# Solar Panels on T7
**Source:** https://vwcaliforniaclub.com/threads/solar-panels-on-t7.58751/
**Posts:** 19
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### — 2025-06-22T12:31:40+0200 (Jun 22, 2025)
[View attachment IMG\_6943.jpeg](https://vwcaliforniaclub.com/attachments/img_6943-jpeg.137536/)
If you are interested in installing solar panels, you can see that I can get three of Roger Donaghue’s panels on the roof and still have room to install roof rack feet.
Wire drops down next to the rear door hinge and through the grommet now conveniently installed to route the wiring behind the cupboards.
I now leave the fridge on permanently and the leisure batteries are fully topped up by 10am even if I have run the parking heater and air con the night before.
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### — 2025-06-22T14:04:07+0200 (Jun 22, 2025)
> [sticky1 said:](/goto/post?id=750850)
>
> [View attachment 137535](https://vwcaliforniaclub.com/attachments/137535/)[View attachment 137536](https://vwcaliforniaclub.com/attachments/137536/)
> If you are interested in installing solar panels, you can see that I can get three of Roger Donaghue’s panels on the roof and still have room to install roof rack feet.
> Wire drops down next to the rear door hinge and through the grommet now conveniently installed to route the wiring behind the cupboards.
> I now leave the fridge on permanently and the leisure batteries are fully topped up by 10am even if I have run the parking heater and air con the night before.
>
> Click to expand...
That installation looks fabulous and seems like a real value add. Can I ask, do the panels top up the vehicle battery when the leisure batteries are full? If not, what is your experience with the behaviour of the main vehicle battery when in camping mode? Mine looses it charge frustratingly quickly, down to very low levels after two nights camping. I have read the advice in other threads and am careful not to use the front doors, to turn off keyless access etc but I am struggling. There seems to be a constant draw on the main batter of 5-8 amps according to the central control panel.
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### — 2025-06-22T14:37:06+0200 (Jun 22, 2025)
I had a 3 panel setup on my T6.1, it was awesome. Kept the fridge running permanently, interior lights, chargers etc & topped up my Ecoflow Delta to run 240V accessories.
It’s for sale at the moment, with Victron MPPT etc. same roof track dimensions on the T7
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### — 2025-06-22T14:50:53+0200 (Jun 22, 2025)
> [Nimrodski said:](/goto/post?id=750861)
>
> That installation looks fabulous and seems like a real value add. Can I ask, do the panels top up the vehicle battery when the leisure batteries are full? If not, what is your experience with the behaviour of the main vehicle battery when in camping mode? Mine looses it charge frustratingly quickly, down to very low levels after two nights camping. I have read the advice in other threads and am careful not to use the front doors, to turn off keyless access etc but I am struggling. There seems to be a constant draw on the main batter of 5-8 amps according to the central control panel.
>
> Click to expand...
I was intending to have the “Duo” charger which is an MPPT with a 1amp trickle charge but we couldn’t find the starter battery without disconnecting the front seats and my experience with other vans means that you often get an airbag fault on the dash that needs a dealer reset.
I see the same challenge with the starter battery dropping amps on the display but so far I haven’t had it sit for longer than four nights, in camp mode, without restarting the engine. Like you I’m careful to not use the drivers door and lock up without using the remote, so far I haven’t turned off keyless entry, but I am careful to turn off the Infotainment system as I have noticed the Bluetooth on my phone remains connected and I am not convinced the system goes into low power mode when connected to your phone.
I have a jump start lithium pack in the glove box just in case.
I may install a split charge from the leisure batteries if it becomes an issue.
I really recommend getting these solar panels and if anyone is interested they are still under 2m total vehicle height (by 1cm!!)
