Solar Panels
Two 150W 12V panels from Newpowa siliconed and epoxied to the roof of the van. It was definitely a precarious moment holding each panel while balanced on the roof and having to place it exactly on the right spot.
Electrical Panel Install
My goal was to fit all the electrical components on a single sheet of plywood that I could install outside the van. Then, when the time came, I could just screw in the single panel and be done. I must have spent an hour trying to find the best arrangement of the charge controller, pos/neg bus bars, distribution block, battery monitor shunt, battery on/off switch, and all the fuses.
Adding a Ground
One of the reasons I put the electrical panel where I did was proximity to a good ground location on the van's frame. I scraped the paint off with a Dremel, and connected to negative bus bar with 2/0 wire.
Running Wire
Lot and lots of wire! If I said I didn't almost start several fires and electrocute myself during this step, I'd be lying.
It Works!
Connected the batteries, flipped the breakers on and VIOLA! It worked! I'm loving the Victron battery monitor and solar charge controller that come with Bluetooth apps so that I can keep tabs on everything from my phone.