The inspiration behind this project was from Salty Vanventures video here: [ Ссылка ]

Not only was the video really well done, he made it seem easy. To be truthful, it was kind of easy. It took us about 24 hours total. It cost us about $440 Canadian which converted to $350 USD at the time we purchased all the materials.

Mid-build we learned from Mark Borrmann that you can't mix aluminum and stainless steel. When aluminum and stainless steel are used in an assembly together, the electrons from the aluminum will begin to transfer into the stainless steel. This results in the aluminum weakening. Not great for supporting a heavy solar panel.

Mark saved us a whole lot of time and effort by sharing this with us. At that point, we had not yet assembled anything and we were able to quickly replace the stainless steel hardware with coated hardware. Thank you Mark!!!

Just today, Friday, we took the van for a spring jaunt. A shakedown of sorts. The roof rack held up perfectly in 30 km/h winds. That converts to 18 mph winds.

The thing that helped us out the most was the Prime Design roof rack rails. Model #PD-FBM-1017-BLK. We really hope you can find a similar product for your build because it was designed specifically for the curvature of our van. Although they don't sell to the public, they can steer you to a retailer near you: [ Ссылка ]

Our next largest purchase was the aluminum angle and the aluminum tube. The aluminum angle was 1/8" thick x 2" x 2" x 20'. The aluminum tube was 1/8" thich x 1.5" x 1.5" x 21'. We only needed one of each and Acier Picard ([ Ссылка ]) cut them in three equal pieces which we already knew would be the (almost) perfect lengths.

You'll also need coated M8 bolts, nuts and washers, a circular saw for the aluminum, a drill with a step drill bit and regular drill bits for metal, and a screw driver.

We also used Loctite, Dicor Lap Sealant, a ratchet, drop cloths or blankets and a good sturdy ladder. Although we know we're not supposed to step on the top rung of the ladder, few ladders are made as strong as this one. It is worth it's weight in gold.

From the craft store we used a chalk pencil to help us mark the point for drilling, and polyethylene vinyl acetate sheets that we used as a buffer between the aluminum and the roof of the van. We also used some cleaning materials and alcohol to prep the spots where we applied Lap Sealant.

If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to us. We love reading your comments and providing guidance where we can.

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