How to make a Unistrut Solar Mount on a Van

Рет қаралды 20,359

2 жыл бұрын

#Vanlife #VanBuild #SolarPower
Watch as we maximise our VAN ROOF filling every inch with 900w of SOLAR PANELS.
Solar panels: www.craigsolar.co.uk/shop/300...
About us:
We're Jodie and Joe and after years of searching for a new home, we realised that London can't offer us the lifestyle we dream of.
We've quit our jobs and sold our home, and are no longer tied to London, or even the UK.
So we bought our 2018 Peugeot Boxer and began our renovation to turn it into our perfect little home on wheels.
As we travel and explore each new place, we will be creating a list of 'must haves' to help us find the perfect place to call home.
Join us on our adventure as we build our campervan and navigate the highs and lows of vanlife in Europe and more!
Our Van: 🚐
2018 Peugeot Boxer H2L3
95k Mileage
900w Solar Power
15kw Battery Storage
Social media: 👍
KZfaq - / jodiejoe
Instagram - / jodandjoe
Music: 🎶
Artlist Royalty free

Пікірлер: 52

@Scrambler85 Жыл бұрын

Great install, no matter how many watts you have you can always use more for the cloudy days. I have 1,200 watts of solar panels and 900 amp hours of lithium batteries for the mini split ac/heater.

@JodieandJoe Жыл бұрын

We're considering AC, it must be wonderful when the batteries are full and you're parked in the sun powering the AC

@Reesa32 2 жыл бұрын

hi ya can't wait to see what you guys do with the build

@sixgearsvanlife7868 2 жыл бұрын

cant wait till the next vid

@williamfairley2502 2 жыл бұрын

Great vid enjoy your content.

@Nilz4FR 2 жыл бұрын

Trust me. You want triple the fresh water than you want waste water! Living in a van for 4 years now

@darrengoodale6854 2 жыл бұрын

You pair are good no messing just get on with it👍

@JodieandJoe 2 жыл бұрын

Oh there's plenty of messing around 😂

@Electronzap 4 ай бұрын

Nice project.

@JodieandJoe 4 ай бұрын

Thanks!

@jirkacernousek551 2 жыл бұрын

Hi, can you show us detail photo or something, how the panels are fixed to rail or how you thighten them?

@JodieandJoe 2 жыл бұрын

Unfortunately we don't have anything to show but we used a bolt through the solar panel and rail, which we tightened with two spanners

@69intheshade 7 ай бұрын

Hi Joe 'n' Jodie, just found your channel, so I'm enjoying binge watching! May I ask if the Unistrut you used in your solar panel build was the narrow 41 x 21 for both the mounts and the full rails? Cheers, good luck and Seasons Greetings.

@JodieandJoe 7 ай бұрын

Yes it was, 41mm x 21mm 2.5mm Single Slotted Channel (3mts)

@joatmofa0405 2 жыл бұрын

*DAMMIT* , are you sure you can't fit a 4th panel there at the top? (it just seems sacrilegious to waste the space!) 🌞 What are the roof measurements? What are the panel measurements? Sorry, forgot to add - SPLENDID VIDEO!

@JodieandJoe 2 жыл бұрын

Haha I would if I could, they are 150cmx100cm and we only had about 60cm left for the fan!

@210687garywright Жыл бұрын

Been really enjoying your videos. Could you share where you got the fixings from to attach the unistrut to the van fixing points. Cheers

@JodieandJoe Жыл бұрын

I got it all from tlc direct, I think the part is called a spring channel nut

@210687garywright Жыл бұрын

@@JodieandJoe thank you i shall have a look. If you have an affilliate link i will use it for a purchase. I found your series or parallel vid excellent also. Shame my setup won't allow for the change unless i change everything but maybe in a future build. Enjoy!

@JodieandJoe Жыл бұрын

Aw thanks so much! We don't have affiliate links at the moment but thanks for thinking of us ☺️💖

@bellybutton123456 2 жыл бұрын

£2.50 for an ice cream ?......No Way, I would tell them where to stick it and the cone is the right shape ! Lol

@leelendon1482 2 ай бұрын

Hi guys doing the same build as yours almost. How did you fix the solar panels to the unistrut?

@JodieandJoe Ай бұрын

We just bolted them on, through the holes we drilled in the solar panel frame

@axwomble8776 Жыл бұрын

Hi there - great install! Can I ask, did you use m10 or m8 channel bolts? Thank you!