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### — 2025-06-22T17:40:31+0200 (Jun 22, 2025)
> [sticky1 said:](/goto/post?id=750850)
>
> [View attachment 137535](https://vwcaliforniaclub.com/attachments/137535/)[View attachment 137536](https://vwcaliforniaclub.com/attachments/137536/)
> If you are interested in installing solar panels, you can see that I can get three of Roger Donaghue’s panels on the roof and still have room to install roof rack feet.
> Wire drops down next to the rear door hinge and through the grommet now conveniently installed to route the wiring behind the cupboards.
> I now leave the fridge on permanently and the leisure batteries are fully topped up by 10am even if I have run the parking heater and air con the night before.
>
> Click to expand...
Awesome !
Solar is a game changer isn’t it.
Out of curiosity, what’s the roof made out of ?
Aluminium ?
I’m exploring ways of fitting Starlink mini, before the 4M arrives.
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### — 2025-06-22T18:45:59+0200 (Jun 22, 2025)
> [Californication69 said:](/goto/post?id=750889)
>
> Awesome !
> Solar is a game changer isn’t it.
> Out of curiosity, what’s the roof made out of ?
> Aluminium ?
> I’m exploring ways of fitting Starlink mini, before the 4M arrives.
>
> Click to expand...
Fibreglass.
Have you seen the roof rack bracket?
You will run the risk of being over 2 metres though.
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### — 2025-06-22T19:46:52+0200 (Jun 22, 2025)
> [sticky1 said:](/goto/post?id=750900)
>
> Fibreglass.
> Have you seen the roof rack bracket?
> You will run the risk of being over 2 metres though.
>
> Click to expand...
Interesting, I have reports of RV users with fibreglass using Starlink mini under the fibreglass pointing upwards and they get almost the same throughput and ping rate as on top of the roof !
Very interesting !
Yes seen the roof rack bracket, and the 2m doesn’t bother me.
Most car parks I visit are 2.2m
I’m considering 2x perlight 175w panels so will be over the 2m option anyway.
But would be nice to keep under 2.1m
I bought a good starlink mini bracket from Amazon, it’s metal and I’ll fashion a bracket to keep it on the roof if it doesn’t work under the fibreglass roof.
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### — 2025-06-22T19:52:26+0200 (Jun 22, 2025)
> [Californication69 said:](/goto/post?id=750915)
>
> Interesting, I have reports of RV users with fibreglass using Starlink mini under the fibreglass pointing upwards and they get almost the same throughput and ping rate as on top of the roof !
> Very interesting !
>
> Yes seen the roof rack bracket, and the 2m doesn’t bother me.
> Most car parks I visit are 2.2m
> I’m considering 2x perlight 175w panels so will be over the 2m option anyway.
> But would be nice to keep under 2.1m
>
> I bought a good starlink mini bracket from +amazon+amazon+amazon+amazon+amazon+amazon, it’s metal and I’ll fashion a bracket to keep it on the roof if it doesn’t work under the fibreglass roof.
>
> Click to expand...
There’s definitely enough room in the roof rack channels for a sturdy bracket.
I’m tempted to mount mine at the back and have it easy to remove, I’ll run the power on the offside rear door hinge the same as the solar wiring and use the 12v socket in the back that runs off the leisure batteries.
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### B — 2025-12-26T18:07:57+0100 (Dec 26, 2025)
> [sticky1 said:](/goto/post?id=750867)
>
> I was intending to have the “Duo” charger which is an MPPT with a 1amp trickle charge but we couldn’t find the starter battery without disconnecting the front seats and my experience with other vans means that you often get an airbag fault on the dash that needs a dealer reset.
> I see the same challenge with the starter battery dropping amps on the display but so far I haven’t had it sit for longer than four nights, in camp mode, without restarting the engine. Like you I’m careful to not use the drivers door and lock up without using the remote, so far I haven’t turned off keyless entry, but I am careful to turn off the Infotainment system as I have noticed the Bluetooth on my phone remains connected and I am not convinced the system goes into low power mode when connected to your phone.
> I have a jump start lithium pack in the glove box just in case.
