rv solar set up suggestions batteries, controllers, and inverters?????

4 x 110 amp batteries with 800 watt panels seems like a ratio to use if your in sunlight most of the time.

I live up in the Northwest and that panel wattage to batteries amps wouldn't work out very well as often you can go days without sunlight, possibly a week to a couple of weeks, then  several days with sunlight. Depends on you location and altitude, weather in the mountains is usually not the same as weather along to coast, low lying areas,  etc. There are areas that average over 150 inches of annual precipitation, 20 miles or so away only around 20 inches of annual precipitation.

For up here in the Northwest I would want more battery storage as I never know how much sunlight will be available.

However the previous comments are correct. You also need to figure the demand or common daily loads. Do you require AC, TV, Computer, Microwave, etc.?

When off-grid a stock RV won't operate without a certain amount of 12 volts power to run a Fan for RV furnace (which often are 7+ amps, check the amp rating of your RV furnace) and 12 volts to run the RV gas absorption refrigerator. (12 volts is normally required for a RV gas frig to operate) Plus a few other items such as the  water pump,  bathroom and stove fan.

What I did with my RV was to install an additional Catalytic Heater in the RV that requires no elect. to operate. It's best to get a catalytic heater built for an RV such as Olympian or a heater that designed for a permanent installation. One that puts out a constant heat where the btu ratings may not be as high as portable camping heater, etc. These are much more reliable and maintain room temperatures throughout the day and evening.

When the batteries become drained it often requires from a half to a full day to recharge (sometimes a bit longer, depending on the size of your battery bank). If no sun a geny is usually relied upon. Also it's not a good idea to run batteries below 50 percent then recharge again, potentially shortens the life of the batteries.  As a general rule you want to try to keep the batteries maintained and charged somewhere above 50 percent of their capacity. At least this is what I have read about charging battery banks, perhaps others have other ideas about keeping batteries charged.

Thanks in advance for any advice,
Jim

Sorry I mis spoke 12vdc always, I  left out a comma. Starting out with 6  batteries.

Ok that’s good advice, the lager than normal charging capacity was more for when we are on shore power. But your point is taken. I have T&B crimping tools for up to 250MCM so good connections are no problem. I have 400 amp welding cable for interconnects on bank.

Yes.  Ideally whatever AH capacity required in a single series string.  This can be done using large lower voltage batteries as needed (eg 6x700ah 2v cells), or by increasing system voltage (which is why I asked about possibly wanting to increase it later). 

Two strings (eg. 4x350ah 6v L16 type batteries) can work if monitored carefully.  I use this setup for my 700ah 12v bank, and it has worked well.  As the number of strings increases, so does the difficulty in keeping strings balanced.  Three may work okay with your good connections, and regular monitoring and maintenance.  If one string is reading low during regular specific gravity checks, it should be charged separately to get it to the level of the other strings.  6v GC type batteries are nice in that they're widely available and generally pretty cheap for their capacity, so it may make sense to use them anyway.  It's just a bit of a trade-off in terms of a bit more careful  monitoring and possibly periodic remediation with the three strings.  With more than two strings, you should also fuse each string as well as breakers on the controllers and inverter, because a short in one can put the current available from the remaining strings across the short in the bad one.

softdown said:

I believe that poly panels perform better when partial shade is an issue.

That is so, according to my reading. It's why my system will be a movable, ground-sitting setup. Three 250 watt panels. Tools to point the panels effectively. Store them in the coach when we're moving, set them out as soon as the rig is leveled in the next spot. Make juice.

I agree with those who say run your AC appliances in the peak generating hours of the day. I also agree, using propane for coffee. That Coleman stove-top drip coffeemaker is pretty cool, just be sure you have a spare carafe in a soft, safe place, or an alternative you can use until your new carafe arrives. But I'd also say, you can run your AC more if you're using lithium-iron batteries (LiFePo4) because you can draw them down 80 percent, as opposed to lead-acid's 50 percent usable power.