Is Solar really needed for Charging

[HMCSW]

Originally Posted by dkoldman

Do you make a presumption that everyone WANTS solar? I would NOT by an RV if it did not have a TV where I wanted, but I would and I did buy an RV that had no Solar that I didn't care for.

This thread is about do I NEED solar in my circumstance, and even you are agreeing that it is not essential by any stretch. If I wanted or needed it; I would buy it like I did my AGM batteries, Safe T Plus Sumo Spring etc. oh yes and my new Samsung 40" TV to replace the factory TV that had liquid crystals leaking. I didn't want the factory TV replaced under warranty, I bought my own

It has been today and the lowest my FLA batteries ever got was 12.2 vdc, and the lowest my AGMs ever got was 12.5vdc. I have gone a full week camping / boondock and never needed solar.

In fact the more I read, the more I am beginning to believe that my coach may not have the parasitic drains that those that crow on solar must have? I may need to re-pose the question?

If your RV is in Use Mode, but everything that you can turn off is off; how long can you go before your batteries drain down to 50% SOC?

Or if it makes the test better turn the Use Switch off? For the record; I have never been able to complete any of those tests before I needed to do something in the RV My guess is I can make at least 3 months with Use Switch off, and at least 6 weeks with Use switch On and everything on.

Ours came standard with a single panel on the roof. I would not have paid the extra to have it installed. Like EV, if you want it get it if not don't.

[Chateau_Nomad]

So... I'll reword that to simply say: "NO... I don't NEED solar."

But... even though our motorhome came with one (horribly placed) TV, we have used it maybe three times... mostly because of no internet and very sketchy OTA signal in the mountains. We are usually outside hiking trails anyway. Another spring project is to mount a 32" TV in the bedroom hooked up to a DVD player. I have quite a library of "old movies"... mostly in case of bad weather.

I HAVE discovered something that is a MUST HAVE NEED... something that I will NEVER do without. Marine WAX on a gelcoat fiberglass RV! Never again...

[dkoldman]

Originally Posted by Chateau_Nomad

So... I'll reword that to simply say: "NO... I don't NEED solar."

But... even though our motorhome came with one (horribly placed) TV, we have used it maybe three times... mostly because of no internet and very sketchy OTA signal in the mountains. We are usually outside hiking trails anyway. Another spring project is to mount a 32" TV in the bedroom hooked up to a DVD player. I have quite a library of "old movies"... mostly in case of bad weather.

I HAVE discovered something that is a MUST HAVE NEED... something that I will NEVER do without. Marine WAX on a gelcoat fiberglass RV! Never again...

Remind me to send you my secret of how I learned about the Meguiars #56 wax. You have proved worthy to perhaps fly the banner better than I. It is actually from the Fiberglass & Roof Mfg for Winnebago. I had seen so many RVs that were barely 3 years old that look like crap with powdered gel coat and cracked decals that I pressed Winnebago. They referred me to the fiberglass composite mfg directly. I have been using it since day 1 and so far so good.

One RV we looked at had the main TV on a teleporter. It looked fancy but, but to use it; it actually blocks one of the main outside window in the main cabin I was concerned with the failure rate of that teleporter and I bet the repair is high and costly should it fail.

You might consider getting a HDMI Switcher so you can route DVD Player, Roku Box or similar to any TV or all 3 TVs at the same time. My RV came with that installed and I really love.

MBR TV is just convenience, especially if you want to get away from everything else. I bought that King Portable Go Antenna and it works really well. I use it as backup if my roof King Omni Directional does not get the channels I expect.

When all else fails no local OTA, no WiFi, we simply start stream from out phones. That was why I got the Samsung because we have Samsung phones that will easily connect to mirror on the main Samsung TV. I can also stream the phones to the Roku Ultra, both work great

[Rybie]

From WayneTaylor55, We got these things to make camping easier and more convenient. Otherwise we'd be throwing our tent, Coleman stove and lantern in the back of the station wagon!

As he stated the entire RV is unnecessary. But as others have noted Solar can be convenient to many of us.

[Chateau_Nomad]

Originally Posted by Rybie

From WayneTaylor55, We got these things to make camping easier and more convenient. Otherwise we'd be throwing our tent, Coleman stove and lantern in the back of the station wagon!

As he stated the entire RV is unnecessary. But as others have noted Solar can be convenient to many of us.

[Chateau_Nomad]

Originally Posted by dkoldman

...
You might consider getting a HDMI Switcher so you can route DVD Player, Roku Box or similar to any TV or all 3 TVs at the same time. My RV came with that installed and I really love.

