TheSamba.com :: View topic - Adding solar power to 1999 Eurovan Camper

Wed Sep 24, 2025 4:03 am

Hello; Just bought a 1999 Eurovan and would like to add solar power to one day replace coach battery and maybe even propane system. Need to educate myself as I know almost nothing about the process. Being bombarded with adds for power systems. Can anyone suggest helpful sources of information about how to choose and install a solar system? Thanks for your input.

Wed Sep 24, 2025 6:59 am

I would start at the usage side first: what do you want to power, what kind of power does it need (12V DC or 120V AC), how many watts (power), and how many watt-hours (energy) will that take per day.

Once you have those basics, you can start designing your system.

Other thoughts:

* Propane is much more energy dense than batteries, and it can't be beat for running the furnace or stove burners. I wouldn't replace that system without a really good reason.

* Also, if you are happy with the performance of the Norcold fridge, it will run for weeks on propane. Another reason to keep propane.

* Inverters: I installed a 12VDC to 120VAC inverter years ago, but I find that I rarely use it these days - most of my devices, including laptop computers, have USB C and charge just fine on 12VDC adapters. Installing an inverter is a big job.

If you share your answers to these questions, glad to offer more help.

Wed Sep 24, 2025 11:33 am

Thanks for your help. If have given me some ideas to think about. I guess I’m looking towards the future should any of these propane based items begin to fail and to have solar as the next powering system. Probably would not need any power station for long term. Usually 3 days maybe occasionally a week. Just like the idea of not having to plug in for electricity. It’s just overwhelming seeing all the different options and different power levels. A guy showed me his, a solar power station used to run a special Refrigerator/freezer unit, microwave, lights, heater and all other power needs. Could be taken in the house to use during power outages. Lasted a long time and charged very qyuickly. I think it might have been an echo-flow system that he got on sale. Can you recommend any reputable companies? Thanks again.

Wed Sep 24, 2025 4:16 pm

You raise a good point - there's another decision to make - do you want a all-in-one portable power system vs. a system that is built-in to the van?

The new portable systems are pretty nice, and have the advantage that you can move them into your house or your tent etc. Often they are reasonably priced.

A big disadvantage is that they take up space in the van.

Which model Eurovan did you get?

Wed Sep 24, 2025 7:08 pm

As a reference point, I have a 2003 MV that I built out into a camper. It has a conventional lead/acid aux. battery in the back. I installed a Renogy 100 watt panel and charge controller with bluetooth connectivity for $150. Pretty easy install and it keeps the aux. battery up during the day so we can use it at night. I have a portable refrigerated cooler that we run all the time when camping. The whole system is getting a shake down this weekend in the mountains of western north carolina.

Panel & controller: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00BFCNFRM

Bluetooth module: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0894SDTSL

Renogy app: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.renogy.dchome&hl=en_US

Thu Sep 25, 2025 3:58 am

I have a 1999 Eurovan Winnebago camper, 75k miles. It appears to just have an auto type battery for the house battery. Previous owner rarely camped in it the past 10 years. I would like a portable system and hoping to find one that is not real large or heavy with movable solar panels. Again totally ignorant here. So It appears I would need the panels, a powerstation/battery system, and possibly some sort of inverter? Also would need to have a hook up between panels and power station. Ideally it would run all systems including refrigerator, water pump, heater, lights, small appliances.

Thu Sep 25, 2025 5:34 am

Budget option and easiest route, and a completely fine one:

Buy a new lead-acid deep cycle house battery. You need one if the current one if over 10 years old and has not been rigorously maintained.

Buy a portable solar panel with built in charge controller.

Figure out how you want to hook the charge controller/panel up to the house battery- you can just clamp it to the posts, but it's better to have a dedicated line somehow. Lots of ideas for that on this forum and elsewhere on the internet.

Once this is all done, your solar panel can keep the battery topped up to run all 12 volt systems EXCEPT THE STOCK FRIDGE pretty much without worries. This is house water pump and the cigarette lighter style outlets (really easy to replace with USB/USB-C outlets) and the house lights.

You cannot run the stock fridge off battery /solar alone unless you have sun all day, and might not make it through the night. Draws too many amps. Need to replace it somehow with a modern, compressor style option.

If you decide you want to upgrade to modern Lithium battery options- which is worth doing- it gets more complicated needing to change out the whole charging system for the van, make sure you have a good battery management system of some kind, and more. This can seem overwhelming, but there are many directions "out there" that are better than anything I could ever write.