How To Get Solar Power For My Caravan

I want to update the Hercules 20 inverter in my caravan to a full sine wave inverter using 2 x 12 V batteries and solar charging panels. I am not sure how to mount the solar panels on top of the caravan, or on top of my single cab bakkie canopy (which I tow with).

So many questions: Do I purchase deep cycle batteries, or high cycle batteries or semi deep cycle batteries, or will “normal” car batteries do?

What capacity must the inverter be – will 900 W be quite sufficient?

What is a good brand that will last when used in this gravel-road caravan?

Then I must also fit a DC to DC charger to the bakkie – one that is intelligent enough to know which power source (alternator or solar panels) to use whilst travelling, and should it also be 24 V?

Has anybody ever done this? Deon Pheiffer

There is a short and a long reply to this... the short version would be to consult a solar company where you can speak to an expert, discuss your requirements and see the equipment. The longer version is my input on this page (as I understand it)!

For the shorter version, contact Andre du Rand at Victron Energy (adurand@ victronenergy.com) and he will direct you to your nearest expert solar company.

Now, the longer version. I presume you are looking for a sinewave inverter because you want the freedom of going off the grid, and require 220 V for AC appliances.