MBR TV is just convenience, especially if you want to get away from everything else. I bought that King Portable Go Antenna and it works really well. I use it as backup if my roof King Omni Directional does not get the channels I expect.

When all else fails no local OTA, no WiFi, we simply start stream from out phones. That was why I got the Samsung because we have Samsung phones that will easily connect to mirror on the main Samsung TV. I can also stream the phones to the Roku Ultra, both work great

Ours came with a Monoprice HDMI switcher. I bought a Fire Stick which I keep plugged in to the switcher. Since it's in a cabinet, I'll just stick the DVD player in there & plug into the switcher.

Mountains usually equal complete isolation... NO cell signal (no internet), NO (useable) broadcast TV signals - which would drive some bonkers. We actually like it - but we plan. We tell family where we are going in case of emergency. Many times a camp store will have local WiFi.

A rare exception was the last "holler" style campground we stayed in West Virginia. It had a new state of the art WiFi beaming setup - we had ultra-fast WiFi anywhere in the campground! But that is RARE! No cell signal, but we could make WiFi calls - like with Facetime/WhatsApp.

We stream from our phones to the Fire Stick when possible. I can even access our home OTA DVR setup (Tablo) for our home local stations and recordings. But... internet required!

So that's my reasoning for the DVD player.

[Scubawise]

Originally Posted by dkoldman

What kind of batteries and how many AHs? And how do you heat?

Solar can do nothing for my fridge as long as I have the absorption. If it were fully charged, my batteries would be dead 4 hours later and my genset would have to kick on and be used anyway. To be clear, I like and support the move to Solar too, I use Solar in other applications and think it is great. I was just trying to see if Solar ( that I don't have in my RV would give me any benefit) I concluded from earlier responses that if I had to store some place long term with no shore power it would make sense for me.

On a side note, I kind of think my batteries when not in use do not drain anywhere near what most tend to imply. For instance, it has been 6 weeks since my battery has been on shore power and it is still sitting at 12.9 vdc. Now I did drive it about 22 miles 45 minutes during that time. I have 125 AHs available with a full charge.

I can't see buying a new RV anytime soon, but I can see my next RV coming with Lithium's and Solar. But I will buy it like that, not make mine like that because thus far; I don't see the need ( if that makes sense?)

125ah is great.
Are they group 31?

I have 125 AHs available with a full charge.

[Scubawise]

Originally Posted by Chateau_Nomad

Ours came with a Monoprice HDMI switcher. I bought a Fire Stick which I keep plugged in to the switcher. Since it's in a cabinet, I'll just stick the DVD player in there & plug into the switcher.

Mountains usually equal complete isolation... NO cell signal (no internet), NO (useable) broadcast TV signals - which would drive some bonkers. We actually like it - but we plan. We tell family where we are going in case of emergency. Many times a camp store will have local WiFi.

A rare exception was the last "holler" style campground we stayed in West Virginia. It had a new state of the art WiFi beaming setup - we had ultra-fast WiFi anywhere in the campground! But that is RARE! No cell signal, but we could make WiFi calls - like with Facetime/WhatsApp.

We stream from our phones to the Fire Stick when possible. I can even access our home OTA DVR setup (Tablo) for our home local stations and recordings. But... internet required!

So that's my reasoning for the DVD player.

Youtube tv & Amazon firesticks..if no signsl stream hard hdmi cable to tv using phones unlimited

[Scubawise]

Originally Posted by Rybie

From WayneTaylor55, We got these things to make camping easier and more convenient. Otherwise we'd be throwing our tent, Coleman stove and lantern in the back of the station wagon!

As he stated the entire RV is unnecessary. But as others have noted Solar can be convenient to many of us.

Yes boondocking or state camping solar keeps batteries up so we can use inverted for tv and all outlets . & no noise generator unless late

[Chesuncook1]

Originally Posted by dkoldman

Do you make a presumption that everyone WANTS solar? I would NOT by an RV if it did not have a TV where I wanted, but I would and I did buy an RV that had no Solar that I didn't care for.

This thread is about do I NEED solar in my circumstance, and even you are agreeing that it is not essential by any stretch. If I wanted or needed it; I would buy it like I did my AGM batteries, Safe T Plus Sumo Spring etc. oh yes and my new Samsung 40" TV to replace the factory TV that had liquid crystals leaking. I didn't want the factory TV replaced under warranty, I bought my own

It has been 2 years today and the lowest my FLA batteries ever got was 12.2 vdc, and the lowest my AGMs ever got was 12.5vdc. I have gone a full week camping / boondock and never needed solar.

