solar stuff (a hopefully not-overwhelming guide)

There are so many #vanlife videos out there where some well-meaning dude named Mason says he’s gonna explain his electrical system but then gets bogged down in a high school physics lesson. “Before we get started, I’m gonna, like, spend 10 minutes rambling about the difference between direct and alternating current.” And I’m like, “Mason, all I wanted to know was how to screw in my solar panels.”

So! I’m going to try to give you a no-nonsense overview of what you need to know. You’ll need other resources because duh, there is no such thing as the one definitive resource for off-grid electrical systems. Here are a few we found really helpful:

  • This Bound for Nowhere video was a game-changer.

  • This Parked in Paradise calculator was essential.

  • Remember when I said there’s no such thing as the one definitive resource for off-grid electrical systems? This Far Out Ride guide comes pretty close.

What parts do I need?

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Up on the roof:

  • 3 solar panels

    • We bought our solar panels in a kit that also came with mounting hardware, wires, and a charge controller. The number of solar panels depends on how much power you need.

  • Thule TracRac

  • 2 metal rack rails (to mount the panels on)

  • 4 square-head M8 bolts and locknuts (to attach the rails to the TracRac)

  • 2 pairs of MC4 parallel branch connectors ( to wire the solar panels together; you need one pair for every additional solar panel)

  • *Robot binoculars (It’s actually called a “gland,” but that word is gross. Robot binoculars keep rain from seeping into the van through the wire holes. You don’t have to use robot binoculars per se, but you do have to do something to prevent seepage [another gross word].)

In the van:

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  • Leisure battery (not to be confused with the van battery)

    • You’ll need at least one set of battery cables with ring terminals, plus one extra cable to be your grounding wire, and more if you want fancy stuff like a battery monitor or combiner. 4 gauge wire is usually fine for a simple 12-volt DC system; you might want 2 gauge if you have a lot of electronics.

  • Solar charge controller (this device ensures efficient use of solar energy and prevents overcharging)

  • Fuse block (the hub for your electrical system, where all the wires connect.)

    • You’ll also need ring terminals, positive/negative wire, and fuses to match your individual appliances — as in, the same gauge wire and terminals and fuses that match the amp draw.

  • *Smart battery monitor

    • You could get away with using a voltmeter instead, but this snazzy device tells you the voltage of both your batteries, amps expended, historical trends, and more, all in an easy-to-read app on your phone. “Shit’s expensive but for a good reason,” in Doug’s words.

  • *Cyrix battery combiner

    • Also optional but helpful. This li’l guy connects the leisure and van batteries so if one is running low, the other one charges it.

What kind of battery do I get?

Here’s a quick rundown. The prices are general estimates for a 100 amp hour battery.

  • Lead acid: Cheap (~$200) but only lasts like 3-5 years.

  • AGM: Also cheap (~$200-300), but big and heavy, and they crap out after like 5-8 years.

  • Lithium ion: Expensive (~$1000), lightweight, last longer between full charges, and they have a 10-year lifespan.

What do I need to know about amp hours?

You’ll see this number in the description when you research batteries — ours is 100Ah. Basically, the more/bigger appliances you have, the more amps you’ll need to power your system. Most of the systems we’ve researched fall within the 100-200Ah range.

To calculate what Ah battery you should get, use this calculator from Parked in Paradise.

You’ll list your appliances, entering the maximum amp draw (listed in the manual or on the appliance itself) and estimating how many hours you’ll use them (overshoot this number, just to be safe.)

What do I need to know about voltage?

Beats me, man. We kept things simple and only bought appliances that run on a 12-volt DC system.

DC?

Yeah, see, I got caught up in trying to understand AC versus DC, and that knowledge never actually came in handy. All you need to know is you can’t run an AC appliance on a DC system without a device called an inverter. We have a little one that plugs into the cigarette lighter of the van so we can charge our laptops while we’re driving. Between that and recharging our laptops when we stop at diners and stuff, we’ll just suck it up and make it work. Part of the appeal of van life is getting away from stuff like computers and TVs.

Watt’s up with watts?

Again, I would like to direct you to the Parked in Paradise calculator.

Basically, when you’re calculating how many solar panels you need, make sure you have enough watts to support the amp load of your setup.

How do I connect everything to the roof?

Start by getting a roof rack. The two big players in the roof rack game are Yakima and Thule. Doug went with the Thule TracRac.


Sidebar: Funny story

We started to regret that decision when it came to how exactly we mount stuff on it. Yakima sells a clamp for $60, but it’s not compatible with Thule. And Thule sells load stops, but they only provide lateral restraint.

