DIY Skoolie Solar System Hook Up and Explanation Part 1 * Skoolie Conversion * Gus The Struggle Bus
Vložit
- čas přidán 24. 07. 2020
- In this video, we show you how we hooked up our solar system. From the lithium batteries to the Charge controller. We go step by step on how we did what we did.
We are not professionals by any means of the word but if you have any questions at all feel free to reach out to us!
We would like to highly encourage you to subscribe to our channel if you liked what you saw in this video. By subscribing you are helping us get a little bit closer to our dreams. We want and hope that this journey becomes bigger than us and encourages others to live the life they want. Whatever it is, go out and get it. It will by no means be easy, but if you are willing to kick butt and work hard your dreams are achievable!!
Blog - mapgpsblog.com
Instagram - @map.gps / map.gps
Instagram for Gus - @Gus.gps / gus.gps
MAP.GPS (Meredith and Paco.Going Places Suckaa)
We have now added new ways for you to support us!
- Here is our Etsy shop -
www.etsy.com/shop/Meredithand...
- Here is our Patreon -
/ meredithandpaco
Check out our friend's Going tiny book and use our affiliate link to purchase!
payhip.com/b/1VcC/af5fb8183e3...
Song
Longing - Joakim Karud
• Video
If you would like to see what equipment we shoot with, feel free to follow the links. We have also added links to some of the tools that we used for this video. We do get a percentage of whatever you buy within 24 hours no matter what it is. This is the best way to support us!
We have added all of the solar components to the "Skoolie Solar" section of our Amazon store.
OUR AMAZON STORE!
www.amazon.com/shop/mereditha...
Battle Born Batteries
amzn.to/30lu5PP
High Gauge wire (Not 4/0 wire)
amzn.to/3h6SXRW
Wire Heat Shrink Wrap
amzn.to/3fGDBU6
Battery Terminals
amzn.to/3ho4U6f
300 Amp Terminal Fuse
amzn.to/30hhZHq
Negative Bus Bar
amzn.to/30mVAs7
Battery Monitor
amzn.to/39frdYU
1 ½ in Kreg Screws
amzn.to/2Dr5rFv
Speed Square
amzn.to/2Yk6sYe
Security Camera
amzn.to/2YK94xB
Back-Up Camera
amzn.to/2zyfC9W
DVR
amzn.to/2AlMmDL
Extensions for Security Camera (length may vary by need)
amzn.to/2XZVUxg
Extensions for Back-Up Camera (length may vary by need)
amzn.to/2YvpCcn
12 Volt Power Adapter Connector
amzn.to/30CQpWT
RCA Female to BNC Male Adapter
amzn.to/2N6MrxX
4 to 1 DC to AC Adapter
amzn.to/2UzMnL9
Monitor
amzn.to/3hnqE2B
VGA Cable (length may vary by need)
amzn.to/3fiwCQE
Voltage Stabilizer
amzn.to/2C3uQ7G
Bondo Body Filler
amzn.to/2N5CzpW
KILMAT 80 Mil 36 sqft
amzn.to/30hT30p
KILMAT 50 Mil 50 sqft
amzn.to/2QI06wA
KILMAT 50 Mil 25 sqft
amzn.to/2MRS4QQ
MaxxFan 5100K
amzn.to/2NO9Q8O
Henry's TropiCool
amzn.to/2N7Y8WR
Butyl tape
amzn.to/34B4Eev
Little Tiny Flat Nose Toy School Bus
amzn.to/2A0FNT8
Doing a Skoolie conversion is not an easy feat. We are literally doing a tiny house build and doing a school bus conversion to RV. If you have any tips or words of encouragement please write them down below. We want to live the bus life and take you guys with us as we become a skoolie vlogger.
If you liked the video at all please give this video a BIG thumbs up. If you liked it or even if you didn't, please let us know in the comment section. and If you liked this video and would like to see more videos from us please hit the subscribe button. We want to get better so constructive criticism is encouraged!
-Tell us what you thought we did wrong
-What you would do differently
-Give us tips on editing
-Give us tips on audio
-Give us any tips you have (WE NEED IT!!)
