Camper Van Solar Set-Up
In choosing which solar panel to go with for the stealth camper, I really paid attention to the "stealth" aspect - after all, a major goal is to be able to park it curbside or in a parking lot and not have anyone suspect someone is living in it. For that reason, I've chosen to go with the super thin, flexible, monocrystalline solar cell, even though it is a little pricier. It will mount flat to the slightly curved top of the minivan and is only 1/10th of an inch thick which is 5% of the thickness of the standard rigid cell. It only weighs 30% of the rigid cell weight, too, coming in at a hair over 6 pounds.
The super thin and flexible mounting means it will be all but invisible, flat on the surface almost like a layer of paint, instead of being a thick panel-rack on the roof practically waving a flag that says "somebody lives here" like the rigid cell mounts do.
A single panel will give me enough juice to run my laptop and charge my phone and have interior lights on and have a fan going (the fan is critical in the summer, I can tell you from experience). I'll probably start with one, but... I'm already looking at getting two.
I want 2 of the 160 watt panels, which will fit, and cost about $300 each. I'm going to have to save up for them, because I'll need a large capacity inverter and battery as well as some extra wiring and stuff, and the whole project will come to about $1200. BUT at that capacity I will be able to run a small microwave, and that's going to make a big difference in livability for me.
Right now, my only cooking option is a single burner propane camp stove, and it's not safe to operate inside the minivan, so it severely hampers my stealth abilities. And is not very convenient a lot of the time. With a small microwave, I can be fully contained and not have to eat at a restaurant if I want a warm meal. And I'll still have the camp stove for when I want to fry up some salmon or something.
Of course, there will be cloudy days, but I'm going to hook the alternator up to the reservoir battery so I can charge it up whenever I'm driving; then traveling itself will supplement the power I'm getting from the solar panels.