How much solar are you running?

[Jeep4Life]

I just put two 100Ah batteries in my trailer and now I'm trying to decide how much solar I would need. Would a 200W panel be enough or would you suggest going with 2 of those panels and having 400W of solar?

 

[smritte]

Without getting too detailed, it depends on how much you draw. For me, a 100ah battery was more than enough. 120 watt fixed panel was actually overkill. It would charge it back in a few hours and run my 50qt fridge in hot weather. That was desert and my other trailer. My new trailer with the same battery (slightly more draw) has a 200 watt flex on the roof. This was overkill in the desert. My last trip was in the forest and I didn't get enough sun to charge properly (damn trees). I now also have a 180 watt folding panel so I can move it around if needed (no more tree problems)
Figure out how much draw you have each day (and night). Fixed panels are more efficient and flex are not. 200 watt in most cases is enough but, are you going to shade your panels as the day goes on.

 

[BootLeg JK]

What are you planning on running in your trailer? That's the big question here. If you don't have much pulling from your power, a simple 200W solar will be plenty. However if you have a number of items with high power demand, you'll want more to keep those batteries charged up.