Solar panel

You will need a minimum of 120w of solar panel and preferably 150w to keep you going in mid-winter. With a 120w panel you would need to be particular about shifting it three to four times during the day and have the panel at the correct angle. With a few inclement days in a row, or if the sun dips behind a mountain early, you will not have sufficient power with a 120w panel. 2 x 75w BP Solar panels should give you sufficient power with enough spare to run fluro light and TV for a couple of hours a day the majority of the time.
Previously I relied on 2 x 75w panels and the large majority of the time it was sufficient. Now that I need to use a laptop and charge the satellite phone I had to go to 3 x 75w panels.

In regard to the 60W panel, we were at a solar energy shop in Melbourne and the advice they gave was that by having the 130 amp hour battery, a 60W panel would be able to give us about 4 days power.

Hi Jo Day, I went through this exercise quite a few years ago with solar panels & since I run a 60ltr. Trailblazer fridge & camp in places for weeks at a time, I have found that the ideal setup [taking weather
conditions into consideration] is 2 x BP585 85 Watt Solar Panels coupled to 2 x 190 amp 6 volt Deep Cycle batteries connected in series is more then adequate for me to run all my accessories [comms gear, laptop computer, lighting + 240 volt inverter ect].
In varied weather conditions the charge rate is anywhere from 2amps
up to 9amps & running a pulse charge setup keeps the batteries topped up & in good condition.
Have Wheels Will Travel

Jo,

I've mentioned this before on this forum, but last year I saw a bloke in town with 2 panels, obviously 120 watt by their size, on roof bars on his tarago or similar type of people mover. Didn't manage to talk to him, but feel he must have towing a camper or trailer to require that much power. This may be overkill for what you want.

I imagine with panels on vehicle, it could be parked in full sun, while camper, van etc can be parked in whatever shade is about. Know when we were vanning, for work, the rating of campsite, was always judged by the size ot trees that the van could be parked near. Hooroo...

It all depends on what you want.
I'd go for for 120 watt for normal use ---- if you want to stay put for less time you may get by with 80watt, but you'd have to be a bit careful.!! You could go 2 days with 60 watt!!! (if you then drove for a good charge!!)
With 120 watt you wud be right for normal frig use- with 150 watt you could be extravagant!
How much power do you want??
Lights gas or electric???
extra generator or not???
How long is a piece of string????

ALSO
I would rather have TOO MUCH power rather than TOO LITTLE!!!!
Life is more fun when you are not worried about little troubles!!
very few people complain about TOO MUCH POWER!!!!!
(dont think I ever met one!!!)

jo while at melb caravan show last week we looked at a different product called a light energy panel
blurb states
"light energy panels are recommened for mobile applications because of their superior performance inthe shade and incresed performance in high temperatures .they have an addittional advantge of being repairable in the field.unlike the glass panels the light energy panels will still work if punctured and is repairable by sealing with the punture hole with silicone.while glass panels have better performance in direct sun light the light energy panels work in partial sunlight or shade and as such have a superior performance over glass panels in a mobile application .free standing frames either pole or roof mount are available "
only thing we found was as with all technolgy its dearer than glass panels
i have nothing to do with this mob other than i picked up a sheet from there stand if you want more info try www.12voltccma.com.au
ps prices on application nothing on the sheets steve89 nissan looking foward to august and more travelling

Thanks everyone for all that input. We now think we'll go for a generator as pricewise, to get large enough solar capacity, it is too expensive.

Jo

We have just purchased a panel etc., from the Rainbow Power Company in NSW. Gave us all the information we needed and good backup service. And had it delivered in double quick time to Vic.

http://www.rpc.com.au

We have just purchased a panel etc., from the Rainbow Power Company in NSW. Gave us all the information we needed and good backup service. And had it delivered in double quick time to Vic.

http://www.rpc.com.au