Do you have pictures of how you mounted 4-400 watt panels. I am struggling just figuring 1000 watts and I will have no fan or ac on the lid.
Roof Configuration For Solar Panels
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I have a bluetti ac200P; Orion roof rack; 3 175watt renogy solar panels, maxxair up front; 159 van. The solar keeps my system charged and so far I have not needed to option to charge any other way.
If I were doing it over I would use 200 watt panels instead. And I would buy the bluetti ac200max because it has more ports for charging options.
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If I were doing it over I would use 200 watt panels instead. And I would buy the bluetti ac200max because it has more ports for charging options.
I’ve used the maxxfan like twice. It’s worthless to me— I know others love theirs. Maybe someday I’ll see value in mine. Anything is possible. BUT—If I ever travel a lot to hot climates I’ll replace it with AC. I do t know what 1515 rail is.
Is that for me? If so, I used Promaster Roof Attachments, Clips and Pads × 3 from @Hein Diy van and Home Depot struts. And these things from Home Depot that functioned as nuts but for struts (I forget the bane of them.
the downside is we drilled homes in the frame of the panels and attached to struts with zL brackets
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We have 350W of flexible panels that are mounted directly to the roof, no holes required! I believe @Baxsie posted earlier about using UHB tape to stick them up there, could be misremembering. Not sure what ours were mounted with. Run the wires into the van through the backup camera housing.
We have similar power usage and have never had a problem running out of juice (with 400Ah of AGMs). BUT! I wish we had a combo B2B/solar unit, and if I were starting from scratch I would wire that in. See, it's not that we need more electrons, it's that I worry about needing more electrons. And if we had a B2B I would worry less, which makes vacation more fun. But maybe you are less of a worrier than I am.
We also travel with the weather, but even in nice weather you would prefer a campsite with a lot of nice trees around, wouldn't you? Not relying on solar would make picking out a campsite easier for me (and less aggravating for my better half who doesn't suffer from arguably unnecessary range anxiety).
My initial thought was to do two or three 100's on the roof and 2 or 3 portable panels with a second power generator. After reading a bunch I thought, since I will be driving almost daily, panels on top make the most sense. Now I am thinking, two or three 175w panels on top,one portable panel and a 12v cable to the 12v plug in the van.
Three gives me what I want to recharge during the day when I am fishing, hiking or exploring. I portable panel gives me some 'assistance' when I park in the shade and can put the portable panel out away from the van to collect and the 12v gives me the power from the motor when I am driving.
I just want to keep my beer cold!!
Three gives me what I want to recharge during the day when I am fishing, hiking or exploring. I portable panel gives me some 'assistance' when I park in the shade and can put the portable panel out away from the van to collect and the 12v gives me the power from the motor when I am driving.
I just want to keep my beer cold!!
What rack is that from Orion? Plus, the Bluetti for me seems to be the easy solution since I know nothing about wiring and electrical. Do you ever run a line to the 12v plug in the van?
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I hear you about the beer!My initial thought was to do two or three 100's on the roof and 2 or 3 portable panels with a second power generator. After reading a bunch I thought, since I will be driving almost daily, panels on top make the most sense. Now I am thinking, two or three 175w panels on top,one portable panel and a 12v cable to the 12v plug in the van.
Three gives me what I want to recharge during the day when I am fishing, hiking or exploring. I portable panel gives me some 'assistance' when I park in the shade and can put the portable panel out away from the van to collect and the 12v gives me the power from the motor when I am driving.
I just want to keep my beer cold!!
If you don't want want a hybrid solar/B2B charger now, that's fine and a very reasonable choice. I would suggest though that you learn how to wire one (at least what size wires run from where to where) and make it easy to add in the future if you change your mind. So leave, room for wire runs in your cabinetry, bed, etc now, even if you don't install it. Your future self will thank you!
I know very little about wiring but everyone on the forum is very generous with their time and expertise, watch a few youtube videos and folks here will help you get the rest of it done.
Definitely going to spend the money, probably not much at all, to run a line from the Power Station to the vehicle battery. Not sure I will connect it but it seams like a no brainer to run the line. Still think the 12v outlet to the Bluetti 12v charging port might be the easier answer. But I need to figure out what 'wattage' each have.
It only seems easier. Lithium batteries have gotten so cheap, you can get 1-200ah and a basic system for 1.5-2k, and it will take you so much further -- plus you can build onto it. There is a thread on here on how to make a very basic and very inexpensive electrical system. If you aren't committed to the bluetti yet, it's worth considering.
I knew nothing and I built my system on my own. And everything except cooking and hot water is 12v -- lMaxfan, lights, camera charges, waterpump, blendjet, laptop and Ipad TV.
I know @Kathyks got a bluyetti and I think she's happy with it, but I think there were hurdles she had to jump in hooking it up with solar, 12v, dc-dc...
If your driving more that sitting, a dc to dc charger (or some form of charging from alternator, if that works with blueyetti) will be more effective. Solar doesn't work so well in even the slightest shade and not at all in shaded parking areas.My initial thought was to do two or three 100's on the roof and 2 or 3 portable panels with a second power generator. After reading a bunch I thought, since I will be driving almost daily, panels on top make the most sense. Now I am thinking, two or three 175w panels on top,one portable panel and a 12v cable to the 12v plug in the van.
