Top boxes gnarly light bars toilet vents or anything else that puts shade on a part of the panel is robbing you of solar energy.
Sprinter van solar panels pop top roof.
2007 rb low roof sprinters dodge promaster low roof and ford transit low and medium roof vans can also be fitted with pop tops.
The panels are pretty rigid and don t.
In this video i am installing a total of 480watts of solar panels to our mercedes sprinter camper van.
The crew at denver based vanlife customs did just that with this 2016 mercedes benz sprinter affectionately calls pops thanks to a cool motorized pop top roof that allows occupants to stretch out.
The optional bed in the pop top or penthouse top is relatively small 41 wide by 76 long.
I wired the two 12v solar panels in series for a higher voltage and current output for.
Rigid solar panels are the best bang for your buck when it comes to performance and durability.
Eb sprinter high roof van rb sprinter low roof with penthouse conversions for sprinters can usually be adapted to the transit and promaster vans.
I ll talk more about how to determine how much solar power to have in the next section.
Download a free parts list here https www dropbox.
Even a tiny bit of shadow on a solar panel reduces its efficiency a long way.
Just a few years ago these panels would have cost us 500 each and only be available from specialty solar companies.
On my diy sprinter rv conversion i ve mounted a pair of grape solar 160w solar panels purchased from costco for us 230 each.
You will probably end up with your panels flat on the roof.
There are several mounting options but you will probably either use a roof rack to mount them or make use of the roof channels if your van has them to slide in little fixings for the edges of the panel.
The solar panels harness the power from the sun and then a wire runs to the batteries where the power is stored.
It also makes them lightweight.
Flexible panels are flat cells that are molded with a layer of protective plastic on top.
How to put panels on the roof.
We used a cheap but effective solution.
My solar panels are made by bend based zamp solar the same company that made the solar panels on my first sprinter van.