In fact the more I read, the more I am beginning to believe that my coach may not have the parasitic drains that those that crow on solar must have? I may need to re-pose the question?

If your RV is in Use Mode, but everything that you can turn off is off; how long can you go before your batteries drain down to 50% SOC?

Or if it makes the test better turn the Use Switch off? For the record; I have never been able to complete any of those tests (meaning drain my batteries down to 50% SOC) before I needed to do something in the RV My guess is I can make at least 3 months with Use Switch off, and at least 6 weeks with Use switch On and everything off.

Your motor home doesn't use hardly any 12 volt power even when camping in it. We use to have a similar RV. Now being retired and traveling a lot, we traded for a 40 ft all electric motor home. It's an energy hog even if you aren't using anything. It uses between 400-500 amp hrs per 24 hrs. When dry camping, we have to run the generator 2-3 hrs in the morning and the same around super time. No problem, right. The generator is meant to run.

We have camped at a state park like the one you pictured. It has 300 sites and no hookups at all. It has a dump station a mile out the park Rd. We camp there for 2 weeks in the summer with about 12 to 15 other families, 60 or so of us. It's on a lake and we all swim and boat. Now, for what ever reason, nobody hardly ever runs a generator in this park, it's allowed but just not done. If someone was to start their generator, it would be for 3 minutes to heat something in the microwave. If someone were to run their generator for 2 hours, everyone would be staring and talking about them. Again, I don't know why, but this park has always been a no generator park due to the people who camp here.

Back to our all electric motor home. Where generators don't seem to be acceptable, we put solar on our roof as a work around. We have 1450 watts of solar and 1200 amp hrs of lithium batteries. I must admit, I like playing with this stuff anyway. I installed everything myself, and the solar panels were free, so I didn't spend all that much money except for the batteries.

Back to your original point, no, solar is not needed as others have said. The park allows generators, I could just run it and people would have to deal with it, but I installed solar instead. Our house is all solar (net zero) along with our camp. We do enough burning of diesel fuel when driving this beast so I guess by having a net zero house and not running the generator 4-6 hrs a day for our motor home and 3 hrs a day at our camp, helps me feel like I'm trying to reduce my carbon footprint.

Thanks for reading

[dkoldman]

Originally Posted by Rybie

From WayneTaylor55, We got these things to make camping easier and more convenient. Otherwise we'd be throwing our tent, Coleman stove and lantern in the back of the station wagon!

As he stated the entire RV is unnecessary. But as others have noted Solar can be convenient to many of us.

I actually agree with your statement 100%; but if you back to the original post the question was it really necessary for me and my application? The genesis of the question was derived from fellow poster that was going to attempt to sway me that I may need. And as you allude to; while it merits are duly noted; it is NOT convenient for everyone. The thread was to make sure I was not missing anything, I am not

[dkoldman]

Originally Posted by Chateau_Nomad

Ours came with a Monoprice HDMI switcher. I bought a Fire Stick which I keep plugged in to the switcher. Since it's in a cabinet, I'll just stick the DVD player in there & plug into the switcher.

So that's my reasoning for the DVD player.

I am gonna sound like the duck, but you can get Dual or Multi HDMI switcher for $17; that is only a fraction of the cost for Solar

https://www.amazon.com/UGREEN-Switch...41871405&psc=1

Btw, this was one of the many hidden advantageous of the coach I bought in Florida versus all of the exact same models I saw in Texas, Arkansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Iowa. My coach came with prewired HDMI whereas all of the others had that Coax cable only and a very old looking coax distribution box I do have cable coax; but it is direct from Antenna/cable sources to every TV. All of my input sources uses HDMI; which was the benefit; plus a single source could be sent to every TV

[dkoldman]

Originally Posted by Scubawise

125ah is great.
Are they group 31?

I have 125 AHs available with a full charge.

Yes mine new batteries are group 31s.

Are you saying the Interstate FLA you have are 125AH each?

My FLA made by NAPA were only 65AH each. so I went from 130ah total to 65 available. Now I have 250ah total with 125ah available.

If you have 125AH available, what on earth are you running to consume all of that overnight? i.e do you run your fridge on Inverter or something?

