On Jul 10, 2006, at 6:11 AM, River Clan wrote:

> Greetings Vanagon List,
>
> Just got back from 3 days camping at the Oregon Country Fair. Lotsa
> westies there! We brought the 'Blue Pearl' the dropped blue '87 under
> the Big Oak at Big Oak campgrounds.
>
> It was great to talk to you all there!
>
> Alas, a problem though. After 2 days of playing my stereo with it's
> assorted amps and woofers... I lose the power in my Optima. I hate to
> start the thing to charge it, and am thinking solar. Hard to find a
> power receptacle at a festival you know.
>
> I always park the van in the shade (if it is available), and am
> thinking of a small solar panel array that I could put 20' from the
> van in the hot sun via cable.
>
> Has anyone done this yet? Any recommendations of products?
>
> Cheers!
>
> Ri of the River Clan
> 87 Westy
> Central Oregon Coast

GoWesty has a solar trickle charger. You can plug it into the
cigarette lighter or clamp it on to a battery. It's a ~3 watt panel.
I don't know if that is enough to keep up with your stereo use.
Sounds like you'd need something bigger if you drained your Optima in
2 days.

-andy