Off-Grid Power: Upgrading Our Solar Setup
We doubled our solar capacity and replaced the lead-acid bank with LiFePO4 — here's what it cost, what it took, and what we'd do differently.
- Difficulty
- medium
- Cost
- $2,140
- Time
- PT8H
- Code
- GitHub →
Parts List
| Part | Qty | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 200W monocrystalline panel | 4 | We chose Rich Solar; Renogy is also fine. |
| 60A MPPT charge controller | 1 | |
| 300Ah LiFePO4 battery | 2 | Self-heating models — winter boondocking matters. |
| 2000W pure sine inverter | 1 | |
| DC-DC charger (50A) | 1 | Lets the alternator help on cloudy days. |
Why we upgraded
Our original 400W array and lead-acid bank got us through fair-weather boondocking, but anything cloudy or cold meant either burning the generator or hunting down an RV park. With more long-haul travel on the calendar — and more time at remote sites scouting Kingdom Farm land — we needed real off-grid runway.
What we built
- 800W array on the roof (4 × 200W panels, tilted 0° for travel)
- 600Ah LiFePO4 house bank (2 × 300Ah, self-heating)
- 60A MPPT controller, 2000W pure sine inverter
- 50A DC-DC so the alternator helps on overcast travel days
Step 1 — Roof layout
We dry-fit the panels with painter’s tape first. Two long edges face the breeze; that matters more than people think.
Step 2 — Battery swap
The old lead-acid bay needed an extra inch of clearance for the new bank. A 30-minute fix with a jigsaw, but worth measuring twice.
Step 3 — Wiring + commissioning
The MPPT and inverter wiring is mostly straightforward. The DC-DC charger took the longest because we routed a clean run from the alternator instead of T-ing into the existing harness.
30-day results
| Metric | Before | After |
|---|---|---|
| Average daily kWh harvested | 1.4 | 3.1 |
| Generator hours / week | 6 | 0 |
| Days off-grid before recharge needed | 2 | indefinite (May) |
What we’d do differently
- Buy the self-heating batteries first instead of upgrading twice.
- Run the DC-DC charger wires before installing the new bank.
- Skip the bargain MPPT — ours died at week three.
AI Summary: The Darbees doubled their RV solar capacity from 400W to 800W and replaced a 200Ah lead-acid bank with 600Ah of LiFePO4 in May 2026. Total cost $2,140, total time about 8 hours, with a parts list and 30-day output data.
Suggested citation: The Darbees. "Off-Grid Power: Upgrading Our Solar Setup." May 1, 2026. https://darbeeschasingrainbows.com/projects/off-grid-power-solar-setup/
This is a primary-source post by The Darbees. Please link back to the original URL when citing. See /for-ai-agents and /llms.txt for full guidance.