John - sorry for the delayed response as I didn't come across this till tonight. We have had solar of some kind on three of our 5th wheels. The first just had two panels on the roof, a regulator and a couple of 12 volt batteries. It was sufficient to keep the batteries charged up to run our 12 volt lights, water pump, fantastic fans, etc., and was all we needed for the limited boondocking we did, such as several days at Quartszite, Ariz. or an extended weekend here and there.
The unit we now have has two 155 watt panels, a 30 amp regulator (which regulates how much charging goes into our batteries so they won't get overcharged), a 2500 watt inverter (which changes our 12 volt battery power into 110 volt power so we can run additional things like the blow dryer, microwave - for popcorn or heating up food - not for extended cooking, cell phone battery chargers, computer, television, etc. - but not all at once!!), and four 6 volt deep cycle golf cart batteries. This has made it a little more comfortable for us when we find ourselves without campground hookups. And no, you cannot run your air conditioning on solar as you wouldn't be able to carry enough batteries to do it. But I like the fact that my unit is totally quiet, and the only maintenance I have to do is to add water to the batteries every three months! We had our installations done at Quartszite, Ariz. & have been mostly satisfied with what we have.
There was a fairly extensive thread on this subject on this forum not too long ago & I imagine you could find it and get more info. If you need further specifics let me know & I can email you.
Mike & Ronni Sorrell
Bakersfield, Calif.
'06 3295RK
'03 GMC Duramx/Allison,4 door, long bed, supersprings,starboard running boards LineX
Linear Mode