Three gives me what I want to recharge during the day when I am fishing, hiking or exploring. I portable panel gives me some 'assistance' when I park in the shade and can put the portable panel out away from the van to collect and the 12v gives me the power from the motor when I am driving.
I just want to keep my beer cold!!
Ok, this might be a stupid question, but, I am going to ask...If I am pulling DC power from the vehicle battery when I am driving, what prevents my 'power source' from continuing to pull from vehicle battery when I am parked? If most of my power usage is when I am stopped/parked, lights/hotpot/microwave etc. is there a way to just use power source power not vehicle battery power so I can start my vehicle in the morning? To me once you hook it up the power flow is as needed and the 12v cigarette outlet is when I plug it in.
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No stupid questions, just learning opportunities!
My basic understanding is that the B2B charger (not just a wire from the van battery to your power source) knows when the van is turned off, and then doesn't draw batter.
The bluetti or a battery system stores the power for you, then you can use it whenever you want. The van def. doesn't have to be on.
I don't know how others feel about it, but I learned a lot from this website https://faroutride.com/electrical-system/ Lots of good basic learning there, poke around and see if it starts to make more sense!
My 4x 110w SunPower flexible solar panels attached with VHB are holding up well. Minimal additional drag, and no need for a rack.
At the time, these were one of the top energy per unit area for flexible panels. There might be more optimal solutions now.
Recent photo:
![Automotive parking light Vehicle Tire Motor vehicle Hood]()
At the time, these were one of the top energy per unit area for flexible panels. There might be more optimal solutions now.
Recent photo:
Hi @MT Boiler
As @justsomekid wrote, there are no stupid questions ,,, well other than the ones you don’t ask.😁
The basic answer is “a switch” of some sort;
Ignition trigger
Solenoid
Manual
Electronic ( DC2DC or Battery Combiner )
So if you are using a 12vdc power plug ( cigarette lighter style ) & that is On/Off with the ignition key ,,, that is your switch.
In my case I have a “Battery Combiner” as my “smart switch” as my “Primary Switch”;
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1515 is a specific size of 8020 / T slot materials.
It is 1.5 x 1.5 inches and then as long as you want. Surprisingly close to a wood 2x2 in size.
I actually use the 1515-L version which is slightly lighter on the roof and then the 1010 version (which is 1 x 1 inch ) for interior work.
Shop 80/20 | T-Slot Aluminum Extrusion Profiles | Framing Options
Aluminum T-slot profiles are a modular framing solution for your 80/20 project. SAE/fractional or metric profiles available in a variety of shapes and finishes.
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I have a Bluetti AC200P plus the B230 battery module. For the time being I have decided to forgo solar and have set my system up to charge from a Victron inverter connected to the car battery/alternator. Then I am just using the power brick to charge the B230, which then keeps the AC200P topped off. The nice thing about the Victron inverter is that it has a sensor you can connect to the car's electrical system to detect when the car is running. This prevents the house batteries from draining the car battery in case I forget to turn off the inverter when parked. BTW, I also wired in a relay between the inverter and the car battery just to have another option. I'm still building out the van, but have confirmed that the system works.
This might be a better option than using relying on the "cigarette lighter" port, which has very limited throughout. In other words, the cigarette port takes something like 19 or 20 hours to charge vs. 4 hours for the AC charging brick.
One other reminder with respect to solar, you will most likely need to wire your solar panels in series to get the voltage high enough for the Bluetti to charge (at least for the AC200P.). Hope this helps and doesn't add to the confusion.
This might be a better option than using relying on the "cigarette lighter" port, which has very limited throughout. In other words, the cigarette port takes something like 19 or 20 hours to charge vs. 4 hours for the AC charging brick.
One other reminder with respect to solar, you will most likely need to wire your solar panels in series to get the voltage high enough for the Bluetti to charge (at least for the AC200P.). Hope this helps and doesn't add to the confusion.
This. I have 390 watts mounted on my roof, but there are many points during the day when the panels are not getting direct sunlight. It’s nice to throw as many panels up there if you can because you can just kind of forget about them, but you end up paying a lot of money for partial efficiency.My initial thought was to do two or three 100's on the roof and 2 or 3 portable panels with a second power generator. After reading a bunch I thought, since I will be driving almost daily, panels on top make the most sense. Now I am thinking, two or three 175w panels on top,one portable panel and a 12v cable to the 12v plug in the van.
Three gives me what I want to recharge during the day when I am fishing, hiking or exploring. I portable panel gives me some 'assistance' when I park in the shade and can put the portable panel out away from the van to collect and the 12v gives me the power from the motor when I am driving.
I just want to keep my beer cold!!
I just added a 200W flex panel that I can stow under my mattress and move it around the van during the day to catch the best sunlight. I don’t know what the efficiency of my system is vs one that’s completely rooftop mounted, but it should be considerably more than a 590W fixed rooftop setup.
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Nicely done!
Are you running the inverter up front or wired to the back of the van? I am thinking about the electrical in the back and having a line ran through the wall from the battery under the seat to the back. but if I could do it all up front that might make sense too.Thanks for the info on the 12v charging. Doesn't make as much sense as coming straight off the battery now.
I also like the idea of a spare panel. Storing it under the bed doesn't damage it? I think most panels are pretty tough.
Thanks,
Andy
I also like the idea of a spare panel. Storing it under the bed doesn't damage it? I think most panels are pretty tough.
Thanks,
Andy
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