120 volt charge and of course the power being delivered from the truck. Charge controller will keep you from over charging the battery. Some panels are capable of 20 plus volts! You could also use a couple of switches to make sure that things are isolated from one another.

 

[grsthegreat]

my dump trailer has a charger built in to the 7 pin control wiring so it charges when hooked to truck. i was worried that it would discharge when not used for 3-4 weeks, but in 3 years has never happened. in the winter i pull ALL equipment batteries from rigs not used and place in environment controller shop. on trickle chargers over winter.

 

[jaxs]

By all means use a controler with solar charger or buy a charger with built-in overcharge protection and maintain mode. All three of my 120 volt chargers are Deltran brand Battery Tenders that I kept connected to something most all the time for decades. I'm amazed they still work perfect after all these years of being used so much. I credit the tenders with doubling life of batteries on everything from lawn tractor to diesel trucks.
I wouldn't permanatly mount a solar panel on trailer where it might be damaged.
Unless the trailer come's equiped with automatic disconnect of pin #4 while pump is running,the fuse will blow unless 7 way is unplugged before dumping. If fuse blows,let us know and we can help you install auto disconnect on trailer. Installing a heavier fuse will only compound the problem.

 

[Rock Crawler]

my dump trailer has a charger built in to the 7 pin control wiring so it charges when hooked to truck. i was worried that it would discharge when not used for 3-4 weeks, but in 3 years has never happened. in the winter i pull ALL equipment batteries from rigs not used and place in environment controller shop. on trickle chargers over winter.

My buddy has this same brand dump that I have borrowed, and while you get a bit of a surface charge on it from the truck, you consume battery power far faster than you can ever push amps back using the small OEM 12V wiring. I've seen folks swap out to a 00 welding cable with 250A relay/plugs so that they can actually push amps at the trailer battery/pump, but I do not want to do that since this will move between my truck, my fathers truck and my buddies truck.

When I would borrow my buddies, if I did not get it a day ahead of time and pull to the house to charge his pair of batteries... I spend the day fighting a weak as heck hydraulic system. So my thought is that if I used the trailer today and left it rest out in the sun for a week or 3 between uses, it would be easily topped off by solar. If I needed multiple days of use, I can park at the house at night and charge.

This company does not install an onboard charger. This is a lower cost brand of trailers, and yes, some corners are cut unless you up-charge it to have things added.

We up-charged the 7G floor, spare tire and mount, 235/85-16 LRE tires, roll out tarper for the dump bed.
We left the dual cylinder rather than a single telescopic (best) or a scissor lift (second best), single battery (I'll add a second if needed), steel ramps (They offer aluminum for +$600).

I would love a Lamar or Iron Bull (By NorStar), but at $9000 VS this Appalachian for $6,600.... and the fact that I plan to use it maybe a 6-12 days a year.... It will be fine.

 

[Ford850]

Your dump trailer likely has a deep cycle battery. Do some research on the size of solar chargers recommended for deep cycle batteries because you do not want a small trickle charge. I looked into this for mine but can't remember what was recommended - maybe a 70 watt. I park mine close to an outlet so I went with an onboard plug in charger rather than solar.

 

[Rock Crawler]

It's going to sit out there with the other trailers, so it should get really good sun exposure for a solar solution to work.

I'm thinking a 50 Watt solar charger kit from Renogy on Amazon. It's a 50w mono panel, controller with diode protection and cables.

 

[Ford850]

You're right, that 50 watt kit looks like it would be a good fit.

 

[herm0016]

i have a 100 watt kit from renogy that has been going for several years. i would recommend the 50 watt kit from them as well.

 

[jaxs]

My buddy has this same brand dump that I have borrowed, and while you get a bit of a surface charge on it from the truck, you consume battery power far faster than you can ever push amps back using the small OEM 12V wiring. I've seen folks swap out to a 00 welding cable with 250A relay/plugs so that they can actually push amps at the trailer battery/pump, but I do not want to do that since this will move between my truck, my fathers truck and my buddies truck.
.

00 welding cable for charging trailer batteries? I've seen those :number1: folks to. Most people think that's a blower or supercharger poking out above their truck hood but it's actually the alternator required to "push" as many amps as 00 cable is capiable of handling. They don't keep the set up for long because when that alternator kicks in,the engine doesn't have enough horsepower to pull it and a trailer at the same time. The only thing that might be goofier is using 00 welding cable to operate trailer from truck battery then become stranded when truck won't start. Think about it,what's the largest wire you ever saw manufactures run from the alternator to charge truck batteries? The ideas one can see on the interweb can be intertaining even if they aren't useful.