RV Solar, Battery & Off-Grid Power for Alberta Adventurers
This August we built a complete off-grid system into a 2021 Glacier Peak fifth wheel. 880 W on the roof, a 4,096 Wh lithium bank, a 3000 VA inverter, and 50 A shore power that passes through and charges at the same time.
Most of our RV clients also power a home, an acreage, or an EV. The same freedom scales up.
Your rig, at a glance
Six things make a rig actually off grid. Tap any one of them.
Tap a part of the rig. I will tell you what that piece does and why it is there, then take you to the part of this page that goes deep on it.
Part 1 of 6The roof is the easy part
Rooftop solar panels
Panels on the roof are what people picture when they think about an off grid rig. They are also the part that matters least on a cloudy week. What is under the floor is what decides whether you can stay out.
The LiFePO4 bank is the whole system. Everything else feeds it or draws from it. How many days you can sit somewhere with no hookups is a battery question, and it is a question with a real number attached.
The inverter turns the bank into the outlets you actually use. Pure sine, because a modified sine wave inverter will run a kettle and slowly cook anything with a motor or a circuit board in it.
If you work from the rig, the internet is not an accessory. That gets wired as a real circuit off the system, sized and fused, instead of a cigarette plug adapter running through a window.
The electric fireplace is the load nobody accounts for and the one that empties a bank overnight. This is worth understanding before you buy a system, because it changes what you need to buy.
You get eighteen pages of paper when I am done. Equipment list, serial numbers, conductor sizes, how to operate it, and what to do when something faults. It is your system, so it is your documentation.
A 2021 Glacier Peak fifth wheel, completely off the grid
This August we finished a full off-grid power system in a 2021 Outdoors RV Glacier Peak F-28RKS. Design, supply, install, commission.
Every part number, published
What it costs to build one
Measured runtime hours
Every part number, all three price bands, and the real runtime hours are on this page. I have not found another Alberta shop that publishes any of it. Read it before you call anyone, including me.
880 Won the roof, two modules in series
4,096 Whlithium nameplate, 320 Ah at 12.8 V
3000 VAinverter charger, pure sine
50 Ashore power, passes through and charges
Photo slotimages/rv/rr226-18-hero.jpg
The finished power bay. PV disconnect, MPPT, Lynx Distributor, MultiPlus-II.
The owners wanted to camp without a generator running. Coffee in the morning, Starlink up, lights, water pump, TV in the evening, and the ability to sit out a few grey days without going anywhere. That is what got built. Not a kit. A designed system with a drawing set behind it.
It All ConnectsThe same power at your home, acreage, or cabin
Straight out of the owner guide we hand over. Four stages, and you do not switch anything between them.
Step 1 · Capture
Rooftop Solar Panels
Rigid or flexible panels with MPPT charge controllers, sized to your roof and daily load. Free power every sunny day.
Step 2 · Store
LiFePO4 Battery Bank
Lithium banks that hold roughly 3x the usable power of AGM at half the weight, and hang on to it overnight and on cloudy days.
Step 3 · Convert
Pure Sine Inverter
Clean AC power for your TV, coffee maker, microwave, CPAP, and tools, with DC circuits ready for your Starlink dish.
Step 4 · Live
Starlink-Ready Power
We wire, power, and mount your Starlink so it runs off-grid. Internet, streaming, and work-from-the-lake, no hookup required.
Recharges three ways: from the sun, while you drive off the alternator, or while you are plugged into shore power. Glamping, boondocking, or full-time, you stay powered.
Real reviews from real Alberta names. Read them yourself.
Every quote below is verbatim from our Google Business Profile. Not paraphrased, not filtered. 70+ Google reviews, 5.0 average.
★★★★★
We were having some ongoing issues with the solar system that another company originally installed a while back. I called Raydn Renewables to come out and do some maintenance to see if they could sort it out. Dmitry showed up on time, tracked down the problem quickly, and got everything working exactly the way it should be. He took the time to answer all of our questions and explained the fix without any of the usual contractor runaround. It’s hard to find tradesmen who show up, do clean work, and actually know their stuff inside and out. Honest guys, great service, and zero BS.
