If you would like to buy these panels or any other equipment shown in this video I have put links in the video description to the solar panels that I'm using as well as the brackets and the solar cable and charge controller too. They are extremely good value for this duty and UK based company in Kent.

You've shared so many solutions to the problems that most van builders will inevitably encounter, and in such a succinct and interesting way. You should be very proud of this series of videos, Greg.

Greg, you might not check these old ones..But a thought, just take around 4 or 5 of those aluminium straps, join them using aluminum rivet nuts as to make one thick light strap ,that has the threads as well to adjust height....Make up a few thick straps, two birds with one stone, strap and adjustment points....Even some of that bonding sikaflex as well to layer the straps, for even more strength with the riv nuts.....

You look like a Italian mafia boss but with a extremely friendly voice .

I absolutely love these videos! I know how much hard work goes into making them, and I appreciate how generous you are with your knowledge. This is such a clean van build- totally inspirational. And your presenting style is easygoing and easy to follow. I'm absolutely a fan.

4:01 finally found a flaw in one of your videos greg, some nuts fall out of the bag...YES!! I TOTALLY GOT YOU!! OWNED!!

Lovely Jubbly Greg. Excellent. I think the gas struts are a good idea.

Great video Greg. I think you will find the normal practice is not to solder the wire in crimped connections. The problem is that the solder stiffens the braided wire and causes work hardening just behind the solder and with vibration the wire eventually fractures - also normally the two wings on the crimp fold over the insulation to provide a firm grip on the cable - however, that would then need a crimping tool to compress the ferrule onto the bared wire strands also and it wasn't clear from your video if you had the tool. Maybe I am wrong in this case but that is normally what happens with generic crimp connectors. If you want to improve the electrical connection between the wire and the connector you should dip the wire strands in vaseline (other brands available), you might think that that is an insulator and would be counter productive but the thing is that when the wire is crimped most of the vaseline will be squeezed out of the connector so there will still be plenty of metal to metal contact but the voids will still be filled with the vaseline and without oxygen there can be no corrosion. 40 years ago we used to use vaseline filled crimps in the telecoms network. Keep up the good work.

Fantastic idea with the channels Greg. I was gonna mount mine on roof bars, but I think I prefer your installation because it will be lower to the roof. Great job as always mate.

Great job as always. If you research a tilt function take a look at the transom area on some boats they usually have hatches to engine compartments that are supported by various devices.

Thank you Greg. I’m adding two more 100 watt panels to my roof, this video really helped. I hope you are well.🙏❤️

Nice setup Greg, I’ve seen Ash Pollard has his panels angled to the sun and uses a prop and a ratchet strap to then keep everything tight. Sometimes the simple solutions work best. Over the past 9 months I’ve taken gadgets galore in the van, drones, cameras, laptop, tablets and more! My panel is 150w and I have 2 x 130ah batteries. Only once did we run out of power after not moving for 3 days and using the inverter for 6 hours running a slow cooker, seemed like a great idea at the time 🤦🏼‍♂️ If you’re travelling every day or two then I would say you’ll be fine. My panel is fixed and I get over 110w from it in summer and 50 to 80w in winter. I’ve moved over to everything I can possibly run from 12v and use the inverter for very rare emergency laptop or drone rapid charge. I’ve also got the ability to pull and push power via the starter battery, which saved us after the slow cooker incident. You’ll figure everything out really quickly, make tweaks & changes and end up with near perfection 👌🏻 Take care & have fun 🚐❤️

Finally someone without the ego and nonsense, who just clearly knows what he's doing 👌 👏

Just fantastic mate, we bought a 2000 Toyota Land Cruiser Prado yesterday as a weekender and adventure wagon, so your vids like this are great inspiration on how we can set it up.

Was thinking of drilling a hole and feeding cables through with just a bit of sealant. Thanks for showing us the proper way to do it with the nice tidy cable entry

Nice setup. I would tape the cables to the underside of the panels rather than just cable tie as on the move the wind will make them flap around. I had an idea that you might find useful. Instead of angling the cells for better power production how about a removable reflector? You can get Mylar reflective material, fastened to three or four rods like a banner it could be mounted easily on either side. Being material it would not be damaged by any wind. A vertical reflector about 3 feet high should add a lot to the light hitting the panels. A bit like the round collapsible reflectors that they use for photography. You could have the rods slot into sockets on either side depending on which way the van is to the sun. When travelling it would just roll up. Fabric is available on Ebay and some carbon fibre rods and away you go. Very cheap Let me know what you think.

