This DIY camper solar wiring diagram and parts list is perfect for ground-up electrical installs into campervans, skoolies, or expedition vehicles. This system is most suitable for systems that do not have a pre-existing house electrical system installed.
This diagram features:
- 3000W Inverter Charger
- 400+ Amp Hours of Battery Storage Capacity
- 400W-1450W Solar Array Capacity
- Alternator Charging
- Shore Power Charging/Passthrough
Not quite what you are looking for? Check out other system setups here: https://www.explorist.life/solarwiringdiagrams
History of Changes to this Page (Click to Expand)
Changes Made Oct 15th, 2022: Added links and advertisement to purchase parts through the wiring kits at https://shop.explorist.life Keeping the parts list to amazon up to date has been a pain point, and by offering the parts (from the screws to the components) directly from us, we can keep up with our parts in stock and quality control.
Changes Made Nov 28th, 2021: MAJOR UPDATE. Updated diagram to add more detail to the individual parts (labels on lugs, heat shrink, etc). Also added a pg 2 to the high resolution diagram to include the system from the following video: https://youtu.be/01F4QDVJUq0 There are very minor details changed between the two pages except for the solar array. Added seperate AC and DC distribution boxes as we have started sourcing those and selling those in-house so sourcing bottlenecks should no longer be an issue. Updated parts lists to include the EXPLORIST.life wiring kits.
Changes Made July 17th, 2020: Changed main DC Distribution busbars to be the Victron Lynx Distributor system instead of the EXPLORIST.life busbar. The EXPLORIST.life busbar is still available to be a DIY solution but I simply could not keep up with the demand for making these. Building busbars was taking up so much time I was having to neglect producing more videos and blog posts, which is what EXPLORIST.life is really about. The Victron Lynx Distributor is an all in one DC distribution unit that houses the fuses, positive and negative busbars needed to take the power from your battery bank to your individual main components. This product is an EXTREMELY elegant solution I think you will be very happy with. I also added an inline fuse and fuse holder between the battery bank and Victron Lynx as well as an inline switch. If you have any questions, as always, leave them in the comments below.
Changes made to diagram July 8, 2020: Changed equipment case ground wires to daisy chain back to the negative busbar instead of each having their own individual runs all the way back to the negative busbar. This results in less wire used, less clutter, and more free space at the negative busbar. I also removed the 300 amp terminal block at the house battery in favor of a 400 amp ANL fuse attached to the busbar. The 300 amp terminal block is adequate but I have heard of isolated events of this fuse blowing prematurely. When a 3000w Inverter is running at full capacity, it could be pulling near 250 amps. At surge capacity and heavy DC loads from around the camper, it’s possible the 300 amp terminal fuse could blow under normal, safe operation. If you are reading this and already have a 300 amp terminal fuse attached to the house battery bank; you do not need to replace it UNLESS it starts blowing prematurely. Finally, the 50A terminal fuse attached to the house battery bank protecting the wire going to the battery to battery charger was replaced with a 60A terminal fuse as I could not find a 50A terminal fuse in stock. If you have a 50A terminal fuse in that location, that’s completely fine and you need to make no changes.
Changes made to the parts lists July 8, 2020: A complete audit of all of the parts on this page was performed. Supply chain issues took a toll on this page recently and left many of my links incorrect. I have found a way to keep up with my links in a much easier way I have been doing in the past which means the links on this page should be MUCH more accurate going forward. Also, I added MULTIPLE different solar wiring examples to the bottom of this page so you can choose which solar configuration suits your own needs rather than providing a crash course in solar array design as that was proving to be too complex and therefore leaving the ‘done for you’ nature of this blog post lacking.
This page was originally published February 27, 2020
Thanks for your patience with these changes. I’m constantly trying to find better ways to teach this stuff and these parts lists and diagrams will be continuously optimized over time. -Nate
HOW TO USE THIS PAGE – VIDEO
This orientation video will show you how to best use this page to build your DIY Camper Solar Setup. It’s a quick watch but I think it’s pretty important.
DIY Camper Van Wiring Diagram
DIY Camper Solar Parts – Shopping List
The easiest way to purchase all of the parts needed for this wiring diagram is to purchase the:
And then purchase whatever solar array charging kit(s) you like for your system from these options:
The ‘full kit minus solar‘ kit from above is made of appropriately sized ‘component kits‘, which means that if you buy the ‘Inverter/Charger Wiring Kit’, you’ll have all of the wire, lugs, heat shrink, fuses, and screws you need to wire your Inverter/Charger to a Lynx Distributor and mount it to the wall.