Arttus
Google review
★★★★★ Devin Guedo
★★★★★
Awesome experience with Dima. I come from an automotive background and Dima was fantastic at explaining everything to me. I got a free lesson in house electrical and got everything fixed. He went over all the options for adding solar down the road and all the different options I had. His app and calculators are fantastic and easy to use. Highly recommend anyone who's thinking of going solar to contact him. Super easy, super friendly and the way he's able to teach you at the same time.
Devin Guedo
Google review
★★★★★ Keirnen
★★★★★
If you’re considering solar, look no further than Raydn Renewables. Dima and his crew were professional, knowledgeable, and trustworthy from start to finish. From the moment he walked through the door, the service was handled with care and by the time the job was done, he hadn’t just met my expectations, he’d blown past them. The whole team clearly takes pride in their work and genuinely cares about their customers. I felt confident every step of the way. If you’re looking for a solar company you can actually trust, Raydn Renewables is it. Highly recommend!
Keirnen
Google review
★★★★★ Karen Charlton
★★★★★
Friendly, helpful and great group of guys to work with. Communicated well and worked into our time slot. They almost seemed like family. Did a great job and gave lots of information. They went over and above to make our journey into solar a great experience. Would highly recommend their business to everyone.
The honest answerRead what the kit leaves outFour questions we get every week
Gary asks: “Can’t I just buy a kit off Amazon and DIY it?”
You can, and plenty of people do. The problem is what the kit instructions leave out. We get called to fix DIY jobs all the time: roof screws that leak by spring, missing fuses that make a lithium bank a fire risk, connections that void your warranty. A licensed electrician sizes the wire and fusing to code, seals every penetration, and leaves you a system that’s safe and actually warrantied.
Honest version: if you love the project and know your amps, DIY the fun parts. Let a licensed electrician handle the roof penetrations, the battery fusing, and the shore-power tie-in.
Mike asks: “Do I really need an electrician for RV solar?”
For a single 100W trickle panel? No. For a real off-grid system that runs a fridge, inverter, and Starlink? It matters more than people think. Lithium banks store a lot of energy, and a wrong fuse, undersized cable, or sloppy ground can start a fire in a space you sleep in. An electrician gets the DC design, the AC tie-in, and the grounding right the first time, and if your insurer or campground ever asks, the work stands up.
Honest version: the panels are the easy part. The wiring, fusing, and inverter tie-in are where a licensed electrician earns their keep.
“What’s the difference between you and an RV repair shop?”
Most RV shops are great at slides, plumbing, and appliances, and they’ll bolt on a kit. We’re a licensed Master Electrician who does solar, batteries, inverters, and shore power as our actual trade, the same standard we hold on a house panel. Code-compliant, permitted where required, and built so your whole electrical system talks to itself instead of fighting.
Honest version: we’re not cheaper than a big-box kit. We’re the crew you call when you want it done once, done right, and done safe.
How long you can actually camp without plugging in
Every RV solar ad tells you the panel wattage. Nobody tells you the hours. These are the real numbers off this build, measured from a full battery with no sun coming in. Sun on the roof stretches every single one of them.
dayshoursa single eveningBars stop at 24 hours. The real number is on every row.
What you are running
Runtime
Inverter on, nothing plugged inDraws 15 to 25 W
6 to 9 days
Lights, phones, water pump now and thenDraws 50 to 80 W
2 to 3 days
TV, laptop, router, a normal eveningDraws 100 to 150 W
About 1 day
Heavier use, on and offDraws 200 to 300 W
10 to 16 hours
Fireplace on LOWDraws 750 to 850 W
About 4 hours
Fireplace on HIGHDraws 1,500 to 1,700 W
About 2 hours
Nameplate on the bank is 4,096 Wh. Plan your trip on about 3,300 to 3,600 Wh usable. That gap is not a spec sheet trick, it is what you actually get to take out of a lithium bank before you are treating it badly.
