Our AWESOME New RV Solar & Battery System Explained by MYT Solar

Tom & Ely MacInnes of MYT Solar did an amazing job of designing and installing our new RV solar panel & lithium system. Today they take us on a detailed tour, explaining the operation of the entire Victron suite, our 1,500 watts of Rich solar panels, and 810 amp-hours of Battle Born LiFePO4 batteries.

We also announce that we'll be heading back to their shop in Bend, OR in late July 2024, where they'll join us for a live Q&A to answer all your solar and battery questions live on the air.

Newsletter subscribers will also be able to submit questions for the Q&A in advance, providing the best opportunity to have your questions answered live by the most knowledgable solar installers we've ever met.

If you missed our most recent video, sharing our experience getting hit by a powerful storm in our RV, you can watch it here:

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sometimes we receive products for evaluation at no cost and may use affiliate links from which we earn commissions. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases. But our opinions are our own. We only recommend products we believe deliver real value, that we can confidently recommend without reservation. You also won’t pay an extra penny by using our links, and in many cases can even get a nice discount! Thanks for supporting RVgeeks as we work to create helpful RVing-related content that we hope enhances your RVing life.

Even though we're handy RVers, we're not professional technicians. So although we're happy with the techniques and products we use, you should be sure to confirm that all methods and materials are compatible with your equipment and abilities. Regardless of what we recommend, consult a professional if you're unsure about working on your RV. Any task you perform or product you purchase based on any information we provide is strictly at your own risk.

#rvsolar #lithiumbatteries #boondocking

[MHPOWOS]

I like that this video uses chapter marketers, which allows me to select sections to watch as many times as I need to rather than keep pulling the progress bar over and over again.👍👍Thanks for your sharing!😊

[mgysgtk]

Such gorgeous organization of the system. Attention to details = Pride in their craftsmanship!

[joniboulware]

What a great explanation and quality installation.

[janicevoss]

Hi Guys, boy has solar come a long way. We bought BattleBorn batteries about 5 years ago and installed solar panels on our Class A motorhome. It was hard to find good insulation companies at that time especially since we were newbies to RV full time life style. We have had a few hiccups over the years, but BattleBorn have always helped us out. Like you said in your video, your installation looks like a work of art.
Glad to hear you are getting your repairs done…Happy Travels

[craigmckenzie]

Great looking system. Magnificent install by MYT.
I see you have 3 vents for air getting into the main victron box. I don’t see any computer fans to move the heat out of the box. I build my victron system just as yours is but I have two 4” computer fans running off of the cerbo temperature relay. They can bring cooler air from outside on one vent and exhaust hot air from the second vent in the nose of our 5 wheel.
The mppt ‘S, charge controllers, dc to dc chargers and the inverter produce a lot of heat. Heat is the biggest cause of failures.
Simple to add a 12v fan to the cerbo.
Your system looks awesome.
Safe travels and enjoy your new trailer.
Cheers

[remitremblay]

Glad to see things are looking up! Those rvs are solid, and we hope it hasn’t suffered to much damages.

[Grevlain]

Wow...TWO of those magical Orion XS units. Thats a LOT of power going in from the truck. Beautiful system. Form and function.

[joethecomputerguy]

Nice to see how organized they did it. Great job. When I did my system myself in '17 Victron and Battleborn wasn't really a thing. I have disparate systems. Nice how yours all works together. Mine is still going strong after 7+ years. I would keep an eye on temps in that compartment. I added fans because the inverter can get really hot when in use.
I wonder if the rail systems up top saved damage to the roof when that tree fell on it?

[karlswope]

Wow, what a beautiful installation! We will be looking at contacting MYT for any repairs and/or updates to our system. We love our 3 Battleborn 270Ah GC3 Gamechanger Batteries👍 Best upgrade we have made to our motorhome.

[AndrewJohnson]

What a fantastic setup and install. That is one of the nicest installs I've seen. MYT did a great job! Wish I wasn't on the opposite coast lol. I've been going back to your motorhome solar videos lately since we just got our motorhome and I'm looking at adding the most solar capability possible. Thank you for sharing this.

[rosebonner]

Wonderful video. I definitely want to use MYT on my next RV. Thank you for sharing.

[daniellel]

Wow, first of all, so glad to see you and your rig are on the mend. That is a beautiful system and the cable management is spot on. If I can offer one suggestion. We added to ours a gps USB dongle to the Cerbo GX. Simple plug and play. It interfaces with the VRM and adds a layer of security knowing where the rig is. Can also set up a geofence within the VRM. We share our location with close family and friends. For the small cost, we feel the benefits are well worth it.

[SuperSushidog]

That really is a work of art - a true professional job. My do-it-yourself system works very well, but it's not aesthetically pleasing like MYTs work. Deployable panels are a great Idea for smaller RVs with limited roof space, as long as you keep an eye on them, like you would a portable generator, to prevent them from walking off. Instead of using deployable panels, that must be unplugged and secured whenever you leave camp, or risk them being stolen, we decided to build a 620-watt, liftable side mounted array. It virtually lifts itself to the precise angle needed to maximize power output with a couple of gas struts. And it's easy to clean, standing safely on the ground. We use it to charge our 560ah 12v battery (the equivalent of 2 Gamechangers).

This left the roof of my 35ft motorhome free for a 4, 400-watt solar array (used to charge our 16.4kwh 48v battery) that allows us to run everything in our rig just like if we were plugged into a power pedestal. We have one of those non-walkable roofs, but we sealed it with Henry's Tropicool 887 lifetime roof coating before we did. We only have one A/C on the roof now, because we replaced our rear A/C with a 28.5 Seer-2 mini split heat pump. However, if we ever needed to service or replace our front A/C unit, all it takes is removing 4 bolts and sliding one 550w panel aside to access the A/C. The bolts can easily be accessed from underneath, because the array is mounted 15" off the roof. This allows plenty of cooling air for higher output from the panels and shade for our coach too.

We bought a battery-to-battery charger for alternator charging, but we've never needed to use it as we have so much solar. You may find this to be true for your rig too.

[MrMarkCaudill]

Wow, they do beautiful work.
I ordered a EcoFlow system for now, not sure how long I will keep my current class C.

[WhiteLightning]

What was wired into the Victron Battery Protect module to the left of the Lynx Distributor?

[patbrown]

Maybe I missed it in the video, but how much weight did this system add to the RV?

[Robnord]

Did I miss it on discussing cost of this custom system? With the batteries alone being $7500, I'm guessing $13-15K out the door. Close?

[karinwest]

What a superb setup, and such great explanation for non-techno people like me to understand what each component does and how they work together. Thank you and MYT for educating me! I wonder if you can do the rails on a Ford Transit van?

[steveharkins]

We flew from Pennsylvania, to Bend Oregon to buy our 05 Tioga 28SL, great little town.

[joeo]

Until now, I've never seen an RV or a solar system that is PERFECT.Yours is exactly that. I wouldn't change a thing!