Additionally… There are two additional parts required that we don’t stock at EXPLORIST.life and we recommend getting from Battle Born directly:
- Minimum of 400Ah of Battle Born LiFePO4 Batteries
- Victron Multiplus 3k 12V Inverter/Charger Programmed for Battle Born Batteries
Note: Many different brands/sizes of batteries will work with our kits. However, we recommend Battle Born Batteries due to their high quality, 10-year warranty, and unrivaled customer support.
DIY Camper Solar Parts – 3rd Party Shopping List
The list below is a consolidated parts list for this entire system from various 3rd party sources (Minus the solar charging leg, which is listed at the bottom of this blog post).
For the ‘Quantities’ in the below shopping list, each singular component is listed as a quantity per each, wire is listed as a number of feet, and heat shrink is listed as qty 1 = 2.25″.
For Example:
Qty 1 – Inverter Charger means you need to purchase 1 Inverter Charger
Qty 3 – 4/0 Wire means you need 3 feet of 4/0 wire. This may mean you need to buy 5ft from the product page
Qty 5 heat shrink means you need 5 pieces of 2.25″ heat shrink. This means you’ll need 5 x 2.25″ pieces of heat shrink for a total of 11.25″ of heat shrink.
Camper Solar Parts Detail
The section below will tell you where each of the parts from above fits into the wiring diagram. This is quite lengthy, but if you are having trouble seeing the diagram or just want more clarification that the diagram above doesn’t deliver, hopefully this will help:
Solar Charging Parts List & Wiring Diagrams
The following section provides you with several different options for solar charging. The above parts list can remain completely unchanged and the diagram above can remain mostly unchanged except for the alterations noted by the diagrams below, but whatever solar array setup you choose below for your needs, these parts will need to be added to your shopping list. These are broken up by total solar wattage. As a general rule, you want to have twice as many watts of solar as you do amp hours of batteries. So, 300Ah Batteries = 600W solar. 400Ah Batteries = 800W solar. 600Ah Batteries = 1200W of solar. This is just a rule of thumb. Not a law.
400 Watts – 4x100W Solar Panels – 12V Battery Bank (Click to Expand)
600 Watts – 6x100W Solar Panels- 12V Battery Bank (Click to Expand)
600 Watts – 3x200W Solar Panels- 12V Battery Bank (Click to Expand)
800 Watts – 4x200W Solar Panels- 12V Battery Bank (Click to Expand)
1000 Watts – 5x200W Solar Panels- 12V Battery Bank (Click to Expand)
1200 Watts – 4x300W Solar Panels- 12V Battery Bank (Click to Expand)
Order of Operations for DIY Camper Solar Install
This list is a rough guideline of what order things need to be connected for systems using this wiring diagram. THERE IS MORE TO KNOW about this process, though, in the user manual for each component. READ THE USER MANUAL FOR EACH COMPONENT as this ‘order of operations’ does NOT supersede anything in the user manual.
- Arrange all parts & components where they will be mounted
- Mount & secure all components to the wall/enclosure as necessary (EXCEPT Lynx Distributor)
- Wire battery bank together
- Assemble Lynx Distributor, master disconnect switch & shunt assembly
- Mount Lynx Distributor to wall/enclosure
- Verify Main switch is in the “OFF” position
- Wire Positive wire from Lynx Distributor to Main fuse
- Wire Positive Wire from Main fuse to Battery Bank
- Wire Negative Wire from Shunt to Battery Bank
- Connect negative wires from Lynx Distributor to Inverter/Charger, Charge Controller & 12V Fuse Block
- Install fuses inside of Lynx Distributor
- Connect Positive Wires from Lynx Distributor to Inverter/Charger, Charge Controller & 12V Fuse Block
- Connect Positive Wire from Lynx Distributor to B1 Terminal on Shunt
- Verify dual-pole disconnect switch for solar array is ‘off’
- Connect Charge Controller to Dual Pole Solar Disconnect
- Connect wires going to solar array to dual pole disconnect
- Cover Solar Panels with Cardboard
- Connect solar array together (Order does not particularly matter)
- Remove Cardboard from Solar Panels
- Verify proper solar array voltage at dual pole solar disconnect
- Remove ‘wire bridge’ on Victron Orion DC DC Charger
- Connect positive & negative wire from Orion to Starting Battery pos & neg (as per user manual)
- Adjust Orion Output Voltage Setting as appropriate in Victron Connect app
- Connect 10/3 wire from shore power inlet to Inverter/Charger
- Connect 6/3 wire from Inverter/Charger to AC Breaker Box
- Verify all 120V breakers in breaker box are ‘off’.
