Hood solar panel

OP, honestly this is a pretty decent idea. My particular group of friends has discussed the merits and draw backs of hood mounted solar for a while now and I am positive there is a market for this.

That said I know quite a few people that desire solar specifically to keep a Dometic PLB-40 charged. The PLB has a built in MPPT controller and your 90W panel is very appropriately sized to keep it topped off.

If I were you I’d look hard into a system for that specific setup (plug and play Anderson plug) and you might have yourself a market. As far as keeping the normal under hood battery full, we seem to have that pretty dialed.

All that said PLB’s seem to be super common in the less hardcore “Overlanding” rigs for instance my Tacoma has dual batteries but I know at least a half dozen people with PLB’s in 4Runners, Lexus GX’s, Jeeps, etc. Heck my wife’s new RAV4 Adventure has a PLB and a fridge in it. Something to consider.

 

The under hood wiring, please

 

How much vhb is used to mount it?

 

Cool, but people won't want to give up the function of their hood scoop. What's that? Oh, never mind.

 

The vhb is around the whole panel.

 

I wouldn't mind the panel being a bit larger, and following the contour lines of the hood a bit more. Seems like you could squeeze quite a few more watts out of the thing and make it more aesthetic at the same time.

 

The

$6 3M VHB 100x200mm~ (4" X8") Double Sided Foam Adhesive Sheet Tape 5952 Automotive Mounting Industrial Grade Very High Bond 5952 (1 Sheets 100x200mm)

3M VHB actually is no problem to remove. We have installed and removed these panels about 100 times during our R&D process with no issues what so ever.

The VHB is not in contact with the vehicle paint in our production model. We are including a custom cut clear hood vinyl which mounts underneath the panel to act as a barrier between the paint and panel.

 

If it makes you feel any better we have been conducting R&D on this system for almost 2 years now. All issues that came up during the process have been sorted out and we are 100% confident that we are offering the best complete solar systems for vehicles. I would not risk ruining my business's reputation by selling a sub-par product. Nice things aren't cheap!

Feel free to let me know if you have any more questions about the panels. Or shoot an email to sales@cascadia4x4.com.

 

Incorrect. We have been testing this for over 2 years and have installed and removed 100's of panels with no ill effects to the paint. The VHB comes off no problem with a little bit of elbow grease

Also note that the VHB is not actually in contact with the vehicle paint. We supply a clear vehicle vinyl which acts as a barrier between the panel and the paint.

 

I was kidding. Chill.

 

Dometic PLB $1149

 

I paid $722 (USD) for mine but yes that one.

 

Make your mind up, trickle charger vs power to drive accessories is vastly different. Clearly this Does NOT negate the need for dual battery setup if you have items like fridge etc. It may be a nice clean setup for small loads, but be realistic about its use.

 

Actually this system does both. Since 12V accessories like a fridge is generally run off the vehicle battery, by trickle charging the battery it allows for the continued use of a fridge without drawing down on the battery and negating the need to keep your vehicle running. These panels will put out up to 6AMPs, a fridge generally draws 2-3AMPs

In addition to the trickle charge to a battery the charge controller also has 2 "load wire" which can be hooked up directly to a 12V accessory like a fridge.

 

~90 watt fixed panel will NOT keep up with a fridge. You will kill your starter battery if the fridge does not have a low volt cutout. You’re overselling what this can do, fridge will draw more than a trickle charger. As I’m sure you are aware, 6amp output you stated is absolutely perfect location and that’s less that 1 hour a day if you don’t move your vehicle. My 240w setup barley keeps up with a fridge in the summer. If you get sun 24 hours a day and 90w is 100% efficiency I agree the numbers work. But in the real world they don’t.

 

Now if that panel was shaped to look like a scoop.....

No, really. It could be very useful for keeping the truck alive while camping in one spot for awhile. I spent a couple extra days stuck on a beach alone with my girlfriend in Baja California due to a dead battery... that was nice, glad we didnt have a solar charger then!

 

So in!!!

 

I hate to be argumentative but I find that super hard to believe. Though to be 1000% I am NOT saying what you observe is un-true.

My experience using 2, 100W panels on my roof are capable of refilling my group 31 to full by 10 or 11 AM. I have a 60L National Luna fridge, and lot of LED lighting, USB charge ports (2 phones and an Apple Watch) plus of its cold a Espar Heater (though when it’s this cold the fridge draws very little).

The couple Ah draw of a fridge is only when it’s running and if correctly packed full (need that thermal mass) they cycle very little. So normally they are drawing 0 Amps.

The other obvious point is this is only valid when you aren’t moving a vehicle for days on end. Which for me happens twice a year, both at Overland type festivals. Otherwise as soon as my trucks up and running my CTek DC/DC charger fills everything back up in VERY short order.

Bottom line with an appropriate deep cycle or LiPoFe battery your fridge should run for quite some time anyway. The PLB-40 runs our older ARB 63qt for about 40 hours with no charge.

A 90W panel isn’t a powerhouse but I imagine it could run a simple fridge pretty much indefinitely as long as there’s some sunshine.

Not to continue to ramble but that PLB-40 can only accept 8Ah into it so it takes 5 hrs to charge from 0 adding more solar won’t make it charge faster than 8A (and yes LiPoFe batteries can actually run to 0 unlike most every other type without damage or losing voltage).

YMMV