Dorset Explorer

@BoxerProject welcome to the forum, great first thread! 🙌 Loads of solid advice already above. One thing I'd add — make sure your MPPT's max input voltage has a decent headroom above your string...

Great find potentially! @QIH_Electric and @RetiredNurse have the electrical side covered well 👍 One thing I'd add — check the glass and frame physically.

Spot on, @MuddyNomad—winter's the killer, isn't it? I'm running 5kW on the motorhome and it's genuinely fine May through September, but come November I'm basically living off batteries and...

Been there myself — grabbed a couple of used 100W panels from a recycling centre near Dorchester last year for £30 each. Worth checking your local ones, especially in the Bristol area.

Both, mate. Genuinely. Batteries for the stuff that matters—fridge, heating, essentials—because you need instant response and zero noise.

Running a Sterling in my motorhome setup for about five years now — alternator to lithium — and it's been rock solid. Not fancy, but that's sort of the point.

Brilliant, welcome aboard! Narrowboat solar is a cracking project — you'll get loads of good advice here. The canal community is pretty sound too. What's your current setup like?

Got flexible panels on my motorhome roof and learnt this the hard way—the adhesive alone won't cut it long-term.

Cracking project, mate. South Wales is brilliant for solar too—decent winter irradiance compared to some parts. The 2008 Transit's got good bones for a conversion.

Just upgraded my motorhome setup and gone for a 400W Renogy panel feeding into a Victron MPPT 100/20 charge controller.

Fair point about the peace of mind, though I'd say the real win is protection rather than just feeling better.

Mate, if your landlord's actually sorted about it, that's gold. Fixed panels make way more sense long-term than faff with portables. I'd honestly skip the "cheap starter kit" trap.