Van Life Solar Setup Cost

Six steps to set up solar.

Van life solar setup cost.

Total cost of our van s solar power setup 870 running the cable to the interior of the van the solar panel is attached to the sprinter s roof using believe it or not double sided tape. While solar generators do cost more than building a system on your own they are nearly impossible to mess up and are fully portable for camping and travel. Our battery cost 300 400 to get the equivalent lithium. They often come with their own charge controller and you can hook them into an existing solar set up.

So unless you like to drive a lot everyday solar power will ensure you get a full charge and will increase your battery life. It goes without saying that these numbers will vary by person van region preferences etc. 3 1 1 in a nutshell the solar panels are in charge of converting the energy of sunlight to electricity but the resulting voltage and current they produce are not adequate for the battery. She has traveled through 48 us states and writes about van life camping and rv.

We bought our 1996 dodge ram van for 3 700 on craigslist and spent another 5 000 converting it with a queen sized bed fridge solar power and general repairs. With that said let s get started with the 10 best solar products for van life and their reviews for. Bridge the two batteries with the 4 gauge cable connect the negative terminal from battery a to the positive terminal on battery b. Build within your budget and save a little bit for emergencies.

Install the batteries in your van this is dependent on the type of van rv truck you have. I just wanted to give an accurate depiction of my actual costs for getting started in van. This setup will cost you somewhere around 1500 but it should take care of all your basic power needs unless you re regularly running things that draw a lot of power like televisions air conditioners or power tools. In this post i m going to discuss everything you need to consider in your van conversion solar setup also review the products we ve used in our van build.

Instal charge controller in a convenient place. Once you finish reading this guide you ll know the essentials that make solar energy the best choice for van lifestyle. In my eurovan i installed it underneath the bed by placing a piece of backer wood behind the. The first time we drove on the freeway we kept looking in our rearview mirrors expecting to see our 400 solar panel in pieces behind us.

We re three weeks into our van life adventure and i thought it would be worth reviewing how we re getting along so far. In this guide we ll tell you about 10 absolutely cannot miss solar products to make your van life a piece of cake. You might make twice as much as me or maybe you still owe 10 000 in student loans but you also might not need a solar power setup or swivel seats or new tires.