Solar Panel on Roof Rack

[Paulyester]

I'm sure many people have done it, but I'm hoping to hear from someone that mounted a large solar panel on top of their bed rack or roof rack. I had always planned to build a portable power station out of my JTR, but the more I plan, the more I'm not sure I would actually need it. 80-90% of my user will be 2-3 camping adventures. I plan on going mostly electric for everything, induction stove, electric heater etc (this is my plan, but I could pivot). I want to keep my truck relative light, I was initially planning on building a battery back that sits at the front of the bed that would basically be permanently mounted. I was thinking of something in the 300AH range, that would be charged by a 300+watt solar panel on the bedrack.

In my planning phase though, I feel like a DC to DC charger would probably cover my needs. I'm also thinking of making the battery pack smaller, say 200ah and put it in a removable box that would sit on the back of the bed on a side so that I can remove it when I'm not using it. This car will unfortunately forever be stored outside (no garage space) so anything in the bed permanently would be subject to weather.

What does your battery bank/charging setup look like?

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[CrazyCooter]

300ah usable is A LOT of storage for a mobile camping setup. Do you know what you are planning to run on it? Energy audit?

At the same time, 300w solar is not a lot for a 300ah storage. For flat mounted panels, it would take an average of 13 hours of sunlight or 3 days to recharge a 300ah bank with just 300w panels......Summer sorter time, but winter MUCH longer!

How many days will you be stationary vs mobile? DC-DC charger will be best bang for buck, size, and weight assuming you will be moving for a few hours every day?

I suspect 100ah could cover it with a decent sized DC-DC and 300w solar if you are stationary more than mobile?

We run our setup with a 1500w Jackery which calcs out to about 115ah at 13V and never have found the need for more, but we don't sit still more than 2 nights at a time, buut could easily run for 3-4 nights if needed. I run a diesel heater, ARB 50qt fridge, Kurig, and charge all of the normal mobile devices. Changing is handled by the OEM 120V inverter outlet. Easy Peazy all in one box!

If you want light, compact, and low CG, a power station might be the solution or even combine with your rack mounted solar for the quick and easy?

 

[HooliganActual]

Well, I'll be your huckleberry..

Pioneer Rack on Rhino Rack Backbone over cab with (2) 100W Flexible panels for weight savings:

Solar Panel wires comes down trhough a standard RV gland to through my Alu-Cab Canopy:

I built my electrical panel in one of the "Cupboards" of the canopy:

30A DC-DC MPPT to control all the charging to and from the house and starter batteries. Strain relief glands for all the witing in and out of the cabinet

In the previous picture, the yellow you see is my water pump sitting on top of a 10G tank (not that it's relevant) but just to the left of that is my 100aH LiFePo4 battery:

Ignore the electrical behind the battery, that's all the stuff that I moved into the electrical panel (cupboard).

My system is all Renogy and is all BT to my phone and to my Garmin Tread XL:

 

[Paulyester]

300ah usable is A LOT of storage for a mobile camping setup. Do you know what you are planning to run on it? Energy audit?

At the same time, 300w solar is not a lot for a 300ah storage. For flat mounted panels, it would take an average of 13 hours of sunlight or 3 days to recharge a 300ah bank with just 300w panels......Summer sorter time, but winter MUCH longer!

How many days will you be stationary vs mobile? DC-DC charger will be best bang for buck, size, and weight assuming you will be moving for a few hours every day?

I suspect 100ah could cover it with a decent sized DC-DC and 300w solar if you are stationary more than mobile?

We run our setup with a 1500w Jackery which calcs out to about 115ah at 13V and never have found the need for more, but we don't sit still more than 2 nights at a time, buut could easily run for 3-4 nights if needed. I run a diesel heater, ARB 50qt fridge, Kurig, and charge all of the normal mobile devices. Changing is handled by the OEM 120V inverter outlet. Easy Peazy all in one box!

If you want light, compact, and low CG, a power station might be the solution or even combine with your rack mounted solar for the quick and easy?

