Solar Entry Gland

Solar Entry Gland

The first step for wiring your solar system for your van conversion is drilling holes to run your wires down to your panel. 

Before you install your solar panels on the roof you will want to run your wires for the solar panels. This is done best with a solar entry gland. A solar entry gland will drastically reduce the likelihood of water and moisture getting into the van. 

This is a very easy straightforward task. I really like using the BougeRV cables that come with the MC4 connection already attached. This makes for a quick and easy install and should only take a few minutes. 

You will want to use your step bit to drill a hole big enough to for your two solar wires. Make sure you clean up the hole nicely with a metal file and use a clear coat or spray paint to prevent additional rust from forming. 

Here you can also use a rubber grommet that you can find at Ace or True Value. This will help to protect the wires from getting cut by the hole you just cut. If you can’t find any grommets a plastic conduit helps here to protect the wires. You can use electric tape to tape the conduit to the wires. 

It’s important to protect the wires here to prevent the insulation from getting nicked and causing a short.

I really like the solar wires from BougeRV because they come with very durable jacketed insulation that is extremely tough. 

Once you have your holes cut this is very similar to your fan install. 

You will want to run all the wires through your gland before you install it. Make sure to give ample slack out of the gland to ensure that the wires will make it to your solar array. 

You will also want to use butyl tape as well as lap sealant to prevent any water from entering the van and causing problems. 

The butyl tape goes on first and provides a nice seal between the van and the entry gland. 

Once the entry gland is in place and the butyl tape is all cleaned up you will want to apply a generous amount of lap sealant around the base of the entry gland. The lap sealant will really help prevent any water to seep into the van. 

With the butyl tape and lap sealant you should never have any problems with water getting into the van and causing problems to your insulation or water staining your nice wood ceiling.  

From here you will run your wires down to where your solar charge controller will be. 

When you run the wires into the van we like to utilize the existing cavities to run the wire through to where your charge controller will be. Note that you will want to use tape or mark where the wires are so when you come back through when attaching your walls and framing that you don’t send a screw or nail into the wire.  

****Note*** To avoid electric shock or damage to your 12 Volt System —You Do not want to connect your solar panels to the charge controller until your load and batteries are connected. Plugging your solar panels into the wire you just ran as the last step in setting up your solar system. It’s best to just let these wires hang in place unplugged until your 12-volt system is configured and ready to go.  

The solar wires will be the wires that you connect to your charge controller when it’s time to set everything up. 

Check out our installation video to give you a step-by-step process on how to install your solar entry gland

We will see you in the next module. 

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