The battery percentage card we hand the owner
Battery reads
What to do
100 to 60%
Camp normally. Use anything. Kettle, TV, fireplace on shore power.
60 to 40%
Still normal. Start thinking about sun tomorrow or a shore plug in.
40 to 30%
Conserve. No fireplace, no electric heat. Lights and phones.
30 to 20%
Essential loads only. Recharge soon.
Below 20%
Recharge now. No heating load at all.
Green means camp normally. Amber means start conserving. Red means recharge before you put any heat on the bank. This card goes in the owner guide so nobody has to remember it.
Photo slotimages/rv/rr226-18-runtime-chart.png
Runtime at a glance. Same numbers as the table above.
Read this one twice
The fireplace is the thing that kills your battery
Almost nobody tells you this before they take your deposit.
Two hours on high. That is the whole bank.
Best Alberta afternoon, solar coming in
880 W
Fireplace on high, going out
1,700 W
Both bars on the same 1,700 watt scale. The fireplace on high pulls 1,500 to 1,700 W. The whole roof makes 880 W on the best afternoon of the year, so you are 620 to 820 W short with the sun straight overhead. The panels never catch up.
On battery
Propane furnace. It costs you a small 12 volt draw for the fan and it will run all night on a fraction of what the fireplace burns in an hour.
Not on battery
Electric fireplace, electric heaters, kettle on repeat. Save those for when you are plugged in. Then use whatever you want.
Roof air conditioner, same rule
On this build the roof air conditioner is a shore power load. Short bursts off the inverter are possible. A hot afternoon on battery is not, and anyone telling you otherwise is selling you a battery you will be angry at.
Every part number
What actually went in, nothing hidden
This is the full bill of what is bolted into that trailer. Model numbers, conductor sizes, fuse ratings. If you are getting quotes from anyone else, print this and ask them to fill in the same table. Most of them will not.
Position
What we installed
Solar
2 x JA Solar JAM54D41-440/LB, 440 W each, 880 W total, wired in series
String maths
Voc 39.5 V per module, 79.0 V string at 25 C, about 92.4 V on a cold morning, against a 150 V controller ceiling
PV disconnect
MidNite MNEPV, 25 A, two pole so both legs break, lockable in the off position
Charge controller
Victron SmartSolar MPPT 150/70. 150 V maximum, 70 A output, Bluetooth
Battery
Sundale LFP 12.8 V, 320 Ah, 4,096 Wh nameplate, 200 A BMS, Bluetooth and an LCD on the case
Battery protection
300 A MRBF bolted straight to the positive post, a 600 A disconnect, and a 400 A Class T in the main battery run
Monitoring
Victron SmartShunt 500 A on the battery negative
DC hub
Victron Lynx Distributor. Way 1 is a 400 A MEGA to the inverter, way 2 is an 80 A MEGA to the MPPT, way 3 is a 60 A MEGA to the existing 12 volt panel
Inverter charger
Victron MultiPlus-II 12/3000/120-50 with its internal automatic transfer switch
DC cable
4/0 battery to inverter, #2 MPPT to Lynx, #10 PV home run
AC cable
#6 shore in and panel out, #10 green bonding conductor
Bonding
One chassis bond. Only one. It lands at the Lynx negative bus
Shore power
50 A inlet. It passes through to the rig and charges the bank at the same time
AC OUT 2
Empty, capped, unused. Nothing landed on it
Extras
Starlink Mini roof mount printed in our own shop, sealed penetration and a 12 volt feed. Freshwater tank repair while we were in there
Not installed
AC soft start. It was priced as an option and the owners did not take it, so it is not in this rig
See the install photos, seven of them
Photo slotimages/rv/rr226-18-battery-bay.jpg
The Sundale 320 Ah bank, fused at the post
Photo slotimages/rv/rr226-18-lynx-closeup.jpg
Three fused ways
Photo slotimages/rv/rr226-18-multiplus.jpg
MultiPlus-II, front bay
Photo slotimages/rv/rr226-18-roof.jpg
On the roof. Module down, cable run heading for the gland
Photo slotimages/rv/rr226-18-pv-disconnect.jpg
MidNite PV disconnect, breaks both legs
Photo slotimages/rv/rr226-18-labels.jpg
Every run clamped and supported. Nothing left hanging
Photo slotimages/rv/rr226-18-starlink-mount.jpg
The Starlink flat mount on the roof
The authority section
Eleven rules that separate a real install from a YouTube install
None of this is secret. It is just the difference between somebody who does this for a living under a licence and somebody who watched a build video. Tap any rule to see why it matters.