Hey Greg love the hole in the thumb on your glove is that another of your brilliant ideas xx Karlene oh and really appreciate you attention to detail well done

I'm sure i must of watched your entire build series numerous times by now! Hopefully I will get my sprinter started at somepoint 🤣 your wood working vids are well worth the watch too, im a carpenter/cabinet maker myself. Matt

Fantastic Greg and quality workmanship as always. I have some panels fitted about 3 weeks ago by a guy who was recommended by many in one of the UK motorhome campervan groups. He sikaflexing was horrendous. I think I could have done neater beads wearing welding goggles in the dark. He also used a pair of latter's again the van which left some light dings in my panels. I didn't realise til the next day after I had driven from Wisbech home to Warks and I saw the shambolic pigs ear of a job. Not happy. He did actually fit the same make of mon panels, 2 x 160w and I supplied a Victron Mppt Bluetooth controller.

once I get to the UK, within the next 6 months, I will be following in your footsteps. Great videos full of important info and plenty of detail. thanks for the care time and effort you put into these videos.

I was going to buy a roof rack, but have now changed my mind! Thanks. Good video.

So glad I seen this video again the you unknowingly have give me a idea with this channel for a double bed to go to the ceiling at the front of my Iveco daily , with the help of two 12 volt trailer winches wired to one remote I have tried it out in the shed but the bed was moving about too much but the channel with rollers fitted will work , I have ordered four shout lengths and will knock it up and let you know if it works ok . I have made the bed already because I would like to take my grandchildren with us , it will be next year now . As I have only just started I will be cutting out two windows and fitting them over the weekend weather permitting then it’s start stippling the Van out .you know what comes next but I’m really looking forward to it I have not got the balls to do any live feeds with me doing the talking but I may do a few of my progress as I go on many thanks for your videos they have helped convince the wife we will be quite comfortable on two single beds as we are too old to be climbing over each other if one of us need a wee .thanks again Greg

A couple of remote control linear actuators and some brackets would do for lifting your panels.

you should spray the sawn end of the unistrut with galvefroid ,,,it will go rusty in no time at all.... great series of videos

I don’t know what it is but, I completely trust you 😂 There’s a lot of instructional videos where you can tell the author doesn’t really know what they’re talking about… great job Greg. We’re planning a van build this year if we can sell our Campervan so I’ll be watching them all 👍🏼

Just want you to know, how brilliant it has been to be able to view quality videos such as yours, youre extremely thorough and put your research to good use and makes it much easier for us! Thank you mate.

Excellent engineering followed by sound construction. Thanks Mr V for sharing👍🏻

Best work for van job on KZfaq

An easier solution for your soldering station, is buying a 18V Ryobi soldering tool ( I noticed you have some Ryobi tools, so you have the batteries) it is worth every penny as you don’t need to be dragging cables behind you.

Your videos are among the best van build vids I've seen on youtube and I've seen a lot. Many thanks, your vids are really helping with my own build and I always come back here before doing anything major. :)

Good evening Greg, I am not sure if you have solved the problem with elevating your solar panels as you posted the video last year. We live in the UK and have a Mercedes-Benz UNIMOG U1300L Expedition Camper. It is called Noggin the Mog. The Chap who we purchased the vehicle from had fitted 2 x 110W solar panels to the roof of the accommodation box in a similar manor to what you were proposing with the M8 knobs and aluminium strips to prop the panels up at about a 45 degree angle. However, they were permanently raised and although the UNIMOG is not the most mpg friendly, having a pair of air-brakes on the roof did not help the figures much. So, we kept the frames and used an 12v electrical linear actuator on each of the panels to raise the panels and lowering them flat whilst in transit. However, we up-rated the solar system by fitting 2 x 275w panels (designed for a narrow boat) and a MPPT charge controller. The panels lie flat on the roof and we have had no problems in getting max charge out of the panels, thanks to the MPPT controller. The other advantage is you do not have to worry about orientating the vehicle to point the panels towards the sun. In fact 18 months ago, we did just over 5,300 miles circumnavigating Scandinavia. Being up in the Arctic Circle you would need to raise the panels even more to be perpendicular to the sun, again we did not have any snags with the panels flat on the roof. We have also completed trips to the Outer Hebrides, Orkney and the Shetland Islands and notice it isn’t overly sunny, but there is no shortage of wind. So we have augmented the solar system with a Rutland 914i Wind Charger which now gives us all the electrical power we need and totally off grid. Hope that helps. Luvin’ the videos.