> I may install a split charge from the leisure batteries if it becomes an issue.
> I really recommend getting these solar panels and if anyone is interested they are still under 2m total vehicle height (by 1cm!!)
>
> Click to expand...
I can't see clearly on photo, but are those flexible solar panels which are sitting on top of two L-shaped bars each which are bolted to the roof rails? Can you post a close-up photo if possible?
I am just thinking now how to mount my 3x flexible 100w panels and I arrived probably to the same solution - bought the L-shaped bars at local store and cut/drilled them.
Though I am afraid that since the panels are ~2-3cm above the roof and rather flexible - at high speeds they might wobble or something like this. You have any problem with that?
Thanks
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### B — 2026-01-01T16:15:01+0100 (Jan 1, 2026)
Just wanted to share my experience on installing the solar panels.
I've got 3x 100w ETFE-coated semi-flexible panels from Amazon for around 150 EUR total, Victron 100/20 MPPT charger and a box of MC4 connectors.
The biggest problem was a spiral cable that has a flat long part on one side - I couldn't find in anywhere and I had to order one (2 x 2.5mm^2 wires) from some Cali solar installers for a whooping 100 EUR. It is also a bit thick so the tailgate compresses it a bit when closed, I guess I'll find out in the long term if that causes a problem.
To mount the panels I've used the aluminium L-shaped bars 1.5mm thick (though probably better to go thicker, but I haven't found them in a local store).
The bars in some places are very close to the roof, so there I've added pieces of two-sided tape to fix them and avoid wobbling. Or one can put some spacers between rails and bars to raise them, though it makes Cali higher and might cause more wobbling due to air intake under panels.
The wire goes through the rear grommet just fine, you need to remove the rear compartment trim to guide it down to the water tank, it is held on plastic clips that are rather easy to screw out with a Torx head.
The MPPT charger I've mounted near the fuse box above the battery compartment, under a removable shelf - there's an M5 bolt you can screw it to. You can connect it directly to any of the batteries since the new Cali seems to read the charging current directly from the batteries' BMS and shows it correctly in the App and on the rear touch screen.
I did some long highway runs at 120-140km/h and the thing holds quite nice and doesn't produce any noticeable noise it seems.
Overall cost of parts was I guess around 350-400 EUR.
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### — 2026-01-26T21:55:45+0100 (Jan 26, 2026)
Hi All, I'm also looking for a solar solution for T7 Ocean. I have primarily been looking at the Califaktur and Roger's solarcampersolutions designs, and now the work from blind\_oracle above. Looking at images alone, it looks to me like a key difference in the construction is that Califaktur fit the solar panels into aluminium trays, and I'd guess the solar panels are adhered to the trays? In the SolarCamperSolution case, and blind\_oracle, I see "L" shaped bars are used, but I can't see any additional support under the solar panels - is this the case, or maybe I just can't see from the various images? I'm thinking about solar panel movement and flexing in wind and motorway driving, wind noise, etc. I'm guessing again, but the Califktur approach looks more robust and streamlined. I don't have much solar panel-specific experience. Does anyone have a view on the two approaches/solutions, or experience with Solarcampersolutions addressing my concerns? Many thanks.
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### — 2026-01-27T10:30:08+0100 (Jan 27, 2026)
> [iainH said:](/goto/post?id=770306)
>
> Hi All, I'm also looking for a solar solution for T7 Ocean. I have primarily been looking at the Califaktur and Roger's solarcampersolutions designs, and now the work from blind\_oracle above. Looking at images alone, it looks to me like a key difference in the construction is that Califaktur fit the solar panels into aluminium trays, and I'd guess the solar panels are adhered to the trays? In the SolarCamperSolution case, and blind\_oracle, I see "L" shaped bars are used, but I can't see any additional support under the solar panels - is this the case, or maybe I just can't see from the various images? I'm thinking about solar panel movement and flexing in wind and motorway driving, wind noise, etc. I'm guessing again, but the Califktur approach looks more robust and streamlined. I don't have much solar panel-specific experience. Does anyone have a view on the two approaches/solutions, or experience with Solarcampersolutions addressing my concerns? Many thanks.
