Maximum solar?

[headlight]

BillWeb I may have missed this but what time of year will you be off grid and UK or sunnier climes ?

 

[The Wino]

Depends on your usage patterns. I have one 175 watt and have never run out of power (or anywhere near). The only reason I might want more is if I stayed put for more than 2 weeks and the sun wasn't shining. (I wouldn't go somewhere for 2 weeks if the sun wasn't shining!) We tend to move around a lot and travel April - November. Mostly in southern Europe. So for me buying more would just be waste of money.

We're the same in fact we managed without any solar the first few years and never had a flat battery although if it turned cold it wasea worry as we have a diesel heater that uses a fair amount of battery on start-up. The op does say though winter lighting which suggests to me winter use and solar then being more tricky. What he doesn't mention is if it's likely to be a compressor fridge

 

[RedFrame]

In addition to Lenny's comment, I think you'll find you won't have enough "real estate" up top to service your requirements, other than in summer.

.... charge rate at idle no matter what the sun is doing.

Edit: I wouldn't advise going to a Solar only Specialist, go to someone like eddievanbitz who can advise you on both Solar and B2B charging systems.

Cheers
Red

Over kill! There is nothing in his list there that uses much power (assuming the lighting is LED). I can stay off grid for a week (not moving) with 175watt and 180 ah of AGM (effectively 90 usable). The only problem would be if there was no sun.

So, in your own words, not over kill then.... Especially as the OP has stated that he wants to be away in the UK in Winter.

You'll also note I informed the OP that this is what I'd do, not what he should do, I also advised him to seek professional advice.

Cheers
Red.

 

[Lenny HB]

Over kill! There is nothing in his list there that uses much power (assuming the lighting is LED). I can stay off grid for a week (not moving) with 175watt and 180 ah of AGM (effectively 90 usable). The only problem would be if there was no sun.

Most people would struggle to do that with that setup.
We have 3 x 78ah Gels, 300 Watts of solar we were away in the UK a couple of weeks ago and wouldn't have survived more than a few days without driving.

 

[BillWeb]

We're the same in fact we managed without any solar the first few years and never had a flat battery although if it turned cold it wasea worry as we have a diesel heater that uses a fair amount of battery on start-up. The op does say though winter lighting which suggests to me winter use and solar then being more tricky. What he doesn't mention is if it's likely to be a compressor fridge

What fridge then? Examples? Almost all now fitted with Dometic or Thetford.

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[The Wino]

What fridge then? Examples? Almost all now fitted with Dometic or Thetford.

Heres a Thetford compressor fridge https://www.jacksonsleisure.com/fridges/thetford/t2138-12v-compressor-fridge-freezer/
Fridges are either 3 way gas mains of vehicle when driving or two way compressor mains or battery. In general the compressor fridges make a small amount of noise when running and you would need more battery capacity off grid but work better in high temperatures and are possibly more reliable. Others will have different opinions! When you start to look at particular motorhomes it's going to determine your power needs as will how much you use an inverter and what power inverter etc.