Follow the adventures and misadventures of a 1985 VW Westfalia camper van, a.k.a., The Box Turtle, as we travel together around the American West. Check out the many mechanical and electric upgrades we are making to our beloved Westy, including the occasional necessary repairs that every van owner has make to keep these great vehicles safely on the road.
Hey thanks for the video it’s brilliant! I haven’t enough funding to do everything at the minute and was thinking the best power source to start with would be from the alternator, what do you think? Also, do you have the ability to power a device (laptop etc) directly from shore power with this circuit as with the original Vanagon system or do you have to power it through the inverter? Thanks Glenn
Nice video, just starting to build my system for my motorhome. I originally had purchased an all in one solar generator from Bluetti but figured out pretty quickly it was going to work. To big and heavy and limited in capacity unless you purchase crazy expensive expansion batteries that would fill the storage compartment. Anyhow the Victron dealer will do my setup diagram for me free but your diagram also gives me some guidance. I was a telephone and computer technician before I retired so I do understand most of it just gets confusing with fussing and cable sizes etc. Cheers Rob
Thanks so much for posting a Westy-sized Victron system. This is super helpful. I was looking at Multi-Plus systems which are great but meant for a much bigger vehicle. Can't wait to see where you installed all these boxes and bits.
Very informative video. Thanks for putting it together! I'm curious, with the shore power charger activated, is it charging only the auxiliary battery, or also the starter battery in this configuration?
Are you wearing a goPro for filming? Love that you can see it on your phone. Also the front door panels look amazing. Did you make them or purchase? Thanks in advance.
Question! How did you mount the water tank? Is that a 4 gal version? And are you happy with it? Also what size battery did you add to run the refrigerator? And do you still like the spice rack conversion of the closet door? Looks nice!
I have one on my system, too. But I hate to throw the switch unless I’m really not going to be driving for a while-which is rare. I always have to set up my Alpine head unit whenever I hit the kill power switch.
Hey, Jon! I have the parts list on my wiring diagram video which is on my channel. But point taken. I will copy in the list from that video’s description so it’s easier to find. Thanks for the comment!
Also like the way you routed your phone cord for the flat screen. You just punched a hole in the ash tray? Assuming that's for Apple autoplay. Did you add any additional USB ports other than the one on the inverter?
I just added 4 usb charging ports to the part of the van by the dinette table. I’ll try to post some photos. Thinking of making really short videos of both the USB install and the Solar Panel hinges install.
So many questions. I'm just starting this mod on my '91 westy. 1. How did you anchor the cargo area solar panel? 2. For your external solar connector, you retro fitted your shore water to the solar port? 3. Can you rotate your driver seat? Thanks so much. Great inspiration from you.
Hey, Tim! A ‘91-nice! 1. I used four hinges that sit where the cargo clamps were located. I can get you the Amazon link for the hinges. It’s a tight fit, but it was an inexpensive solution (rare for me). I can detach the panel and set in the sun. I have perhaps forty feet of wire coiled below the solar panel. 2. GoWesty sells the solar retrofit for the solar input to replace the water input. You can also cut an opening and add a fourth input box, but I have never used the water input for the sink. Didn’t really want to cut into the metal body of the van, either. 3. I can still rotate the passenger seat; however, I can’t rotate the driver seat. In creating more space for the electronics under the Ricaro seat, I went with a replacement seat mount. I would miss spinning the passenger seat around. But not the driver seat, really.
I went with redarc's redvision/manager 30 combo. Before I found that I was looking at almost the exact same setup as you. My only question though is if the fixed solar panel has a breaker why would it also need a fuse? I know it's not going to hurt anything but if there was a 20 amp breaker wouldn't it trip before the fuse blew?
BTW, the REDARC solution is awesome! I didn’t even know about it until I was halfway into my upgrade process, which saw several iterations…You must be more than happy with your setup!!
This is a great walk around for the install, which you have thought out all of the details. Cable management would be a major focus for sure. Amazing job!
Recaro seats that I had sourced through GoWesty back in 2006. I purchased just the driver’s side and then they called me back, saying they’d only sell the matching pair. They apologized and said they’d make it up to me by offering me 50% off the second seat. So I said, “Okay, twist my arm.”
Hi, Janis! I just finished the install and everything works like a charm. Pretty excited. Hope you get solar for your Jayco soon. We aren't spring chickens anymore! Stay well and stay in touch! --Mark
I bookmarked a video but haven’t seen it yet. I think the guy compares the Victron Orion and the Renogy, head to head. I’ll send you the link as soon as I watch it!
Okay, so here's the link. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-lvOYUfSBlmM.html I think Tito was reviewing Renogy's 20A and 40A models vs. the Orion 30A. Quality video, overall. Hope it helps with your buying decision, Montoya. Cheers!
Bought it at least 16 years ago, I think from GoWesty (but whoever the source was, I remember they stopped offering the carpet when I checked back a few years later). Disappointing because it’s rubber-backed and the Westfalia stitching is nice.
Very nice. Subscribed for more! I'm eyeing some of your upgrades for my 84 westy such as the Recaro seats. It would be nice to see more of your solar system. How are the two panels combined for connection to the MPPT and what size MPPT do you have?
