Solar panels under the roof rack

[tag3]

Tag 3, how much juice do you get out of it? I'm sure it will trickle charge your rig, but what else can it do?

It is a 85 watt, 3.75 amp panel. I use it to charge my 3rd. battery which is for the fridge only. Wiring in a switch that will be able to swap batteries from the 3rd, solar batt. to the 2nd. batt. that the alternator charges.

 

[Sandroad]

Northern Arizona Wind and Sun has pre-designed solar kits for vehicles. And, lots of useful advice and information on the rest of their site. I've purchased a lot of equipment from them over the last 10 years. Nothing on my L.C. yet, but will go that direction once I start camping again.
http://www.solar-electric.com/rvandsmbasoc.html

 

[SanDiegoCruiser]

I purchased a cheap 100w panel and made a quick stand out of aluminum. I plan on mounting the panel under my rack for storage. I don't think I will ever have it wired up while on the truck. I just want a solution that will store the panel securely rattle free. I'm thinking of using slides of some type that lock closed.

I used a trailer wiring harness to connect up the controller to the aux battery. The harness has 4 wires, I twisted two together for the + and two for the - to double the gauge of the wire to make it more efficient.

Here is the system I purchased (really entry level, cheap)
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00BFCNFRM/?tag=ihco-20

The stand I made appears to work. Folds up nicely and should fit under my rack. I hope to deploy this setup this weekend for a remote solar operated station for HAM field day on Sat/Sun.