VW California, What solar panel size is suitable

[TrevandJenny]

My Sister has recently bought a late VW California camper, She is having issues with the power, after a couple of days has to run engine to top up battery, No TV but It has a fridge that runs on 12v but not gas. She rarely goes on sites so wild camping is her thing. I suggested to improve her power problem she gets solar.
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Are flexi panels any better than rigid ones, Any advice given would be appreciated.

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[wildebus]

My Sister has recently bought a late VW California camper, She is having issues with the power, after a couple of days has to run engine to top up battery, No TV but It has a fridge that runs on 12v but not gas. She rarely goes on sites so wild camping is her thing. I suggested to improve her power problem she gets solar.
.
Are flexi panels any better than rigid ones, Any advice given would be appreciated.

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Definately worthwhile.
For a California, I would suggest Semi-flexible panels would be a neater option on the pop-top. Cheap Flexi are a false economy as they tend to fail prematurely and the hassle of removing them, let alone the cost of new ones means it works out cheaper to start off with the good (expensive) ones.
I fitted a pair of Lensum semi-flexible panels to this VW Kombi and they blend in quite nicely - think they were 120W panels IIRC. Fitted back in the summer of 2019 and still working nicely. They are connected to a Victron 100/20 MPPT Controller.

IMG_20190701_164133 by David, on Flickr

 

[Obanboy666]

My Sister has recently bought a late VW California camper, She is having issues with the power, after a couple of days has to run engine to top up battery, No TV but It has a fridge that runs on 12v but not gas. She rarely goes on sites so wild camping is her thing. I suggested to improve her power problem she gets solar.
.
Are flexi panels any better than rigid ones, Any advice given would be appreciated.

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Wildebus is an expert regarding all things electric on motorhomes / campervans so take his advise but unfortunately this time of year solar pretty much useless I’m afraid unless you have a massive array of panels.
Ive been in Cumbria the last 3 weeks and have used my genny every other day to keep batteries charged, mind you I am a tv addict which eats the batteries.

 

[wildebus]

......this time of year solar pretty much useless I’m afraid unless you have a massive array of panels.

Very True. just before lunchtime today I plugged in an extra 200W (on a garden shed) into my motorhome to add to the 270W on the roof. With a total of 470W of Panels I managed to hit 50W of yield for the main 12-1PM harvesting time. outside that time and with just the roof array, getting around 7W.
By around Mid March, Solar will start making a difference I would say.

 

[trevskoda]

Apart from a roof panel try a 50w movable panel and fly lead, point van into sun and set in windshield or on a stand outside.

 

[Pudsey Bear]

Also how many watts of panel are needed will depend on how many amp hours you are needing to charge up, I would imagine for a 12v fridge you would need more than 200ah, maybe more to stop them discharging too much, it will depend on the draw to the fridge etc.

 

[Deleted member 1368]

I have a Ford Transit lwb and keep thinking about solar panels any idea what is required and the cost please
Thanks

 

[Pudsey Bear]

That would largely depend on what you need to run from it, and your battery bank, I have usually had a 100w panel and an MPPT controller with 2 x 125ah leisure batteries, this has never let me down, currently, with not having a TV and only a 300w inverter, I have about to be fitted a 80w panel, a MPPT controller and a 100ah battery, this is enough for us to run LED light as and when, and charge up 3 tablets and two phones whenever we like, but we do usually charge from the dash USB sockets when driving.