The unistrut's a good idea, might see if I can use that on my Transit - I hate the roof racks that mount on the rain rail.

Hi Greg, nice installation. Please concider, that you should have several angles to tilt the panels if you would (need) to make the most out of the sun irradiation. By the way I would have installed the cable inlet pointing to the rear of your car. The way it is installed now the inlets have to fight against the wind from driving. kind regards Mark

Cracking job and great way to fit the panels. I wanted to put surf boards on my roof and used brackets which lifted my panels off the roof by 8 inches so the boards fitted underneath the panels. Also the panels i chose through Bimble do collect a little extra power from under the panel from the reflection off the roof. Only down side is you can see them from the ground and I guess they create drag. I have 600 watts of power and they produce great power even in UK. It will be interesting to see if you actually really need to elevate your panels to get the power you need. Great install. Stephen

What a truly incredible resource you are. Just bought my van so will have these videos by my side in the weeks to come!

*_This what I came up with and using for the tilt up. Two 12v Linear actuators to push up my panels and 30amp switch polarity reverse DC motor control. It works for me just fine._*

Looking good Greg! Anything else you need, let us know

Really like your setup Greg, but I can see a problem in closing the ends of the unistruts with plastic caps. You might end up with them being filled with water during rain. Better to have them drain out on the front and end

Just a thought. If you use gas struts, I guess they will risk to be taking a lot of force when the wind is blowing. Maybe you could enforce the lift by placing two gas struts crossing each other on the side opposite to where the hinge is? That way the hinge takes most force, and the wind forces on the gas struts will probably mostly go in the direction of where the struts are pointing. (Did that make sense?). Cheers!

I was going to suggest unistrut, but now I've come back to watch again I think it was here I first saw the idea! I fitted mine on with unistrut. I used unistrut clamps too, made to hold solar panels, rather than drilling into the panels.

Mr. Greg ,I did not ever seen like that details video.You are the best I can say ......xxxxx

Great video I used this rail I sprayed them with bed liner so they never rust.

I really like how you set this up inexpensive extremely durable and with as few of Parts as possible

👍 Danke fürs Hochladen! 👍 Thanks for uploading! 👍 Very good and beautiful, thank you! 👍 Sehr gut und schön, danke!

Thanks for the video Greg, excellent as always, hope the travels are going well for you.

I’m so happy I’m watching all night .wonderful job

that was so good Greg I watched it twice

Thanks Greg, surprised you went in series though, I will be wiring mine in parallel

Gas struts - best option might be a scrap yard for some off the back of an SUV with a big tailgate - should be plenty strong enough and maybe designed to be semi outdoor a bit more? Would they only be good if you wanted the panels to go up at the same angle all the time though?? You may need to vary it the further North you go?? I'm thinking a combination of the hinges that @Travel with Jazz has and the PVC pipe and sucker feet @RV with Tito used for his window awnings might be a good option.

Thank you Greg - a job well done. I am really looking forward to your ideas for the repositioning of the panels in your future video(s). Keep it up - you're the original Gyro Gearloose, not just inventing but putting things into practice. Best regards from Germany, Volker

Great video!! I am curious as to why you used self drilling roofing bolts. Didn't your sprinter have existing holes (specifically for rails) that were capped by Mercedes?

fantastic video as always. I can see you engineering an remote controlled set of arms that will lift the panels in increments to catch the sun and a timer to insure that it will always top off your battery pack. or designing a flat panel or two that you can set out to boost the permanent ones on the roof.

mate loving your vids,just bought a lwb high roof here in ozz & your workmanship & ideas are awsome, well done & thank you + Keep safe

Hi Greg, just found your channel. Very impressed. Please keep the level of detail going. I'll be using you as a mentor to help me on my first build.

I think you do the most informative videos on KZfaq top marks and hats off to you for the amazing work you did .

Brilliant video with solid technical information, helps get more ideas to do own projects.