@JodieandJoe Жыл бұрын

Thank you, I just checked the invoice and they were M6 Non Spring Channel Nut

@axwomble8776 Жыл бұрын

@@JodieandJoe thank you for taking the time to check. Fortunate you did, as I thought they were m8! Will save me a few pennies. Thanks

@axwomble8776 Жыл бұрын

@@JodieandJoe oh and sorry, one more thing - the small plates with a keyhole shaped hole in that slotted onto the t-bolts, did you just make those by using some of the unistrut and opening half the hole with a cone bit? Thanks!

@JodieandJoe Жыл бұрын

That's it!

@pky_danny Жыл бұрын

How did you tighten the bolt under the panel into the unistrut? It's a tight gap!

@JodieandJoe Жыл бұрын

It was a tight gap for sure, I held the bolt at the threaded end with needle nose pliers and turned the nut with a spanner

@jaitchy 2 жыл бұрын

Maybe I missed it but how did you fix the panels to the Unistrut?

@JodieandJoe 2 жыл бұрын

You're right I forgot to include it, we drilled holes in the solar panels and used nuts and bolts to attach them to the unistrut

@Nilz4FR 2 жыл бұрын

50Amp x 12v is 600W I recon, but you got 900W panels on top or are you going for 24V Battery setup?

@JodieandJoe 2 жыл бұрын

Yep we decided to go 24v!

@lth1072 2 жыл бұрын

Awesome stuff. Quick question. Do you have experience with electrics within your usual working life? . I think electrics are the scariest thing for people attempting this that have no experience. My Dad was an electrical engineer. As a kid he was desperate to teach me . I wasn't interested. Looking back, I wish I'd actually listened.

@JodieandJoe 2 жыл бұрын

I'd definitely get help from a professional with the 240v AC side, if you haven't got the experience. The low voltage DC side is very easy and safe so with a few KZfaq videos you should be able to teach yourself and throw something together!

@lth1072 2 жыл бұрын

@@JodieandJoe Thanks. I'm considering buying Greg Virgoe's guide he produced when doing his van. You're right, youtube is very useful. Good luck .

@davealanwood Жыл бұрын

What Uni Strut size and thickness did you use?

@JodieandJoe Жыл бұрын

41mm x 21mm 2.5mm Single Slotted Channel (3mts)

@nerv000 Жыл бұрын

Link of the solar panel plssss?! ❤️

@JodieandJoe Жыл бұрын

www.craigsolar.co.uk/shop/300w-solar-panel-monocrystalline

@nerv000 Жыл бұрын

Thanks for the video and the link

@bobelism 2 жыл бұрын

Thunder doesn't hit when you are not grounded... Your van has rubber tires :D

@JodieandJoe 2 жыл бұрын

I know that really 🤣 sometimes my thoughts come out of my mouth when they should stay in my head 🤭

@joatmofa0405 2 жыл бұрын

@@JodieandJoe 🤣

@dazjames5543 Жыл бұрын

I think you mean lightning (that's the flashy electric bit that hurts) 😂😂

@eddale5557 2 жыл бұрын

Only waisted money to have 3 of those 150 W panels on the roof 2 is more than enough and you would could put that went fan more to the middle of the van for better air flow anyway it is good videos :) or if you "must" have 3 then 1 in front and the two in the back and the fan in the middle! The key is to plan "forward! what it will be looking like when it's done! And those 150 W panels cost about 300 pund each? then you could use those money on a powerbank or some and saved for on the big 1200 w cost about 1200 pund or some for days with no sun, and that is it much of in UK i think! Only a suggestion!

@JodieandJoe 2 жыл бұрын

In our victron video we explain why we have sooooo much capacity! 🤭

@Darren4352 Жыл бұрын

@@JodieandJoe You are right guys! Always go with the most capacity that you can fit up there. I'm a little jealous I must say. I'm just finishing a build here, hopefully in 2 days I'll be done. I've got six 215 watt panels(1,290w), feeding a pair of 280 Ah LiFePo4 batteries rigged in series. My camper is a 50 amp so I have a pair of the Victron Multi-plus inverters, one to feed each leg of the electrical service. I look forward to hearing how you are set up performs in the coming months.

@JodieandJoe Жыл бұрын

What a monster setup!