"I'm just gonna throw out some words and hope it's the right ones." I want that on a t-shirt.
lol story of our life!! we should definitely put it on a shirt.
MEREDITH and PACO I would definitely buy one.. I love you guys!
Dude is the most unprofessional professional I have ever seen ! Does good work I have been watching all the episodes non stop . Looks like nothing was done half ass 👍
HAHA Thank you so much!! We do so much research and like to show people that even though we are not professionals we can figure it out! If we can do it, you can too!!
Using the screw in the vise, to crimp your connections was smart.
Shows ingenuity.
I do pretty much everything by the seat of my pants.
You find a way to make things work.
If you're smart, they actually work.
Anyone can do things by the book.
When things break, on the road, you need to make things work, without the book.
Not everyone can do that.
This is very true!! And we are very used to flying by the seat of our pants haha
This video will be the only reason my brain doesn’t explode when I begin this process. You guys are lifesavers, thank you so much!
Hhahah no brain exploding today!! So glad we could help, it is not perfect but we try our best! Do your research and watch lots of videos!
Just saved me an headache it's been awhile since I've done electrical work.
So glad we could be helpful!
I needed that cheap solar disconnect breaker idea. Thanks
Of course!
Need disconnect from positive battery to first junction block to isolate the charge controller also. nice job, keep posting.
That makes sense, thank you!
I cant To congratulate u 2 cause it got guts for doing what u do. . Hi from Luc from Québec Canada
Thank you so much!!!
Hands down I find this video you made is by far the best out of all the electrical/solar bus build out there. I am using your video as a guide. Thanks for sharing.
Wow, thank you so much!
Great video on setting up a solar system in a skoolie. Best video on the subject I have seen. Thank-you.
thank you so much. Glad it was helpful!
Great job keep up the good work. God Bless You!!!
Thank you!
You r doing great learning as you go. Can’t wait to see it finish.
thank you so much!!
Great work
Thank you!
Great job! I'm impressed!
Thank you so much!!!
Great work! I’m definitely saving this!
Thank you so much! We are so glad it was helpful!
Meredith! I’m right there with you with the brain explosion when it comes to all this!! I just cannot wrap my head around it. Awesome, awesome job guys!!
It is crazy right! Idk how people come up with this let alone understand it!
Another great video, keep it up guys!! Super happy watching your progress. Fellow skoolie in progress here and you guys help me so much along my own build!
you have no idea how much we love hearing comments like this. glad that you found it helpful!!
Jajaj- You guys have my vote. A++ for this video. 🙂
Thank you!
I love you guys...! I am basically building most of my bus by watching your videos..! WHOOO HOOO...! Keep it rolling
Bryan and the "Lady Liberty"
Thank you so much, Brian!! So glad we could help!
I got how it works but my head did almost explode! Lol
Hhaha that is exactly how it feels
Awesome job guys. Definitely gonna follow your lead when I get to this stage on my build. You’re definitely an inspiration 👍🏾
thank you so much!!
Awesome job Paco! And no stroke!
Thank you! Still recovering haha
Paco, your doing great. Just breathe. Everything looks solid to me. I don't know solar so good but years of electrical work makes me comfortable doing it. Don't have my bus yet but I watch every week. I'll be ready. Keep up the positivity succkkkasasss
that is a relief lol. if i get the thumbs up from you that makes me a whole lot more comfortable. thank you so much for all of your support!!
Haven't got to that stage yet, but will definitely try to follow your steps. I know nothing about electrical work. You sure got a great a great memory. Congrats bro!
thank you so much!! it was really daunting but little by little we figured it out.
Awesome job!!
Thanks!
Lots of hard work, but it will all be worth it. How proud you must feel about your future home!!! 😁
Thank you so much! It is slowly feeling like home!
I have watched all your conversion videos many times. I have referred lots of people to watch your videos. This is the first one I could not follow. And it's the most important one for me right now. I liked your pex plumbing instructions. That's the next step for me. Maybe by the time I get to my solar I will have watched this episode enough times for it to make sense.
Thank you so much for your support and we are so glad our videos have been helpful! I am sorry this one was hard to follow, we were the same before we did solar. Once you start to look into it and do a little research it starts to slowly make sense. We are not perfect and do not know everything but if you have any questions we will do our best!
