dual batteries

Called the dealer.  They supply an Interstate 12v 24 group 'marine-grade' battery.  Looked online and it seems there were two models.  Have to ask which one they are supplying.  Still a better option to add the golf batteries, given the greater AH they will provide.

I appreciate everyone's collective knowledge and the good discussion.  I'm learning alot - and certainly have food for thought.  We wouldn't be able to use the solar, even for maintenance, at home, since we live in the fog.  But I have shore power for that.  Camping on the coast will also limit the amount of direct sunlight.  Perhaps a combination of the two would work, for those trips inland where there is more sun, and the generator for the cloudy/foggy days.  A dual battery would sounds like it would at least give us enough power for the long weekend trips nearby.  Seems like I'll be checking with the dealer and see if the 'free battery' they throw in is quality or if we just buy a good pair.

1% every other day in the winter, 1% per day spring/fall, 2% per day hot summer.

Agree, it is feasible.  As long as the panels are in the sun, since just a small amount of shading on a panel will drop its output greatly and not much more shading will drop the output to near zero.

One more option to discuss - the poor man's battery charger.  If you rarely dry camp so a generator or solar system or 2nd battery wouldn't make sense, use the TV.  Every other day hook up jumper cables and run the TV engine for an hour.  Since lead-acid batts charge faster the more discharged they are, waiting for every other day puts more amps in, faster.  Not very efficient in the short term but much more efficient than buying a generator for a few hours of charging time every year. 

Actually most lead-acid designs self-discharge at 2% per day in warm weather, which is why you must top them off at least once a month during the summer.  AGMs have a lower discharge rate but they are rare compared to the usual flooded lead-acid used on most campers.  

Well.. other people are way smarter than me on this but.. IF (and I say IF because it ain't going to happen), but if, you really could get "80 watts" out of your panel, that's a little over 6ah. Real battery talk revolves around amp hours. Real solar talk revolves around actual production, not rated capacity..

With a solid mount panel, no tracking mount, you will probably see an average of 1/4 or the panels rated capacity over the course of a clear day.

so 12 hours times 6.5 or so amp hours at 12v+/- is 78ah a day. HEY IT WOULD WORK!! except.. you will never see any where near that number. Maybe 20ah in real use.. and then there are resitance and conversion losses.. I would bet 15ah available to the battery over the course of the day. Couple cloudy days and you are sunk.

So, if you can keep your 12v use low, LED's for lights, no inverter action to run the TV/DVD etc, that 80 watt panel can extend your off grid time, but it's not going to stay ahead if you need to say, run the heater. The heater blower can pull near 30ah a night from your battery(s) all by itself..

I have not been to the website you mention, but there isn't very much real estate on a pod roof..

Now.. again, there is no doubt that they can, and will extend your off grid time. But for the $$ a small, good genny is the answer. The Honda inverters are the gold standard.