V-Trail Mobile Solar Battery Trailer: Towable Solar Power and a Diesel Generator Alternative

A towable stand-alone power system is a complete off-grid power plant built onto a road-registrable trailer, so it can be towed to a site, deployed in minutes, run unattended, and then relocated to the next site. V-Trail combines solar generation, lithium battery storage, a diesel generator, an inverter producing standard 230/240 V AC, and an integrated energy management system on a dual-axle off-road trailer.

It is different from the two things people usually compare it to:

A generator on a trailer produces power only while it is running and consuming fuel, needs refuelling on a cycle measured in hours to days, and is noisy whenever it is working. A towable stand-alone power system produces power from the sun by default and uses the generator as backup.

A fixed stand-alone power system is installed on footings at one location for its service life. A towable system is designed to be redeployed, which changes the economics completely if the requirement is measured in weeks or moves between sites.

The applications where that distinction is decisive: emergency and disaster response, planned network outages and switching works, construction and exploration, event power, mobile facilities, and any situation where power is needed sooner than a permanent installation can be built.

Setup is fast because the system is complete and pre-configured on arrival. There is no assembly, wiring or commissioning at site. The solar array folds out on a gas-strut-assisted frame.

Under 10 minutes with two operators. 

The number that actually matters to an emergency or outage response, though is not the setup time. It is the total time from decision to power on site. That is dominated by travel and by whether the unit is available, staged and fuelled, not by how long the panels take to unfold. Two things move it:

• Where the unit is stored relative to where it will be needed. A V-Trail staged at a regional depot beats one at head office by hours.
• Whether an operator has been trained to deploy it. It is designed for a single person with no specialist skills, but “designed for” and “has done it before” are different things at 2am in the rain. Training is available and worth taking.

For planned works, a switching outage, a substation cutover, a possession, the deployment time means the unit can be positioned and proven the day before rather than becoming part of the critical path.

Note the inverter derating, 30 kVA at 25 °C becomes 23.8 kVA at 40 °C. We publish it because it is real and because a 40 °C day is not unusual anywhere in Australia. Any mobile power system quoting a single inverter figure without a temperature is quoting the best case; ask for the derated figure at 40 °C before you size your load against it.

Runtime depends on load, solar yield and whether the generator is enabled. With the generator running as backup, runtime is limited by fuel rather than by battery, the 100 L tank governs. Solar-only runtime is a function of daily generation against daily consumption, which is a site and season calculation rather than a product specification. Model your own case with the V-Trail calculator, or send us the load and location and we will do it with you.

Yes, 200 A for five seconds is the motor-starting surge capability, with 85 A available for one minute and 75 A for five minutes, and 375 A short-circuit capability.

Surge is usually the specification that decides whether a mobile power system succeeds in the field, and it is the one most often overlooked at hire or purchase. Inductive loads, bore and dewatering pumps, compressors, refrigeration, workshop machinery, welding, draw three to six times running current at start. A system sized only on continuous rating will trip on the first pump start.

The alternative to genuine surge capability is oversizing everything, which is how mobile power ends up costing more than it should. A high-surge inverter lets the system be sized to the continuous load and handle the transient one.

Two things to tell us at enquiry, because they change the answer:

• The largest single motor on site, its rating, and whether it has soft-start or a variable speed drive.
• Whether multiple large loads can start simultaneously. Sequenced starting is much easier to supply than coincident starting.

One commissioning note we state up front: avoid applying large surge loads during initial system start-up. Bring the load up in sequence.

V-Trail is built to keep towing within reach of a standard licence and a capable work vehicle:

What you need to confirm on your side:

• A towing vehicle rated for the actual weight, including its tow ball download limit and its Gross Combination Mass, not just the headline braked towing capacity. A vehicle rated to tow 3,500 kg often cannot do so while also carrying a crew and equipment.
• The correct coupling and electrical connection, and functioning trailer brakes.
• Licence class for the combination in your state. Under 4,500 kg GVM a car licence is generally sufficient, but the combination mass and any state-specific requirement should be checked rather than assumed.
• Terrain. The independent suspension and off-road build are there for unsealed access, but “off-road capable” is not “unlimited”. If the access track is genuinely marginal, tell us before deployment day.

The saving comes from the generator not running, and how much that is worth depends on three site-specific variables: the load profile, the solar resource at that location and season, and how long the unit is deployed. Model your own case with the V-Trail calculator, enter your load, hours per day, location and analysis period and it will return the fuel, cost and emissions comparison for your site.

What is structurally different about a hybrid system, and holds regardless of the site:

• A diesel generator runs continuously to serve a variable load, spending much of its life lightly loaded, which is where it is least efficient and where wet stacking and maintenance problems originate. A 27 kVA set carrying a 4 kW load is running at under 20% of its rating.
• A hybrid system serves the load from solar and battery, and starts the generator only when the battery needs recharging. The generator runs at high load for a short period rather than at low load continuously.
• Fuel is not the only cost avoided. Refuelling trips, service hours, and the emissions and noise footprint all scale with generator run hours. On a remote site, the refuelling logistics can exceed the fuel cost.
• The measure to ask for is generator run hours per week, not litres per hour. Run hours are what drive fuel, servicing and site visits together.