[dkoldman]

Originally Posted by Scubawise

Yes boondocking or state camping solar keeps batteries up so we can use inverted for tv and all outlets . & no noise generator unless late

I think we braised this on another thread, but if all things are designed, used properly and working properly; you should NEVER need your genset late at night with or without Solar. Help to maintain or keep batteries topped off is independent of a battery that is in theory fully charged at sundown but system unable to make it through the night before drawing down to 50% SOC.

Related:

Doesn't the sun go down around 4:30PM Mountain time in Montana? And rise at 7:30AM?

So assume you have generator quiet time of 7:00 PM & 8:00 AM ( that is what I use) That is only 13 hours; for you with no Genset being used it is 4:30 PM & 8:00 AM which is 15.5 hours.

So if you are fully charged at sunset with 125ahs available; you have 8 hours on average to use per hour. Likely consume more until you go to bed and less during the middle of night.

By contrast I have no Solar and on any given day my generator may or may not come on, but if it does; it runs about 2 hours. But if I am am in full Auto Genset mode it will ensure my batteries are fully topped right at 7:00PM; I guess I could try to move it up to 4:30PM ( That may be a good thing ) But the point is, now that I have 125 ah, I never need a charge in the mornings, in fact I can go up to two days with my normal usage before needing the genset.

[dkoldman]

Originally Posted by Chesuncook1

Your motor home doesn't use hardly any 12 volt power even when camping in it. We use to have a similar RV. Now being retired and traveling a lot, we traded for a 40 ft all electric motor home. It's an energy hog even if you aren't using anything. It uses between 400-500 amp hrs per 24 hrs. When dry camping, we have to run the generator 2-3 hrs in the morning and the same around super time. No problem, right. The generator is meant to run.

We have camped at a state park like the one you pictured. It has 300 sites and no hookups at all. It has a dump station a mile out the park Rd. We camp there for 2 weeks in the summer with about 12 to 15 other families, 60 or so of us. It's on a lake and we all swim and boat. Now, for what ever reason, nobody hardly ever runs a generator in this park, it's allowed but just not done. If someone was to start their generator, it would be for 3 minutes to heat something in the microwave. If someone were to run their generator for 2 hours, everyone would be staring and talking about them. Again, I don't know why, but this park has always been a no generator park due to the people who camp here.

Back to our all electric motor home. Where generators don't seem to be acceptable, we put solar on our roof as a work around. We have 1450 watts of solar and 1200 amp hrs of lithium batteries. I must admit, I like playing with this stuff anyway. I installed everything myself, and the solar panels were free, so I didn't spend all that much money except for the batteries.

Back to your original point, no, solar is not needed as others have said. The park allows generators, I could just run it and people would have to deal with it, but I installed solar instead. Our house is all solar (net zero) along with our camp. We do enough burning of diesel fuel when driving this beast so I guess by having a net zero house and not running the generator 4-6 hrs a day for our motor home and 3 hrs a day at our camp, helps me feel like I'm trying to reduce my carbon footprint.

Thanks for reading

This is a very good read and sums it up nicely. This is our first RV and I don't do anything without questioning it and understanding why (sometimes others that don't know me assume the questioning as an attack, but it is curiosity and understanding for me).

I know a lot of people have solar and some even have converted to Lithium, but I was not seeing the benefit in my case. Glad you noted that it is just not my coach and others are designed similarly.

I am gonna assume the State Park you referenced must be up north? 80% of the time when our genset comes on; it is due to high temperatures inside the coach when boondocking, the other 20% of the time it is because it is recharging to top off batteries (that is normally 2 or 3 hours)

Another point that is often missed that you brought out is that I purposely wish to run my genset at least 120 hours a year (that is nothing) So I invested in Onan EC-30 AGS to help start my generator more than I would normally start on my own. So even with the EC-30; I am only averaging 80 hours / year. So I can't use my genset enough. 95% of the time when we boondock, we are not around anyone, and I will let the genset run at least 2 hrs / day. I have never been in a campsite that did not allow Genny's, but if the temperatures were cool, it would not stop me from staying there, we have gone two days on one full charge. We have never parked our RV at any campsite and left it in one spot for more than 2 days. We don't have a toad and we are always going somewhere and of course the drive is always charging the batteries

[Chateau_Nomad]

Originally Posted by dkoldman

I am gonna sound like the duck, but you can get Dual or Multi HDMI switcher for $17; that is only a fraction of the cost for Solar

https://www.amazon.com/UGREEN-Switch...41871405&psc=1

Btw, this was one of the many hidden advantageous of the coach I bought in Florida versus all of the exact same models I saw in Texas, Arkansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Iowa. My coach came with prewired HDMI whereas all of the others had that Coax cable only and a very old looking coax distribution box I do have cable coax; but it is direct from Antenna/cable sources to every TV. All of my input sources uses HDMI; which was the benefit; plus a single source could be sent to every TV

That looks exactly like what I have. All cables are pre installed... Panel in bedroom has coax and HDMI ports. Coax and HDMI from switcher is connected to existing cab-over TV. So whatever input source you're using at the switch gets fed to all TVs.