The thought on the 300ah was that it’s basically the same price as the 100ah cells so I would make it so big I wouldn’t worry about recharging it fully, just adding some charge with the solar.
I also have the Lion Energy Safari ME, so I’ve thought about just bringing and using that

 

[Paulyester]

Well, I'll be your huckleberry..

Pioneer Rack on Rhino Rack Backbone over cab with (2) 100W Flexible panels for weight savings:

Solar Panel wires comes down trhough a standard RV gland to through my Alu-Cab Canopy:

I built my electrical panel in one of the "Cupboards" of the canopy:

30A DC-DC MPPT to control all the charging to and from the house and starter batteries. Strain relief glands for all the witing in and out of the cabinet

In the previous picture, the yellow you see is my water pump sitting on top of a 10G tank (not that it's relevant) but just to the left of that is my 100aH LiFePo4 battery:

Ignore the electrical behind the battery, that's all the stuff that I moved into the electrical panel (cupboard).

My system is all Renogy and is all BT to my phone and to my Garmin Tread XL:

Would you have this same setup if you didn’t have the canopy? That’s another one of my worries is keeping all the components water tight

 

[Jaxmax]

Running electric heat is a big nut for energy usage, there are guys using electric cooking, and coffee pots, but seems like most go with propane or diesel heaters. Only you know you , what kind of weather are you camping in, sleeping on ground, or roof top tent? Really work out your energy audit, perhaps 200watts and 200Aah is enough you are talking about having a light weight rig ,100 watt solar panels add weight, batteries add weight and it really starts adding up quickly, a panel and battery could add up to 45 lbs. or more.
I’ll be watching this thread as I am going dual AGM battery “Genesis” install and thinking 45 or 100 watt solar panel, should cover my basic needs biggest of which would be an ARB Elements fridge. Looking at Zamp Solar panels (check out the blemish section) hard panels are very light with the 100watt being about 10lbs, and only about 3/4” high.
….Jack

 

[PuddleJumper]

I'm sure many people have done it, but I'm hoping to hear from someone that mounted a large solar panel on top of their bed rack or roof rack. I had always planned to build a portable power station out of my JTR, but the more I plan, the more I'm not sure I would actually need it. 80-90% of my user will be 2-3 camping adventures. I plan on going mostly electric for everything, induction stove, electric heater etc (this is my plan, but I could pivot). I want to keep my truck relative light, I was initially planning on building a battery back that sits at the front of the bed that would basically be permanently mounted. I was thinking of something in the 300AH range, that would be charged by a 300+watt solar panel on the bedrack.

In my planning phase though, I feel like a DC to DC charger would probably cover my needs. I'm also thinking of making the battery pack smaller, say 200ah and put it in a removable box that would sit on the back of the bed on a side so that I can remove it when I'm not using it. This car will unfortunately forever be stored outside (no garage space) so anything in the bed permanently would be subject to weather.

What does your battery bank/charging setup look like?

so if you look up Tinkerer'sAdventure on youtube. Yeah its an FJ but not the point. He has a 400w solar panel setup and other goodies about charging his big ecoflow powerstation that replaced his dual battery setup. But the part i think you would be interested in is a conversion cable to get 300w charging off your existing electrics. Basically he uses AC to DC converter to a solar type HO plug of the 400w 115v plug. or something like that. its pretty cool and can easily suppliment solar as well for cloudy days.

 

[HooliganActual]

Would you have this same setup if you didn’t have the canopy? That’s another one of my worries is keeping all the components water tight

So that's a bit of a loaded question but I'll answer a couple of aspects...

As far as the system itself goes, yes. On this forum, and another overlanding forum I frequent, there isn't a lot of love for the Renogy products; typically being referred to as cheap Chinese cr@p. But all the solar stuff is being made in China these days. Other systems are not different, they just cost twice as much. Shop and compare, but my cheap Chinese cr@p has been working for ~2 years and I haven't had any issues with it.

