I created this site as a place to talk about UTVs of all kinds, but I also added some sections in the forums for RVs. Camping has always been part of my life, especially when I used to race in the desert. For many of us, camping and riding go hand in hand. When I got my family into dirt bikes, tent camping quickly became a no-go, so we bought our first toy hauler. It made being out in the elements easier and gave us a way to haul the bikes and set up camp. Over the years, I’ve owned three toy haulers, each one a step up in space and features. My current one is a Genesis 30IKS fifth wheel toy hauler. It’s a solid trailer—definitely more on the “glamping” side compared to my earlier setups—but I needed the extra space since my new RZR Pro R wouldn’t fit in a bumper-pull hauler.

As good as it’s been, the trailer came up short in the 12-volt power department. It shipped with two weak Interstate batteries, a single solar panel, and a generator. I was constantly running the gen because the batteries wouldn’t even last a day, and more than once we woke up to a dead trailer that needed a jump from my truck just to fire up the generator. After browsing the interwebs to see what others were doing, I decided to go with Victron gear and LiFePO₄ batteries.

I started small, adding two 100AH LiFePO batteries in a spot right behind the propane tanks, a Victron SmartShunt for more accurate monitoring via Bluetooth, plus some bus bars and heavy-duty cables. On our first trip with this setup, power and charge times were much improved. But since our friends didn’t bring chargers for their phones (which were constantly searching for signal), everything ended up charging off my trailer. That drain, plus our own devices, still taxed the setup. The performance was better than stock, but I wasn’t impressed with the trailer’s solar charging.

When I got home, instead of adding panels right away, I upgraded to a Victron solar controller. I wired it in where the old batteries used to sit, splicing into the existing panel wires. The factory wiring is undersized, so I know that limits charging efficiency. I haven’t been able to test the new setup on a trip yet. When I do, I’ll be watching closely to see how it holds up.

Overall, if you’ve got some basic 12-volt knowledge, the install is pretty straightforward. And if it still comes up short, I’ll move on to more solar panels. At least now I know each upgrade adds another layer of reliability to the system. If you’re interested, I’ll post more updates as I keep refining the setup. In the meantime, here are a few pics of the work I’ve done and how it’s wired.