Jim,
Hang on, I'm kinda of a geek when it comes to slide in campers and all things associated with them, counting the one I currently own, I have previously owned 4, this is my 5th, I have been through the truck camper thing to the greatest degree.
The solar panels are mounted on the roof of the camper, they have feet that attach the panels to the roof and are adjustable, as during different times of the year, the solar azimuth is different based on longitude and latitude, so in order for the panels to collect the most amount of energy from the sun they have to be adjustable. The panels always need to point due south. Ironically, there are some pretty killer apps available for most smart phones that grab the GPS coordinates and the elevation, and you set the phone up against the panel and it pretty much self adjusts itself, all you have to do is secure the elevation of the panel. It's pretty cool, and it doesn't need data for the app to work, it uses GPS from the phone.
Anyhow, to answer your question, the panels work both ways, I have removed the built in generator in my camper and replaced it with four 6 volt golf cart/RV batteries, they are tall and very heavy, they are wired in series to create 12 volts. When you use the 6 volt battery, and wire them together to create 12 volts it creates a very large what's called AMP Hour capacity. Mine have a 480 AMP Hour capacity, in my camper that's a ton of hours using everything DC, all the light in the camper internally and externally have been replaced with LED's so it draws very little amperage.
So the solar panels wire into whats called solar controller, it, takes the electricity that's generated from the panels, and then it charges the batteries that are already in the camper and then the controller is wired into my Inverter, which then runs anything 110 AC, on a normal day it very common for the panels to generate 14 to 16 amps of 12 volt electricity, this is a great thing, its' then runs through my campers CONVERTER which smart charges the batteries, and keeps them topped off and prevents overcharging. The Converter that comes with most campers won't allow this to happen, as the manufactures of campers are cheap and install cheap converter, you have to purchase an aftermarket Converter to keep the batteries safe.
So without all the technical jargon, it does both, it uses the electric generated to run anything both DC and AC. The best part of the setup is, it was very easy to install, it's not cheap, good solar panels are pricey, but they are worth it, on a somewhat overcast day, my panels will still generate at least 3 to 6 amps of DC power. It basically keep everything always charged up.
The only thing the panels won't run is the microwave, and the Air Conditioner, that's what the generators are for on the front rack I built.
So there is the long an short of it, to put it mildly, I could camp for a very long time as long as I had water and propane, I have dry camped at one point for 20 days without any outside assistance, and almost no generator usage.
The best part about the solar panels, is I have a special plug that comes off the solar controller that charges my trolling motor batteries without a generator. Never have to hear the generator running and the trolling batteries are always charged. #-o
Thanks,
Rob
