Symbol Upgrades to 12 V

I have been really impressed by the help given by members on this forum since I purchased a 2017 Symbol.  Thank you.

I was wondering what modifications/upgrades owners have done to their Symbols to improve the 12v capabilities to extend their trips off grid.

Bill.

Hi Bill,
I don’t know what your skills are like but there is just enough room on the Symbol roof to fit a second 80w solar panel. Also, the mod done by many of us with a Sargent EC500/700 to fit a dual MPPT solar controller that is wired direct to the batteries is highly recommended.

I went one step further as a winter project but I’d stick to the above to begin with!
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Yeah as mentioned fitting uprated solar is the main improvement to the 12V side of things.

You can fit second battery of course.  That comes with a balancing act as you then need a larger solar system capable of replacing any charge (or at least enough to last the duration of your stay).  But a second battery gives a bigger 'headstart' on draining the charge to the point you need hook up or go for a drive.

Most of these modern vans are pretty good having LED lights etc from factory, so it's really just a case of getting as much charging possibilities.

The standard 80W panel is ok but a little large.  I got a second 80W panel from photonicuniverse that is about 1/4 smaller but still puts out the same wattage.  I'm thinking of removing the original panel altogether and fitting 2 more of the smaller panels to give 240W total, but not sure that's necessary for what I need, as the 160W total seems to do me ok for a week at a time in summer.

Forgot to mention a second battery Greyhound, there is plenty of room next to the existing in the Symbol. Like you though, I’ve been fine with just the one and I do a lot of off grid camping.
I can second that solar panel, it’s like it was designed for the space at the back!

If solar done correctly, IE the panel connected straight to a dual battery solar controller (Opinions differ on PWM or MPPT, I've never used MPPT) then the dual outputs connected direct to each battery via an inline 10A fuse to each battery terminal, then you should have few if any problems
Big advantage is that both batteries are 100% full year round, Lead acid batteries are only truly happy if 100% full.
Biggest panel the roof will take, mine is 160w, up till this one we've always had 100w zero probs.
Dual batteries can be a pain as they really have to be identical, and, in reality bought new from same supplier on same day. The equal length heavy duty wiring between them to connect in parallel. Really just go with solar as above and keep the complexity to minimum!
Also NEVER connect anything solar to batteries via anything with Sargent written on it!!

Oh Ian, I know you secretly want a MPPT controller 

Joking aside, a decent PWM controller would probably be more than adequate for most of us on here and there are definitely cost issues with a MPPT if on a budget.

Not just that Dave, dual batt MPPT quite rare and expensive..
Dual batt solar essential as starter batteries are now so infested with parasitic loads.
I run mine on a ratio of 20/80, 80% to LB