Introducing the Solar Taco

i see no mini fridge

 

It looks exactly like this:

50 quart ARB fridge freezer. It sits in the back seat behind the passenger (no fancy mounting required) during expeditions and in the garage otherwise! It's pretty damn bullet proof.

One trick I learned - freeze plastic bottles of water before you leave on your journey and this fridge/freezer will keep stuff cold for a long time (3-4 days) even when power isn't available for whatever reason, and you won't ever have a soggy mess to deal with at the bottom of your cooler. It also keeps the fridge from running a lot in hotter weather and stabilizes the temperature. And you have bottles of cool water after they melt. This trick works for all coolers, of course . . .

 

Awesome, thanks!

 

BTW, I forgot to give credit where credit is due to all the peeps on this board that posted awesome pictures and info and who inspired me to dive in to my project, including Mr. Marv, the peeps at RAAMaudio (they extended me a discount because of this forum), and Rob at Taco Tunes.

 

Great ideas here.
A camping buddy of mine told me about freezing water bottles too. Depending on the season I still buy ice in bags for the cooler.

One day I'll get a fridge for my rig but I have pretty much zero electrical skills.

 

Hows the road noise with the Panels while at high way speeds?

 

With or without the stereo on?

It's pretty unoticeable, honestly. It's very aerodynamic, especially because the aluminum poles have about zero cross-sectional area when slicing through the air end on.

 

Cool, yeah stereo is always on in my truck, and my tires aren't even that aggressive.

 

More pictures of the bed electronics and wiring are up at http://www.djthrifty.com/solartaco.html

We just got back from a trip with lots of washboard roads and dust and I'm happy to say that everything held together well. The CD player on my KDC-X890 finally went out, however, but I only use it to listen to MP3's off of a USB thumbdrive and AUX to an iPod or whatever. My wife inserted a new CD into the HU after our trip and it ate it!

 

ive always wanted solar panels... theyre an awesome concept and would be amazing in situations like this! props to you man! and have fun!

 

If anyone is interested in the parts list, schematics and instructions for my build for a fee, please PM me, and I'll get busy working on them for you.

 

Very cool stuff & welcome aboard.............

 

Looking forward to seeing the pictures!

 

That's my best mod so far-the ARB 50qt mounted on one of their slides bolted to the back of my rear seat.

 

Some of you people have just too much time on your hands.

 

but some of these people come up with some entertaining ideas....

 

OK i'm impressed, i wish i had enough electronics know how to hook up solar panels like that. Great job

 

Not all those who wander are lost.

 

After finishing these projects, I would say that I used more don't-be-afraid-to-rip-your-car-apart skills than electronics know how, but then again I'm probably biased.

 

amazing!