[cheeky_dieter]

Hi all

I am thinking of investing in a solar panel (or 2) for the van for those longer trips away when we don't want to keep firing up the motor to recharge the leisure battery

I have a split charge system already and a decent leisure battery I just need to provide some top up and trickle charge

I have a pop top fitted (Bilbo's side elevation) and wondered about sticking one of the "flexible" panels directly onto the roof.

A couple of thoughts, first is the cooling for the panel, will this affect performance and my roof and secondly the gas struts on the pop top - after fitting a bike rack on the tail gate I realise that any extra weight can cause the gas struts some difficulty. I once had my roof blow closed in high winds, when I parked up as I parked it stupidly! So adding extra weight might cause some issues?

Anybody permanently mounted panels on a pop top?

Or alteratively should I look at a seperate standalone system that I connect up when I park up?

Also any recommendations on panels kits etc?

T:

Cheers

 

[GazHow]

Have a word with Lee Davies on here. He has/had a pop top with flexible solar panel fitted and it looked great.

 

[leedavis]

cheers Gaz, yeah the flexi solar panels are great and will not add much extra weight to ur roof,they are mono crystal panels bonded to a very thin sheet of aluminium,as for cooling as far as im aware none required,certainly didnt do any harm to my roof. Go for anything above 40 watt and better with 2 panels if running a 12v fridge,you will also need a charge controller to regulate power during periods of lots of sun,these are cheap and easy installed,check ebay for both items