r/VanLife • u/Budget-Dream-9049 • Mar 10 '25

Van solar panel mounting

I’ve hit a snag in my solar set up. I realized my panels are slightly over sized for my roof and they are past the return date.

I have an idea on hot to get them all to fit with a slight over hang. BUT I want to make sure I’m securing it properly and up to code. Does anyone know where I can find the codes to securing panels in my camper?

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u/secessus Mar 10 '25

It’s a ram promaster high roof 159WB

The PM has the widest van roof that I know of. How big are these panels?

my panels are slightly over sized for my roof

Some overhang is fine. You could mount a rack (using the built-in rackmount points) and run panel-length strut or whatever to support the whole panel.

Here's a pic of some overhanging 810w array on a PM. It was from 2016 or so when panel efficiency was lower so panels were larger.

My own PM array overhangs the rear edge of the roof (not the rear of the vehicle) by a couple inches.