Considering a small solar setup on a hire campervan — is it even worth it for weekend trips?

Not my usual territory (I'm more of a narrowboat person), but I'm looking at hiring a campervan for a couple of weeks this summer and wondering whether it's worth bringing a portable solar setup rather than relying on hookup or the van's engine charging alone.

Thinking something like a 100–200W foldable panel (maybe a Renogy or BougeRV suitcase style) paired with a small LiFePO4 battery, possibly my Fogstar 100Ah that I already use on the boat occasionally. Main loads would be a laptop, phone charging, and a small cool box — nothing dramatic. Probably 40–50Ah per day at most.

The hire company allows you to bring your own leisure battery setup as long as you're not hardwiring anything, which suits me fine. My concern is whether the foldable panel + a decent MPPT controller (I've got a spare Victron 75/15 knocking about) is realistically going to keep up in the UK in July, even factoring in those inevitable overcast days.

Has anyone done this kind of temporary/portable setup in a hired van rather than their own build? Curious what peak generation you were actually seeing day-to-day rather than the theoretical figures.

@SimonJohnson67 nothing quite like dragging a Renogy 100W suitcase panel on holiday to make the hire company question your life choices — but honestly for two weeks it absolutely pays for itself in avoided campsite hook-up fees! 🌞

A folding briefcase panel with a small Victron SmartSolar MPPT and a decent Fogstar 100Ah lithium is my "away kit" for the shepherd's hut when I'm not there — chucks it all in the boot, takes 20 minutes to set up, and you'll never fight over a EHU pitch again.

Just check the hire T&Cs — some are funny about anything connected to the 12V system, so keeping it fully standalone is the safer play.

@SimonJohnson67 Worth checking with the hire company first — some have clauses about attaching anything to the roof, but a portable folding panel sitting on the ground or propped against the van is usually fine. For a fortnight though, I'd honestly say it's genuinely worth it, especially if you're planning any off-grid nights. A decent 100-120W foldable panel with a small 20-30Ah lithium battery and a basic PWM controller will keep your phone, laptop and a 12V coolbox ticking over nicely. Your narrowboat experience means you're already ahead of most hirers in understanding the basics. The main thing to watch is that most hire vans have a leisure battery that's separate from the starter — just make sure you know which terminals you're connecting to before you start. Enjoy the change of pace!

@SimonJohnson67 — coming from the narrowboat world myself, I'd say the mindset transfers pretty well actually. On the boat I got hopelessly addicted to watching the Victron app like it was the football scores, and portable solar is really just the same itch in a smaller package.

For a fortnight though? Honestly worth it. A decent suitcase panel parked on the pitch does wonders for keeping a leisure battery ticking over, especially if you're wild camping rather than on hookup.

@JasonPhillips makes a solid point about hire company clauses — roof mounting is a definite no, but a free-standing panel on the ground beside the van is usually completely fine and nobody blinks. Think of it as camping kit rather than a "modification."

The real question is what you're trying to run — phone charging and a few lights, or are you sneaking an EV top-up in there somewhere? 😄

@SimonJohnson67 the portable suitcase panel route is genuinely viable for a two-week hire — I ran a Bluetti EB70S paired with a folding 120W panel on a similar setup last year purely as emergency backup for CPAP and phone charging. The key metric worth calculating is your actual daily Wh consumption rather than panel wattage. A 100–200Wh buffer covers most weekend essentials without the faff of involving the hire company at all. Ground-deploy the panel at your pitch, feed it into a portable power station, job done — zero attachment to the vehicle. Victron's SmartSolar charge controllers play nicely with portable arrangements if you want proper monitoring via Bluetooth. The bigger question is whether UK summer irradiance over two weeks justifies the kit weight versus just using a decent leisure battery top-up. If you're wild camping rather than hook-up sites, the calculation swings firmly toward bringing the solar.

@CrafterDream that Bluetti route is interesting — I've been down a similar path with my garden office setup, running a portable Jackery alongside a couple of foldable panels when I first started out before committing to a proper Victron/Fogstar install.

One thing worth flagging for a hire van specifically: check whether the onboard leisure battery is even being kept topped up properly by the vehicle alternator while driving. In my experience hire companies aren't always on top of battery condition. If the van's own battery is already struggling, a portable panel becomes even more valuable just for basic USB charging and keeping a fridge ticking over overnight.

What's the actual load you're planning to run? That would help figure out whether a suitcase panel genuinely cuts it or whether you'd be better off just managing consumption carefully.

@SimonJohnson67 from a static caravan background rather than a van, but the principle's the same — a portable power station + folding panel is dead easy to set up and pull down each day. For two weeks I'd honestly just grab something like a Jackery or EcoFlow Explorer and a 100-200W foldable panel, bung it on the picnic table when you're parked up. No need to touch the van's existing electrics at all which matters when it's a hire vehicle. Main thing to check is whether the hire company has any daft rules about placing panels on the roof — most won't mind table use though.

@SimonJohnson67 coming from a narrowboat background you'll actually adapt to this faster than most — the 12V mindset transfers well. One thing worth checking before you hire: some campervan companies explicitly prohibit attaching anything to the roof, even temporarily. Confirm that in writing before you go, otherwise you're stuck with panel placement on the ground or dashboard only. A decent portable power station paired with a freestanding panel works a treat for weekend use though — two weeks is comfortably achievable without touching hookup.