So we’re researching and brainstorming over morning coffee, and then Doug disappears, comes back with a load stop, and unscrews this bolt:

“What if we just used this?”

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These are square-head M8 bolts. $1.50 in the spare parts section on the Thule website or $5 on this website. It’s not easy to order these things — possibly because Thule realizes it’s a $1.50 solution that their competition is charging $60 for… or possibly because they don’t realize it. Either way, get like 6-10 of these things. They’re really useful.


The next step is attaching the solar panels to the rails. Align the holes in the rails and panels and bolt them in. If you have more than one solar panel, attach the connectors to the wires. Keep the wires from flapping around in the wind by zip tying them together neatly.

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Get a couple friends and hoist the whole setup onto the roof. Slide the M8 bolt into the TracRac and up through the railing, and then top it off with an M8 nut. We also used a couple of washers between the TracRac and the rails to give the panels a slight tilt so rain doesn’t pool on them.

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Next, you’re going to drill a hole in the roof where you want the wires to go down into the charge controller (more on that in the next section). Sand the edges of the hole so it doesn’t cut up the wire. Next, feed the wires through the robot binoculars and through the hole. Make sure they reach down as far as you want them to. Tighten the robot binoculars to cinch them down, and then mount them to the van. Keep in mind that once you cinch them down, you can’t adjust the wire anymore.

Where do I put stuff down below?

It all revolves around the fuse block. You’ll want to be able to access it easily so you can make a clean wiring effort. Electricity is more efficient the less distance it has to travel, so the fuse block should be near the battery.

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Sidebar: One more story

We planned to put the leisure battery under the driver’s seat next to the van battery. We scoured Amazon for a battery that would fit, and thought we’d found it. But when we put it in, there was only ¼” of vertical clearance between the terminals and the solid steel base plate of the Scopema swivel seat. In other words, juuuust enough space that we might be able to make it work… but if we fucked it up, we could kill the battery and possibly ourselves.

That’s a tight fit.

That’s a tight fit.

My electrician friend said to put covers on the terminals and wrap them in electrical tape. My solar panel installer friend said putting Flex Tape on the seat bottom and restraining the battery could work… or maybe explode. And my auto mechanic friend said to put some cardboard over the terminals and call it.

In the end, we just moved the battery outside the seat. We didn’t end up having to sacrifice that much space, and Doug got to make this weird puzzle piece of a battery box.


The Cyrix has to go between both batteries, and the battery monitor attaches with a big nut in the back, so you need to put it somewhere that you can get behind it. Fortunately Doug had installed a couple of floating panels here so we could use this space as a “smuggler’s hold.” Guess we’ll have to find a new place to hide all our drugs! (Just kidding, Ma.)

The Cyrix and battery monitor come with useful installation instructions.

How do I connect the battery?

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There are four cables coming off the positive terminal and going to the…

  • solar charge controller

  • positive fuse block terminal

  • positive Cyrix terminal

  • shunt for the battery monitor

And there are four cables coming off the negative terminal and going to the…

  • solar charge controller

  • negative fuse block terminal

  • shunt for the battery monitor

  • nearby metal surface on the van (this is called the grounding wire)

The terminals on our battery used simple bolts. Connecting the cables was as simple as unscrewing the battery terminal bolts, stacking the wire terminals over the hole, reinserting the bolt, and screwing it back in.

How do I not die when I’m working with the battery?

  • Don’t cross exposed wires

  • Don’t bridge the terminals with anything (especially your hand)

  • Ground your battery. In the simplest terms, this is connecting the negative wire to the metal part of the van to dissipate extra energy.

  • Always connect the negative terminal last.

How do I not kill all this expensive stuff?

  • Before you connect your solar panels, don’t leave them in direct sunlight for prolonged periods of time.

  • Consider investing in a battery monitor.

  • If you use a lithium ion battery, don’t let it get below 32 degrees.

  • Really, seriously, don’t bridge the terminals.

How do I wire my appliances to the fuse block?

It’s safest to disconnect the battery from the fuse block before you wire in your appliances, especially ones with big amp draws.

Some of your DC appliances might have a couple of short wires hanging off them. “How’s this gonna reach all the way to my fuse block?” you might be asking. The answer is: You gotta solder on more wire!

Using the most direct path possible, measure how far the wire needs to run from the appliance to the fuse block. Braid the negative and positive wires together to keep things neat*. Hot tip: You can use a drill to braid wires together**! Just cinch two ends of the wire into the drill, clamp down the other end, and then run the drill.

*Again, only do this with insulated wires, not exposed ones. That probably goes without saying.