1. The fireplace is the load that kills the battery
Two hours on high off a 4,096 Wh bank. Propane furnace on battery, fireplace on shore power. This one saves more grief than everything else on this list.
2. Size the string for a cold morning, not for today
79.0 V at 25 C becomes about 92.4 V when it is properly cold out. Against a 150 V controller that is fine. Against a 100 V controller that is a dead controller in February, and it will not be under warranty.
3. Commission the battery side of the MPPT first, PV second
Let the controller read actual system voltage before the array is connected. Do it backwards and it guesses at what it is charging.
4. One chassis bond. Only one.
Ours is at the Lynx negative bus. A second bond anywhere in the trailer gives return current a parallel path it should never have, and you will chase that fault for a very long time.
5. Shunt direction matters
Battery negative on the battery side, everything else on the system side. Backwards gives you a monitor that lies to you, which is worse than no monitor because you trust it.
6. Nothing shares the battery positive post except the main fuse
Every negative in the trailer comes back through the shunt. No exceptions, no convenient taps.
7. Break both legs of the PV, and make it lockable
A 25 A two pole disconnect that locks in the off position. So the next person who opens that bay can prove it is dead.
8. Fuse ratings sit on the wire, not on the device
The fuse protects the conductor. Never fit a bigger one to stop a nuisance trip. If it is tripping, something is wrong and the fuse is the only thing telling you.
9. Do not re-identify #6 black with tape and call it a neutral
It is not allowed and the next tech will believe the tape.
10. No impact driver on solar frames
Hand torque, anti-seize, correct hardware. An impact gun cracks frames and strips anodizing, and neither shows up until the warranty claim.
11. Hydraulic crimp, tug test, adhesive lined heat shrink, torque to spec, witness mark
A silver witness mark across every lug and fastener is how you see a joint that has moved without taking anything apart. It takes an extra minute per connection and it is the single cheapest reliability upgrade in the trade.
What you get at the end
Eighteen pages of paper, printed and signed
When we call a job done, you get a package. Three documents, eighteen pages, for this build. I have never seen another RV installer hand one over.
The single line diagram. Your system on one sheet, with every fuse rating and conductor size on it.
Device landing cards. What lands on which terminal, at every device, so nobody has to reverse engineer the bay.
Torque and witness mark record. Every lug, the spec it was torqued to, and where the mark is.
Commissioning checklist. The tests we ran and what they read, including both directions of the shore transfer.
Owner quick guide. Plain words. What the numbers on your phone mean, what to do at each battery percentage, and what to do if something goes quiet.
Sign off sheet. Signed by me, Master Electrician #13824.
Keep it in the trailer. When you sell the rig it is worth real money to the buyer, because it is the only proof that the power system was engineered instead of assembled.
The RR Standard
The Raydn Renewables Standard. 12 points, published.
Every system we build gets held to the same twelve build points. It is the checklist my name goes on.
The smaller job
A $40,000 mobile home
The bigger job
A $4 million house
=
The same twelve build pointsNot a badge. Not a brand name. The same standard on both, because it is the same electrician signing off.
