Our Aliner Restoration: Solar Panel and LED Bulbs.

Wednesday, May 4, 2011

Solar Panel and LED Bulbs.

With my 10 year anniversary gift card from work I am going to pick up a small solar panel and some led light bulbs for the camper. Things I would like but just can't see spending the household money on. I looked at clothes and jewelery but I keep coming back to these things, sad, I know, lol.
Here is the solar panel I have decided on at Amazon.com. It is a 30 watt mono-crystalline panel with a power controller (which probably isn't needed but it's only an extra $12). From what I learned in my research mono-crystalline cells are the oldest technology but they are also the smallest and most efficient. Poly-crystalline is a close second and then the thin film technology is called amorphous which I didn't spend too much time on because they are the largest and least effiecient, supposedly the least expensive but the price differences where not really worth noting, at least not on Amazon. I am going through Amazon because of the gift card, but honestly it's hard to beat the prices and no one can touch the free shipping. I asked a lot of questions on the Aliner Yahoo group list and between them and google I am pretty happy with th

is choice and I'll place the order later today.
To help out the drain on the battery when dry camping I am going to put LED bulbs in the two light fixtures in the camper. They both are single bulbs, old style 1141. This style isn't as easy to find the LED bulbs in, so they are more expensive then the common wedge types used in current models. It wouldn't cost more than $10 probably to update ours, but there isn't anything wrong with ours so why bother. I settled on these small bulbs because they had a good review. I was looking at brighter bulbs but honestly I hate bright white light. I made sure the ones I picked where the warmer light (3000-3100K not the 6000-6100K).
I'll post update once the order comes in and we get everything put in. I'm hoping it comes before Memorial Day as we're spending the weekend at our favorite spot, Otter River State Forest which does not have any hook ups....not that we wouldn't make it the weekend on a single charge, but it would be nice to try it out!

5 comments:

Richard C. LambertFebruary 8, 2016 at 3:09 AM
I'm hoping it comes before Memorial Day as we're spending the weekend at our favorite spot, Otter River State Forest which does not have any hook ups....not that we wouldn't make it the weekend on a single charge, but it would be nice to try it out! solar PV installation Bristol
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UnknownApril 7, 2019 at 11:37 PM
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UnknownDecember 21, 2019 at 4:38 AM
Thanks for sharing very useful information about solar panel and LED bulbsI just would like to give a huge thumb up for the great info you have here on this post.
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Future Plans

(Written shortly after bringing home the Aliner in June of 2009) I'm hoping at the end of the day to put together these blog entries and photos and publish some comprehensive notes and instructions that will help the next poor bastard out. There is a ton of knowledge out there, it's just really hard to find it in one place. We will most likely publish in google docs and link pdf or doc files here.

Our primary goal at this point is the floor. In our imaginations we can see the potential for this little unit and there is a lot of inspiration on the web. It's really hard (for me, I think Mike has his head on a bit tighter) to not want to look into the cool mods and daydream about crazy efficient cabinets and gadgets.

(May of 2011)

As of today we are working on getting into our second season of camping in the Aliner. Last year we only brought it local to Otter River State Forest in Templeton with plates off of our utility trailer and the old tires. This season after new tires we brought her to Myrtle Beach in April and have since removed the old decals and applied new ones. We love this camper, so don't ask to buy it unless you're looking to forkover 6-7k. It's pretty much a new camper now, even better it's made well....no stapled together cabinets or chintzy counter tops. It may not be the biggest thing but it is just right for the two of us!

Aliner Parts and Pieces

Aliner Owners Club on Floor Replacement

Here you can find the AOC write up on floor replacement with some helpful links, such as to the wood petrifier if you just need to fix a soft spot and links to pictures that show a floor replacement done by lifting the body of the camper and using the old floor as a template. We chose not to lift the camper and to replace piece by piece for a few reasons. The first was because the floor was so far gone it was pretty much dirt. There was no using the old floor as a template and no need to try to get it out in one piece. Second, we did not have the garage or other space to work on the camper and did all our work in our then gravel driveway. And lastly time, we didn't want to leave the camper up and apart for the length of time we thought this would all take. The main reason though was because our floor was so far gone. I think either method is fine but do realize when doing it a piece at a time you need to place the new floor in as you go or you will lose structural support. The walls are wrapped around the edges of the floor and stapled all the way around. When you remove the old flooring it will fall if you take it all off. Also doing it a piece at a time you will need to do the parameter first then the center of the floor rather than what would probably be three full sheets. We half lapped, used liquid nails and recessed bolts. We also did spray a rubberized undercoat and we added reinforcement to the rear of the frame.