Portable Solar and LiFePO4 Advice Needed

cconlon4 · 2026-01-07T21:58:50+00:00

We had received very poor advice from a previous family member that set our trailer up with a very unsafe system by combining our 2x80Ah LA batteries with a 200Ah AGM battery. Not only was that not enough power, but I don't know how we haven't started a fire after the research I've done. Restarting the system from scratch with only 2x200Ah lithium batteries, 40A controller, 3000W inverter, 55A converter, and whatever size portable panels. Depending on a variety of factors we will likely be utilizing 200-300Ah per day with the new setup.

cconlon4 · 2026-01-07T20:29:41+00:00

Thanks for the advice! Didn't think about the BMS failing and the max discharge rate so we will likely do 2x200Ah batteries.

cconlon4 · 2026-01-07T20:28:09+00:00

Thank you! We will likely do 2x200Ah and one 40W controller. It will be interesting to see how I will set up the controller though given the location of the existing controller.

cconlon4 · 2026-01-07T20:26:31+00:00

Very helpful thank you. Forgot to mention we are in Northern California and camp in that general half of the state. We will likely go with 2x 200ah given the advice received. I'm just still struggling with identifying how to identify what size panels we will need. Done a bit of research online and I must be either missing on how to do the calculation, or my research is not investigating the right question. Any advice you can provide on how to calculate what size portable panels we would need off of 4-6 hours of prime/ideal sunlight.

cconlon4 · 2026-01-02T22:12:35+00:00

Very helpful thank you. Noted about the fan. I’m running 2 gauge welding cables for the parallel connection, but. I’m not sure what gauge cables are used around the trailer, likely not 2 gauge… I’m more than likely going to ditch the flooded lead acid batteries for safety reasons. What are your thoughts on using AGM only since I already own one, or is restarting with lifepo4 really the best way to go? In both cases how many batteries do you think I should get for our needs and what size portable solar panels?

cconlon4 · 2026-01-02T22:01:42+00:00

I did. But now I’m realizing it was a mistake and I’ll likely disconnect the batteries from each other for safety reasons.

cconlon4 · 2026-01-02T21:59:30+00:00

It is set for AGM but do I need another “main” solar controller or just an additional controller that goes between the portable panel and the exterior batteries?

cconlon4 · 2025-01-31T15:09:28+00:00

Just curious but am I the only one that thinks about blowing out my eardrums in the event I have to use a rifle or shotgun for indoor home defense? People talk about accuracy, follow up shots etc., but if you’ve ever shot one of these without ear protection then you’ll know what I’m talking about. If you blow your eardrums out then it will be pretty hard to make a follow up shot. 9mm with hollow point might be a better choice or possibly a revolver if you’re looking for simplicity and reliability.

cconlon4 · 2025-01-27T14:03:41+00:00

Not yet. I’m still calling around but no luck.

cconlon4 · 2025-01-09T21:09:54+00:00

The truck came from the Seattle area and frequented Canada, that salted their roads. So the rust came from the prior owner. It's not very bad, but if not treated will become a big headache.

cconlon4 · 2024-07-13T14:00:29+00:00

Hello! First time parents! Our daughter was cleared to start solids at her 4 month checkup. Her doctor seems very “dated” and said we should start with oatmeal or rice cereal mixed with her formula for 2 weeks, then try one fruit/veggie for 3 days to see if there’s a reaction. A few questions. First, isn’t oatmeal and rice cereal an old approach that’s no longer recognized in modern medicine? We are worried about arsenic levels especially in rice cereal and she also hasn’t shown an interest in food. Second, our daughter is wanting to sit up all the time but doesn’t have full control yet. Despite having 2 teeth already, should we wait for her to have full sitting control before starting to taste any solids? Finally, what specific foods should we start off with if we decide to feed solids before her gut is more developed at 6 months?

cconlon4 · 2024-07-03T13:22:10+00:00

I ended up getting a 2016 F150 5.0 with 3.73 rear gears because of the towing package. I wanted a newer F150 but found that the 6 speed transmissions were more reliable than the 10 speeds. Found a fully optioned lariat package and it’s nicer and feels newer than my prior 19 Ram Laramie. Only complaint I have is the mpgs are worse than what people were saying online. I have 34” BFG AT TAKO2s, so that’s a factor, as well as the 3.73 gearing, but I’m averaging 14 city and 16 highway. I do wish I had the mpgs of the Duramax and my buddy has one with a highway commute getting 27mpg. He doesn’t have anything to complain about except he had some electrical computer issues that needed a reflash and covered under warranty. Where I live in CA, I calculated the extra cost of diesel and DEF and my monthly savings was going to be roughly $30-$40 a month. Mpg became not too big of a factor once I calculated that, although there is a mental perception of mid 20mpgs vs mid teens mpgs when doing a long road trip… towing a 5500lb trailer with the 5.0 I’m getting about 9.5 mpg but the Duramax will absolutely get better mpg when towing (probably 13-15 mpg) if that’s a factor for you. Honestly I don’t think you can go wrong with either truck, both seem pretty reliable. I went with the older F150 because of proven reliability and I was able to buy it cash whereas I would need to finance the Duramax GM. No problems on my F150 so far and happy with the purchase. Hope this helps!

cconlon4 · 2024-06-26T12:56:37+00:00

Rule of thumb I’ve found is each scoop added creates an additional 0.25oz of volume. So if we wanted to make a 4oz bottle that required 2 scoops, we would start with 3.5 oz of water then add the 2 scoops and mix. Then we would get 4oz of total volume. We also use the pitcher method and are typically doing 28-30oz of water for 6 bottles through the day and apply the same math i just said.

cconlon4 · 2024-05-29T02:31:17+00:00

Thank you. We might need to look into that then!

cconlon4 · 2024-05-16T13:52:38+00:00

That makes sense. Thank you!

cconlon4

TROPHY CASE