I've been a firm believer for some time that you don't need a generator for your caravan and that a well set up battery solar system will do everything you want. Well, I think the Universe heard me and is laughing at me... First thing was from when the caravan was new, the Redarc BMS would quite happily display the correct voltage on the solar input, but we weren't getting any charge from the solar into the battery. Of course, we only found this out when we were half way to Central Queensland via Broken Hill, Bourke, etc... After many emails and phone calls (when we had phone coverage) Redarc couldn't diagnose the problem and were suggesting that the BMS needed to be replaced. I thought there had to be something simple and after two days of trying everything, so there was - the screw for the solar input terminal hadn't been tightened. This would allow the BMS to sense solar voltage from the wire loosely touching the terminal, but there was insufficient contact for any current flow. So, a year on, silly me thinks that it's time to upgrade the batteries. So out go the AGMs and in go the iTechworld Lithium batteries. No problems there, the batteries worked well, but the amount of solar input from 2 x 170 watt panels just wasn't sufficient for long-term free camping. Time, methinks, to add another 3 x 170 watt solar panels - giving me a total of 5 panels (850 watts total) - panel installation went well, even in the heat and humidity of Mango Madness time in Darwin, using 'Y' connectors to daisy chain the panels in parallel. All cabled up, but now the voltage at the BMS is consistently around half what it should be and the current is nowhere near right for 850W of panels. Cue two more days of troubleshooting (in the heat and 70%+ humidity) until I come to the conclusion that the panel output is correct right up to the last 'Y' connectors (one each on +ve and -ve cables) before the BMS - so I bought another two connectors, replaced the previously installed ones and everything appears to be good now. So, it looks like one of the 'Y' connectors wasn't making quite good enough contact, creating resistance and limiting the voltage and current flow to the BMS. Now I'm sitting here wondering if a genny plugged into the power inlet is really all that bad an option...