- Connect AC Branch Circuits to AC Breaker Box if not already connected
- Connect DC Branch Circuits to 12V Fuse Block if not already connected
- Connect RJ-11 cable & BMV-712 Monitor Gauge to Shunt
- Verify proper voltage between main fuse & shunt (Approximately 12V-14V)
- TRIPLE CHECK THAT ALL WIRES ARE CONNECTED, POS (+) TO POS (+) & NEG (-) TO NEG (-) (except series wired solar panels) AND CONNECTED TO THEIR PROPER PLACES IN THE COMPONENTS AS PER THEIR USER MANUAL
- Turn on Master Disconnect Switch
- Turn on Dual Pole Solar Disconnect
- Replace wire bridge in Orion
- Turn Inverter/Charger ‘On’.
- Turn on Main AC Breaker in Breaker box & Branch Circuit breakers
- Configure system charging through the parameters as per user manual of each component
Stuart Kerr
Monday 6th of February 2023
Hello Nate!! I am confident I can speak for us all when I say that you efforts and knowledge are appreciated. We are building a double decker bus, and are currently at the point of solar design. I am slowly understanding it as I go, but have reached the point of needing to move on, and not having a lot of free time to spend on learning what is needed to finish our solar array. Too many options!!! If you could please point us to a wiring diagram that would suit us best.
The plan at this point is as follows...
Roughly calculated that we need 7200W of power per day, IF we use our stove top everyday.
4-6 x Canadian Solar Bifacial 445W solar panels (4 at first, will expand at later date, as build progresses) 4-6 x Canbat 150AH 12V batteries ( into series parallel 24V) (4 at first, will expand when needed, as build progresses) Victron 250V 85A Solar Charge Controller ( to manage the first 4 panels. 4 panels will tide us over for now.) Victron 24V / 3000W Inverter (realizing i have sized this for the overall size we are looking to build upto. Should I do do two smaller, or is it okay to do this?)
Other information...
- The only large appliances drawing decent power will be an induction burner and a mid/high end full size toaster oven. So assuming it will be best to run everything as 12V and boost for those two appliances.
- we live on the west coast of Vancouver Island (some gloomy winter days)
Thank you for your time, and hope this isn't too much of an ask.
Stuart/Fallon
Sal
Sunday 22nd of January 2023
Once again I am asking about the missing info on the 1400watt solar array and whether or not the 150/100 MPPT will work for that. I bought the diagram because it had a 1450watt solar array in it.
Nate Yarbrough
Thursday 26th of January 2023
There are all kinds of different solar arrays that will work with these systems. Check this out: https://shop.explorist.life/product-category/all-products/camper-wiring-kits/solar-charging-wiring-kits/
Tim Jensen
Friday 20th of January 2023
Nate ,I am designing my system per the 50 amp OEM retrofit diagram with the multiplus2.I am getting conflicting info about how it handles portable generator input.It is a Honda 2000 that I plan to use.It sounds like I would have to adjust current input via the app every time I hook it up.The gen only puts out 13 amps.Is there a way around this?Thanks for all the info on your site!
Nate Yarbrough
Tuesday 24th of January 2023
You have to tell the Multiplus how much shore power is available. There is no way for the unit to 'sense' this. If following my diagram, though, doing that takes about 20 seconds through the VictronConnect app, so it's not a big deal.
iiro
Tuesday 17th of January 2023
Hello Nate,
Thank you for your amazing videos and detailed resources for DIY camper builders! I found you through Andy Rawls youtube channel.
We have just turned the corner with our 1978 31' Airstream renovation, where a complete demo is over and started to build her back from frame up. We will have room for 1100-1200W of solar on top, in a mix of up to eight 100W and two 200W Renogy semi-flexible panels.
Your wiring kit (minus solar) looks just right, but since we are mixing panel sizes, do we need to piece the solar wiring kit up from scratch? I was thinking of ordering the 1200w wiring kit for twelve 100w panels, and have an extra set of connectors for backup. Would that work?
Nate Yarbrough
Wednesday 18th of January 2023
You're on the right track, but you'll want to divide the solar panels into two separate arrays. Combining the 100w and 200w panels into the same array is going to give less-than--desired results.
Sarah
Saturday 31st of December 2022
Hi, I have installed this system using all the parts you recommend, and it works great. However, someone who has been doing electrical builds for a while told me that the master disconnect switch (300A continuous) is too small. Since I only have 3000 watt inverter / 12 V = 250 amps, that's the most I could pull continuous, so I'm sure I'm good on that end. My question: I have a 400AH battery bank. If that short circuits, how many amps would go through the switch? That is what I'm not sure of. Thank you.
Nate Yarbrough
Sunday 15th of January 2023
You don't size a switch/wires on a short circuit event. 4x lithium batteries may flow well over 1,000 amps during a short circuit event with large wire, which would blow the fuse in this system.
The master disconnect switch is adequately sized for exactly the reason you mentioned.