Roof Rack Solar Panel Installation Outline

Preface: I'm happy to share this install, but this is not a cumulative "how-to". I'm also no expert, so if you are going to try to do this project, you need to read up on the topic and understand 12v stuff. I am not responsible for you letting the smoke out of your truck's wiring, or if you blow up your battery.

Have a question? I'll try to answer it, but again, you are responsible for the outcome or any damage to your truck. With that said, I hope you enjoy my "Solar Panel Install Outline" post.

I finished my solar panel install today. I did it in three steps.

1. Panel mount to the roof rack.
2. Solar panel wire run to the controller located in the rear cab.
3. Wire run from the controller to the house battery under the hood.

I started with a

$130 Renogy 100 Watt 12 Volt Solar Panel Starter Kit with 100W Monocrystalline Solar Panel + 30A PWM Charge Controller + Adaptor Kit + Tray Cables + Mounting Z Brackets for RV Boats Trailer Off-Grid System

Renogy 100W "Starter Kit" that included a 100 Watt panel, 30A controller, mounts, hardware, and a bunch of heavy duty 10AWG wire. By luck, the panel fits near perfect, side to side, within my Prinsu roof rack. I was also able to mount it using the Z-brackets included in the kit and some spare rack hardware I had laying around.

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I really like this layout, as it lays slightly below the bars. This way, if I need to mount something over the top of the panel, there is a small clearance, so nothing rubs. Also, unless you are looking closely (or you're freakishly tall), you'd never notice the panel at a casual glance. This is also a testament to the great rack that Prinsu makes, there are an almost infinite amount of ways to bolt things to it.

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Here is a shot underneath the panel, to show you the clearance. It's tight, but nothing is going to rub.

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I had originally planned on drilling through my roof, to accommodate the HD 10AWG wires. I already have 2 pairs of

$46 Side Shooter LED Lights Auto Power Plus 2Pcs 4" 90W Cube Side Shot Pods Off Road Light Pods Dual Row Work Light Bar IP 68 Waterproof Driving Fog Lights

LED pods (the old ones are pictured), GPS, and Satellite radio antenna wires using the windshield channels. However, I added a new Kenwood DMX7704S head unit about 2 weeks ago, and I'm not using the OEM Satellite Radio antenna anymore. Sure enough, the hole in the roof from that antenna, was plenty large enough to accommodate my 2 panel wires. Awesome!

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So using a

$10 Link Solar Weatherproof ABS Solar Double Cable Entry Gland,Curved Cable Connector for All Cable Types 2mm² to 6mm² for Rv, Campervan, Boat (Black)

waterproof gland assembly, I was able to use the existing hole for the ingress wiring. I added some

$10 3M VHB Heavy Duty Mounting Tape 5952, 0.5" width x 5yd length (1 Roll)

3m VHB Heavy Duty mounting tape on the inside of the gland, and a bead of

$20 3M Marine Adhesive Sealant 4000 UV (05280), Medium Strength Flexible Waterproof Adhesive Sealant for Boats and RVs, UV Resistant, Cures in 24 Hours, White, 3 fl oz Tube

3M Marine Adhesive/Sealant on the outside of the tape. It turned out pretty good. I may follow up with a fine tipped Sharpie pen to go over the white adhesive...

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Here is where I mounted the charge controller, right in the middle of my MOLLE panel. I got mine from @nat, but @docloco has an ongoing group buy for them. I highly recommend this mod, super useful!

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Anyhow, I ran the wires down the C-pillar and behind the MOLLE panel, up into the CC. That was part 2. (I took this pic before the wires were connected). I didn't catch his TW handle, but this gentleman has an excellent youtube video on how to drop your headliner. VERY helpful!

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Here is the honeycomb(?) thing that is located under the sat radio holes. Carefully, pop it out and you can run your wires under it. The HD 10AWG cables that come with the Renogy kit, are a pain here. Trying to route them under the honeycomb sucked. Eventually, I sawed a hole down the middle of one row, to accommodate the cables. I don't have a good photo of that part. But here is what it kind of looks like.

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And here is where I ran them into the C-pillar. If you are careful, you can peel back the edge of the plastic, and not have to remove the whole thing in order to route the wires behind it. However, you'll need to remove your OEM bins to do the same with the lower portion of the plastic. Since I removed mine in lieu of my MOLLE panel, it was a cinch.

