Solar panel mounting refers to permanently attaching solar panels to the roof (and sometimes sides) of your vehicle. This is in contrast to portable solar panels.
Some solar panels can be glued directly to the vehicle roof for ease of installation and increased stealth, but this convenience comes at the cost of reduced efficiency and higher cost.
When purchasing a vehicle, you may want to consider the ease of adding sufficient solar panels to the roof of your vehicle. Large, flat roofs are easiest. Solar mounting difficulty for various vehicle types:
- Easiest mounting: Box trucks, step vans, motorhomes, trailers
- Moderate mounting difficulty: Buses, cargo vans, passenger vans, pickup trucks
- Most difficult: - Cars, minivans, and SUVs, especially those without roof racks
Solar panel mounting gallery
See more in the Solar panel mounting category. For image credits, open image and click More Details.
Resources
| Resource | Description | |
|---|---|---|
| Airflow around a van | Testing the way air moves around a Ram ProMaster to analyze the impact of things attached to the van such as roof racks and solar panels. | |
| MPG penalty for roof racks | Testing the impact of a campervan roof rack or solar panels on fuel economy. | |
| Solar panel installation example | Example addition of a solar panel on a Ram ProMaster van. | |
| Vehicle mounted solar forum | A subforum of the DIY Solar Power Forum. | |
| Search forums and groups | Search van life discussion groups for "solar panel mounting" | |
| Search related sites | Search van life sites for "solar panel mounting" | |
| Search NomadLife.wiki | Search other pages on this wiki for "solar panel mounting" |