Sprinter Van Solar Panels Pop Top Roof

How to put panels on the roof.

Sprinter van solar panels pop top roof.

The panels are pretty rigid and don t. 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. It also makes them lightweight. On my diy sprinter rv conversion i ve mounted a pair of grape solar 160w solar panels purchased from costco for us 230 each.

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. I ll talk more about how to determine how much solar power to have in the next section. You will probably end up with your panels flat on the roof. Flexible panels are flat cells that are molded with a layer of protective plastic on top.

Rigid solar panels are the best bang for your buck when it comes to performance and durability. The optional bed in the pop top or penthouse top is relatively small 41 wide by 76 long. 2007 rb low roof sprinters dodge promaster low roof and ford transit low and medium roof vans can also be fitted with pop tops. You need to get the cables from the panels into the 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. Download a free parts list here https www dropbox. The solar panels harness the power from the sun and then a wire runs to the batteries where the power is stored. Just a few years ago these panels would have cost us 500 each and only be available from specialty solar companies.

We used a cheap but effective solution. In this video i am installing a total of 480watts of solar panels to our mercedes sprinter camper van. My solar panels are made by bend based zamp solar the same company that made the solar panels on my first sprinter van. Some items shown may be additional cost options such as awnings running boards microwaves and larger refrigerators.

Because they don t have a frame they are low profile and can bend to shallow curves such as a van roof.