**I also hope it goes without saying that you shouldn’t do this with live wires.

Solder on the extra wire and the ring terminals. Then attach the ring terminals to the fuse block. You’ll designate a positive and negative terminal for each appliance, insert a fuse with a matching amp draw into the corresponding slot, and then screw in the ring terminals.

If that sounds complicated, don’t worry; it’s all explained really clearly in the instruction manual for the fuse block.

Do I need a wiring diagram?

Doug: You don’t have to have a compressive wiring diagram before you start building. I’m sure for some people that would give them peace of mind, but we’re just here to serve as proof that you can take it as it comes. I would make sure to have an idea about how you’re going to run your wires from different parts of your van to the fuse block area before you construct walls and/or the ceiling. I ran a conduit through the voids on the left side of the van earlier on because I knew I would be running wires later on in the build. I don’t know how other builds go, but part of how this was even possible was that I didn’t have plans and it was constantly evolving.

Brooke: It’s like writing a book. I didn’t know how my book was going to end when I started. It’s okay to piece it together like a jigsaw puzzle or a quilt.

Doug: I’ve definitely gotten frustrated plenty of times — you’ve seen me plenty of times running into an issue that I didn’t see coming. … But if I was trying to follow my plans, there’d be a lot of wasted time trying to constantly modify the plans. If I would give advice to anyone, just take your time with it. I’ve had fun with it.

Brooke: Yeah, trust that things will work out as they should.


(psst, secret message for everybody who read this far: writing this post was time consuming and research intensive. thank you so much for reading!)

on potential

Doug: By nature I kinda hold onto things.

Brooke: I’m more of a Marie Kondo, all-of-my-earthly-possessions-must-fit-into-a-sedan kinda gal.

Doug: The van is a big puzzle that you’re putting together, so you never know what could be useful until later stages.  

Brooke: This build has definitely taught me to look for potential in stuff I might otherwise have given to Goodwill.

Doug: It’s also important not to have too much clutter, especially when you’re using a garage and driveway. If you don’t have a lot of space, be organized and do it in stages. Ask any mechanic: It’s really important to have a clean, organized space. Well… maybe not any mechanic.

You don’t need a giant workshop to do a van build; you just have to work in stages.

Doug: I try not to waste any wood.  

Brooke: Does it make you feel guilty?

Doug: Yeah. That’s the cool thing about trash picking, because a lot less of it is trash because of us. As far as new pieces go, I haven’t wasted anything besides little bits of plywood. Any scrap we’ve gotten rid of, we were sure we weren’t going to use.


What’s cool about this philosophy is how respectful it is. How long does it take for a tree to grow to the point where it can be harvested? And how much time and effort went into making that desk on the curb? So much in our culture is treated like it’s disposable when it could still be useful. And what good is it going to do moldering in a landfill?

So before you go to throw something away, take a second and consider its potential. You might be able to do something cool with it later. A few examples... 

This bass string, which Doug used to dry out the inside of a broken taillight.

This leftover red plastic from a taillight repair kit that he used to mute the aggressively bright LED temperature reading on our ARB fridge.

This wall made out of the slats from an old bed frame that had been in the attic for at least 12 years.

We made this shelf out of two rickety paint shelves we found on the sidewalk. The lips that look like a pair of eagles or semi trucks were the leftover bits of a desk we trash-picked and turned into a kitchenette.

This back light switch ended up being better than the original setup.

And finally, this round slice of wood that he mounted our toilet on was originally a mounting base he used for a Dremel stand to trim his bird’s talons.

This is Alice Cooper, a handsome and well-rounded green-cheeked conure.

the first step

Yooo, I bought a used van!

Dude, congratulations!

Now what do I do?

Put on some gloves and get to scrubbin!

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This gnarly stuff is all the heat wrap — basically sticker remnants — that was still stuck in the seams on the outside of the van.

Look how gross the van was before Doug swept and scrubbed every surface with all-purpose cleaner.

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And check out how nice it looked after he used alcohol to clean the bare metal, repainted the floor, and hit all the dings with a paint pen.

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Under the seat was particularly grody and required a fistful of Armoral wipes and a good stiff drink afterward.

“They obviously didn’t care about it,” he said. “But it was gonna be our home, so I wanted to take care of it. Start off right.”

what's the best van to buy?

There’s no right answer to this question. The three most popular cargo van models for conversion are the Mercedes Sprinter, the Ram ProMaster, and the Ford Transit. Doug went with the Transit for a couple reasons:

  • Certified diesel mechanics are harder to come by, so the Sprinter was out.

  • Sprinters are also wicked expensive — like $20k for a used one with 100,000 miles on it. Strike two, Sprinter.