Now, what I really think you are asking is related to having a similar system but not having it housed inside my canopy where it is "protected from the elements". I say this is a loaded question because if I didn't have a canopy it would be because I'm not using the truck the same way and, in that case, I probably wouldn't even have the system at all. This is a dedicated overlanding vehicle. I have other Jeeps to play in and DD:

I have been out on trips with other trucks (not always Gladiators) with guys living out of the truck bed that has a rack and their tent and all that. The first thing they have to do when we reach camp is spend a half an hour cleaning all the dirt off of everything in the bed so that they can start setting up camp. No thanks, especially if it is raining or is muddy. There is literally no way I would want to camp out of a truck bed that was open to the elements while I was running the trails or even just taking paved roads to get to the campsite. That's just me but YMMV.

BUT...if I was going to do that, as it sounds like you want to do, I would put all of the electronics in the cab somewhere, mainly because they are sensitive to heat and cold. I currently have a rear seat delete which would make that really easy; however, I also installed a Molle panel across the back window:

You could easily do something like this, even with the rear seats installed, to mount your DC-DC charger, etc. You might even be able to mount it behind the seats depending on the size of the electronics. I would, however, really advise against trying to mount in an open bed unless you did so inside a truck box or some other weatherproof AND dust-proof enclosure; they do exist.

I'm happy to answer any other questions but honestly, if I were doing what you are doing, I would just buy one of the Anker Power House units. They are portable, so you could just bring it inside when you are home. They come in various sizes, so you could get your 200-300aH battery. They are expandable, so you can have even more electrical storage capacity. And you can hook them up to solar panels. If I were to do it all over again, I might consider building my off-grid electrical system around something like these:

https://www.anker.com/collections/power-stations

 

[Wolf Island Diver]

https://www.jeepgladiatorforum.com/forum/threads/renogy-lifepo-house-dual-battery-install.71866/

I’m running only a 100ah system with the idea that I’ll ultimately pull a trailer with its own system. 100ah is plenty for most multiday trips with solar for an overlanding rig only (no camper). Water, and I can carry 18 gallons, is my limiting factor. That battery rarely drops below 50%. I run a single 100w flex panel mounted to my rack. I’m about to fabricate a frame for it for easier mounting and to facilitate flexible mounting positions as part of a larger overhaul of my rack setup. Currently I bungee it to stuff which works fine. I also carry 2 (supposedly 100w, more like 75w) portable folding panels. The problem with mounted panels is that they’re only maximally efficient for a narrow window of the day and your vehicle has to be parked in the sun. I find that outside of the beach, the latter is almost never the case and I don’t want it to be the case. In the mountains I always have to position portable panels in a clearing and run a long cable.

The battery in this kind of system should be thought of as just a buffer for solar or an alternator. Therefore, good solar should be the focus. That doesn’t mean big panels. It means flexibility.

This is my “mounted” panel at around 2 PM. In its mounted position, it would be putting out unimpressive wattage. Here it’s churning out almost its rated capacity. If you run a rigid fixed panels you will want additional folding panels for most of the day.

My “mounted” panel repositioned on top of my gear. A roof rack with a fixed panel is no longer useable as a roof rack and a panel covered up with gear, you get the point.

My “mounted” panel and my 2 foldable panels recharging the system from the previous night. This is probably 10AM. Again, a fixed panel would be putting out unimpressive wattage.

 

[HooliganActual]

I don’t disagree with @Wolf Island Diver about fixed vs movable panels. My personal experience is a bit different and, again, you need to consider your use case.

I am in Arizona and my fixed panels crank out rated amperage (efficiency reduced) for most of the day, but then again I’m just 10 miles from the sun. However, our use case is typically 2 week trips where we are driving trails during the day, charging off the alternator with the solar really being for top off charge. When we decide to post up in a location for a couple of days, then as “Wolfie” says, we have to make a concerted effort to position the fixed panels to maximize collection.