Fantastically well informed videos. Really helpful

dear Greag. awesome explanation and neat idea using the rail (haven't had that idea myself). to build the lifting mechanism. i first would use the free room underneath the panels in between the rails to build a support frame (rectangular with an x to strengthen it. like a door frame). as fixture points on the rail. i would try to find some quick release snap in things (like for the legs on these party benches). to secure them in the upper position i would construct 2 legs, attached to each upper corner with can be prolonged and fixed to the opposite fixing point (like a diagonal strut). or you add multiple fixing points and don't care about the telescopic mechanism. i hope you get the idea and that it will be of any help. looking forward to your solution. all the best.

Yes, another great video, thanks Greg! I like it all, and altho it's a lot of power it's far better than finding later that there is'nt enough. And the extra benefit with this huge amount of power, I think, is that it will provide plenty even without any tilting, so leaving them fixed as they are, which is a really nice installation, is what may be best, only do tilting/elevating mechanisms if these prove to be needed, likely not be, as all may work very well as is. Thanks for another top video! Alan, Norfolk.

Brilliant Greg. Now, I’m not an electrician so please go easy....I would of connected positive to positive to positive then to the roof and the same for the negatives......is this not a ring main/daisy change setting??🤔 I’ve an idea for the movement to follow the sun, stick the panels on a lazy Suzan and tailgate struts to higher/lower, that way you can park up any direction and just spin the panels to suit. 👍🏼😊

Great video Greg, I’m pleased you got your internet working to be able to upload this video 😀 Looking forward to some more videos of your trip.

Brilliant and inspirational as always. Can’t wait to do this

Hose channel nuts, they usually have springs underneath to hold them in position, in the Electrical trade we call them Zeb's after Zebedee from magic roundabout!

Good tip about the rivnuts. Unless it's being glued, which I personally don't like the idea of, there aren't any simple ways to stop the interior nut from rotating.

Excellent job Greg!! Enjoy your road trip!!

I would use 2020 Ali extrusion you can bolt things to them and its strong enough

Hi Greg, great saying hello at the Overland Show on Saturday, wasn't it a scorcher, worth travelling from Newcastle to meet you guys. I ordered 3 x 3 metre lengths of unistrut but when it came it is super heavy. I ordered it through your link, just wondered if I had the right stuff. My husband thinks it is too heavy to put on the roof, you literally had to drag the package along the floor. I really wanted to use this method but I don't know what to do now. Anyway love your videos, I keep watching them over and over. Take care xx

I noticed that you cut the solar panel cables quite short, which could potentially leave the connectors (MC4?), in between the panel frames, where water could drip down. You mentioned losses in unnecessarily long cables, as a driver for that decision. I highly recommend leaving enough slack in the cables (i.e. 10-20cm), and fixing the connectors, snug into the frame, away from the elements. Although, they are all IP68, there's much less risk for corrosion, water damage, etc., when you utilize the aluminium frame of the panel.

Thank you for the video

thx for these vids i'm learning so much, its all a bit scary seeing all the wiring on these vans

Greg....you are an absolute legend. Your videos are the most educating I ever found on KZfaq. I am dreaming about building a campervan for me and my 3 girls however I wouldn't have the skills you have. I have to say you are an absolute hero. It's a pleasure to watch how you building your travel vehicle. One day I'll build my own van like yours. Your van has everything I wish to see in my van. If you ever decide to sell your sprinter please let me know. Now few questions. 1. Where did u learn all this? 2 . What is the total weight of your van inc baggage, gas, etc? Are u still within permitted weight? Merry Christmas Kind regards Dave

We have a bed with that loft system. Your solar panels might not be heavy enough to hold it down! They are mighty powerful bits of kit!! Presumably you can get ones set to the power you need?

LOL that positive negative joke is probably the funniest joke you have done so far, can't wait for more!!!!

Hinging solar panels, thinking about it I have wondered about mc/camper rising roof hinges . Reimo used to have.a depot in the uk where they sold such things to members of the public.

I considered solar panel tilting as an option for my roof and am going to test out linear actuators to see if they will be strong enough to withstand wind gusts. Of course if you engineer a solution that uses linear actuators, I will shamelessly copy :)

If your batteries are hooked up to the alternator then angling towards the sun while driving isn't necessary. It would be helpful though, when you're parked for multiple days, but then the support system doesn't need to be very strong.

