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Ok, wow that is big! And lots of questions!
So, I don't know that I can answer all your questions, but let's start with a few basics.
You asked "does this cut into my carry capacity?" Answer, EVERYTHING cuts into your carry capacity! And, that is one of my concerns when I look at your list. You could be adding 1000 lbs or more. How much is your carrying capacity now? Do you want to use 1/3 to 1/2 of that just for this? What other things will you need to remove to not be overweight?
Next, you are going big on solar AND adding a heavy built in generator. Certainly, it's your money and your choice, but these are largely redundant systems. With the amount of panels and batteries you are looking at, that generator may never get used. If I can make a suggestion; look at something like a DC-DC charger wired into your truck alternator. With that, your truck alternator can feed 60 amps or more of charge, much like that built in Onan. This will save you about 350lbs and at a fraction of the price.
Next; when deciding on panels, find out the measurements, then think about how to lay them out on the roof. When you get to the 300 watt panels, most won't fit where there is already something on the roof. For example, they won't fit on either side of the AC units. Or, if there is even a small vent or antenna, that may mean only 1 panel can fit in that space not 2. You will likely be challenged to get 9 large panels up there, and may need to look at a mix of some of the large ones and a few of the 150 watt size.
One area where I'm confused; you indicate you want to do 9 panels of about 330 watts each or about 3 kw of panels. But then you say you want 15 to 17 kw total. How are you planning to get the total wattage you need? (even with the 5.5kw gen you are only half of that)
And, maybe the biggest question of all is; why do you think you need such a big solar system? Why 15-17kw of solar? Why 1000 to 1200ah of batteries? (to be clear, I'm not at all saying this is wrong, but I am trying to understand what your goals are)
One other thought from our experience; in our last rig we had a total of 300 watts of solar and the equivalent battery capacity of 1 of the battleborns. We could boondock for a week, with the occasional battery top up from a portable generator if it was cloudy. But it was harder to manage the water. By the end of a week, with only a couple of quick showers each and judicious water usage everywhere else, we had to hookup to empty the waste and take on new water. Even with that small system, power management was actually easier than water management.
So, please do share your goals for this system. That will be helpful for you, and I think it puts everyone else in a better position to look at your design and make comments.
Brad
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