Solar Panel Van Roof Rack

We used a cheap but effective solution.

Solar panel van roof rack.

For this installation we bought 5 pieces of gold galvanized unistrut from hd lowes in the electrical section. Instructions for installing solar panels onto rack. Installing the solar panels is done by using unistrut cone connectors 1 4 inch or 3 8 inch to attach to the slotted steel l brackets. In this video i walk you through the details of my diy solution for mounting solar panels on my extended long wheel base high roof ford transit van.

You need to get the cables from the panels into the van. Drill each mark on you panels with a 1 8 drill bit then drill again with a 1 4 drill bit and finally drill once more with a 1 2 drill bit. First purchase the unistrut also branded as superstrut. Check out the super simple solar power set up we installed on our new camper van roof.

Mark out on your solar panels where they are going to land on the strut channels. The unistrut for the side rails is 1 5 8. We use these renogy solar panels. If you re interested in any of inergy s solar power products they re.

These two solar panels will generate electricity harvested from the power of the sun and the energy that these two panels create will be passed through a series of adapter cables to your solar charge controller. Even a tiny bit of shadow on a solar panel reduces its efficiency a long way. Both cone connector sizes are available at big box hardware stores. Installing the solar panels onto the unistrut.

You can attach them to roof rack rails or directly on top of the roof. Installing rigid solar panels on your camper van will require a few pieces of mounting hardware and a handful of holes. The panel goes over the top of mounted maxtrax but still allows your to access them. Fortunately the process is relatively simple and won t do a lot of damage to your rooftop.

How to build a unistrut solar panel roof rack on a van step by step instructions. The unistrut used for the crossbars is 13 16. How i mounted a 130w solar panel on the roof racks of my 4wd.