Feedback Sought – Roof Solar Affixed vs Brackets

[visitorfromsomewhere]

Hi. If any of you have a recommendation for a place that installs solar atop van roofs around the areas between Southern CA / UT / AZ please share.

Also, is it better to have the solar affixed flat to the van or secured with brackets?

I have a new van (2020 model) under warranty so I want to reduce the risk of voiding the warranty. I just want to be able to be inside my large, tall cargo van for the day and have heat/cooling and do my e-chores on my laptop (150w).

I’m considering 2 places but I can’t pick one. I’m 50/50:

1) Solar Bill in Quartzsite, AZ
2) Solarzing in Saint George, Utah

Both companies guarantee their work.

➤ Pros & cons of Solar Bill in Quartzsite, AZ (they want to do secured with brackets)

• Pro: friendly staff, good follow thru with call backs
• Pro: seems confident
• Pro: adaptable to wiring thru rear back up camera instead of drilling as they initially wanted to do
• Pro: They have their own parts in-store (no need to wait for ordering)
• Con: They close from mid-April until sometime in November – it’s unclear if they’d be reachable during that 8 moth closure if a problem occurs
• Con: Of 27 reviews they have 3.5 stars yet they reply do the bad reviewshttps://www.yelp.com/biz/solar-bill-quartzsite
• Con: Website is under construction

➤ Pros & cons of Solarzing in Saint George, Utah

• Pro: friendly staff, good follow thru with call backs
• Pro: adaptable to wiring thru rear back up camera instead of drilling as they initially wanted to do
• Pro: No known closures
• Pro: Website conveys professionalism https://solarzing.com/Home
• Neutral: They order supplies/parts from a company – they check to ensure parts work before scheduling me to arrive
• Con: I find no reviews of them – no Yelp for example

What do you think? Thank you.

 

[highdesertranger]

get ahold of member jimindenver.

BTW solar ain't going to get you heat or AC unless you install a huge system.

Highdesertranger

 

[rvwandering]

A friend of our had Solar Bills install her solar system. The job was so poorly done that Tony and another friend had to redo most of it. I have heard similar stories about Solar Bills from other people. I strongly recommend that you consider Discount Solar in Quartzsite instead.

 

[jacqueg]

the Discount Solar folks are really friendly and helpful.

They also close for the season, but they told me that if I have an issue with the battery I bought from them, I could call and leave a message and someone would get back to me, although it might take a few days. My impression is most of the guys who work there are serious outdoor types.

 

[mattvei]

In all his solar videos, Bob heartily endorses santan solar. Info here https://santansolar.com/ Plus they heavily support HOWA

 

[highdesertranger]

SanTan does not do installs. Highdesertranger

 

[shadowmoss]

I believe Jim (jimindenver.com) is a recommended installer for SanTan Solar.

 

[highdesertranger]

Thanks shadow, I did not know that. I sure do miss the campfires that we all use to sit around and shoot the shit. highdesertranger

 

[visitorfromsomewhere]

get ahold of member jimindenver.

BTW solar ain't going to get you heat or AC unless you install a huge system.

Highdesertranger

Thanks for the tips. I'm sure a typical small van and little floor heater will be fine. How much wattage do you think I'll need? Looks like Jim found my post elsewhere. Thanks for the effort to connect me with someone knowledgeable.

 

[visitorfromsomewhere]

A friend of our had Solar Bills install her solar system. The job was so poorly done that Tony and another friend had to redo most of it. I have heard similar stories about Solar Bills from other people. I strongly recommend that you consider Discount Solar in Quartzsite instead.

Thanks but both seem to be in Quartzsite and both seem to take most of the year off. It seems [font=Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif]Discount Solar is closed until November and [size=small][font=Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif]Solar Bills is closing around mid-April. I think it will make more sense for me to find a place that's more open than closed. [/font][/font][/size]

 

[jimindenver]

Most of Quartzsite closes for the summer. It's going to be too hot to be here in a month or so.

 

[highdesertranger]

"I'm sure a typical small van and little floor heater will be fine."

No. no it won't. Heating anything with electricity takes a huge amount of energy. You don't notice in a house because power is so cheap but now you're the power company. What heater do you want to use, just do the math.

I am just trying to bring a little reality to the conversation. You should the 3 step method,

1. determine how much power you need in a day
2. size your battery to #1
3. size your solar to #2

Highdesertranger

 

[jimindenver]

you might get away with a 250 watt heater if you can get 800 or so watts on the roof and 400 amp hours of usable battery power. That size of heater will pull over 20 amps out of the bank per hour. On a 8 hour night that means 160 amps or 60% of your battery. Unfortunately when you need the heat in the winter the nights are even longer while the sun is low and the days are shorter. So now that heater takes a bigger chunk of power out of the battery and you will get half of the output of the solar.

The second part of this is that a 250 watt heater is really a leg warmer. You point it you and you feel the warm air blow on you but it's not going to warm up the van. Mine can't even warm up the tiny bathroom in my trailer.