12 pointsRead the whole standardEvery one of them, in writing
01
Load-first design, not package-first
We size the system to your real loads and how you actually camp, then scope the smallest build that honestly solves the runtime problem. You do not pay for a package you will never use.
02
Wire and fusing sized to code
Conductors, breakers, and fuses are sized to the actual current, not eyeballed. Every conductor gets overcurrent protection rated for it. That is the difference between a system that lasts and one that melts a lug.
03
Class-T fuse on the battery main
A lithium bank can dump thousands of amps into a dead short. The battery main gets a Class-T fuse with the interrupt rating to actually break that fault. This is the one most kits skip, and it is the one that starts fires.
04
Controller headroom for Alberta cold
Panel voltage climbs as it gets colder. A cold Alberta morning can push a string near 90V open-circuit, so we spec a charge controller with the voltage headroom to take it. Undersize this and a cold snap kills the controller.
05
Panels fastened to structure, sealed for good
Big dual-glass modules go on rails fastened into roof structure, not stuck on with corner brackets. Every penetration is sealed to a standard that does not leak by spring. A leaking roof screw is the cheapest mistake to make and the most expensive to fix.
06
Shore power passes through clean
The inverter/charger is wired so 30A or 50A shore power passes straight through and charges the bank fast when you plug in. No fighting between shore and battery, no manual swapping. Plug in, it just works.
07
Proper grounding and bonding
DC and AC grounding done right, bonding where it belongs, so a fault trips a breaker instead of energizing your rig frame. This is invisible until the day it saves someone from a shock. We do it every time.
08
Inverter sized against the battery, honestly
A 3000W inverter can surge to roughly 5,500W, which is about 460A at 12V. We confirm the battery bank can actually deliver that surge, and we tell you plainly when the inverter can out-pull the battery. No pretending a small bank runs a big load.
09
A/C told the truth
Your rooftop air conditioner is a shore, generator, or short-burst load. It is not an all-day battery load, and anyone who tells you it is, is selling you a bank you do not need. A soft start helps the surge. Fans are your realistic all-day cooling. We say so up front.
10
Commissioned, not just connected
Roof and mechanical work is separated from the energized terminations. We check PV voltage at the panel before anything goes live, cap the charger until the battery BMS limit is confirmed, and bring the system up in a controlled sequence. Then we hand you a commissioning report.
11
Labelled so the next person understands it
Every breaker, fuse, and disconnect is labelled. You get a single-line diagram of your own system. If you sell the rig, or another electrician ever opens the bay, the whole build reads like a book instead of a mystery.
12
My name is on it
Dmitry Naboka, Master Electrician #13824. I am a Master Electrician with 14 years in the trade. I do not sub this out to a kit installer. The person who designs your system is the person who stands behind it.
Twelve points, same on every build. That is the RR Standard. Ask any RV shop for their written build standard and watch what happens.
Ten things worth knowing about RV and off-grid power, with the real numbers behind them. Read these and you will out-know most of the people trying to sell you a kit. That is on purpose.
Plain languageOpen the libraryBatteries, inverters, panels, wiring
5.1 · Battery chemistry
Lithium gives you about 3x the usable power of AGM
A 100Ah AGM only gives you about 50Ah before you damage it. A 100Ah lithium gives you 90 to 100Ah, at roughly half the weight, and it lasts far more cycles. That is why we build in LiFePO4.
5.2 · Bank sizing
A 320Ah 12V lithium bank holds about 4,096 Wh
Roughly 4,096 Wh is enough to run a fridge, Starlink, lights, water pump, and furnace fan through a night off-grid and still wake up with reserve. This is a real number, not a brochure number.
5.3 · Cold-weather voltage
Cold Alberta mornings push panel voltage near 90V
Solar panels put out higher voltage the colder they get. A two-panel string that reads 74V warm can hit near 90V open-circuit on a cold morning. We spec a 150V controller so a cold snap never over-volts it. Skip this and you buy a controller twice.
