Portable solar for limited current draw

MrWizard wrote:
the typical 100w panel puts out a 5amp charge rate
your laptop probably draws 2-3 amps, then there are the lights

i would recommend 200w

your use may be different, but only you can judge the specfics of the situation

what do you do at night ?
TV/DVDs, PC streaming video, or set with one light and read a book

people often come here and only ask one side of the question
every watt, amphr of power used at night also has to be replaced in the batteries during those solar hours

Well, obviously. I didn't posit a distinct amount of use or a particular number of charging hours because those are variables that will be different from day to day. The only "side of the question" I asked, and the only one I was interested in, was whether the charge from a 100 or 200-watt panel would be sufficient to compensate for the current drawn by a laptop and a couple of lights. I would probably be using each for 3-4 hours a day.

Hooking the panels' output directly into the RV batteries with alligator clips or something seems kludgy, but maybe it's the simplest alternative. In that scenario, I still need an inverter to run the laptop, but I have one already and have been using it in my car now and then--works fine.

Given that the panel itself is only part of the setup, I would imagine that 200 watts would not cost twice as much as 100 watts, so that might be the way to go. As far as security goes, well, I would probably just stow the panel(s) whenever I was away from the campground. Also, I have an attack cat.