Colorado B.S. Thread

Solar panel for home?

 

My second home... Tacomahome.

 

Did I pull a muscle or two?

 

So how does this thing get sun to charge? You slap them on your hood or something?

 

haha, I was planning on putting it under the crossbars on my roof rack. If its too thick I'll either put it on top or if it only needs a tiny bit of extra room, I'll see if I can make it fit!

 

Hmmm paint me a picture for my analytical mind. So you put those on your roof- what type of outlet do you use and where to install? what type of gadgets would it be able to run and for how long?

 

Its to keep the battery topped off when the fridge is running. Solar panel ---> controller ----> battery

 

Does anyone use the 3.7V batteries? (I think they are camera/camcorder batteries, they look like AA batteries but short and stocky)

 

Vatozone is giving them away for an 87cent donation to their bottom line

 

Okay I found something- is that what you are thinking?

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/what-have-you-done-to-your-3rd-gen-today.399305/page-1448

 

Hey

 

Correct except mine are hard panels.

$120 Renogy 100W 12V Solar Panel Starter Kit, 100 Watt Monocrystalline Solar Panel, 30A LCD PWM Charger Controller, Adaptor Kit, Tray Cables, Z Brackets for RV, Camper, and Other Off Grid Applications

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00BFCNFRM

The sticky ones are nice, but the hotter they get, the less power they produce, at least thats what i've read. So by having the hard panels elevated, air can flow beneath them. It'll also be over the cab, which will pretty much block the sun from heating up the roof, so that should keep it a bit cooler in there, so less draw from the fridge.

Edit: Temps were 140 degrees inside my topper yesterday... gonna find some of that shade fabric and just temporarily put it up there next week when the temps are near the same and check the temperatures to see how it helps.

 

Howdy Sir

 

Sounds like a great concept and useful at the same time. It doesn't ruin the panel when it snows or rains?

 

That is affirmative!

 

I think they are pretty well built for the most part. I'm somewhat worried about hail, and low hanging branches. But theres only one way to test them out.

 

Post some pics- I am excited to see how it looks

 

So some of you educated me about aftermarket bumpers so I was looking around....If I change out the shocks and put OME 888 coils, would I need to change UCA as well?