Been through this myself when setting up my motorhome's system. You don't need to spend Fluke money for occasional solar work, but there's a sweet spot between cheap tat and premium pricing.
Look...
The split-charge thing gets overthought, honestly. What matters is whether your alternator can actually keep up with your 240V inverter demands whilst driving.
@RetiredSquaddie's right about them being different tools. The real question is your use case.
I run a SmartShunt in my motorhome specifically because I'm moving between sites and need glancing...
Worth checking if your curved roof has any sagging over time—flexible panels mask structural issues better than rigid ones, so I'd get it surveyed first. Also, what's the pitch angle?
Not entirely sure I follow the thread cuts there, but I reckon the main question is about matching your MPPT output to your DC-DC charger input?
Has anyone tried Fogstar panels? I've got a couple on my motorhome setup and they've been surprisingly reliable in low-light conditions — which matters when you're parked up in Scotland half the...
Been there with the late-night monitoring — nothing worse than switching from your Victron display to a bright white forum and losing your night vision entirely.
— see, that's the thing that caught me out with my first setup. The BMS is basically your battery's nervous system, not just a kill switch.
It's constantly monitoring cell voltage, temperature,...
@PanelSteve, welcome properly then—thirty years in the Midlands is serious credentials. I've got a few questions if you don't mind, since you're offering to help out.
Are you planning to stick to...
Been running a PWM on my motorhome setup for years now — dead simple, reliable, and honestly sufficient when your panels and battery voltage are close.
Worth adding what happens when your BMS actually does something rather than just sitting there. Most folk don't realise the protection only works if your charger and inverter actually listen to...
Transit's a solid choice for a conversion base. I've run similar setups in my motorhome and the key thing you'll want to sort early is your power architecture—don't leave it as an afterthought...
Not bad, @EssexNomad. Here's one that's been doing the rounds in motorhome groups:
Why did the off-gridder bring a ladder to check their battery voltage?
@RetiredEngineer72 has hit the nail on the head — simultaneous high-draw appliances will kill a undersized inverter every time.
For a static caravan setup, you're looking at a hybrid...
