This 43' Itasca Ellipse isn't lacking for any luxury and already came outfitted with a hefty Magnum inverter system that powered nearly everything in the coach while off-grid. So it was time for us to come in and fill in the blanks that'll help this beast go on an Alaskan adventure soon.
BUILD DETAILS:
Using only the best of the best, we added a 1,360 watt solar array made up of 8, Zamp Solar 170 watt panels. Thanks to the smooth fiberglass roof from Itasca and AMSolar's stainless mounting system, all 8 panels are secured to the roof without a single screw - so you know there's never going to be a leak.
Down below in the basement a 100 amp Victron Solar controller is harnessing this rooftop array and gives this client easy access to information via the convenience of their phone's Bluetooth.
To finish this project up we needed to add a proper battery monitoring system rather than the vague voltage readings that this coach came with. So a bit of rearranging the factory battery wiring and building a small weatherproof enclosure called the installation of a Victron BMV-712 monitor, which is also Bluetooth enabled, for easy access to data from anywhere within the coach.
This was a blast of a project and definitely no easy feat. Taking the time to put together these clean and cohesive upgrades, on a coach that's already this heavily outfitted, took a solid 3.5 - which is just a smidge less time than doing a complete off-grid system from scratch on a fifth wheel. Can't wait to see this couple put the system to work on their travels to Alaska and beyond!
Upgrading the electrical for this awesome coach