At Battle Born Batteries, we strive to offer the best service and add value to each of our customerโs outdoor experiences with our LiFePO4 batteries.ย Whether it beย travelingย fromย coast to coast orย venturingย overseas, Battle Born provides customers like Tom and Cait Morton with LiFePO4 batteries that areย lightweightย and strong.ย Theyย chooseย Battle Bornย Batteriesย time and time againย because they areย high-quality, safe , and reliable.ย And now they put their trust in Battle Born Solar to power them too.
More About the Mortons
Tom andย Caitย Mortonโs love of being on the roadย began in 2015.ย In September of 2015 the couple left their jobs, sold their house and possessions, and hit the road in a DRV Mobile Suites 32TK3 fifth wheel, a rig they still call home today.ย Tom and Caitย have beenย full-timeย travelersย ever since.ย
Theirย most recent adventure began inย April 2019ย whenย theyย took on the last frontier in theirย loanedย custom 1172 Lance Truck Camper.ย Driving nearly 15,000 miles, their favorite sights along the way included Denali and Banff National Parks.ย Theย Mortonsย knewย they needed a constant supply of energy for this trip north and wanted toย eliminate their battery anxiety,ย soย Battle Born teamed up with them to provide them with all the power they would need. You can read more about theirย previous set up for their journey last yearย here.
With the Go North vehicle, the intention was always to remove the electrical and power system once the journey came to end. To find more about their adventures north, check out their blogย here.ย
Tom and Cait really enjoyed theย Go North system,ย and upon returning from Alaskaย theyย started dreamingย upย their ideal solar and lithium system.ย ย ย
Excited to be back in their permanent rig, theyย installedย theirย five GC2 batteries from theย Lance camper and added three more for a totalย of eightโฏ100Ah 12V GC2 batteries.ย Their previous solar system setup was a DIY buildย withย a Tesla battery module and custom BMS with 1100 watts of residential glass panels on the roof.ย With all theย newlyย added power from their battery bank, they knew their solar system needed toย match.
Battle Born Solar
Battle Born Batteries has been working with theย Mortonsย since 2018.ย Asย an electrical engineer, Tomย connectedย with Denis and Sean over the technology andย got to know the products even more when he and Cait helped with anย Argosy Airstream renovationย for Drivin and Vibin.ย When theย Mortonsย were done with theirย journeyย North,ย theirย dream solar system came upย again.ย As Battle Bornย continues toย grow, so do the productsย we offer. The next logical step wasย toย offerย solarย power.ย
Usingย Battle Bornย Batteryโsย newย 230-wattย BB230ย flexible solarย panels, Tom described the installation process as โeasy.โย Theyย wired them in a 24-volt configuration because with the amount of solarย installed, itย needed a higher voltage system to handle the current.ย
The ten panels installed on their RVย roofย can createย up toย 2,300 watts! The twoย additionalย 230wย panels on the front half of the RV isnโt exactly ideal for performance, but theย Mortonsย consider it to be a part of their dream install and wanted to utilize as much space on the exterior of their rig as possible.ย For a grand total of 2760w of solar,ย theyย can run appliances, their computers, and even the air conditioner or heater.ย Running theย Instantย Pot and the microwave at the same time isย even possible!ย
System Specs:
–12 x 230w Flexible Solar Panels
–8ย Battleย Bornย 100Ah 12Vย GC2ย batteriesย for 11.2Kwh storage capacity @ย 24ย voltsย
–3 xย 100/50ย Victronย SmartSolarย MPPTย Solar Chargeย Controllersย ย
–Victron BMV–712 Monitor with built–in Bluetoothย
–Victron Quattro 12V 5000W Inverter Charger
โIt really feels like we are living with the RVย hooked up to shore power all the time.โฏ We are also loving having the system connected online so we can monitor its performance,โ theย Mortonsย saidย inย theirย latestย blog post.ย
The coupleย recently traveledย 1,700 miles and noted that the panels showed no signs ofย budging.ย They are fans of solar becauseย it quietly generates power, allowing them to live wherever they wantย onย their own โpower plant.โย Both Tom and Cait believe that being able to harness the sunlight that naturallyย shinesย on their RV roof is important!ย
In the first part of their series, Tom walksย through the installation processย whereย you canย check out the all the nitty gritty details.ย Their setup generates 14 toย 15,000ย wattย hours ofย energyย a day.ย Tomย notes that while that might be overkill for the averageย RVer, they live off-grid forย the majority ofย their time,ย soย itโsย perfectย for them.ย
The Mortons just released Part Two of their build, where they willย explore how theyย optimize their system and useย allย that extra power.ย Theย Morton’sย wheels are alwaysย turning, so stayย tuned as we keep up with themย and their latestย projects!ย ย
If you want to follow theย Mortonsย on their adventures, follow them onโฏFacebook,โฏInstagram, andโฏTwitter! Also subscribe toย theirโฏ YouTube Channel!
5 thoughts on “Battle Born Solar – Mortons on the Move Upgrades their Solar System”
I watched the video, and was super excited about the new solar panels. Went to place an order, and they have disappeared from the website. What happened?
Hi Warren, thanks for reaching out. Unfortunately we’re currently sold out of the solar kits. We’ll be posting when the new kits are available, so keep an eye out!
Please let ? me know when flex solar pack kits are back … ! [email protected]
I have a 2015 chevy ROADTREK 190 popular . I’ve had some say can’t put solar & BATTLE Bornes on my RV . One came from ROADTREK in Canada ?? . Said it is not originally wired for either & would be to expensive ! Not helpful at all ! ROADTREK only deals with new Mercedes . I want my BB & solar off grid …
Hi Thomas, thanks for reaching out. You can sign up for our newsletter or follow our social media channels on Instagram and Facebook for updates regarding product launches and when those kits will be back in stock. If you have any other questions, feel free to give our sales and tech team a call at 855-292-2831.
We will be upgrading our airstream soon. We have a 2012 flying cloud. Want at least a 800 watt system.