Setting Up an Electrical Panel in a Van or RV
The electrical panel is the heart of your van build — where all the wiring comes together. A well-organized panel makes troubleshooting easy and the system safe. Here's how to design one.
What a van electrical panel needs to contain
Core components
- ANL fuse holder + fuse: Main battery overcurrent protection
- Battery disconnect switch: Manual cutoff for all loads
- Positive bus bar: All charging sources (solar, DC-DC, shore power) and loads (inverter, fuse block) connect here
- Negative bus bar: All negative returns connect here
- Battery monitor shunt: In the main negative cable between battery negative and the negative bus bar
Monitoring and control
- Battery monitor display: Victron SmartShunt with Bluetooth, or BMV-712 with display
- MPPT controller display or remote: Some MPPT controllers mount directly in the panel area; Victron SmartSolar uses Bluetooth (no display needed)
Distribution
- 12V fuse block: Feeds individual small loads (lights, fan, USB, water pump) with individual fuses per circuit
- Optional: Shore power inlet wiring termination, DC-DC charger interface
Design principles
Keep it centralized
All major connections should converge at the panel. Avoid having some charging sources connect to the battery directly and others through the bus bar — this makes the system confusing and harder to maintain.
The flow: Battery → shunt → negative bus bar ← all loads/chargers → positive bus bar ← Battery (via fuse and disconnect).
Size for visibility
Make the panel large enough to see all components at a glance. A crowded panel where you can't identify individual connections at 2am while troubleshooting is a bad panel.
Typical panel sizes for a full van build: 12"×12" to 18"×24" of clear, organized board space.
Use a backer board
Mount components on a plywood or aluminum sheet that can be removed as a unit from the van — allows bench-level work when changes are needed. Black painted plywood or aluminum diamond plate are popular choices aesthetically.
Label everything
Label every circuit at the fuse block, every bus bar connection, every cable. Heat-shrink labels at both ends of each wire. A label maker pays for itself in one troubleshooting session.
Sample panel layout
[Top section — monitoring and control]
[Battery Monitor Display] [MPPT Remote Display]
[Battery Disconnect Switch]
[Middle section — overcurrent protection and distribution]
[ANL Fuse Holder]
[Positive Bus Bar] | [Negative Bus Bar]
[Bottom section — circuit distribution]
[12V Fuse Block — 8-12 circuits]
Labels: Lights | Fan | Fridge | USB | Water Pump | Spare | Spare
Physical organization tips
Separate positive and negative bus bars by at least 2 inches, or use a divider. Positive and negative touching is a dead short.
Route cables cleanly. Wires from the panel to the battery run together in a loom. Wires from the fuse block fan out to their individual destinations. Don't cross high-current and low-current runs unnecessarily.
Secure all components. Bus bars, fuse blocks, and monitors should be screwed to the backer board — nothing loose that could shift and short against an adjacent component.
Accessible fuse block. The fuse block needs to be easy to see and reach. Don't bury it behind another component where replacing a fuse requires removing half the panel.
Pre-made panel options
Several van build companies sell pre-wired electrical panels:
- Victron Lynx Distributor + SmartShunt + Cerbo GX: The premium Victron system integrates all components in a managed unit
- AM Solar: Sells pre-configured van power systems
- Battleborn Ready Power: Pre-wired systems around Battle Born batteries
Pre-made systems cost more but save research time and are designed to work together. Worth considering for builders who don't want to spec every component individually.