1,000W of Solar on Our Sprinter Roof

We have 1,000 watts of solar on the roof: four Newpowa 250W monocrystalline panels on a VannCamp roof rack. We picked these panels because their width fits between the rails of the rack, and the rack sits high enough that the panels go right over the roof fans, so we use almost the whole roof.

Because our battery bank is 48V, the panels are wired in series so the string voltage clears the battery's charging voltage. A two-pole PV isolator between the roof and the charge controller lets us cut the solar before working on the system. In the van tour Michael mentions seeing as much as 700 watts in February in the Florida sun.

VannCamp sent us the roof rack.

What we learned

• Route the PV cable through the junction box gland before you crimp the connectors on, or you will be cutting and splicing.
• The panels hinge on one rail so they can flip up. Check the length of the hinge screws before install day; ours were too short and we lost a day waiting for parts.
• When we added the rooftop AC, one panel hit the unit. Instead of raising the whole rack, Michael trimmed the edge of that panel's aluminum frame so it lies flat with the AC exhaust in the gap.