Any ideas on mounting solar to my Leer 122

I have height issues in my garage as I have 7 ft garage doors. With my new cap I have 3 inches to mount solar. I have rails on the cap but would ideally need something that mounts on these rails that doesn't sit as high as say the typical Thule feet. I would appreciate any suggestions and I'm hoping someone here has already blazed the trail. Thank you

 

Do you care what type of panels? Rigid vs flexible? Rigid panels are superior but you may be better off just setting a flex panel in between the rails and using VHB tape to keep it down.

 

I have a flex panel on top of mine with the 3m adhesive backing that I tie into a portable power station. Works great.

 

I was hoping to get something more efficient than the flexible panels as most are in the 15% range also I worry about it being mounted directly to the top since the brands I've looked at require an air gap.

 

Get a roof rack and mount on top of ur cab?

 

If you are not wanting to do flex and adhesive. Why not make you some simple aluminum brackets and use the T channel on the topper?

I used our portable fridge/cooler at a match plugged into the portable power station. It ran for 1.5 days and I camped out of the back of my truck.

All day saturday was cloudy and the power station never dropped below 70% charge.

May not be relevant to what you are looking to do or power.

 

OP is having clearance issue and the solar brand OP is looking at need an air gap below it. I don’t think anything will work if OP has only 3” of clearance. I think the best solution is mount it above the cab since OP isn’t interested in the flexible panel.

 

So I can think of a couple options. Use Angle aluminum across front and back and mount a panel between. This will give you a gap below the panel the thickness of your tracks. Panels are about 1.4 inches thick so this would give you probably 2” total height off of cap. The next step up that i would consider is something like a 1x2 aluminum extrusion front and back of the panel instead of angle. A little beefier and still height would be the same as the panel is the thickest part.

https://www.tnutz.com/product/ex-10...tted-aluminum-extrusion-for-prinsu-roof-rack/

 

Why do a permanent mount?

I run a solar briefcase.

If the truck is catching shade, I have the freedom to move the panel into the sun. Plus it packs away small and won't get damaged by road dust.

 

Yes sir. Aardvark pointed out you can make low profile bracket and keep it under the 3"..

And as Rock Lobster pointed out I would also look at portable case panels. That is what I plan on doing for our camper vs mounted.

 

Get a bigger garage door opening

 

I actually have 400 watts of foldable panels. In addition, I wanted to have something mounted on the roof to charge while driving.

 

You should be able to find some 90 degree brackets in stainless online. One side bolts to the panel(s) the other to your roof channels. The air gap provides cooling airflow and doesn't need a set distance. On my old rig I bolted thru the Thule rod holder thingies thru the shell and used 1/4” aluminum flat stock on the inside of the shell to distribute the force of the nuts/bolts so they wouldn't rip out. Got the flat stock at the big box home improvement place. Use silicone on the bolt heads to prevent leakage. Silicone is cheaper than a leak so don't be shy.

 

I have a similar set-up: solar generator with foldable panels. Works like a charm and I can move them around for maximum gainz. I'm not living out of my truck so I don't need panels and solar all the time. Which would be cool but unnecessary. So I use the portable stuff and its great.

 

that's what I think

 

The solar panel they throw into the jackery 240 deal I just got a ratcheting strap on it on my shell lol charging my 240 in the shell for the fridge

 

How many watts are you hoping for?

 

200 watts on the roof and two 200 watt foldable units, that would give me enough to power my 210 amp hour li battery, enough to power my fridge and a zero breeze AC.

 

In reality you only need to double your panel watts to fill you battery Ah. 210Ah battery filled with 400 watts. More is better but….