The 120watt 12v solar camping solution for my VW Westfalia

boing
1

Originally published at: http://boingboing.net/2017/06/21/the-120watt-12v-solar-camping.html

…

2

$800 bucks for the fridge and $650 for the solar panel.

That kind of money buys a lot of ice and extra batteries.

3

Consumer culture says I should buy instead of make my own ice and power with free sunlight?

Sigh.

1 Like
4

I had to look up what a GIANT BASS TUBE is.

3 Likes
5
1 Like
6

Don’t get me wrong…I’m totally on board with this. I’m looking for a solar panel to keep my boat batteries charged while dry camping.

It’s just a tough sell to the wife to shell out the Benjamins.

1 Like
7

There are much cheaper options. I just didn’t want to be planning on 5-6 days without starting the van someplace and then find all my food gone warm.

8

Your amazon link to the panel appears to direct to the fridge.

9

TY – fixed.

10

I bring some rechargeable powerbanks for my phones and a small speaker for just in case. Otherwise, I don’t really need much to go camping 3-4 days. That’s why I go camping: away from tv and noise of the city. Maybe for those who camp longer they need to get better gear, but the best option is to learn how to camp with less stuff.

1 Like
11

$677.85! cripes, that’s more than my van cost.

12

Keep in mind the price is in AUD. About the same price and way more compact than a rigid frame panel.

http://www.autoelec.com.au/primus-sunpower-120-watt-solar-mat-blanket-6-cell

13

I like the design of the panel but it does seem a bit steep. One of the advantages of a van is that you have plenty of roof space to stick things like solar panels up and out of the way. ETA: and having it up on the roof means that it’s out in the sun all the time whereas a freestanding thing like this would be nicked quite quickly.

I don’t know about prices in the US but in the UK you could get a rigid panel (say 175W) and stick it on the roof, add a simple PWM controller, cables, fuse and ring terminals and it would cost you in the region of £1/W (about $1.30/W) all in and can be installed DIY pretty easily.

1 Like
14

This topic was automatically closed after 5 days. New replies are no longer allowed.