{"id":21186,"date":"2025-12-08T20:48:49","date_gmt":"2025-12-08T20:48:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/youtubomatic-test\/demoa26f6b3a\/2025\/12\/08\/quartzsite-to-phoenix-our-crazy-cheap-solar-panel-run\/"},"modified":"2025-12-08T20:48:49","modified_gmt":"2025-12-08T20:48:49","slug":"quartzsite-to-phoenix-our-crazy-cheap-solar-panel-run","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/youtubomatic-test\/demoa26f6b3a\/2025\/12\/08\/quartzsite-to-phoenix-our-crazy-cheap-solar-panel-run\/","title":{"rendered":"Quartzsite to Phoenix: Our Crazy Cheap Solar Panel Run"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"youtubomatic-video-container\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" allow=\"autoplay\" width=\"580\" height=\"380\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/x_jb4Wpu7ww?controls=1\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<p>It\u2019s Rob from Travels With Dottie \u2014 yes, I really do have a name \ud83d\ude04. In this video I\u2019m taking you along from Quartzsite, Arizona to SanTan Solar in the Phoenix area with my buddy Denny from DDK Travels to hunt for industrial-grade solar panels at budget prices.<\/p>\n<p>We start with an early Quartzsite sunrise (that I mostly miss while fighting with the camera), talk about Egg McMuffin sticker shock, and then head down Highway 95 to pick up Denny at La Posa South. On the drive we dive into why RVers make the trek to SanTan Solar, how their business works, and what makes commercial-grade panels different from the typical \u201cconsumer\u201d panels you find online.<\/p>\n<p>Once we arrive, you\u2019ll see the showroom, warehouse, and the exact bifacial 440W panels I bought \u2014 including what I paid. Along the way, Denny and I talk through real-world boondocking setups, Victron gear, diodes, loose connections, soft-starts for RV air conditioners, and why a 6-cent part can save a \u201cdead\u201d solar panel from the landfill.<\/p>\n<p>At the end of the day we wrestle plywood at Home Depot, survive a tailgate scare that could have shattered the panels, and make the long drive back to Quartzsite \u2014 proving that if you want cheap solar, you\u2019d better pack your patience.<\/p>\n<p>Key things in this video:<\/p>\n<p>Why we drive from Quartzsite to Phoenix just to buy solar panels<\/p>\n<p>How SanTan Solar gets industrial-grade panels so cheap<\/p>\n<p>The exact 440W panels, wiring, and fuses I bought (and what they cost)<\/p>\n<p>Denny\u2019s 1500W rooftop + kicker-panel setup and 700Ah battery bank<\/p>\n<p>How a bad diode or loose connection can ruin a charge controller<\/p>\n<p>Tips on running an RV A\/C from solar with soft starts and hard starts<\/p>\n<p>The \u201ceverything takes longer in Quartzsite\u201d rule in real life<\/p>\n<p>If you\u2019re curious about upgrading your RV solar using used or surplus commercial panels, or you\u2019ve heard of SanTan Solar and wondered what it\u2019s really like to buy there as a walk-in customer, this one\u2019s for you.<\/p>\n<p>Channels mentioned:<\/p>\n<p>DDK Travels \u2013 Denny\u2019s channel: [link here]<\/p>\n<p>Travels With Dottie (this channel)<\/p>\n<p>Hashtags \/ tags (for copy-paste into YouTube tags):<br \/>RV solar, boondocking, Quartzsite, SanTan Solar, industrial solar panels, RV life, off grid power, Victron, lithium batteries, RV upgrades, solar panels, bifacial solar, Arizona RV<br \/>rv #rvlife #fulltimerv #nomad #vanlife #boondocking #travel #traveltrailer #gorving #rvliving #nomadlife #honesty #authenticty #djipocket3 #winnebagomicromini <\/p>\n<p>I use a DJI Action 5, an iPhone 15 Pro Max, the DJI Osmo Pocket 3, the Insta360 X5 and and the DJI Neo<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>It\u2019s Rob from Travels With Dottie \u2014 yes, I really do have a name \ud83d\ude04. In this video I\u2019m taking you along from Quartzsite, Arizona to SanTan Solar in the Phoenix area with my buddy Denny from DDK Travels to hunt for industrial-grade solar panels at budget prices. We start with an early Quartzsite sunrise [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8553,"featured_media":21187,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[62851,622,62852,8567,62853,626,62854,596,62844,62850,547,625,62845,62847,62848,62846,62849,600,613,609],"tags":[62840,582,62841,8544,62842,586,62843,556,62833,62839,540,585,62834,62836,62837,62835,62838,560,573,569],"class_list":["post-21186","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-authentic","category-campervan","category-drama-free","category-full-time-rv","category-honesty","category-living-in-an-rv","category-no-promos","category-nomad","category-pahrump","category-quartzsite","category-rv","category-rv-life","category-rv-life-vlog","category-rv-living-fulltime","category-rv-tours","category-rv-travel-vlog","category-rv-vlog","category-travel","category-van-tour","category-vanlife","tag-authentic","tag-campervan","tag-drama-free","tag-full-time-rv","tag-honesty","tag-living-in-an-rv","tag-no-promos","tag-nomad","tag-pahrump","tag-quartzsite","tag-rv","tag-rv-life","tag-rv-life-vlog","tag-rv-living-fulltime","tag-rv-tours","tag-rv-travel-vlog","tag-rv-vlog","tag-travel","tag-van-tour","tag-vanlife"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/youtubomatic-test\/demoa26f6b3a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21186","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/youtubomatic-test\/demoa26f6b3a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/youtubomatic-test\/demoa26f6b3a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/youtubomatic-test\/demoa26f6b3a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8553"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/youtubomatic-test\/demoa26f6b3a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21186"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/youtubomatic-test\/demoa26f6b3a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21186\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/youtubomatic-test\/demoa26f6b3a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/21187"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/youtubomatic-test\/demoa26f6b3a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21186"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/youtubomatic-test\/demoa26f6b3a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21186"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/youtubomatic-test\/demoa26f6b3a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21186"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}