In my previous BJ74, I had a solar panel setup which worked incredibly well – powering my fridge and keeping both batteries at full charge. I have missed that setup since I bought my HDJ81.
Described here: Solar Fridge
Last August we went down in Wyoming to witness the eclipse and camped along the path of maximum totality. We arrive early to reserve our camping spot and spent 3 days stationary. The others had various portable solar set-ups and I had nothing - my solar panel sitting back at home awaiting to be installed. My truck is fitted with an Engel 60 Cobi fridge and freezer. Despite the fact I ran my truck each day trying to charge the batteries – on the day of departure my truck would not start!
One reason I had delayed getting into this project is my RTT is a James Baroud ‘Space’. Although a great roof top tent – the roof is not flat and presented a problem mounting a solar panel. The roof has long aerodynamic ribs, which has the highest profile at the front. I had to mount the panel sideways to best fit the way the panel wanted to bend.
The voids between the ribs I filled with closed cell foam attached with a transparent roofing sealant (-40F to 200F and 200 psi shear strength). I attached a 1/16” alloy sheet down as a flat mounting surface so in the rare event I had to replace the solar panel, I just had to cut the mounting tape I used to secure the panel to the alloy sheet. The perimeters were sealed with a white RV sealant for aesthetics.
For the RTT exterior penetrations I used 3/8” right angle cable glands, which are ingress protected to IP68 (5 bar/70 psi). These required drilling a 5/8” hole which could be potentially sealed with white RV sealant if the solar panel was to be completely removed. The solar panel output leads were oriented on the LHS of the truck where the MPPT charge controller was to be located below in the passenger cab. This could be done either way.
The internal wiring was run along the inside top of the RTT and down the front strut leg and out the bottom through a single cable gland behind the roof rack tower. I used Anchor 10 gauge (tin coated copper) from the battery (fused at 15 amps) back to the charge controller on the B-pillar mounted on a 1/8th sheet of alloy to help with heat dissipation. Although a long cable run, the use of 10 gauge should result in less than a 3% voltage drop.
Described here: Solar Fridge
Last August we went down in Wyoming to witness the eclipse and camped along the path of maximum totality. We arrive early to reserve our camping spot and spent 3 days stationary. The others had various portable solar set-ups and I had nothing - my solar panel sitting back at home awaiting to be installed. My truck is fitted with an Engel 60 Cobi fridge and freezer. Despite the fact I ran my truck each day trying to charge the batteries – on the day of departure my truck would not start!
One reason I had delayed getting into this project is my RTT is a James Baroud ‘Space’. Although a great roof top tent – the roof is not flat and presented a problem mounting a solar panel. The roof has long aerodynamic ribs, which has the highest profile at the front. I had to mount the panel sideways to best fit the way the panel wanted to bend.
The voids between the ribs I filled with closed cell foam attached with a transparent roofing sealant (-40F to 200F and 200 psi shear strength). I attached a 1/16” alloy sheet down as a flat mounting surface so in the rare event I had to replace the solar panel, I just had to cut the mounting tape I used to secure the panel to the alloy sheet. The perimeters were sealed with a white RV sealant for aesthetics.
For the RTT exterior penetrations I used 3/8” right angle cable glands, which are ingress protected to IP68 (5 bar/70 psi). These required drilling a 5/8” hole which could be potentially sealed with white RV sealant if the solar panel was to be completely removed. The solar panel output leads were oriented on the LHS of the truck where the MPPT charge controller was to be located below in the passenger cab. This could be done either way.
The internal wiring was run along the inside top of the RTT and down the front strut leg and out the bottom through a single cable gland behind the roof rack tower. I used Anchor 10 gauge (tin coated copper) from the battery (fused at 15 amps) back to the charge controller on the B-pillar mounted on a 1/8th sheet of alloy to help with heat dissipation. Although a long cable run, the use of 10 gauge should result in less than a 3% voltage drop.
