Stand by a lake with a self-built motorhome or take a road trip through Portugal. This is probably every camper’s dream. But reality quickly caught up with this dream. Because you will notice that you can’t enjoy a great road trip without electricity. Even with an external power connection and a second deep cycle RV battery, I feel bothered when you depend on campsites. You can’t avoid a solar system if you want to be self-sufficient. In this article, you will find out when a solar system makes sense for you and how you can install a solar system on your camper yourself.
Why we chose a solar system
We already answered it in the introduction. We love the idea of not always being dependent on a campsite with shore power. Being self-sufficient on a beautiful pitch and still having electricity was simply our big wish. Since we often work a lot on the go and need our laptops, we cannot avoid solar energy. It simply provides more independence and flexibility. Of course, it also depends a bit on your way of traveling. You can do without a solar system if you only have low power consumption. If, on the other hand, like us, you need significantly more electricity and want to work from the road, then you should get a solar system for your campervan.
Before deciding which solar system you want to install on your camper, calculate your power consumption. Then you know exactly which consumers need how much electricity and which battery and bifacial solar panels are required for this.
Monocrystalline or polycrystalline solar cells
After we had clarified how much electricity we needed to expand our camper, we next dealt with this topic. Do we want to mount monocrystalline modules or polycrystalline modules on our camper?
Monocrystalline solar cells
The basic substance of solar cells is silicon. Crystals form when the silicon is melted and then cooled. If they are monocrystalline, they have an identical shape on the outside. The connections that are created are almost perfect and conduct electricity particularly well. This fact means that the monocrystalline solar cells achieve a high-efficiency level since the contact resistance is also very low. The production costs of monocrystalline solar cells are a bit higher, so these modules naturally cost a bit more.
Polycrystalline solar cells
With these solar cells, the connection is not as perfect as with monocrystalline solar cells. The crystals that are formed are not as uniform. The efficiency is slightly lower than that of monocrystalline solar cells. However, this can be compensated for by equipping a larger area with solar panels. However, since production is much easier, the production costs are not so high, and polycrystalline solar modules are much cheaper. We opted for monocrystalline modules because we cannot guarantee optimal alignment on the roof of our camper. Furthermore, we only have a small area available, and due to the better efficiency, we can generate more electricity from the monocrystalline solar cells.
Mounting the solar system on the camper
After the theoretical basics have been clarified, the solar system installation can continue. Of course, that was just our approach. If you have other modules, you should read the instructions and follow the steps.
1. Find a suitable position on the roof
After we had unpacked the solar modules and spoilers, we first had to think about a suitable position for the solar system on the camper roof. Because we had already installed a skylight, there was not much space left. We measured everything and checked that everything fit and that no nasty surprises awaited us.
2. Screw the solar modules to the spoiler
In the next step, we put the spoilers and the solar panels on the ground and already started to connect them. To do this, holes had to be pre-drilled first so that the screws then fit through. This means that we first had to drill through the plastic of the spoilers and then through the metal of the solar panels. Once we were done with that, we connected the spoilers and the solar panels. We ensured not to overtighten the screws as we feared the plastic might break.
3. Fill in the gaps in the roof corrugations
So the spoilers were ready. Now it was up to us to fill in the gaps between the roof beads with plastic so that we ultimately had more adhesive surface for the spoilers. In videos and field reports, we have heard that the areas of the beads would theoretically be sufficient to ensure sufficient support, but somehow we wanted to play it safe. Incidentally, we used small plastic boards to fill in the gaps, which had the desired strength so that everything was on the same level. Since the plastic is similar to the spoiler, we weren’t worried that the Sikaflex adhesive wouldn’t stick. If you have similar problems with your camper, you have to decide whether you want to fill the gaps on your roof or just leave it at that.
In the next step, we glued the plastic boards to the roof. You must read the data sheets for your adhesive carefully. We used the Sikaflex 252 and therefore had to pretreat the glued areas with Activator and primer. So that the components connect even better to the plastic and the body roof, we roughened the areas slightly with sandpaper. Before you start with the Activator and Primer, you should not forget to degrease the surfaces thoroughly. We then used our proven silicone remover again. After we had pretreated all areas with Activator and primer according to the data sheets’ instructions, we glued the Sikaflex 252 to the boards and attached them to the roof.
What are Activator and Primer? The Activator is a cleaning agent, degreaser, and adhesion promoter. You can apply this colorless liquid with a non-tied cloth as a pre-treatment. A primer is also used to improve adhesion. However, this has an increased solids content and thus compensates for unevenness and pores. This ensures a larger adhesive surface; thus, the subsequent connection is significantly stronger.
4. Mount the solar modules with the spoilers on the camper
Now it’s time to get down to business. After filling the gaps, we start pretreating the spoilers and the splices on the body roof. We proceed the same way as with the pre-treatment of the plastic boards.
First, we roughen the respective surfaces with sandpaper. Then we thoroughly degreased everything with Presto silicone remover so that the adhesion was not impaired. The next step is the Activator and the primer. Here we have strictly adhered to the specifications of the data sheets. The exposure times vary greatly from product to product, and there are also different temperatures. In general, you should ensure it is not too cold to install your solar system on the camper. In the last step, we weighed down the solar system with stones and didn’t move the camper for about a week. Just to ensure we didn’t make any mistakes during assembly and that the Sikaflex had enough time to bond.
5. Roof duct for the solar cables
The spoilers and the solar panels are already attached. Now all we had to do was attach the roof duct for the cables to the camper roof and drill two small holes for the cables in the body. This step is pretty straightforward. After finding the right spot, we drilled two holes in the desired spot. Afterward, we “defused” them with the Dremel and treated them with anti-rust primer.
In the further procedure, we degreased the areas with silicone remover and prepared everything for the final attachment. Since we didn’t want to permanently connect the roof duct to the body, we used the Sikaflex 221. This also adheres and seals well but is not as strong as the Sikaflex 252. As soon as we had completed this step, we only had to place a small stone on the passage to weigh it down and didn’t touch anything for two days. Even almost 4000 kilometers later, the roof duct still holds up great!
6. The solar charge controller in the camper
Of course, you can also do this step at another time. For example, we attached the solar charge controller before we installed the solar system on the roof. We built our electronics area above the left wheel arch and installed the solar charge controller. For us, it was pretty easy. We only ensured that the cables running from the solar system through the roof did not have to make 1,000 extra trips. But that they can be connected in the shortest possible way. Another important point is the proximity to the battery. The route should be as short as possible. The dedicated RV power inverter is also crucial, which can convert the DC power in the battery into AC power for use by electrical appliances.
7. Connecting the solar system
We connected the passed solar cables to the solar charge controller in the final step. How exactly do you do this, and what are our tips for you? You will find out in the following article:
Solar system on the camper – so you’ll never run out of electricity again!
Our conclusion on the installation of the solar system on the camper
Looking back, we didn’t think installing the solar system on our camper was that bad. It is only important that you carefully proceed and read the data sheets of your adhesives when gluing the solar spoiler. The feeling of losing the solar system on the freeway would certainly not be that great. However, if you proceed thoroughly, a solar system on your camper roof will significantly enrich your future “van life.”
We have now been on the road for four weeks with our self-built camper, and even after 4000 kilometers, our solar system is still working great. Even though we’ve only recently started our road trip, we can’t imagine it without a solar system!
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