Cali Solar

Will be getting solar on our new California, as it has been invaluable on our T5.1 Camper. What does everyone have on their California? Is it a case of the more wattage, the better? Or us there a cut off point where it is pointless to go higher? How are the panels wired into the bus? Is there a readout, or is an app better?
Sorry for all the questions, but not being an expert on the subject I would like to get it right first time.

The man to talk to is Roger Donahu, solarcampersolutions. lots of threads about this

There a loads of threads about solar power and some very knowledgeable folks on here.

How many watts you need depends on what your usage is and what your actual yield is likely to be (a 100w solar panel doesn't always generate 100w). The flexible panels that will fit on the roof tend to be between 100-130w and you can probably get three on one roof, so somewhere between 300-340w worth of potential.

What version of California do you have? The requirements are different for a Beach that only has one leisure battery and only really runs a compressor fridge compared to an Ocean that has two (I think) leisure batteries and more electrical goodies. I have one 130w panel on top of our T6.1 Beach, which so far has been more than adequate in keeping a Dometic fridge running.

You wire the panels into a MPPT controller and that goes to the leisure battery. It is normally possible to hide the controller away from sight. I use a Victron MPPT, which has a nice app that lets you see all the information you could ever need. Getting the wires from the roof into the van is probably the biggest challenge, but it is doable and with a curly cord you won't affect the use of the pop top. The routing of the internal wires is just a case of pushing wires under interior trim.

Klakski said:

The man to talk to is Roger Donahu, solarcampersolutions. lots of threads about this

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100% this, he is very knowledgeable. I made my own (I fancied the challenge) but I would have not hesitated to buy from him if I wasn't.

I bought a 100w kit from Solar Camper Solutions:
Comes with everything you need to fit yourself - including instructions.
Panel bolts to the existing roof runners - easily removable, no holes to drill and adds no extra height if you already have awning rail.
Optional bluetooth controller means you can check what the panel is doing from in the house.
We have found 100w more than enough for fridge, lights and phone charging. Highly recommended.

I've been toying with the idea of adding solar for a while (though we've managed for 6 years without it!). To those folk that have done it - did you have any issues with removing / reinstating trim and are any special tools required?

The trim is pretty easy to remove and put back again, just be careful and do it with sympathetic feel. I did it all without any specific trim tools.

There are various ways of getting the cable from the roof to the interior, I made a small hole (slightly smaller than the cable so it is effectively a watertight fit) in the rubber grommet that carries the heating element cable. From there you can run an internal cable down to where the jack is housed.

RedWhiteMonkey said:

The trim is pretty easy to remove and put back again, just be careful and do it with sympathetic feel. I did it all without any specific trim tools.

There are various ways of getting the cable from the roof to the interior, I made a small hole (slightly smaller than the cable so it is effectively a watertight fit) in the rubber grommet that carries the heating element cable. From there you can run an internal cable down to where the jack is housed.

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Thanks. I've seen a couple of posts / YT clips where some people struggled to get the battery cover back on.

The battery cover on the actual battery just push clips on, as long as you have it in the right place it is easy. The cover on the seat base to access the battery also just push clips on and off, easy.

I found the overhead trim from the roof to the side panel the hardest to remove, but it just needed a firm hand. The side panels click in and out quite easily.

Hard to point you to search as it does not work at the moment but as said, loads of us on here have ordered Roger kits and fitted. Here is a guide I wrote:


Ref what to fit - in 90% of circumstances 100W is plenty. We just did 4 days off grid at Wilderness and left with full batteries after using fridge, lights, charging and heater. If you want to do more off EHU in winter you might want to think about 200, but with Rogers kits you can extend later so I'd say start with 100.

I'm just in the middle of upgrading the MPPT to be one that also charges the starter battery, so think up front if you need that doing.

Mattsv said:

I bought a 100w kit from Solar Camper Solutions:
Comes with everything you need to fit yourself - including instructions.
Panel bolts to the existing roof runners - easily removable, no holes to drill and adds no extra height if you already have awning rail.
Optional bluetooth controller means you can check what the panel is doing from in the house.
We have found 100w more than enough for fridge, lights and phone charging. Highly recommended.

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Was it Victron. Or Epever BT ?

Californication69 said:

Was it Victron. Or Epever BT ?

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Victron 220w 75/15

Mattsv said:

Victron 220w 75/15

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That’s good, as Epever BT unit won’t work with the newer iPhone OS.
And they won’t be upgrading the firmware on the modules.

A mix of solar and ehu did for us on a recent 6 week trip around Europe. But I did find that when we hit the very hot temperatures and sought shady pitches the solar struggled a bit with fridge often on high to keep things cold after a few days.

I put 2 of Rogers 100W panels on my Beach. I run an Engel and a narrow centre console fridge/freezer. The panels are towards the front to allow roof racks at the rear of the roof to carry my 20kg suitcase canoe (MyCanoe).

Reverse back a bit and you’ll get the last of the sun mate