I'm told panels are a lot lighter than they used to be. Read the other posts here about solar. I want to trickle feed the existing battery in my pop-top when I'm off power.
Van is very new (delivered 29/5). Should I let a dealer do it, forget it (too many risks...leaks, fitting etc), or consider it a possibility?
You should be able to find a reputable solar fitter to fit them on your Pop top van. With modern sealants, Sikaflex etc. the leak problem is no longer there.
You will have to make sure the feed from the solar panel is fitted so the cable won't get trapped or kinked when raising or lowering the roof. There are coiled cables available that should do the trick for that.
The weight of the panels shouldn't be too much of a problem raising the roof, but there are the new powered lifters that are basically airbags that get pumped up and do it for you. Most Caravan and RV stores should be able to point you in the right direction for them.
I have fitted a panell on a poptop, mounted two RHS rails accross the roof & attached them to the outer edge of roof frame, no holes through the sealed area.
I ran the cabling down the side of the van in a second rope track mounted on top of the existing one for the annex .
When roof is down the exposed cable sits in a loop beside the roof, never had a problem as there is no where to leak.
Forget the air bag lift kit as mentioned, far to expensive. If needed you can upgrade the gas struts as I have done.much cheaper.
JC.
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Be your self; there's no body better qualified ! "I came into this world with nothing , I still have most of it"
You should let dealer where you bought the van from fit them. You will still have your full van warranty and no problems as I'm sure they know the correct way of fitting properly and whether nyou need extra lift for the roof.
Julie, 10 kg is not a large increase in the weight of a pop-top, those tops are fairly heavy, generally it takes a couple of blokes to man handle them. This should not make the top significantly harder to raise. My last two vans have the same size pop-top and there is no discernible difference in raising the lid. Don't get a small panel, get one around 80 - 100 W so it will be useful when you are free camping. This will keep you in power for lights and some TV.
Regarding the routing of the cables from the top to the body of the van, they just do it in the same manner as they get the power to the lights in the lid. They may be able to thread the solar wires through the same spaghetti as the wires to your lights if the lights are 12 V ones.
-- Edited by PeterD on Saturday 29th of June 2013 11:29:49 PM
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PeterD Nissan Navara D23 diesel auto, Spaceland pop-top Retired radio and electronics technician. NSW Central Coast.
I have just purchased a new style of panel for my van, they are semi flexible light weight panels. I am using the 100W versions and they weigh 1.5kg each as opposed to over 10kg for normal rigid panels.
They are also very thin, so far less obtrusive on top of the van.