[Chateau_Nomad]

Chesuncook1 touched on an important point. Peace and quiet. We tend to seek out remote locations away from civilization for that very reason.

Different folks have their own definition of recreation. For instance we frequent the mountains in West Virginia. Hills and wooded areas seem to be a magnet for ATVs. However, I "outgrew" that when I became an old fart, and now we just want peace and quiet - away from everything. Granted - not everyone's cup 'o tea.

HOWEVER - I fully respect other's desire to do what they enjoy. There is no law saying they can't, and nothing preventing me from going elsewhere.

I try to avoid cranking up the generator in remote quiet areas if at all possible. ESPECIALLY if there are other campers in the vicinity. NOTHING destroys the sense of serenity like a blaring generator or an ATV nearby. Just two completely different ideas of recreation.

Now - if we're the ONLY ones in a 5 square mile radius, I have no qualms running the generator for electric to run the microwave or heat up the hot water tank quicker for a shower - or to save on propane. Maybe I'm soft in today's world, but I am acutely aware of other folks desire for quiet in these surroundings. It's just a mutual respect thing - it's NOT all about ME.

The bonus of the solar is it will SILENTLY keep the batteries charged. We have plenty of 12 volt power to run the propane appliances and lights... which is usually all we need for our situation.

I believe (maybe naively) that MOST folks prescribe to the same "respect for peace & quiet" as I do. However, for those who don't - I will propose a rather crude analogy:

Consider a crowded elevator. What if I lit a stale cigar and also let off some really nasty bowel gas caused by that bean burrito from lunch? I feel lots better... do you think the other elevator occupants would feel the same? Is it rude and crude, or should the other folks just accept it and get over it?

Now - I'm not "anti-generator". I use ours quite frequently. It's one of those conveniences that make "glamping" a more pleasurable experience. But I use it in the context of respecting other's rights and desire to have peace and quiet.

Again... I don't NEED solar to charge the batteries. But it gives me another option to avoid generator use, and the associated noise in the quiet remote areas we enjoy.

Just another perspective.

[macdaddy1111]

Originally Posted by dkoldman

Do you make a presumption that everyone WANTS solar? I would NOT by an RV if it did not have a TV where I wanted, but I would and I did buy an RV that had no Solar that I didn't care for.

This thread is about do I NEED solar in my circumstance, and even you are agreeing that it is not essential by any stretch. If I wanted or needed it; I would buy it like I did my AGM batteries, Safe T Plus Sumo Spring etc. oh yes and my new Samsung 40" TV to replace the factory TV that had liquid crystals leaking. I didn't want the factory TV replaced under warranty, I bought my own

It has been 2 years today and the lowest my FLA batteries ever got was 12.2 vdc, and the lowest my AGMs ever got was 12.5vdc. I have gone a full week camping / boondock and never needed solar.

In fact the more I read, the more I am beginning to believe that my coach may not have the parasitic drains that those that crow on solar must have? I may need to re-pose the question?

If your RV is in Use Mode, but everything that you can turn off is off; how long can you go before your batteries drain down to 50% SOC?

Or if it makes the test better turn the Use Switch off? For the record; I have never been able to complete any of those tests (meaning drain my batteries down to 50% SOC) before I needed to do something in the RV My guess is I can make at least 3 months with Use Switch off, and at least 6 weeks with Use switch On and everything off.

How much propane you burning in that rig to run that frig? where you batteries from that last for weeks boondoggling?

I can go to beach with zip utilities and solar runs everything in my rig except ac units.

Thois tread is funny, the anti solar squad! Ha

[dkoldman]

Originally Posted by Chateau_Nomad

Chesuncook1 touched on an important point. Peace and quiet. We tend to seek out remote locations away from civilization for that very reason.

Different folks have their own definition of recreation. For instance we frequent the mountains in West Virginia. Hills and wooded areas seem to be a magnet for ATVs. However, I "outgrew" that when I became an old fart, and now we just want peace and quiet - away from everything. Granted - not everyone's cup 'o tea.

