![]() For my situation, it wouldn’t have solved the problem because you still need to put a charge controller between the solar panel and the battery somewhere. ![]() In the comments, it was pointed out to me that Goal Zero now make an 8mm to SAE cable which was launched after I wrote this post. I’ve tried to create something that is as simple as I wished I had found when I started looking for information on this topic. I wanted to publish this because I discovered a lot of confusion out there and a lot of people thinking that this was a really big problem to overcome, and something they couldn’t do themselves! Hopefully, you guys find this useful if you have Googled the issue and come to this page :). Fight the power, I say! (with some basic Googling and common sense) This makes some sense from a safety standpoint, but I’m still pretty sure it is so that they can force people into buying Zamp panels, just like my dealer tried to get me to do. Well, they’ll tell you that it is so that the positive pin on the SAE connector coming from their solar panels is the shielded one, and not the exposed one. I’m sure the Zamp stuff is great too, and perhaps more suited to permanent attachment to a trailer or RV roof, but for occasional usage, the Goal Zero Boulder panels looked like an awesome deal. Not only are their products well made, but their customer service and technical support are also stellar. I knew the brand new Goal Zero Boulder 50w panel was only about $200 ($150USD)! I’ve always been a fan of Goal Zero products, and I have several battery packs in my gear closet already. I’ve always been a bit of a sceptic, and when he also told me a 40w Zamp panel would cost me $600, my eyes nearly popped out of my head. When I first got my trailer, the dealer (British Columbia’s largest) didn’t really understand all of this and tried to tell me that I had to buy Zamp solar panels for my trailer. Well… that’s a load of crap if you have a soldering iron and ten minutes to spare! ![]() Then they put a big sticker on the trailer or RV that says “Warning, only use Zamp solar panels with this plug!”. I say “so-called” because actually the plug itself is a standard SAE connector, but the solar company Zamp wires the plug up with opposite polarity to the industry standard. My Taxa TigerMoth adventure trailer has a so-called “Zamp” connection on the outside of it for wiring solar panels to charge the battery. ![]()
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