RV AFTERMARKET
Sizing & Diagnosing Off-Grid Solar Systems: What Dealers Need To Know
Off-grid demand is growing fast. Here’s how to ensure the systems you sell work for the customers who buy them.
By Eva Mitic
Photos courtesy of Dometic
Off-grid power is becoming a baseline expectation. Interest in boondocking continues to rise among millennial and Gen Z RV owners. The latest Go RVing RV Owner Demographic Profile shows continued growth in these products, with no signs of slowing.
These buyers are actively choosing off-grid setups over traditional campsites, allowing them to disconnect from the day to day while still having the comforts of home.
That growth is being driven by one thing: demand for better onboard power.
This growing interest in power systems is showing up at the dealership level, where customers are asking about off-grid capability earlier in the buying process. That’s a real revenue opportunity.
But these conversations also come with risk. If the system you recommend is undersized, mismatched or installed incorrectly, the customer comes back frustrated.
Dealers who slow the conversation down and get it right up front are the ones who win long term.
Here’s what that looks like.
Start With the Load, Not the Solar Panels
Most conversations still start with “How much solar do I need to run X?” That’s the wrong place to begin.
Start with how the customer uses power. What are they running? For how long? Where are they camping? A weekend “dry camper” will have a completely different profile than someone living off-grid full-time on Bureau of Land Managment land, even if they’re in the same RV.
A load audit only takes about 10 minutes. In this audit, you walk through the essentials: refrigerator, lighting, water pump, device charging, CPAP machines and any extras like fans or coffee makers. Multiply wattage by daily use (in hours), and you have total daily watt-hours.
From there, you work backward: battery capacity first, then solar input.
Pro Tip: Size the battery bank to handle two full days of use without any solar. That builds in a buffer for shade, weather and the reality that most customers aren’t actively monitoring usage.
Shading Matters More Than Customers Think
Solar output throughout the day is inconsistent. A site that looks clear in the morning can be heavily shaded by afternoon. Trees, slideouts and neighboring rigs all reduce production. This is one of the most common gaps between expected performance and reality.
Ask where customers typically camp and walk through what sun exposure looks like over a full day. If they enjoy setting up camp in forested areas, either upsizing the reserve battery capacity or resetting expectations upfront helps to avoid problems later.
System Safety: What To Verify
Not all components are equal. And in off-grid power systems, shortcuts can create real risk. Low-quality or uncertified parts can perform poorly, leading to serious safety issues, including faults and failures.
At a minimum, dealers should be checking for UL 1741, which covers power inverters and charge controllers.
Diagnosing Technical Issues
When something’s not working, guesswork slows everything down. A simple, structured conversation with the customer will get you there faster.
Start at the source. Check the solar panel output with a multimeter. Then move to the charge controller. Most systems will show input, output and battery state of charge.
If solar input looks good, but the batteries still aren’t charging, the issue is probably in the connection points or the batteries themselves.
Common causes of underperformance:
- Loose connections
- Corroded terminal
- Unexpected shading
- Incorrect battery readings due to monitor or shunt issues
- The charge controller is set to the wrong battery chemistry
- Higher-than-expected load, including parasitic (standby) draws
If the system worked before and stopped, focus on what changed. Was there new equipment added? A different campsite? Or something else?
Most issues trace back to a small number of variables. Working through them step by step is the best way to resolve them.
Your Opportunity
Nearly 1 in 4 leisure travelers are planning an RV trip this year, and more of them are thinking about off-grid capability from the day they decide to “hit the road.”
Dealers who can walk through a load calculation, explain power systems and flag risks before they become issues are doing more than selling a product: they’re building trust.
This doesn’t require deep electrical expertise. It requires taking a few extra minutes to understand how the customer camps.
That 10-minute conversation at the point of sale is what prevents the service call and warranty return a few weeks later.
Dealer Education Doesn’t Stop at the Sale
A well-sized system still fails if the customer doesn’t understand how to use it. The handoff at pickup is one of the most overlooked parts of the process and is the touchpoint with the greatest impact. This is where expectations get set, confidence gets built and most preventable service issues can be avoided.
A power system walkthrough is a must. Show customers how to check battery state of charge, what normal versus high load looks like, how their inverter behaves under different conditions and where to monitor system performance.
Keep it practical. Most customers don’t need to understand the entire system, but they do need to know how to recognize when something is off and what to adjust.
This is also the moment to reinforce the same points covered during the sale: how their system was sized, what it’s designed to handle and what its limits are. When those expectations are clear, customers are far less likely to feel like something is “not working” when it’s operating as designed.
Dealers who invest an extra 10-15 minutes at pickup see fewer callbacks, fewer warranty concerns and more confident customers.
Eva Mitic is head of marketing at Dometic Mobile Power Solutions, where she leads product marketing, dealer programs and off-grid education across the RV and mobile power space. She’s passionate about new technology, road trips and helping people understand how to become more energy independent.
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