How/where to mount rooftop solar with cap?

[BourbonRunner]

You can charge the Ecoflow via the xt60 port with the factory 120v bed outlet if you have one. Just need a converter that output 200+ watts. It’ll charge at 200w max, but don’t need to run any wires.

You certainly could charge a power station off the factory 120v inverter but in practice it makes more sense to just charge it DC > DC off the battery system. The inverter is an added complication and generates a ton of heat to do what the power station can do internally.

@Bandit’s Lair :

Since you're looking at electric for cooking and camp lighting, maybe the right move is a Bluetti Elite 300 and their Charger 1 DC>DC unit. It can handle both alternator and solar panel charging simultaneously while taking all of what you're throwing at it and then some.

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[Bandit’s Lair]

Since you're looking at electric for cooking and camp lighting, maybe the right move is a Bluetti Elite 300 and their Charger 1 DC>DC unit. It can handle both alternator and solar panel charging simultaneously while taking all of what you're throwing at it and then some.

I looked at the Elite 300 and it will definitely do what I would be asking if it but it’s only IP20 rated. I’d like to run the power station in the bed as I’ll only be using it at camp and not during trail time. Higher IP ratings even if I lose a little bit on the power side of things or have to increase my power management strategy is preferable. I do have a bed cap and it’s fairly good at keeping stuff out of the bed but I like to plug in a little extra protection for Mr. Murphy.

 

[JTdiRtyD]

I guess the first question should be, are you looking for a permanent solution for power, or does this need to be removable to use the truck for other things when you're not out camping?

If you don't want to build something into your rig, then power stations work well enough, but if you're leaving this in your truck to always have power, then you really should be looking at a second battery system that's charged via DC-DC charger.

 

[Bandit’s Lair]

True. I do have a homemade one I could tear apart and repurpose. It’s 2-300AH batteries wired in 12V with a 3kw inverter. I could find a dc-dc charger for that setup and it would probably work. Not sure how those batteries will handle lumps and bumps on the trail though. Might look into that.

 

[Vtur]

You certainly could charge a power station off the factory 120v inverter but in practice it makes more sense to just charge it DC > DC off the battery system. The inverter is an added complication and generates a ton of heat to do what the power station can do internally.

@Bandit’s Lair :

Since you're looking at electric for cooking and camp lighting, maybe the right move is a Bluetti Elite 300 and their Charger 1 DC>DC unit. It can handle both alternator and solar panel charging simultaneously while taking all of what you're throwing at it and then some.

The converter is required due to the bed 120v outlet being a modified sine wave, Ecoflow won’t accept it directly. Heat won’t be an issue here with a converter.

It’s a super simple setup with a small converter velcro sitting on top of the ecoflow. Connect ac plug to the bed outlet and the xt60 connector into the solar port of the Ecoflow. I can turn it on/off with a button that’s already inside the cab. Once done with camping, i use the power station as a UPS backup for the home.

 

[JTdiRtyD]

True. I do have a homemade one I could tear apart and repurpose. It’s 2-300AH batteries wired in 12V with a 3kw inverter. I could find a dc-dc charger for that setup and it would probably work. Not sure how those batteries will handle lumps and bumps on the trail though. Might look into that.

What kind of batteries? If AGM or lithium they'll be just fine getting jostled around.

 

[Bandit’s Lair]

What kind of batteries? If AGM or lithium they'll be just fine getting jostled around.

Yep LiPo4 Renogy batteries. Heavy as all hell but they work well for mobile power.

 

[BourbonRunner]

The converter is required due to the bed 120v outlet being a modified sine wave, Ecoflow won’t accept it directly. Heat won’t be an issue here with a converter.

It’s a super simple setup with a small converter velcro sitting on top of the ecoflow. Connect ac plug to the bed outlet and the xt60 connector into the solar port of the Ecoflow. I can turn it on/off with a button that’s already inside the cab. Once done with camping, i use the power station as a UPS backup for the home.

Pardon my ignorance then, I thought the Ecoflows could handle a 12v DC input and that was always better than trying to run it off the inverter even at lower amperage?

 

[Bandit’s Lair]

Looking at everything I could use one of the power stations in the bed and just run my 2 batteries in 24v configuration through an xt60 to the solar input and have the 2 batteries on a dc-dc charger. With the 300 Elite that would give me 10kwh of power to work with after driving or the sun being down. Thats something to think about.

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