>
> Click to expand...
I had a panel from SolarCamperSolutions for 10 yrs. No noise, No movement, No vibration at 95mph on the Autobahn just free electricity.
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### — 2026-01-27T16:43:27+0100 (Jan 27, 2026)
Thank you, WeshGas, that's really great to hear, and a confidence booster.
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### — 2026-01-30T16:58:29+0100 (Jan 30, 2026)
> [iainH said:](/goto/post?id=770306)
>
> Hi All, I'm also looking for a solar solution for T7 Ocean. I have primarily been looking at the Califaktur and Roger's solarcampersolutions designs, and now the work from blind\_oracle above. Looking at images alone, it looks to me like a key difference in the construction is that Califaktur fit the solar panels into aluminium trays, and I'd guess the solar panels are adhered to the trays? In the SolarCamperSolution case, and blind\_oracle, I see "L" shaped bars are used, but I can't see any additional support under the solar panels - is this the case, or maybe I just can't see from the various images? I'm thinking about solar panel movement and flexing in wind and motorway driving, wind noise, etc. I'm guessing again, but the Califktur approach looks more robust and streamlined. I don't have much solar panel-specific experience. Does anyone have a view on the two approaches/solutions, or experience with Solarcampersolutions addressing my concerns? Many thanks.
>
> Click to expand...
The panels are held down against the curve of the roof. This stops them from moving. (there are protective foam strips under the bars).
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### — 2026-01-30T17:02:06+0100 (Jan 30, 2026)
On a seperate note - does anyone have the charging specs of the T7 batteries? I'm looking at some new Dometic chargers and you can select 4 difference LifePo4 profiles, all varying the two peak charging voltages (U 1 is max voltage, U2 is trickle charge / constant mode)
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### W — 2026-01-30T18:04:42+0100 (Jan 30, 2026)
> [Roger Donoghue said:](/goto/post?id=770613)
>
> On a seperate note - does anyone have the charging specs of the T7 batteries? I'm looking at some new Dometic chargers and you can select 4 difference LifePo4 profiles, all varying the two peak charging voltages (U 1 is max voltage, U2 is trickle charge / constant mode)
>
> [View attachment 143737](https://vwcaliforniaclub.com/attachments/143737/)
>
> Click to expand...
My understanding is that this is personal preference as you can adjust the incoming PV voltage and time to best suit the amount of panels and battery capacity. For the 2 x T7 40ah LFP batteries I'd choose the 14.4V for an hour then drop to 13.8 as per the first option. Obviously, customer usage will determine the best profile, but all will work.
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### — 2026-01-31T00:42:33+0100 (Jan 31, 2026)
> [Roger Donoghue said:](/goto/post?id=770611)
>
> The panels are held down against the curve of the roof. This stops them from moving. (there are protective foam strips under the bars).
>
> Click to expand...
Thanks, Roger. Ok, got it - thank you. So the foam-protected bars press onto and adopt the curves in the roof, preventing air, vertical movement, or lifting should any air get under the actual solar panel. Sorry if that's obvious, but I'm not too familiar with the physical attributes of the solar panels  .
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### — 2026-01-31T00:46:36+0100 (Jan 31, 2026)
Exactly that. R
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### — 2026-01-31T05:39:45+0100 (Jan 31, 2026)
> [iainH said:](/goto/post?id=770641)
>
> Thanks, Roger. Ok, got it - thank you. So the foam-protected bars press onto and adopt the curves in the roof, preventing air, vertical movement, or lifting should any air get under the actual solar panel. Sorry if that's obvious, but I'm not too familiar with the physical attributes of the solar panels  .
>
> Click to expand...
They work really well. I can hear no noticeable noise from the panels at all.
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