There is absolutely no doubt about it- solar power has come an incredibly long way over the past decade. These days, you can literally rely on portable solar panels to run an entire camp set up without having to run a camping generator or a DC DC Charger (which will only charge your batteries  when your vehicle is running). Of course, this all depends on how much direct sunlight your portable solar panels are getting and for how long, but that’s a topic for another time!

Today, lets go through the different types of portable solar panels, solar blankets and the fixed solar panels which permanently mount to the roof or roof rack of your vehicle to ensure you are always getting solar power. We’ll even talk about what solar setup would best suit you and your needs!

1: Portable Folding Solar Panels

First up, we have the humble Portable Folding Solar Panels. These little beauties are probably one of the most common forms of portable solar power because of how affordable and easy they are to use. The main benefit they offer over other forms of camping solar is the fact that they have adjustable legs which allow you to point the solar panel directly at the sun which allows the solar panel to charge your batteries far more efficiently. You’d be amazed at just how big of a difference this makes! A lot of people assume that when the sunlight is on the solar panel, it is performing to its full potential. When in actual fact, they perform at their very best when they are pointed directly at the sun with absolutely no cloud cover or shade on any part of the solar panel. If you’re curious as to how much difference just a little bit of shade makes, cover up a small portion of the solar panel with your hand in direct sunlight and watch what the amperage and the voltage drop slightly.

Here at Adventure Kings & 4wd Supacentre, we offer 2 different sizes of folding portable solar panels– the Adventure Kings 160W Premium Solar Panel with an included MPPT Regulator and the unreal Kings 250W Premium Solar Panel– also with an included MPPT Solar Regulator. Both of these incredible Kings Solar Panels are super easy to set up and use. Both models of Kings Solar Panels have sturdy, heavy duty legs which allow you position the solar panels directly at the sun to ensure they are charging as efficiently as possible. They come with absolutely everything you need, too! So you don’t have to fork out extra for Solar regulators or solar wiring.

Folding Solar Panels can also pack down relatively small and are incredibly easy to transport. They are more commonly used by people travelling with a caravan. Generally speaking, caravans tend to have more space available to store things like camping solar panels inside during transit. As I mentioned earlier, portable solar panels can pack down relatively small and compact, but they do take up a decent amount more space compared to the next type of portable solar we are going to discuss.

2: Fixed Solar Panels

Next up, we have fixed solar panels or permanently mounted solar panels. These are ideal if you have plenty of space on your roof rack or roof which is not being used. They are just about set and forget which is perfect if you want to pull up to camp, roll out the swag and crack open a beer without needing to set anything else up. Not to mention the fact that your batteries will be charging whenever they need to be without you needing to do a thing! 

We offer 4 different types of fixed solar panels or permanently mounted solar panels. We have 2x Fixed Solar Panel models- both a 110w fixed and a 160w Fixed Solar panel. Both of these have an incredibly strong aluminium frame and can be hard mounted to your roof rack or cross bars with an optional solar mounting kit.

We also have 2 semi flexible solar panel models- in the same wattages as the fixed solar panels (110w and 160w). Kings Semi Flexible Solar Panels are the ideal solution for those who don’t have a roof rack or a set of crossbars on their 4wd because they can be mounted directly to the roof of your canopy, caravan or camper van using corflute sheeting and tape. Just beware of damaging your paint- this is something you’ll have to keep in mind when using this method of installation.

All 4 of these types of fixed solar panels require an optional solar regulator (unless you’re running a DCDC Charger with a built in solar regulator)– either a PWM Regulator or an MPPT Regulator (MPPT being the better and more efficient option to charge your batteries).  

3: Portable Solar Blankets

Now onto my personally favourite way to keep batteries topped up at camp- and that is of course Portable Solar Blankets! These are absolutely unreal for a number of reasons.

Firstly, just how incredibly portable they are! Portable Solar Blankets take up next to no space in your vehicle and can be stored just about anywhere. They fold up into a fraction of the size of the folding solar panels and are just as good at keeping your batteries topped up while at camp (provided they are getting the right amount of direct sunlight)! The Adventure Kings Solar Blankets come with everything you need including a regulator, solar lead, alligator clips and quick connect plugs. My favourite way to use a Portable Solar Blanket is to throw it over my windshield so it doubles as a sun shade to keep the car cool on warmer days at camp.

There are 3 kings solar blanket sizes to choose from- 120w, 200W and the monster 250w!