Roof mounted Solar panels

They feed into Deep cycle marine batteries to be stored and then utilized via an inverter. Some people also just use portable power stations that act as an "all in one" (the battery, charge controller, and inverter are contained within the power station). Bluetti makes the best power stations right now, but deep cycle batteries with a charge controller and inverter are the more cost effective solution for higher wattage applications, just not as portable. Note that this setup can be used for emergency power in the home as well or perhaps say to permanently meet the power needs for a 10x10 shed, etc.

 

Thanks guys, that makes sense with the deep cycle battery and an inverter. Next question; could you have something like this as an addition to your "bug out" kit that could be installed/ deployed as needed or does it really have to be setup and installed in advance due to complexity?

 

If you wanted something for a bug out kit I would definitely recommend an all in one portable power station. You can get something like this linked below that weighs 10 lbs with an 100W foldable solar panel and be good for bug out level power. I use this exact setup for running a few fans when at the beach. Deep cycle setups aren't generally considered portable due to the weight of the batteries. You can still quickly deploy the solar setup using batteries and wiring everything, it would just take ~10 minutes as opposed to the power bank that is all in one all the time (doesn't require setup and breakdown). However when you get into long term higher wattage application needs, the power banks can get rather expensive when compared to a deep cycle battery setup.

https://www.bluettipower.com/products/bluetti-eb3a-portable-power-station

https://www.ebay.com/itm/234115899397

 

I also didn't know this was a thing until I spent some time backcountry camping in the American Southwest. Met lots of people that had solar panels on their trucks. Most folks had their solar panels charging a separate battery, not the one that powers their car, for things like a fridge and lights. Though one guy I spoke to had his panel wired to his battery. He said it was a way to keep the battery charged while he was parked and gone for long trips. I assume he was military.
But for me, my short term goal is to have the solar panel charge a battery bank in order to keep my camera batteries and drone batteries topped off while on a weeks long camping trip, as well as have some lights to illuminate my campsite. Headlamps are great, but sometimes I just want that area fully lit instead of my little puddle of light.

 

Thanks brother, exactly what I am after and pretty affordable too. BTW, I am not one of those full blown psycho preppers, but I'm close!

 

If those are your use cases I also would recommend to you the same thing I did to him. This should have more than enough power for your use cases while also being much more portable and multi-faceted in use when compared to a stationary deep cycle setup. I would really only recommend a deep cycle setup if your are trying to power a mini-fridge 24/7 in your truck or something like that.

https://www.bluettipower.com/products/bluetti-eb3a-portable-power-station

https://www.ebay.com/itm/234115899397

 

It tows great, but the gas mileage is crap. That last picture was at the Wawona campground in Yosemite. The toilets are closed, so only "fully contained" campers were allowed. We'll start to see more of that situation here in Cali with stricter water quality regulations. Having a full bath has it's perks.

$33 BioLite MPOWERD Luci Solar String Lights + Phone Charger: White 18' Rechargeable via Solar or USB-A, 100 Lumens LEDs, Lasts Up to 20 Hours, Waterproof, Camping, Backyard, and Travel

These work great

 

I prefer a dual battery setup to a portable power station, but it's all about your particular use case. For mine, I have a high wattage car audio amp that greatly benefits from the added amp output of two batteries. I also have a winch, and having dual batteries that are linked helps maintain proper voltage on long winch pulls. Something like a jackery would not help in either of these situations.

You need to look at your particular use case and see which works best. Same goes for fixed mount panels vs fold out portable ones. I greatly prefer fixed but that's just me.

And if money and weight are not concerns of yours, you can always get both

 

I have three batteries- two in the engine compartment charged from either the alternator or solar (one is my main truck battery, the other is for accessories and emergency battery for the truck), and I ran 2-gauge wires from the auxiliary battery into the shell. That goes through a DC to DC charger to maintain a third portable battery for my fridge, camp lights, phones, radios, tools and the chargers for my toys like Droney McDroneface and my e-bike using a pure sine inverter. The DC to DC charger maintains a charge for the portable battery automatically from the auxiliary battery in the engine compartment.

 

Starting to get into solar panels too. It will charge my bluetti which will power a portable fridge. So far, I have one side connected to a roof bar.



Got the mounting idea from here:
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/guys-with-solar.568989/page-3#post-18765233

 

nice set ups!

 

I like how they mounted flush. Did the panels come with the brackets to mount them flush or did you buy them separately? Thanks

 

I’ve had a solar panel mounted two ways. I’m not a richer that has a roof rack so mine was mounted right on the roof.

Round 1: mounted via double sided tape on the brackets that came with the panel. Also added some safety wire in case the tape came loose. When I took it off it was still so stuck down I bent the brackets and almost the roof pulling it off.


Round 2: flat panel stuck to the roof. This looks better but I kind of messed up the install and it’s not perfectly flat. Once I get a shell I’ll buy another of these and stick on the shell. Why another? Because removing this will absolutely destroy the panel. It’s on with almost an entire roll of double sided tape. It’s not going anywhere.

 

They are rigid fixed panels that I drilled holes through on the sides. They are just bolted directly to my prinsu rack, so no additional brackets were needed. If you have the thin flexible panels you'd need to come up with something different, but for the thicker rigid panels, this is the way.

 

Sliding front window? Like a 3-piece design, with center slide? You just opened it, put the wire, then closed it? I'm surprised that worked, especially with the cable thickness

I have the same kind of window, but it also can fold down. I wonder if that would work too. Fold it down, route on the outer edge side, then close it. I'll go open it to see what the gasket design is like and how tight it closes; it might not be possible

 

Ran a panel like so but with corrugated board in between as an air gap.
Both stuck to the roof with

$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

is there a good way to remove it and hopefully not break the fragile panel?

looking at switching to roof rack(s) and higher watt solid panel(s)

 

This might help

 

How did you secure the panels on the inside of the racks?

 

I drilled holes in the frames of the panels and used t slot bolts in the tracks of the rack. You have to assemble the crossbar sections and the panels together prior to lifting it up on the 'skeleton' of the roof rack.

 

What brand solar panel and watts . Tnx