5.4 · Inverter surge
A 3000W inverter can pull about 460A at 12V on surge
When a motor or microwave kicks on, a 3000W inverter can surge to about 5,500W, roughly 460A at 12V. A 320Ah bank is only rated about 400A for a few seconds. We check this so the inverter and battery are matched, instead of finding out the hard way.
5.5 · Cycle life
LiFePO4 lasts about 3,000 to 5,000 cycles
A lead acid bank is worn out in a few hundred cycles. A lithium bank runs 3,000 to 5,000. For most people that is a decade of camping before you think about it again. The upfront cost is higher, the cost per year is lower.
5.6 · Recharging
Three ways to refill the bank: sun, alternator, shore
Solar tops it up all day. The alternator charges it while you drive to the next spot. Shore power fills it fast when you plug in. Three independent sources means you are almost never stuck. Most kits wire one and call it done.
5.7 · Wire sizing
Battery feeders on a 3000W build run #6 AWG or heavier
High-current DC runs need fat copper. On a 3000W build we run #6 AWG or heavier feeders so voltage drop stays low and the wire stays cool. Undersized cable is the quiet killer: it robs power and it gets hot. We size it right.
5.8 · Real solar yield
880W of panels makes roughly 3,000 to 4,000 Wh on a good day
The wattage on the panel is a peak, not a promise. In Alberta summer, 880W of panel realistically harvests 3 to 4 kWh across a day. We size the array to your bank and your loads using the real number, not the sticker.
5.9 · Shore power
50A shore gives you about 4x the power of 30A
A 30A hookup is one 120V leg, about 3,600W. A 50A hookup is two legs, about 12,000W. If you want to run the air conditioner and the rest of the rig at the same time on shore power, that is why the 50A upgrade matters. We tell you which your rig actually needs.
5.10 · A/C truth
Rooftop A/C drains a 4,096Wh bank in roughly 2 to 3 hours
Air conditioning pulls 1,200 to 1,500W. Even a healthy 4,096Wh bank runs it only 2 to 3 hours. That is why we are straight with you: A/C is a shore or generator load, or a short burst. A soft start helps the surge. For all-day off-grid cooling, fans win. Anyone who sells you a battery that runs A/C all day is not being honest.
Every system is sized for how you travel. Licensed electrician, permitted where required, Alberta code compliant.
Solar Panel Systems
Rooftop rigid and flexible panels paired with MPPT charge controllers. Sized to your battery bank and daily load.
Lithium Battery Banks
LiFePO4 banks from 100Ah up to multi-battery setups. About 3x the usable capacity of AGM at roughly half the weight.
Inverter & Charger Install
Pure sine wave inverters and inverter/chargers for running AC appliances, microwaves, and CPAP machines from battery.
Shore Power & 50A Upgrades
30A to 50A shore power upgrades, transfer switches, and proper hookup wiring for campground and home connections.
Distribution Panel Rewires
Full interior rewires, breaker panel replacements, and GFCI protection for older rigs and custom builds.
Trailer Conversions
Off-grid electrical for cargo trailer conversions, overland builds, and full-time living rigs.
Starlink-Ready DC Power
DC circuits, mounting, and battery-backed power sized to run your Starlink dish off-grid, so you keep internet anywhere you park.
What moves the price
Weekend boondock setupsmallest scope
Full-time rigmore of everything
Off-grid cabin or buildinglargest scope
Relative scope, not a quote. Your number follows the system you actually choose.
What moves it
Bigger solar array
Larger lithium bank
Bigger inverter
Shore power upgrade
Whole-building off-grid
The price is scope, not markup. You decide how far to take it.
Who This Is For
Built for People Who Want to Go Anywhere
If you want to be self-sufficient off the grid, on the road, at the lake, or out on the land, we build the power system for it.
RVers & Weekend Campers
Skip the generator noise and the full campground. Boondock for days with quiet solar and a lithium bank that just works.
Snowbirds & Retirees
Keep the fridge, CPAP, and Starlink running wherever you park. Reliable power, sized right, with someone local who picks up the phone.