HOWEVER - I fully respect other's desire to do what they enjoy. There is no law saying they can't, and nothing preventing me from going elsewhere.

I try to avoid cranking up the generator in remote quiet areas if at all possible. ESPECIALLY if there are other campers in the vicinity. NOTHING destroys the sense of serenity like a blaring generator or an ATV nearby. Just two completely different ideas of recreation.

Now - if we're the ONLY ones in a 5 square mile radius, I have no qualms running the generator for electric to run the microwave or heat up the hot water tank quicker for a shower - or to save on propane. Maybe I'm soft in today's world, but I am acutely aware of other folks desire for quiet in these surroundings. It's just a mutual respect thing - it's NOT all about ME.

The bonus of the solar is it will SILENTLY keep the batteries charged. We have plenty of 12 volt power to run the propane appliances and lights... which is usually all we need for our situation.

I believe (maybe naively) that MOST folks prescribe to the same "respect for peace & quiet" as I do. However, for those who don't - I will propose a rather crude analogy:

Consider a crowded elevator. What if I lit a stale cigar and also let off some really nasty bowel gas caused by that bean burrito from lunch? I feel lots better... do you think the other elevator occupants would feel the same? Is it rude and crude, or should the other folks just accept it and get over it?

Now - I'm not "anti-generator". I use ours quite frequently. It's one of those conveniences that make "glamping" a more pleasurable experience. But I use it in the context of respecting other's rights and desire to have peace and quiet.

Again... I don't NEED solar to charge the batteries. But it gives me another option to avoid generator use, and the associated noise in the quiet remote areas we enjoy.

Just another perspective.

I think your perspective underscores the difference between living up North versus the hot Southern states. As I stated earlier 80% of the time my genset is running it is for Air (ACs), it is also set to self start automatically in the event of loss of shorepower to keep the coach at a constant temperature. I bet if I had Solar; instead of averaging 80 hrs/yr on my genny, I may only average 70 hrs/yr, so that means my genset is running about 10 hours a year simply to charge my batteries. FWIW, I never camp or stay at any of those campsites where people (RVs) are back to back or too close. I rarely have reservations; so I can pretty much change my plans on the fly. Also, it is assumptive that all generators are loud. That is simply not true. If the wind is blowing the right direction and you are sitting outside watching my outside TV, you would never know my 5500 genny is running. My two AC units may actually make more noise than the genset? I will need to pull my dosimeter out to test that?

Case and point, my Colorado trips are the only trip thus far to northern or colder areas for us. I bet my genny only ran a net total of 3 hours for both trips combined over total of 8 days. If I were to go to a campsite that said gennys are not allowed and they had no shore power, I would still check in as long as I knew the temperatures were not going to be hot.

As Chesuncook1 also pointed out.... "My motor home doesn't use hardly any 12 volt power even when camping in it. We use to have a similar RV. "

I don't NEED too much 12vdc in my coach, other than to watch TVs or turn on a few lights. Those are WANTS not NEEDS

[dkoldman]

Originally Posted by macdaddy1111

How much propane you burning in that rig to run that frig? where you batteries from that last for weeks boondoggling?

I can go to beach with zip utilities and solar runs everything in my rig except ac units.

Thois tread is funny, the anti solar squad! Ha

You need to go back to original post to understand this thread and the question that was asked. It is not Anti Solar and it is certainly NOT about how heavy users may use Solar.

It is about whether the OP needs Solar in his situation. The answer has already been established that Solar offers me no benefit for my coach and my application, so I will not buy a Solar Controller and Solar panels unless my needs change.

To answer your questions.

How much propane you burning in that rig to run that frig? I can't say exactly but I never run out of propane. I have 18 gallon tank, most notable propane usage for me is due to furnace for heat (not the fridge), but I have never had to refill my propane tank on any trip in two years. And I have been caught in two winter freeze blizzards were furnace ran a lot. Typically when I get home and refill my propane tank, I add between 6 - 9 gallons of propane; so we don't use much. Also; my fridge is additionally on Inverter; so when I am driving the RV it goes back to electric automatically, same happens when genny runs to cool the RV, my fridge switches to electric automatically.

where you batteries from that last for weeks boondoggling? We still work and we never have had a trip longer than a week, and don't see any long range trips anytime soon, I actually start to get bored about Day 3. But I have gone 2 full days using the RV like normal without the use of shorepower or the genny starting; which means my batteries did not get below 12.5 vdc ( which for my AGMs is 60% SOC) I could go lower to 50% SOC if I wanted to, but I don't because I don't need to.