Awww, bless his heart, He was so happy. Momms very proud of you both. Soon you guys can hook up your AC then you won't be hot anymore. There's baby Joy, I was wondering where he was. I wish I could afford to buy something for my bus but I can't even afford to buy a charger to get my bus started.
thank you so much!! and after the AC we'll put in a fridge lol. right now like you said its all about the money but all in good time.
Thanks for sharing.
stacy szarka thank you Stacy! And thank you so much for watching!!! 😊😊
very nice video
Thank you!
Most people say that they don't like doing the electrical but I love challenges and hopefully I'll pull through once I get my bus
you are definitely one of a kind!! lol
Omg I love the disclosure
Lol thank you ☺️
Good job you guys!!!!
Thank you so much!!
G'day you have done a great job Paco, it's good how you did your homework on the wiring I know that it's not easy especially doing it in that heat not fun. It makes for great videos but hell to work in it, good job neat, I really like watching the two of you turning the bus into a home.. Look after yourselves and stay healthy kind regards John PS well done on the ground wire and congratulations Paco it all works well done
thank you so much for your amazing support John!!
Hey guys, new subscriber here. Out of the hundreds of videos from a wide range of bus builds. Yous are by far the easiest to follow. I'm not saying the others are bad. Shoot anyone that takes the time to make videos are only contributing to the CZcams world. I just find your videos easier for me to follow. Keep up the awesome job. Looking forward to the next video.🙂🙂
Wow! Thank you so much, we are so happy to have you! And we are so glad they make sense and are helpful!!
Estas aciendo in trabajo tremendo awesome job guys 👍👍👍👏
muchas gracias!! no siempre es facil pero estamos aprendiendo.
I was watching your video and I must say you did a good job only real comment I have is the technics of using a nail and to clamp it like that is more effective if you turn the nail vertical in the spot that the terminal break around the wire it allows for a better seal as that break gives it more pressure if it folds completely in
That makes a lot of sense, thank you so much for your input!
Buen trabajo 👍
muchisimas gracias!!
@ Paco, I'm an engineer and I can't tell you how many times I've paused before flipping that breaker! Welcome to the club :) My wife and I are deep in our bus build, Hopefully we'll see you on the road next summer. We should be installing our solar in a few weeks. We ordered several items through your Amazon link... hope it helps.
Hahah you always have to just take a second to hope for the best! Thank you so much for your support! YOu guys rock, hope we see you guys out there!!
Your doing a great job Paco, keep it up. I have to admit I cringe a little (no, a lot) when see how you crimp your wires. I will buy you the tool or lend you mine, pleeeeaaaase. Yea it’s hot here in Texas, thank God we have a storm blowing in.
you are awesome. yes, we do plan on redoing all the connections. we actually just ordered it and it will be one of our many projects :). thank you so much for the advice.
@@GustheStruggleBus It make me feel better knowing this, A fire on the bus goes round and round, lol, I would've let you barrow mine for free .
I’m considering wiring my own skoolie’s electrical system. I’m still researching and your videos are super helpful. Not sure if I’m going to commit to the diy yet myself
You can do it! There are so many good resources out there I believe in you :)
But if you don't feel comfortable and seek the help of a professional I completely understand !
You know it just came to me all the time ive watched these videos that wiring a bus that yall dont have to have a union electrician to do the work that suggest that its not regulated
We are doing the best with what we have
I have a rear engine 2007 Thomas Skoolie and we are putting our solar panels up tomorrow! Any suggestions for mounting them on top would be very helpful! This is so beautiful, I have been watching your videos for months now and yall are guiding Justin and I through this process. WE ARE SO GRATEFUL FOR YOUR VIDEOS, saying we are amateur's is a nice way of putting it.
Hey guys!! That is so awesome and congratulations on solar panels! That is such an exciting stage! We have a few videos on how we mounted are but there are so many ways to mount solar panels. Let us know if they help!
czcams.com/video/sqSatMGvE6U/video.html
czcams.com/video/bpaGIc3Tx5I/video.html
👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽Thaank you so much✨🎓✨
You are so welcome!
