Good Reliable solar battery charger

Stuntman Autoworks

Stuntman Autoworks

Instigator of things
Joined
May 6, 2010
Location
Sanford NC 27330
I've been looking at a bunch of different options but thought I would ask for experiences on any certain product before I bought something.

I have my tilt trailer now and I would like a solar charger to stay on it and maintain the battery without overcharging or only lasting a few months.

Thanks in advance for any help.
 
DON’T buy this one

BatteryMINDer SCC-515-15 12 Volt 15-Watt Panel Solar Battery Charger/Controller/Desulfator - Designed for Cars, Trucks, Motorcycles, ATV, Boat, RV, etc. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000JS268M/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_aGAdCb7A8MSSW

After not even 3 months a brand new Napa deep cycle was shit it didn’t tend a damn thing and when I had it tested it was dead in all the cells. I have a master cutoff so the battery should have been isolated to only the tender. Luckily I know the guy at Napa and it was a 1 for 1 to get a new battery after they ordered it in but still was an ass pain. I threw it in the trash cause it was the only thing that could have caused the issue after I traced a 43’ camper worth of wiring and quadruple checked the master power cutoff for the camper.
 
021-1165

I bought this one and plug it up to my camper every time we camp without power hookups. It’s been holding up well. I leave the roof vent fun running constantly and the wife cycles the lights frequently. It hasn’t laid down yet. I will add that the label says water “resistant” so I don’t know about leaving it out 24/7.
 
I have one of the cheap $20 ebay china 5w or 7.5w ones that I keep on my trailer battery. Been on a 3 year old group 24 battery out in the elements for over a year and that winch pulls every time I have needed it. The instructions said don't leave in the rain, but I leave it out all the time and it still keeps the battery up at just under 13v
 
I have a 6 year old H7 car battery ("spare" from my DD) running the electric gate at the bottom of our property.
The gate controller has a 30W (max) charge controller built-in, so I added a 30W monocrystalline panel... while the battery is massive overkill for the gate, it's worked perfectly for 2 years

Gonna be hand rolling some 12V electric fence setups soon and will go that same route using fleabay/Amazon 10W-20W charge controllers fed by appropriate sized panels.
Appears to be a cheaper route than "solar auto chargers" and if a single component dies, it can be replaced...
 
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