Hood Mounted Solar Panels

[Teqsand]

Anyone have experience with hood mounted solar panels?
Recommendations?
Pro/con. Watts, etc...
Need one for a RUBICON hood....

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[antwon412]

The only ones I’ve seen are hundreds of dollars and they put out like 80W max.
That is a terrible cost to performance ratio. 200 W panel is only $200 if you can mount it somewhere in the bed or on top of a rack.

 

[fourfa]

Is there an 80W panel for a Rubicon hood? The flat-hood units I've seen are 85 W - Rubicon only 30 W, or 50 W, or 35 W. You can do almost as well at peak with a generic panel on top of the dashboard (though obviously the hood will have much better average exposure), or use a folding panel in the windshield (not so convenient as a hood panel).

Ideally placing the panel anywhere else would have a better payoff. The fixed rear section of a hardtop for instance.

FWIW I have a 200W Renogy panel on my camper top, and with hot CA sun exposure at nearly any angle, I get at least 100W out of it. Less if it's cloudy, like 35W. (We'll see over this winter, my first with the panel)

Ideally one would start with how much power they need, translate that to panel area, then look for where to put it. I'm sure you already know the hood panel won't do much other than maintain the starter battery charge to some extent.

 

[RudeJeepin]

There are also reports of heat sink degrading the output of the panels. Heat from both the engine and the sun because of no air flow around the panel.
I had thought about getting one for both f ur Rubicons to help maintain the barteries. In the end, decided it just wasn't worth it to me.
My son, who has been researching it also said, "Dad, don't waste your money." Not that he knows all there is to it, but...

 

[Max-t]

Curious what good they’d be.
there’s a guy in my neighborhood with some on his tundra…. But he’s a notorious moron

 

[Dougstdig]

The only ones I’ve seen are hundreds of dollars and they put out like 80W max.
That is a terrible cost to performance ratio. 200 W panel is only $200 if you can mount it somewhere in the bed or on top of a rack.

I think the draw, no pun intended is the flexible nature of the panel, electronics have been sorted out and it's sold as a package. Hook it up and forget it.

The Cascadia setup is only 30 watts, but again, easy set up...and your done.

It's obvious why the Rubicon model has a smaller panel. The Non Rubicon/Mohave hood puts out 85watts.

https://www.cascadia4x4.com/collections/jeep-vss-systems

 

[Bazz McLean]

Anyone have experience with hood mounted solar panels?
Recommendations?
Pro/con. Watts, etc...
Need one for a RUBICON hood....

Waste of money

 

[Sweetums]

Solar panels do not like heat, it kills their efficiency. You'd probably be better off with a larger stowable solar blanket you can deploy when you set up camp.

 

[Teqsand]

Getting the idea that I just need to look at roof mounting something

 

[darkhorse13]

For me, hood solar is great for keeping my aux group 25 battery topped off. It's free space on the hood and I have run Lensun panels in the past with no issues. I personally don't mind spending $170 on a panel that is set it and forget it. I also carry a larger blanket for times we are in the woods or I need the extra juice. For the most part though, the hood is always in the sun while we travel and I just need something to keep my ARB 63qt Element fridge running. I don't have a big power bank to top off nor do I have lots of accessories to run that need a lot of solar.

It comes down to your needs ultimately but I wouldn't simply throw out the blanket statement that they are a waste of money.

Here's my setup = https://www.jeepgladiatorforum.com/...engine-bay-35w-lensun-hood-solar-panel.46542/

Here's the panel =

 

[ShadowsPapa]

There are some very highly rated 50w panels that will put out 50w. Most won't put out what they are "rated at" because those ratings come from testing under perfect orientation and ideal conditions (perfect orientation means the sun is exactly 90 degrees from the face of the panel. Good luck getting that on a hood-mounted panel. If it's rated at 80 you will likely get 50.
There are cheaper panels but you generally get what you pay for.
You need a panel that can breathe (not flat mounted against metal that's already getting hot in the sun) and that you can aim at the sun. Again, output ratings are based on full sun and perfect orientation at 90 degrees to the sun. (true of any solar panel but some will do a lot better than others if not perfectly aimed.
They get really hot, too.

It's crazy expensive for the capacity but then you can pay less for 50 watt panels and get a whopping 30 watts out of them in full sun.

Check out some reviews and commentary out there - what most panels are "rated at" isn't what you will see, even if perfectly aimed. A 100w panel on a hood isn't going to put out 100 watts. Might get 50 to 80.
Just went through a ton of research on the topic before this weekends car show/swap/races.

Also watch the output connections and voltages - some are meant to charge "devices" and not 12v batteries. Hood mounted obviously is intended for 12v situations but not all panels are. Some are made to push out only through USB connections (and these days USB C is used to actually push some serious power out to portable power stations)

 

[WILDHOBO]

Getting the idea that I just need to look at roof mounting something

Regardless of the naysayers that probably don’t have one, the Cascadia 4x4 unit works great. Does it power fridges? Of course not. But it’s inexpensive and easy, and does a great job powering a 70w appliance for 7+ hours without the Jeep battery dying. And I can let my Jeep sit for weeks without starting it, and I’ll find a fully charged battery when I return, without plugging in a maintainer.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

Regardless of the naysayers that probably don’t have one, the Cascadia 4x4 unit works great. Does it power fridges? Of course not. But it’s inexpensive and easy, and does a great job powering a 70w appliance for 7+ hours without the Jeep battery dying. And I can let my Jeep sit for weeks without starting it, and I’ll find a fully charged battery when I return, without plugging in a maintainer.

You must have the 85 watt system. Solar panel alone is over 400, with the system, it's over 600.

 

[WILDHOBO]

You must have the 85 watt system. Solar panel alone is over 400, with the system, it's over 600.

I have a rubicon, so 30w. The reason you can lower more, is because it uses the Jeep’s batteries as the storage. So it’s just a great maintainer.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

I have a rubicon, so 30w. The reason you can lower more, is because it uses the Jeep’s batteries as the storage. So it’s just a great maintainer.

So it's not powering the appliance, the Jeep's battery is, and the solar panel is simply supplementing the battery but not maintaining the voltage.

and does a great job powering a 70w appliance for 7+ hours

It was confusing as there's no way a 30 watt power supply (the solar panel) can power a device pulling 70 watts.
But if your 30w panel puts out 25 like most 30s max out at, especially flat, then you were at least relying on the Jeep batteries for only 45 watts of that power.

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