Thursday, Dec 17, 2009 at 00:04
Hi Mervyn
I can only tell you what worked for us. I'll leave the technicalities for those here who know all about it. When we got an old wind-up camper (sort of like a Jayco Dove) we bought a 12 v compressor upright caravan fridge, purchased 1 deep cycle battery (with trickle charge from vehicle also), a controller and one 80 w solar panel. The panel was only put out when we stopped and it gave us enough power for the fridge and a couple of lights - no
water pumps; it was manual. This gave us enough power, although we were travelling in mainly fine weather. We now have that panel on the roof of the tow vehicle to run the car Engel.
The caravan we purchased had 4 x 120 w solar panels and 3 x 100 a/h batteries. We did not know until we got to the
Kimberley last year that two were from a faulty batch and were not working. With only the two, we had enough power for our needs even in Tasmania in prior years, but we are not high power users. In the northern latitudes and heat, solar panels are not as effective, and batteries do not take a charge as
well either. This lead us to discovering the problem and getting sent four new 130 w panels under warranty. We then purchased 4 x 110 a/h to store some of the power produced by this powerhouse.
Except in northern latitudes, even in cloudy weather or when parked in partial shade, our batteries are up to full charge during the morning. We travelled for five months this year, and had plenty of power for our needs; fridge, Engel as a freezer, lights,
water pumps, inverter for computer, battery chargers (phones, cameras etc), electric shaver etc. We also have a 12 v fan for running at night if hot and still. We purchased a Honda 2 genny mainly for the air con although use of this on the genny has been rare it has been very welcome when really needed. We only did this on the first holiday with the van four years ago. This year we only ran the air con from mains when at caravan parks (maybe two or three times). Rather than run the genny and air con, we were cool enough sitting out in the shade on a hot day. We usually
bush camp. We could use the genny to run a battery charger if necessary and remain independent if weather conditions left our power low - it hasn't happened.
Do you anticipate being in hotter areas in mid summer? If not, you shouldn't really need the air con.
I would suggest to be solar powered long term you need at least three panels and batteries. I don't know if you would have room for this in an Expanda. However with the genny to top up the batteries in times of need, you could manage on less.
You could of course upgrade the genny to one that will run the air con if you think you will really need it.
Room and weight may be issues for you with your rig.
Motherhen
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