Solar panels for camping

[4xdad]

Does anyone have solar panels on their truck my wonderful missus bought me two 400 watt solar panels I want to mount them on the roof of my truck because my topper goes up and down if anyone has any advice I would appreciate it

 

[aces-n-eights]

When we were RV'ing we used our solar panel as a portable. Once at the campground we'd put it on the ground out in the sun and run a cable to the camper. It had legs so we could get a good angle to the sun and we could move the panel around during the day to get the best possible exposure.

How big are your panels? Will they fit on the roof of your truck?

You might want to post your question on an RV forum - they're mounting solar panels on vehicles all the time.

Good luck!

 

[Fake-Account27]

I have 3, 100 watt panels on the roof of my RV and the most I have ever produced is about 60 watts. I am disappointed they do not work as well as I had hoped, but solar panels need to be pointed directly at the sun to work well. I also have a 100 Watt portable panel that can pull the same amount of wattage my 3 panels on the roof can very easily.

 

[Grand Mesa]

"two 400W solar panels"

You're going to need a bigger boat.

 

[GTyankee]

it would seem that a roof mount in a campground, would not be ideal ??

this guy says that one setup gives you wattage
another setup gives you

Solar Panel Camping Setup - How to Install Solar Power Without Drilling

In this video I'm showing how to do Solar Panel Camping Setup on a truck, van, trailer, rv and so on without any drilling, using flexible solar panel, relati...

www.youtube.com

 

[EriikK]

I've installed a lot of solar on RV's, vans, etc. Are theses name brand panels? Some off brand panels do not come close to meeting their specs.
New good 400w panels are more efficient than older 12v panels, so if it's a good one the area of this setup will be smaller than an older or flexible 4x100w setup.
Also at 400W these are probably higher than 12volt panels, they are intended for home systems. That's OK, you just need an MPPT controller that can work with the voltage the panels make. Renogy MPPT is OK, I have used them.
I suggest you set the whole thing up with the panels on the ground and make sure everything works, before you invest the time in installing the panels on the truck. And yeah, two 400w panels may be too big for your truck. Consider putting one or both on a portable stand as another person suggested. I have done several camping setups where they have some rooftop and some on a portable stand, it can work great.

 

[4xdad]

Wow that’s a lot of information thanks to everyone that answered the panels I got are 2x200 watt off of Amazon the reason I was thinking of a solid roof mount is that we don’t often stay in one place during the day also I am not powering a big rv just a 12 volt fridge and a heater should be way more than enough 2 12volt battery 1000cca they are just car battery but the price was right (free)and they are brand new so they should work for now

 

[aces-n-eights]

If you want to mount the panels permanently i would mount them to your topper with a coil of wire that will extend as you raise and lower the topper roof. I would avoid drilling a bunch of holes in the roof of your truck. I think the wind noise would be unbearable.

 

[4xdad]

The reason I want to mount them to the truck is that we don’t usually park in the day time so if they are on the roof they can charge the battery while we drive

 

[4xdad]

They’re thin and flexible I was thinking about using some kind of 100 mph tape

 

[Mb7640]

Look at ecoflow products they have a wide variety of generators. I have a eco pro delta that I have at home for emergencies. I do have a smaller 1kwh genaverse I use for camping. I only use it to inflate air mattress and to charge phone. Also you can get tax credit if you find one that you like

 

[4xdad]

I have a little Honda generator it saved my bacon when the truck wouldn’t start when we were camping 400kms from home

 

[4xdad]

Tax credit in Canada lol

 

[Mb7640]

Tax credit in Canada lol

Did not realize your in Canada it's still a good investment in my opinion

 

[Fediej]

If you're firm on mounting them, the camper roof would be better than redneckifying your truck. But a portable stand would be better, that way you can get the most benefit from the sun when parked. And you could still duct tape them to the camper roof for travel, if you wanted.

 

[Grand Mesa]

I have a little Honda generator it saved my bacon when the truck wouldn’t start when we were camping 400kms from home

It works at night too!

 

[4xdad]

If it’s daylight we drive and stop in the evening for dinner and set up camp so I want them to work while driving I thought about putting them on the camper and I still might

 

[4xdad]

And 1of the reasons I want them on the roof of the truck is because most people wouldn’t know that they are there stealth is key

 

[EriikK]

A few ideas below. What you are thinking of is not wrong, here are some things to consider.

I've had good luck with 3M double sided adhesive tape and flexible panels. I recommend this. Use a lot of it, almost a whole roll per panel. Do the whole panel outline plus a couple strips in the middle. The good news is no holes in the roof, and much less wind resistance than glass panels with frames and brackets and so on.

Flex panels, the bad news is that they are less efficient than glass panels. And many of the Chinese ones do not meet their specs, a claimed "200W" panel may be 100 - 150W in reality. YMMV but that's what I have measured. Panels from Harbor Fake will be even worse. I can tell you how to measure the actual output if needed.

You should set the truck up so the alternator charges the "house" battery when you are driving, but the house loads cannot drain the truck starting battery. A properly chosen diode is the $10 DIY solution, or buy a 'battery isolator' made for the purpose. Anyway my point is that if you are driving every day you don't need much or even any solar panel to keep the batteries charged. Where you need solar is when you are in camp for a couple days.

Two 12v car batteries, I assume in parallel for 12 volts, is not the best choice but it's not terrible especially if they are new and free as you said. If you have to buy batteries, two 6v golf cart batteries in series, about 200Ah, will be much stronger and last much longer. $99 each at Costco. Don't forget to check the water occasionally.

We haven't talked about the 'solar controller' or charge controller but that's an important part of the system. Some of the cheap ones that come in bundles with panels on Amazon are junk, they kinda work but will not fully charge your batteries. I have tested many. Renogy PWM controllers are the least expensive solution I recommend. If you need to get the maximum power from your panels then you need an MPPT controller, and Renogy now makes some that are close to $100 and work well. But in your case when you are driving often, solar controller performance may not matter so much to you.

 

[4xdad]

Thanks for the advice I do have a battery isolation unit but I haven’t installed it I was thinking that I would like to keep the truck stock and just use the solar panels for the cabin battery the tape was what I was thinking of