Cabin & Acreage Owners
Off-grid power for the cabin, the shop, or the back forty, the same solar-plus-battery system, scaled up for a building.
Glamping & Overland Builds
Cargo-trailer conversions, vans, and glamping setups. Clean, self-sufficient power that looks and works like a finished build.
Most of our RV clients also have a home, an acreage, or an EV. The freedom you get off-grid works just as well parked in your driveway, more on that below.
It All Connects
Love Off-Grid Power on the Road?
The same freedom works at your cabin, your acreage, and your home. Solar, battery, and EV charging are one connected ecosystem, and we build all of it, code-compliant, under one licensed Master Electrician.
These are the three options we actually quoted on the Glacier Peak, all in, including 5 percent GST. Every competitor in this market hides price behind a form. Here is ours.
Option 1
$4,100 to $5,300
What Option 1 gets you
About a 300 Ah bank and a smaller array. Lights, fridge, pump, phones, a laptop. Good for weekends and shoulder season, and it will not carry a fireplace or serious heat.
What this build was
Option 2
$6,700 to $10,100
What Option 2 gets you
A 400 Ah class bank and up to 800 W of solar. This is the one most people should be looking at, and it is what the Glacier Peak owners took. Everything on this page came out of this band.
Option 3
$8,700 to $13,100
What Option 3 gets you
About 600 Ah, AC soft start, and a dedicated AC circuit. For longer stays, hotter parking, and rigs where the air conditioner has to be a real option. Soft start on its own runs $350 to $500.
Why it is a band and not one number
It is a band because I cannot see inside your walls until the panels come off. What sets where you land inside it: how much battery you actually need, how much roof you have, whether there is a usable inverter in there already, and what condition the existing wiring is in. If the scope moves, you hear it from me in writing before I spend the money. Your quote will name the exact models, the same way this page does.
Prices are current as of August 2026 and move with component cost and stock. Call (780) 904-3462 and I will tell you which band your rig is in before you spend anything.
How we quote RV work
Why the number is a band, and how I handle it when it moves
Six things this job taught me, or reminded me of. They are the reason our RV quotes look the way they do.
An RV is not a house. I cannot see inside the walls.
Every off-grid RV job has unknowns until the panels come off. That is why we quote a band and carry a contingency instead of pretending a number is firm on day one. A firm number on day one from somebody who has not opened the bay is a guess with confidence on it.
Scope moves get agreed in writing before I spend your money
On this job the owners wrote to us about the extra time and running around before we spent it. That is the only reason it was a comfortable conversation at invoice time. You will hear from me the moment something changes, in writing, before the hours go on.
Availability moves, so capacity numbers wait for stock
Battery capacity, panel model and controller size all depend on what is actually on the shelf the week we build. We confirm stock before we put a number on paper.
Parts chasing is the hidden cost of RV work
Multiple trips for material is normal on these. It is also exactly why a cheap hourly quote from a mobile guy ends up costing more than a fixed band from a shop that planned the buy.
We ate the overruns on this one
Tank repair, extra field hours, the Starlink mount. Absorbed. I am not putting that up as a brag, it is just what happened and you should know it is possible.
The documentation is the deliverable, not an extra
Every RV job leaves with a turnover package. It matters when the trailer changes hands, when an insurer asks a question, and when the next tech opens the bay in four years.
Who does the work
Every permit goes on my personal licence
I am Dmitry Naboka. Master Electrician, 14 years in the trade, licence #13824. My co-owner Kyle is a Journeyman. We are a five person crew and we do not subcontract, so the person who designed your system is the person standing in your battery bay.
That is not a marketing line, it is a liability structure. The permit on your trailer carries my licence number. So your rig gets the same standard as work I would do on my own, because in the way that counts, it is.
The Paper Trail
You get engineering, not a shrug
Every RR Standard build leaves with real documentation. Three things, in your hands.
