Quartzsite to Phoenix: Our Crazy Cheap Solar Panel Run

It’s Rob from Travels With Dottie — yes, I really do have a name 😄. In this video I’m 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 (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 “consumer” panels you find online.

Once we arrive, you’ll see the showroom, warehouse, and the exact bifacial 440W panels I bought — 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 “dead” solar panel from the landfill.

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 — proving that if you want cheap solar, you’d better pack your patience.

Key things in this video:

Why we drive from Quartzsite to Phoenix just to buy solar panels

How SanTan Solar gets industrial-grade panels so cheap

The exact 440W panels, wiring, and fuses I bought (and what they cost)

Denny’s 1500W rooftop + kicker-panel setup and 700Ah battery bank

How a bad diode or loose connection can ruin a charge controller

Tips on running an RV A/C from solar with soft starts and hard starts

The “everything takes longer in Quartzsite” rule in real life

If you’re curious about upgrading your RV solar using used or surplus commercial panels, or you’ve heard of SanTan Solar and wondered what it’s really like to buy there as a walk-in customer, this one’s for you.

Channels mentioned:

DDK Travels – Denny’s channel: [link here]

Travels With Dottie (this channel)

Hashtags / tags (for copy-paste into YouTube tags):
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
rv #rvlife #fulltimerv #nomad #vanlife #boondocking #travel #traveltrailer #gorving #rvliving #nomadlife #honesty #authenticty #djipocket3 #winnebagomicromini

I use a DJI Action 5, an iPhone 15 Pro Max, the DJI Osmo Pocket 3, the Insta360 X5 and and the DJI Neo