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Yes, that is how they work.
One thing to note is if the load is larger than the panels are putting in, the batteries will continue to discharge. A common mistake beginners make is to look at the rated output of the panels, and assume that's what is going into the batteries, all the time. In reality, there's almost always some small load stripping some of those amps off the top, leaving a smaller net amperage left over to go into the batteries. As an example, I have a decent sized system that can commonly put out more than 40amps. However, if my residential refrigerator is cooling, it uses about 16 amps to do so, leaving only 24 amps going into my batteries. It's actually a few amps less, because I have some other small things running along with the refrigerator.
As mentioned above, some manufacturers place a small panel on the roof and it's only purpose is to keep the batteries topped off when in storage. Lead acid batteries lose a small percentage of charge each month even when sitting disconnected.
I see that you are new to the forum. What will help others who may reply, is to put your trailer brand and model in your signature. That can help responders make better informed replies, as every RV is different.
Another thing that would help for questions like this is, to give some details about the system you are asking about - in this case, how many batteries and how many watts of solar your trailer has.
Solar systems can be confusing at first because there's a lot of variables involved. Once you understand the basics of how they work, it becomes much less confusing. I suggest you spend some time reading through the Going Green section. It may be very confusing at first, and you may read things that seem to contradict others, but after a while you'll understand how these systems work, and can apply that knowledge to your own system.
Forgive me for the following oversimplified explanation, but it's a good way to explain the basic idea. One simple way to this of your system is, you batteries are like a bucket and the larger your battery bank the larger the bucket. Your solar panels are the faucet that fills the bucket, and the loads are like a spigot on the bottom of the bucket. The size of your solar dictates how fast the bucket fills, and the size of the spigot and how far open it is dictates how fast the bucket empties. The bigger the faucet filling it, and the bigger the bucket, the more you can let out the bottom without it going dry.
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Tom and Pris M. along with Buddy the 18 year old Siamese cat
1998 Safari Serengeti 3706, 300HP Cat 3126 Allison 3060, 900 watts of Solar.
Dragging four telescopes around the US in search of dark skies.
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