Power Sizing Tool

List what you'll run, tell us how long you'll sit still, and get a battery bank and charging plan sized for the worst week of your trip, not the best one. Uses the same method as Module 7 of Electrical Systems 101.

1Start from a profile

Loads a typical day you can edit. Or skip this and fill in your own.

2Your trip and your truck

The longest stretch without charging is the number that sizes your bank.

3Everything that uses power

Set hours per day for what you'll actually run. Watts are typical averages while running; change them to match your gear. Fridges and heaters cycle, so their watts are already averaged over a day of cycling.

How the numbers are worked out

Daily load is watts times hours for every item. AC items are divided by 0.90 for inverter losses, and the inverter's idle draw is added for the hours it is on. Daily solar is array watts times sun hours times 0.75. Usable storage is the larger of one full day of load or the daily shortfall times your days parked. Nominal bank size is usable storage divided by the usable depth of discharge (0.9 for LiFePO4, 0.5 for lead-acid), times a 1.2 margin, and divided by a cold factor only if the batteries sit outside the heat (0.8 LiFePO4, 0.7 lead-acid). Amp-hours use the bank's nominal voltage: 12.8, 25.6 or 51.2 V for LiFePO4, 12, 24 or 48 V for lead-acid. Charging while driving is the usable storage divided by your driving hours times 0.9.

These are planning numbers, not a wiring design. Solar figures assume flat panels and are rough by season. Confirm component ratings and have AC work checked by a qualified electrician.