Good luck
SaSa aa thank you!!
Love your videos, it's so funny in old people always talk about the generation gaps and all his stuff for at least they did back when I was a kid I'm 60 years old just turned this last month but I knew exactly what you were talking about when you put your pinky finger to your corner of your mouth Austin Powers funny when you think about it
... always give you guys a thumbs up and Paco's doing a very good job I understand what he's going through cuz my son did our solar system and he learned it off of CZcams did a good job but it took a little while but I understand
lol austin power is a classic. it transcends generations lol. thank you so much and yes, CZcams was very helpful.
Place battery disconnect switch between battery and bus bar. Get two if you want to have isolation after the charge controller.
have never seen it be done that way before. we will have to look into this.
👍👍👍👍👍
Thank you!
Thanks so much for this. We are almost to the point where it’s time for me to dig in and build the power system. This video was so relatable. Paco did a phenomenal job describing what he was doing and why he was doing it, so laypeople like me can truly understand.
It looks like a lot of planning, work, attention to detail, and a great deal of patience is needed for this.
Question: how did you determine where on the bus to put the power system? What should we consider? We were thinking about the garage area in the back of the bus, but I’ve seen a lot of systems built out from the center. I’d love your thoughts!
Thanks again!
Hey Chad!! Thank you so much, we are so glad we can help in any way! We did a lot of research and asked so many people and we suggest you do the same to make sure you are getting all the info you can! We chose to put ours in the middle so it will be a more central location and the wires wont need to be as long but it is where ever you decide really. What ever works best for your system!
@@GustheStruggleBus thanks much! We’re watching your PAINTING a school bus episode as we speak. 🚌
I try to solder as much as possible. Crimps tend to come loose over time with vibration and heating and cooling.
Good to know thank you!
I would put a grommet between the subfloor going outside so that its not rubbing
We were thinking the same thing!!
Paco you did great teaching as you go, really overwhelming and Leary, turning on things, worked out tho, almost blinded me was so bright, keep on demonstrating. We have a long way to go just have seats &floor removed. Money& time really hard to achieve, we are still pursuing our dream tho, because it is our home & the rest of our life to build & to invest in. Thanks for your inspiration. We'll look into Amazon, have never acquired anything on line.
thank you so much!! we really appreciate your words. I couldn't agree more with time and money are really hard to achieve. sometimes those are the things that are the most frustrating because they are so out of our control. stay awesome guys!!
What an informative and helpful video. We are mid-conversion on our shuttle bus, and have much of our electrical finished... just need to add solar. Where did you source your rooftop combiner box, fuses and the solar cables? Thanks
Hey!! We are so glad that the video was helpful!! That is so exciting you are that far in your build. We got a lot of our stuff on amazon or at home depot! We have some links in the description, hope that helps!
Hey paco it looks like you have put together a beast system curious what is you watt output capability? Thanks
Keep up the great work
Hey! Thank you so much! I am not sure, let me see if I can find out
Great job you two!!! That's quite a sweet system you have set up, @MEREDITH and PACO!! *QUESTION:* Are y'all going to have a "shore power" connection if you ever stay at a camp ground OR have a generator on long, cloudy periods?
Thanks so much for going into so much depth with what connects to what (because this topic is daunting AF! LOL!)
Lot's of love, y'all!
- Brian + Erin
My favorite busses! The four of you have been instrumental in our build. Thanks for all the great content!
We just bought our generators
(Sportsman 4,400/3,600-Watt Dual Fuel LPG/Gas Powered Recoil Start Portable Digital Inverter Generator Kit with Parallel Cable Kit) and will run our mini split AC/heat when we need it. It will also be able to quickly charge our batteries if we need to.
These go on sale for $800 at Home Depot Special Buy of the Day every month or so.
*This is Dan, with @flyingwithfalcore btw :]
lol thank you! we will indeed have shore power. we are still looking into how to hook this up. all of that will be connected to the inverter which we just got this week. thank you so much guys for your support and word of encouragement!!
thank you so much Dan! we will have to look into this.