Consider using 80/20 to build anything with in or on top. Solar panel frame and elevation

I was just about to say use gas struts and then the bed photo came up haha

THANK YOU AGAIN GREAT VID HOPE YOU HAVING A GREAT TIME IN THE EC

VID AS NORMAL ALWAY TOP VOLTS AND AMPS KEEP SPARKING a GREAT JOB.

Unistrut is great stuff! Great instructions yet again, clear, concise and easy to follow. Cheers :)

Good to see you posting again, Greg... How are you enjoying your trip?

I was thinking about the heavy-duty gas struts, if you used them and a ratchet strap to adjust the angle - that would work. After all that's the solution used on a lot of pop up roofs

Hey Greg! I’m sure it would only take a half an hour to figure out how to tweak your system! Fabulous video!

Hi Greg, are you happy with your solar panels? Have they been sufficient for your needs? On average how many watts/amps were you using daily? What was the max amps were you drawing in the sun in Europe. Did they sufficiently top up your batteries to 100%? What's your total battery size? Was your btb charger necessary? Has the strut you installed to house the solar leaked? Were you happy with that system? Apologies for the tons of questions... No worries if your too busy I know it's a big ask! 🙂

Hello Greg, I've been following your van build series from the start and I enjoyed it very much, thist episode is no exception. I like the way you fixed the panels to the roof. I was wondering if after a few weeks on the road you were still thinking of adding panel tilting mechanism. In my small camper van I have 2x150 W panels fixed to the roof and they are sufficient even in cloudy weather, although I don't use as much power as you probably do (e.g. no computer work, no TV). I'm looking forward to your comments on this after following weeks and months of your travel. Greetings from Poland :-)

Good idea for the ottaman hinges. I have have been thinking of Tv wall mounts on a rotating base Mark

Clean installation and good ideas. Thanks for sharing the information.

Perhaps linear actuators run from stepper motors along with suitably strong frame for your solar panel tilting with a remote tilt sensor

You always do such great work! Thank you for being such an inspiration! 😀👍💁🏻

Great videos. Thanks for the tutorials I would be inclined to use all stainless unistrut / angle/ rivnuts & bolts. As the mix of metals can cause a galvanic reaction to dis similar metals. And in such an exposure to the elements the rust from cut ends etc will run down the paint work etc etc? Just a thought.

I seen a van conversion video that had a frame that allowed it to tilt the panels.

Nice job Greg, as usual!

Thanks. I found this video very helpful! 😊

Another great video! You think my 300 watts of panels with 200 AH of battery will do me good for camping for extended periods. Also be installing a dc to dc charger. 😮🙏🏼

Males tend to be postive, female negative LOL LOL LOL. Nice mounting of the panels no way they can blow off

Great find with the rails, I hope you dont mind me copying the idea 😊 great video again!

Hello Greg thank you for yet another helpful video. If possible I would like to ask for your advice please. We have purchased 2,175w solar panels for our relay roof and we have also purchased the plastic mounting brackets however we are unsure if these will be good enough to hold the panels without bolts in the roof and what adhesive we should use. We have tried searching online and there are so many opinions any help would be great. Thank you

That's a great job Greg, interesting you connect in series. I read your comments below and understand the reasoning - hope it works out. Might the cut ends of the gal U channels cause a messy bit of corrosion? Did you treat the ends? About adjustable panels, I often think as I am driving down the freeway at 120kph in my van about the wind shear pressures on the under surfaces of the panels and I am happy to have my panels securely fixed to the roof with NO chance of flapping free like a great wing. However, here in Aus often the problem is too much sun. Hope you are having a safe and wonderful trip thru Europe and we get to see some travel vids soon.

Hi Greg, Hopefully you will read this. I'm re watching in 2022. Thank you for responding to my other questions. I don't have the finances for a new camper van or a new Sprinter. Have been gathering information on building a camper van. Recently I have watched KZfaq videos on new class B and the electrical systems are discussed. I understand the general RV electrical systems. Was trying to determine what would work for my situation. Have you thought about a high output alternator or a second one. My concern is not getting a good balance in battery size and system. Was wondering if a larger output alternator or a separate one would be enough without solar. I would be interested it the auto start features. Charging while driving too. I understand it depends on the use. How long can the last before charging. I wouldn't be an off grid person for a lengthy time.