Solar charge controllers are rated in 2 ways. Voltage which is the maximum voltage the controller can accept from the solar panels and amperage which is the max charging amperage the controller will supply to the battery. The panel amperage doesn't matter for output amperage.

To determine what size charge controller for a specific array the formula is panel wattage divided by battery voltage. In your example that would be 300/13=23 amps. Most 15 amp controllers would be fine with the added panels (check the manufacturer to make sure their charger can be over paneled) but your output amperage will be limited to 15 amps or roughly 200 watts for a 12v nominal battery.

Since panels rarely achieve full rated power the third panel would help keep the charging amperage at or near that 15 amps in lower light conditions.

It doesn't matter if you run the panels in series or parallel other than series should perform marginally better in low light conditions and parallel will perform much better if there is any shade on any panel(s)

The 400 watt inverter may not be large enough to start the compressor on the fridge. The inrush amperage or "locked rotor amps" required to start a motor is many times that of the running amperage once the compressor is on.

That combined with the issues Ray mentioned of wire size or battery health might be your problem although 12.9 volts charged is a good sign. How long are the cables between the battery and inverter and what gauge are they?

I assume the red trouble light is on the inverter? What else is the inverter powering when you try starting the fridge?

The 19c/f 12v fridge definitely caught my interest! :up:

I carry a spare leaf spring as I have seen people post about them breaking. I have considered replacing them with 4,000 pound springs but they still have a pretty decent "smile" and we are within the axle ratings. One broken spring will probably convince me to replace them with 4,000 pound springs or do an independent suspension conversion.

Looks familiar. I found the motor assembly for ours on Amazon. Not LCI but had good reviews and only $200 bucks. Pretty fast delivery. Now I have a spare as I was able to fix the stock motor like you did. I also have a spare gear now. Our unit has 2 main slides so double the odds of another issue.

Motor

I also gotour replacement gear on Amazon like what you found.

Hopefully the failure of these gears doesn't represent some additional resistance in other parts of the slide that will need to be addressed as well.

Smart move. We had a guy roll his truck years ago. The seatbelt kept him in place but his laptop (in a soft case) hurt him badly hitting him with force. Most of his injuries were from that computer.

15 degrees F and snowing. :smile:

Have had the fireplace and 2 space heaters running since yesterday. Running the furnace as well to keep the water lines from freezing. Nice and toasty in here but bitter cold outside with the 30 mph winds. Monday we are off to Cap Rock Canyon State park. Looks like it's going to be cold there as well.

Great Video.

Most people don't do the math. It looks like you are just squeaking by on the trailers GVWR (pin + axles), but that's your worst case scenario as you point out. Our trailers payload is just under 3500 pounds and it's not hard to go over given the enormous amount of storage, my wife's propensity to pack stuff and my solar and battery upgrades.

Our trailer is 34' and has a gross of 15,000# I would have liked to gone SRW for the truck but the math didn't work. Your example of almost maxing your truck with a much lighter trailer is the kind of homework I don't see displayed often with people towing huge rigs with 3/4 ton trucks.

One question. You mentioned "roadside scales" not certified scales. Can you clarify? Are you going the through the commercial truck scales that rigs are required to use? I thought they frowned on that.

Never seen so many Prickly Pears! Enjoying Rockhound State Park in New Mexico.

We arrived in the afternoon. The following morning is when the check engine light was on. Very first day. I really though having three of those little inflatable solar lights on blink mode would have kept the little buggers away.

Same with us. We love this park.

Here are the wheel chocks that used to have a cord between them. Gone on both sides. A little easier to fix. :smile:

Last trip through we stayed at the windy cove RV park right across the street. Don't recall what we paid. Love the Oregon coast. :smile:

Thanks Ray. I do use our TPMS the same way. I also have a infrared heat gun I use on the hubs at rest stops or when we arrive at camp.

Yea, good practice. It's odd these are the same style bearings and construction I remember from the front wheels on old rear wheel dive cars I owned and rear wheels on front wheel drive cars. I have serviced bearings like this many times albeit 25 years ago.They didn't call to be repacked every year. Seems excessive and after my first inspection today I wonder just what might go bad if they are well greased and adjusted. After 12000 miles (plus the milage getting it from Indiana to CA originally) the first one looks great, like new. I think I will go ahead and repack and inspect them all just to make sure they look like the first and plan every 2 years at which point I will just go ahead and replace everything. At one year I will use the ezlube. For us that will be about 12-15,00 miles every 2 years.

With modern trucks exhaust brakes the trailer breaks just don't get used that much, Same on the truck. Before we traded it in our truck had 55,000 miles and the dealer measure the pads and said we had 70% left. Plus I drive like a little old lady. :halo:

Beautiful!

Our 2017 Ram is the same. Trailer running lights come on with trucks headlights.

The small variations in length of cables will not be an issue for efficiency or damage.

Thanks!

Update. It looks like we will be signing up with Zion Health Share. They don't require any specific religious affiliations and work with any doctor at any facility in any state. Seems great for FT travelers.

Cost is WAY less at $515/month for both of us with essentially a 1000/incident deductible after 3 incidents (god forbid) they cover 100%.

It will be nice saving almost 1300/month. This was a major budget consideration for us..

https://zionhealth.org

We were at Wall Drug yesterday.