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Now, I had a good amount of extra cable pulled into the cab. I looped it once through the c-channel(?) pieces in the back wall and created what I am calling, a service loop, using zip ties. This way, if I ever need to move the Charge Controller around, I will have plenty of cable to do so, without having to re-run new wires. I then ran the wires from both runs (solar panel to CC & CC to house battery) behind my OEM sub/amp box. The box is the OEM "bin" box, but I cut it down to retain coverage/protection for the amp/sub and fit my MOLLE panel.

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After that, I started on part 3, the run to the house battery. This was fairly straight forward, especially since I've pulled the plastic pieces before for other stuff (Pop/Lock linked to the keyless entry). Anyhow, I popped off all the pieces and ran a pair (+&-) 10AWG wires up to the front of the cab, and out the firewall. NOTE, if you are using the Renogy "starter kit", the wires for this run are too short, by about 3 feet. I would have liked to use them, but I ended up using some 10AWG stranded wire I got from Home Depot. In hindsight, I wish I would have bought it off the web, probably would have saved $10+. Oh well. So again, if you've pulled these pieces before, and you've run wires through the firewall, this part is pretty simple. Don't forget your zip ties!

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Here is a wiring diagram of how it all works. My Invertor is installed, but I will be wiring that up another time. Still trying to get it sorted out (wiring sizes, relay, dash on/off button, etc.). Anyhow, ignore the invertor in the diagram, but follow the rest closely. Of note is the in-line fuses. I

ANCOR MARINE GRADE 607023 Electrical In-Line Fuse Holder (ATO/ATC, 10-Gauge, 30-Amp)

used 10AWG in-lines that appear to be well made. As for connecting them,

PREMIUM Solder Seal Heat Shrink Butt Connectors 100 pcs Wire Connector Kit Electrical Waterproof Marine Automotive Solder Sleeve

get these! These things rock, and make your connections solid. I added an extra layer of heat shrink tubing on top, just to be sure though. DO NOT PUT FUSES IN THE HOLDERS UNTIL YOU'VE CONNECTED ALL YOUR WIRES.

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So finally, I've got all the wires run and connected to the batteries and the panel. Now it is time to connect them to the charge controller. CONNECT THE BATTERY WIRES BEFORE YOU CONNECT THE SOLAR PANEL WIRES. If you are following the Renogy instructions properly, you'll do it that way. So, finally, I got the tips stripped, the + wires marked, and connect them to the CC and insert the battery in-line fuse into the holder. The green wire in the upper right hand of the picture is where the solar juice comes into power the "house" battery.

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I'm using Odyssey 25-PC1400T (AGMs/Sealed) batteries, so I don't need to adjust the battery type on the CC, it defaults to "sealed". OK good, so at this point, no smoke, no burning smells. Feeling good. Now to back the truck out into the sun and insert the panel in-line fuse.

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Yay! It is working. *phew* Sure glad I didn't roast anything AND it works. Here is a picture of my Peak DBI voltmeter, showing my dirty solar panel throwing 14.2V of power at my house battery.

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So that is pretty much it. I'll come back later and edit my post to have a better list of the things I used for this project. I basically got everything off Amazon and already had the required tools, which I will outline as well.

 

Nicely done! Super clean

 

Sub for reference

 

Excellent job, thanks for sharing!!!

 

Nice I am thinking of those to help charge my aux battery.

 

Keeping my fridge cold while camping was the driving force behind this mod. Keeping my dual batteries topped off is nice too. I’m hoping it will extend their lives.

 

Nice. Cheers

 

sub'd for future panel install. Thanks OP

 

This is soooo badass on so many levels! Would love to do this mod but I dont really have the need for this

 

Great job and write-up!!!! The pics and the links kick ass. Thanks a ton!

 

Very cool!

 

Nice write up! I'm going to do a similar build. 200w kit. I m going to splurge on a lithium battery I think just running off solar, not alternator.

 

@ilubtimmyhos did something similar for his fridge too.

 

Dude you're brilliant. Really very nice. /flip the switch!

 

Great job man! I did the same recently but dont have a prinsu so i bolted mine straight to the roof. Looks clean!

 

Mounting the panel down between the prinsu rails like that is pretty genius. I have my prinsu laid out with a big renogy-sized cavity in that same front space for just this purpose - I'm gonna steal the shit out of that idea.

 

Ive been looking at the same kit to mount on my Prinsu. Its awesome to know that it fits inbetween the bards like that.

 

Where to connect the other end of the inline fuse? Thanks

 

It’s goes to the positive terminal of the “house” battery.

@Toyocoma

 

That looks so good. Really nice job. Excuse me while I borrow your work.