Love the built!! I have the same system I'm only missing the panels. Can I ask you what size, brand panels you used?
I was looking in your Amazon list but you don't have them listed
Oh no I'm so sorry we will have to add those! We got 300-watt panels from renergy but we ordered them from Home Depot!
Thats what she said haha🤣
hahah you know it 😂
Rubber grommet where the wire goes through the metel
we do also plan to put something like this for protection. thanks for the advice.
What are those wire that you connected to the fuse block? Was it just the wire for your lights ?
Those are all the 12v thing we ran, mostly lights. Some are to the fans as well
I hooked up my batteries like you did I noticed the batterie close to the red/positive fried and the batteries didn't draw evenly it killed all my batteries so after 4 years of running this way and I maintained my batteries weekly I will change my batteries connection and think all should I'm in the process of getting 6 new batteries connecting all batteries to a red and black shunt and not to battery to battery drawing from 1st and last no more
wow, really?? thank you so much for the advice!! we will have to keep an eye on them to make sure this doesn't happen thank you so much.
@Paco @4:14 it appears that the breaker cracked when you were attaching the cable ?
Thank you so much!! We did look at it after you pointed it out. It looks like it's the joint where the piece comes together. It looks like it split a little due to over tightening. Thank you so much bringing it to our attention.
Hi guys I am from the uk and live on a narrowboat which is kind of a floating Skoolie . I see you went for the Midnite Classic charge controller . They are popular in US but not so much here due to availability. Anyways I have one and love it but am curious why you went for the victron bmv battery monitor instead of buying the midnite whizzbang junior and using that as it’s cheaper and works great as designed for the classic ?
to be quiet honest we didn't see it in our research. but looking back we would have looked more into it and seen if this was a viable option.
PV pos and Neg... I googled that. I think it means the wires from the solar panels aka photo voltaic cells. Is that correct?
That sounds right
No sparks! Well done! Are you planning generator and or battery isolator for charging from the alternator when driving? What inverter will you use?
we do plan on all of this but all with in time. right now money is the real restraint lol. we actually just got our Victron inverter this week.
@@GustheStruggleBus I understand pay as you go! It sure zaps the checkbook building a bus.
@@allmomomosthomebus3895 it sure does.
Ok I know you caught your mistake with the cable terminal ends (aka lugs), but I also hope you are going to redo your bare wire ends with ferrules...
i haven't heard about this in my research. could you give us more information.
@@GustheStruggleBus just like the lug ends, ferrules clamp the wire strands so that when the screw down on the ferrule the wire bundle is solid... it wouldn't be as much of a power hit as the lugs being weakly clamped between the batteries, but it could result in heating at the clamp screws... I have seen high load situations (electric dryers are notorious for this) where vibration loosens the connection and overheats the terminal block (or Insulation) ...
Now if the right size ferrules are not readily available you can use lugs and cut off the excess (the part beyond where the wire strands would end)... edit... don't forget to crimp using your tool...
If you have power where the project is happening at, go to WallMart and get a cheap window unit. Drop that sucker in a window, close the bus up and let little window unit cool the bus while you work.
Now that is a great idea!! We might just have to do that haha
Ground to frame not body rib.
could you elaborate?
@@GustheStruggleBus - Hi guys, typically you want to attach to the bus frame, this insures a good ground. If a gap occurs between the ribs / body carriage your ground connection could be broken. The probability is low for a bus, because of the weight, but it's a good practice to connect to the frame. Hope this helps.
I'm kinda of crying you ran all the panels and the batteries in parallel 😭
to each their own!
Guys what product did you use on your roof? We would love our roof to look similar ❤️
Those are 1/4 in cedar planks stained with minwax special walnut ☺️
This is a nice system, but kinda surprised with one thing... you spent $6000 in batteries and you couldn't spring for a $60 for crimpers.
hahah good point!
Bus is FOR SALE czcams.com/video/s_djch6pLcs/video.html
I am just going to toss this out there for future reference.... in the opening scene you are beating on the wires with a hammer to crimp the wires.... on top of a vice, a tool which literally crushes things together... not being a cynic.. just trying to help out
Lol you are completely correct and believe me, we used that first but to no prevail.