Upgrading My Vans Budget Solar Set Up - Portable Hood Mounted Panels
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- Опубликовано: 5 сен 2024
- In this episode, I go further in upgrading my 1998 GMC Safari van ahead of vanlife season and add solar panels. I have a few certain special needs for my panels, mainly that they can't be mounted permanently to my roof because I want to have a canoe on there a lot of the time. Thinking at alternative options, I landed on my hood. I did sort of want to mount my new panels directly on the hood, but I went with a less permanent solution. Magnets. I built magnetic feet for the panels to sit on so they can sit on the hood semi permanently, but also I can take them off and move them to wherever I want. The panels are on a 25 foot long cord, so if I'm parked in the shade, I can move the panels to anywhere that there is sun. I personally like that aspect of this solution because parking in the shade makes sense comfort wise. I also like not having the panels mounted permanently for stealth reasons, especially considering that mine would be on the hood... Anyways, I used two 30 watt Voltset brand solar panels off Amazon. I paid $85 each for them. They were originally $100 Canadian, but I got them 15% off. You can find these panels here: www.amazon.ca/...
I also paired them with a 2 to 1 SAE connector which can be found here: www.amazon.ca/...
And I added that all to my original set up which had an extension cable like this: www.amazon.ca/...
And that plugged into a cheap solar charger like this, although I think there are probably better options: www.amazon.ca/...
Anyways, that's what I replaced my original free solar panel with. The old panel was so big it wasn't worth carrying around or using, so that's why I upgraded. My van charges as it drives via the alternator, and I don't have huge power demands(fridge, fan, lights), so this was meant as an auxiliary charger when I stick around camp for a few days in a row. I'm happy with it, and it's already better than before.
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Have a good day!
Nic-ce!🙌🏼 very creative Sarge! Vanlife is ongoing conversions builds from rearrangement or additional upgrades or simply just being crafty and having fun doing what works for your build. 💪🏽
It's definitely always a work in progress. After the original build you find all sorts of different things you don't like or need to upgrade. It's also the slow drip of money flowing into the van instead of spending it all at once.
Nice setup ..mag mounts r the way to go..
Thanks. I agree, I like the flexibility it allows.
I bought the same one to charge my moms truck and it actually drained the battery trying to use it through the cig lighter. lol.. had to go with the clamps!
😂😂
Right on man, love the budget set ups, its how I roll too. Its nice to see things done on the budget, not by rich youtubers haha
My original one was free so it was real budget lol. But this one is still pretty cheap. A lot of people on RUclips operate like budgets don't exist, but that's not real life. Especially on something like this, I don't really need it, so cheap and simple is the way to go!
@@SARGEinc yup thats awesome, i did my cheap solar for my motorhome last summer, 2x100watt panels mounted to the roof, charge controller, inverter and a 100ah lithium battery all for $600 bucks. Not bad. I watched videos and thought id need like 5000 to do that lol
Have to call you SPARKY Inc.
Based on that set up, I highly suggest a good fire extinguisher and escape plan😂
I always have a fire extinguisher with me, it's a necessity to have one on anything I work on. I trust this system though, not that much power lol.
@@SARGEincGlad you have a fire extinguisher on board. Maybe low voltage but not low power. That is a 92 ah battery, if shorted with no fusing, it has enough “power” to blow a hole through the side of your van. Stay safe!