Keeping solar panels inside of Van

[bullfrog !]

Coyotes and foxes are the biggest thieves where I live! They don’t seem to take many of those but rats do chew up my cables occasionally! Lol!!!

 

[RonDean]

I had my solar panels mounted on my trailer and always needed to park in the sun. Now I have portable panels I keep inside my van and I can park in the shade. Big improvement!

 

[Happy Camper]

I have panels that can charge my batteries but so far we've only used them a few times. Hubby is worried that they will get stolen. Has anyone worried or worked out how to keep them secure if not actually attached to the van. We carry bike locks and have them for the kayaks and bikes but not to worried about small cheap stuff. I am not sure how much I would trust to leave my battery pack and solar panels out if I leave the camp

Are the panels portable? Can they be secured to the vehicle?

For the battery pack, make a pass through for the wires so you can lock it inside when you step away.

 

[keebler]

Frodo do you have any pics on how you mounted your mast for your cell directional antenna pole? I have a Wilson cell boost system that says it requires the outside antenna to be separated from the inside antenna by 20 vertical feet. I was thinking of using two 10 ft. sections of chain link fence rail as one end is tapered to fit into the other. I want to rig up a system where I can deploy them from being stored on my roof rack easily and maybe a handle to be able to turn it easily to get the best signals. I was also considering using a hinge on my roof rack so after piecing them together I could just raise and secure the mast. That is a very nice set up you have there. The sliding rack solar is a great idea and I saw that in a video once. Luckily, my 4 panels (720 watts) fit onto the roof rack with room to spare so my install was easier although I may consider adding a tilt system in the future.View attachment 34007 I can put the poles on the rack on this side of the van I think. I have other antennas on the other side already.

where did you get roof brackets to "fit a high top van. i have 2 high top chevy's i would love to do what you did.Thanks, keebler