I put a 75w system on my Westy. There is a 25ft. extension cord so that
the panel can be taken off the locking roof rack and propped up in the
sun while the van is in the shade. Works fine to charge up my deep
cycle battery under the drivers seat. A friend of mine has a more
robust setup to charge his 2 trojan batteries that live under the bench
seat. His 110w panel is permanently bolted to the roof and is able to
keep the batteries charged up after heavy use from his portable strobe
units, a large reefer (not the dometic, he tore that out for
storage)stereo, lights, 1000w inverter, and a breathing apparatus
running all night. My system was purchased 10 years ago and was pricey,
but the cost has gone down and with nano tech it will become less
expensive.

pmail for more info and links if you want.

Cheers

Keith O.
90 Westy Syncro

PS I will be near Florence from July 23-Aug 5 if you want to see my
setup.

> Date:    Mon, 10 Jul 2006 21:27:56 -0700
> From:    Andy Highland <andy@420.AM>
> Subject: Re: Solar Charging?
>
> 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
>