Solar Panels

[3kids]

Hi all,
I am presently setting up a camper trailer and as luck would have it I am an electrician (heavy industrial). After a heap of private research I have just put a rev 1 system together.
Firstly let me state that all prices I got from an auto spark literally tripled the cost of what I believe you need (lots of smoke and mirrors).
A 50 amp anderson plug can only just accomodate 6 B&S (13.5mm2) cable with some strands not being able to fit in the lug. 8 B&S (6mm2) fits comfortably.
As stated all cable lengths need to be below 10 metres due to voltage drop (when starting from a low base like 12 volts VD becomes a show stopper for recharging) and cable size is minimum 6mm2
The MPPT charger that is supplied with a quality solar panel is OK (but) they usually do not come with a cut out to prevent overcharging and can damage/reduce battery effectiveness. To really extract the most out of a system and keep it simple is to have a DC-DC charger that can simultaneously charge with the alternator and solar or individually. These units provide optimum charge rates (incoming voltages of say 11.5 volts are converted to 14.6 volts) and cut out to prevent over charging. You can also connect and leave connected a 240 volt charger eliminating change over of leads when you park up after the trip or hit the powered site. Ensure the charge unit or regulator is paced as close as is possible to the batteries.
Please feel free to ask questions as I am in the process of building this and so far the results have been above expectations. > 6 days and nights with 2 x 100w solar panels and the batteries never dropped below 80% running LED's and engel, by the time we returned to Perth the batteries were back to 100% via the alternator.