Help with ideas about designing a system

jrrichar wrote:
A/C during the summer is a MUST, it certainly helps both dogs and us humans considering we can be out in the heat all day.

Refrigerator has an LP option, I will take out the electric kettle and just boil water, all lights are LED, and the ONLY time the microwave/TV/satellite are on is when the generator is on because I'm back at the trailer.

Phone and iPad are charged in my truck because that is what I'm near throughout the majority of the day.

A/C is likely much more of a possibility during the 90+ days of dry camping then the furnace.

As you further detail how you expect to use your new camper I'm getting the distinct impression that with your need for a genset capable of running A/C that you really don't need all that much in terms of battery reserve after all. Since it looks like you'd be running the genset at least once each day or evening, perhaps through the evening, you're really not going to be relying solely on battery power as much as you may have thought. Regarding your fridge - yes, it runs on gas when you're dry camping but you still need 12 vdc to power the circuit board that controls all the fridge functions and obviously when you're dry camping that 12 volts has to come from the battery. Also, most fridges these days have a climate control circuit but quite a few no longer have a switch that allows you to turn this power sucking heating element off when you're dry camping. Since you do plan to be running on battery for part of each day it would be worth your while to figure out whether your particular fridge has this switch and if not add one yourself ... no sense wasting battery reserve when you don't have to. ;)

Given the above I really don't see the need for any more than two GC-2 6 volt batteries, at least to start. The question then is whether you're just going to leave it to that less than adequate WFCO to charge those batteries or whether you want to invest in a better charger and wire it properly yourself.