Document one
Single-line diagram
Your actual system on one page, so the next electrician is not guessing.
Document two
Conductor and protection schedule
Every wire size and every fuse rating written down, not remembered.
Document three
Signed commissioning report
Tested and signed off before I call it done. That signature is mine.
This is the difference between a kit installer and a Master Electrician. Here is what those actually look like.
Single-line diagram
Your actual system, one page. Source, protection, conversion, storage, and loads, all labelled.
Conductor & protection schedule
Run
Conductor
Protection
Battery main
#6 AWG
Class-T fuse
Inverter feed
#6 AWG
DC breaker
PV string
#10 AWG
15A breaker
MPPT to batt
#8 AWG
DC breaker
Shore inlet
per rig
30/50A breaker
Ground / bond
per code
verified
Every conductor protected at its rating. Signed off before energizing.
Every wire, its gauge, and the device protecting it. No guesswork, no melted lugs.
Commissioning report
Commissioning, sign-off
PV Voc checked, 70 to 80V at panel
Charger capped until BMS limit confirmed
All lugs torqued to spec
Grounding and bonding verified
Shore pass-through tested, 30/50A
Inverter surge behaviour confirmed
Breakers, fuses, disconnects labelled
Commissioned by
Dmitry Naboka, Master Electrician
#13824
The system is commissioned, not just connected. You get the signed sheet.
Diagrams shown are representative of an RR Standard four-season build. Your documentation is drawn to your actual system.
A few quick questions so we can give you a real range, not a runaround. We respond within minutes during business hours, one of the owners, not a call center. Optional: upload a photo of your rig or panel for a faster estimate.
Got it. Your RV / off-grid request is in. We respond within minutes during business hours, or first thing next morning.
Our Work
RV & Off-Grid Gallery
RV & Off-Grid FAQ
Common Questions About RV Solar & Off-Grid Power
FAQOpen the common questionsSizing, winter, cost, install time
For a small trickle panel, no. For a real off-grid system, it matters. Once you add a lithium battery bank, an inverter, and shore-power tie-ins, you are dealing with enough stored energy that wrong fusing, undersized cable, or a poor ground becomes a genuine fire risk inside a space you sleep in. A licensed Master Electrician sizes and fuses everything to code, grounds it properly, and leaves work that stands up to your insurer or a campground inspection.
Not when they are mounted right. Most roof leaks come from DIY installs where penetrations are not sealed for a flexing, moving vehicle. We use the correct mounts for your roof type, seal every penetration with the right lap sealant, and where possible use adhesive or bracket systems that minimize holes. Done properly, the panels protect the roof rather than compromise it.
It depends on your loads, but it is very doable. A Starlink draws roughly 40 to 60W, and a 12V compressor fridge averages far less than most people expect. As a rough starting point, many rigs running Starlink, a fridge, lights, and device charging are well served by around 400 to 600W of solar paired with a solid lithium bank. We size it exactly to how you actually camp, that is what the site visit and load audit are for.
Almost always, yes. We retrofit solar, lithium batteries, inverters, and shore-power upgrades onto existing trailers, motorhomes, and fifth wheels all the time. We start by checking your current wiring, battery, and roof space, then design an upgrade that works with what you have instead of ripping it all out.
We come to you across the Edmonton region and Alberta. We are by appointment so the crew stays on jobsites instead of chained to a counter. Tell us where the rig lives and how you use it, and we will arrange a site visit and a system designed around your setup.
LiFePO4 (lithium iron phosphate), ideally with low-temperature charging protection. Lithium gives you roughly 3x the usable capacity of AGM at about half the weight, and lasts far longer. The one Alberta catch: lithium should not be charged below freezing. For cold-weather rigs we spec batteries with built-in heaters or low-temp cutoff so the bank protects itself through an Alberta shoulder season.
Serving RVers Across Alberta
Off-grid power near you
Weekend warrior or full-time off-grid, we build it right wherever you park. Pick your area or size your system in 60 seconds.