If we start heading into more northern areas, I have a plan to make a platform for my panels that I will mount to the roof rack that will be able to prop up in two directions so that I can take advantage of less direct sunlight.

Regardless of what you decide to do, the one thing that I think is absolutely critical is to get a battery/system that shows State of Charge (SOC). My first battery did not have that capability and I was constantly “flying blind” not knowing if I had enough juice.

 

[Wolf Island Diver]

I don’t disagree with @Wolf Island Diver about fixed vs movable panels. My personal experience is a bit different and, again, you need to consider your use case.

I am in Arizona and my fixed panels crank out rated amperage (efficiency reduced) for most of the day, but then again I’m just 10 miles from the sun. However, our use case is typically 2 week trips where we are driving trails during the day, charging off the alternator with the solar really being for top off charge. When we decide to post up in a location for a couple of days, then as “Wolfie” says, we have to make a concerted effort to position the fixed panels to maximize collection.

If we start heading into more northern areas, I have a plan to make a platform for my panels that I will mount to the roof rack that will be able to prop up in two directions so that I can take advantage of less direct sunlight.

Regardless of what you decide to do, the one think that I think is absolutely critical is to get a battery/system that shows State of Charge (SOC). My first battery did not have that capability and I was constantly “flying blind” not knowing if I had enough juice.

Good points. A caveat to my post is that my experience is South East coast and Appalachia centric. I also do a lot of fall and spring overlanding to avoid the humidity. So sun angles are more of an issue. I’m constantly dealing with cloud cover and east coast mountain trails are overgrown. It’s technically a temperate rain forest. My whole truck is pinstriped badly, it gets dark a hour prior to actual subdown, etc. There’s just a lot better sun availability out west than on the east coast’s mountains. Flexibility is less critical, so people should plan accordingly depending on where they wheel. That being said, I still would prefer a flex panel on my rig. I also find that a short trip with the alternator does a huge amount and that the solar panels end up being supplemental just due to speed of alternator charging. This is another plug for not needing a huge (over 100ah) battery if you move every few days.

Now when I buy my trailer (leaning towards an Opus Op4 LE) I’m building this with an eye towards going out to 4 corners, etc. That’s probably going to have more efficient solid panels which will more likely be rigid mounted.

It’s also important to note that rigid panels beat flex panels in efficiency so there’s a tradeoff. For some people they may find a high quality rigid panel works better for them despite being less repositionable. A lot of this depends on the quality of the panel. I’ve been lucky with cheap chinesium folding panels and Renogy but I’m not living off grid. My calculus will be different for the trailer.

 

[OldSarge]

I'm sure many people have done it, but I'm hoping to hear from someone that mounted a large solar panel on top of their bed rack or roof rack. I had always planned to build a portable power station out of my JTR, but the more I plan, the more I'm not sure I would actually need it. 80-90% of my user will be 2-3 camping adventures. I plan on going mostly electric for everything, induction stove, electric heater etc (this is my plan, but I could pivot). I want to keep my truck relative light, I was initially planning on building a battery back that sits at the front of the bed that would basically be permanently mounted. I was thinking of something in the 300AH range, that would be charged by a 300+watt solar panel on the bedrack.

In my planning phase though, I feel like a DC to DC charger would probably cover my needs. I'm also thinking of making the battery pack smaller, say 200ah and put it in a removable box that would sit on the back of the bed on a side so that I can remove it when I'm not using it. This car will unfortunately forever be stored outside (no garage space) so anything in the bed permanently would be subject to weather.

What does your battery bank/charging setup look like?

I built a 300ah battery system in a Milwaukee packout box and it is awesome. My camp set up is all electric as you describe. Unl ss you are going to stay parked for a long time while camping, I’d ditch the solar for a 40amp Renogy DC to DC charger.

I have a 200w portable solar panel and never use it. You’d be surprised at how long it takes to charge a batter With solar, and to get any reasonable amount of current, it really needs to be aimed at the sun. Having it flat mounted to your rig is going to give you low output most of the time except when the sun is directly over head.

