A single panel is roughly 40" x 28".
Installing the fan gave me some confidence in my ability to successfully put holes in the roof of my van, so for my next task, I decided to mount up the solar panels.
For solar panels I picked up 3 Renogy 100W Eclipse panels - the Eclipse variant has slightly higher efficiency cells and is therefore smaller.
The mounting hardware that came with the panels was not designed for the van roof, so I cooked up something a little more robust for my application. The hardware consists of a bolt, a matching nut, a wide washer to spread the clamping load, and a lock ring to prevent the nut from coming loose under driving conditions. With my sister’s help, I arranged and mounted the solar panels, marked the holes that needed to be drilled, and then bolted the panels down. I used more of the butyl tape around the mounting holes to provide a watertight seal, and then just to be extra watertight, I covered the bolts and the feet with more lap sealant.
To run the wires into the van, I drilled a hole in the roof and placed a waterproof junction box over it.