  • The Transit has more right angles, which makes it easier to maximize the interior space during the build-out phase.

You can expect to pay between $32-36k for a new van and around $24k for a decent used one. You’re looking for the same things you’d look for in any car: mileage, signs of misuse, basic stuff.

After a little online research and two trips to a used car dealership called Car Revolution (see what they did there?), Doug ultimately decided on this lovely 2018 Ford Transit. Meet the Stratoship*:

*That’s the working title; we’re not quite sold on it yet. Maybe we’ll call her Katie instead? Suggestions always welcome.

The Stratoship was $4,000 more than he intended to pay and had some cosmetic damage — “blue-collar abused” was the way he put it. But it also only had 8,000 miles, which seemed like a worthwhile trade-off.

why live in a van?

Doug Black, ink on paper, 2020

Doug Black, ink on paper, 2020

Cause it beats living in Jersey.

I’ve wanted to live on the road since I was 18, when I toyed with the idea of taking a year off from college, throwing a mattress in the back of my Nissan Pathfinder, and driving around the country talking to people. I still regret chickening out. Since then, I’ve been pushing van life off into “the future.”

Doug first started thinking about it in 2016, when he stumbled across some van life vignettes on YouTube. He floated the idea of living in an RV to his ex, but she dismissed it. Which was for the best; disagreements about van life were kinda the least of their problems. Doug never wanted an RV anyway.

Why not?

The short answer: Because RVs are expensive and corny.

The long answer: When I was a Peace Corps Volunteer in Malawi, I lived in a one-room house with no electricity. I had to get my water from the well, and I pooped in a hole. My friend lived in a house with electricity and indoor plumbing. It was nice by Malawian village standards, but not by American ones. My friend’s home was basically a depressing apartment; mine was an authentic Malawian experience.

I’d rather live in a van that knows it’s a van than a U-Haul that’s pretending to be a house.

Doug’s into how stealthy and clandestine a van can be. You could park in any residential neighborhood if you needed to, and no one would think anything of it. And building it out has been a satisfying personal project.

“I’m really into repurposing things,” he told me. “Like all the wood that I had in the attic, it’s been a pleasure reusing that and giving it new life. I feel like buying an RV would have been more impersonal and therefore less of an adventure.”

I couldn’t agree more. In Malawi, I was inspired by how people would repair and repurpose everything. (The most impressive example was seeing a bike mechanic patch a flat by tying it shut with a scrap from a plastic bag). Not only is it good for the planet, it also saves money — which is pretty important when a bike mechanic and a seasonal worker decide to build a home together. All told, this project will end up costing about $43,500, including the cost of the van. It’s a lot, but it’s not unattainable. If we can do it, so can you.  

welcome to brooke and doug's van conversion build journal!

Hey! We’re Brooke and Doug. We’re one of those millennial van life couples you’ve heard so much about.

omg look how cute we are!

lol jk we’re just regular goobs like everybody else!

How long have you been dating?

9 months.

And you’re moving into a van together?

Yep! I think our experiences so far have given us the tools to handle it.

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At the end of the day, being with Doug feels right, so I’m going with it. Worst-case scenario is we break up, and isn’t that always the worst-case scenario?

Why are you the one writing the build journal when Doug’s the one building the van?

Because Doug’s busy building the van. Enter Brooke! I can work a sander and fetch tools like a champ, but my real talent is finishing art projects. Also, this gives me a chance to appreciate all the hard work Doug put into building our home.

Aren’t there like a million other build journals already?

Yep! They’ve been a huge inspiration for this whole project, from the first van life YouTube video Doug clicked on in 2016 right up to today.

This review from Far Out Ride got me on board with composting toilets.

This Parked in Paradise calculator made a daunting electrical task easier.

And this one from Outbound Living oh my god.

This build journal probably won’t be that detailed. I envision this as a way to give readers a realistic idea of what goes into building a van, and maybe a little inspiration too.

Do you have construction experience?

Me? God no. I’ve wanted to try van life for years, but I wouldn’t have known where to begin building it out. This clothing rack is the most complicated thing I’ve ever built:

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But I’ve been on lots of adventures, including a thru-hike, a long bike tour, and working as a trucker. I like living simply, and I’m great at planning and sticking to a budget — you know, all the hard/tedious/scary work that lies between reality and the dream.

Doug’s a talented mechanic: He can fix a bicycle, a bowling pin-setting machine, and an F/A-18E fighter jet. Plus he builds birdhouses and weird guitars.

Lots of impressive skills, but none of them specific to homebuilding or vehicle repair. So I guess the answer is no, we don’t really know what we’re doing. We’re still gonna do it anyway.