Solar Panels Installed On LandCruiser (1 Viewer)

[unwiredadventures]

I keep my Engle fridge running always and don't always drive enough too keep everything charged. This keeps the batteries charged with enough extra charging power to keep everything cold in the fridge and run other accessories.

Panels bolted on to Inti rack with rubber spacers and metal washers. Washers were threaded to keep bolts retained on panels for installation on roof rack:


Both installed:


Solar charging Controller:


Installed:



All that remains of the install is to route the power cables properly. They've been installed on the roof for a couple of months and it's great to have the fridge cold and the batteries completely charged even when the truck has not been driven for several days.

 

[jdog35]

Those look great! Any details or specs on the panels themselves?

 

[unwiredadventures]

Those look great! Any details or specs on the panels themselves?

Two 30 watt panels. So 60 watts total.

Both panels wired parallel into the the controller. It's a 3 Stage PWM type controller.

 

[skersfan]

Nice looking set up.

 

[jeffro109]

so the two wires marked with the battery +/- just to straight to the main battery or are there other things involved such as dual batteries/controllers?

 

[unwiredadventures]

so the two wires marked with the battery +/- just to straight to the main battery or are there other things involved such as dual batteries/controllers?

I have it connected into my aux battery. Should be fine if connected to the input of the dual battery controller to keep both batteries charged.

I may install a relay and switch so I can switch on/off from the dash.

 

[stainless 40/45]

Name and price of the panels...


Thanks
James

 

[unwiredadventures]

Name and price of the panels...

The controller I used is $31.00

The panels I used are here.

You'll find better deals and more sizes of 12vdc solar panels on Amazon.

 

[jeffro109]

Thanks for the info, looks like a really easy thing to setup as a portable deal to use at camp.

 

[Rubiconcruiser]

Solar panel availability is getting better, try www.bigfrogmountain for additional ideas.

 

[dogdaysindurham]

Do you think it would be worth it to somehow mount the panels so they could be tilted to track the sun to improve charging potential? Or is the added complexity of such a set up not worth it?

Awesome job btw!

 

[Kungpaodog]

We've been doing some solar-related projects at work, and you do improve efficiency by pointing the cells towards the sun, by up to around 35% more juice in some instances vs. laying the panels flat.

I wouldn't think that it would be that hard to hinge one side and prop up the other, but then you have to park the rig in the right direction every time. I think the bottom line is if you are charging the stuff you want charged with the panels flat, don't mess with a simple set up.

 

[dogdaysindurham]

Kungpaodog,
That is good to know. I wonder if you could put the panels on a lazy susan and still have them tilt? Sorry didn't mean to thread hijack. Yah it's usually better to KISS, lol.

 

[El Cid]

I think this is a brilliant idea, anyone have a suggestion as to how to best update this? What panels to purchase for example?

 

[Hiace4wd]

Well, ebay is full of solar panels. Just search for "Solar panel 12V". I would just go for a single 80W panel.
Honestly, they shouldn't be much more expensive than 1 euro per watt. So a bit more in dollars.
This topic is old of course, but if you follow the link, the panels are still available 30W for 140 dollar, that is insanely expensive I would say.

If you have a typical box fridge (like a 40 litre model or so) I found that you can run it forever on a 100W battery. No need to run the engine anymore. Maybe not in winter time, but then still it will help.

Also keep in mind you can attach them above things like a jerry can or spare wheel, so it doesn't take any extra space on the roofrack.
They are also nice on a hardtop rooftop tent.

Here's a picture for inspiration, although this amount of solar panels is ridiculous in hindsight. Solar controller kept bugging me that the batteries were full, regardless of the weather or how hard the fridge was working.
I just strapped them to the spare tires, and they just worked fine. With the idea that you don't have to replace a spare tire that often.

 

[umpqua]

Interested to know how you attached them to the tent. I have a baroud tent and would like to potentially do the same. I'm under the assumption that you did not drill through the tent? I'm sure you wouldn't have done that.......

 

[Hiace4wd]

Correct. We used aluminium profiles, 50mm under angle of 90 degree. Drilled screws to side of panel. And used very strong Sikaflex glue to glue it to the rooftent.
It held fine, even on those bad Indian roads.

 

[umpqua]

Thank you. I'll check it out.

 

[arnott1t]

I'm toying with a semiflexible semi portable panel.. as it is now it will be magnetically mounted to my hood and or roof. see how it works once I pick up my controller.

 

[Hiace4wd]

Well these flexible panels have been getting a lot cheaper. And they are light, so the magnet think might work. But if it is on your roof and the wind catches under it?

Anyway, now I got a huge 175W solar panel which is a high voltage type (40V) and therefore cheap to buy second hand if someone has one left (they are the kind of type you install on your house with a 10 or 12 at a time, so if you have one left it is not very useful)

However, I would like to have 2x 100W flexibel on my roof as it would be much lower and lighter.