The Renogy charge on the other hand will charge my batteries in about 2hours from what I used while camping. It would take probably 7 hours or so to charge from near empty. The solar panel would take days

 

[HooliganActual]

I built a 300ah battery system in a Milwaukee packout box and it is awesome. My camp set up is all electric as you describe. Unl ss you are going to stay parked for a long time while camping, I’d ditch the solar for a 40amp Renogy DC to DC charger.

I have a 200w portable solar panel and never use it. You’d be surprised at how long it takes to charge a batter With solar, and to get any reasonable amount of current, it really needs to be aimed at the sun. Having it flat mounted to your rig is going to give you low output most of the time except when the sun is directly over head.

The Renogy charge on the other hand will charge my batteries in about 2hours from what I used while camping. It would take probably 7 hours or so to charge from near empty. The solar panel would take days

@Paulyester I agree with this as well. I can literally get a full charge from zero on my 100aH battery driving from Phoenix to Sedona, roughly 45 minutes. So if you're only talking about a weekend's worth of power, then a 200aH battery and the DC-DC charger may be all you'd need.

But I do go back to your original post:
a) "planned to build a portable power station"
b) "I want to keep my truck relative light"
c) "put it in a removable box...so that I can remove it when I'm not using it"

Unless you give us more of your use case, it really seems as though something like one of the Anker (or EcoFlow or Jackery or Bluetti) power stations would really fit the bill. Being that it is portable, you could even move it out of your truck bed and inside your tent (I assume you'll be using a ground tent since you didn't mention an RTT). In addition, when you are at home, you can use it in the back yard to run power tools or whatever. They still have the ability to hook up to solar panels AND something that most DIY solar guys don't set up their systems for, the ability to plug it into "shore power" if your journey puts you in a hotel or a campsite with services for a night.

Those units really are versatile.

 

[Paulyester]

I built a 300ah battery system in a Milwaukee packout box and it is awesome. My camp set up is all electric as you describe. Unl ss you are going to stay parked for a long time while camping, I’d ditch the solar for a 40amp Renogy DC to DC charger.

I have a 200w portable solar panel and never use it. You’d be surprised at how long it takes to charge a batter With solar, and to get any reasonable amount of current, it really needs to be aimed at the sun. Having it flat mounted to your rig is going to give you low output most of the time except when the sun is directly over head.

The Renogy charge on the other hand will charge my batteries in about 2hours from what I used while camping. It would take probably 7 hours or so to charge from near empty. The solar panel would take days

Do you have any pictures of your battery setup? Which packout box did you use? Did you build your battery from bare cells, or did you run some premades in parallel?

 

[Paulyester]

@Paulyester I agree with this as well. I can literally get a full charge from zero on my 100aH battery driving from Phoenix to Sedona, roughly 45 minutes. So if you're only talking about a weekend's worth of power, then a 200aH battery and the DC-DC charger may be all you'd need.

But I do go back to your original post:
a) "planned to build a portable power station"
b) "I want to keep my truck relative light"
c) "put it in a removable box...so that I can remove it when I'm not using it"

Unless you give us more of your use case, it really seems as though something like one of the Anker (or EcoFlow or Jackery or Bluetti) power stations would really fit the bill. Being that it is portable, you could even move it out of your truck bed and inside your tent (I assume you'll be using a ground tent since you didn't mention an RTT). In addition, when you are at home, you can use it in the back yard to run power tools or whatever. They still have the ability to hook up to solar panels AND something that most DIY solar guys don't set up their systems for, the ability to plug it into "shore power" if your journey puts you in a hotel or a campsite with services for a night.

Those units really are versatile.

Yeah, the more I think of it, I'm not sure the solar would be my best option. A 40am DC to DC would probably suit me much better, and then maybe I can bring one of my folding panels if I'm going on a long trip. I wanted to build a cool permanently mounted solar system in my rig, but I don't think it would be money very well spent for what I do and where I live.

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