New ideas for solar panel installation

[Bill]

The forum is quiet these days, so maybe I can stir up some action with this.

When most of us think of adding solar panels to our camping rigs, we often think we must choose between mounting the panels on the roof of the trailer, or making them portable. This is a different approach. I think it has several nice features. Read on!

A month ago, my wife and I were settled into an ex-KOA in Van Horn, Texas, when the rig shown in the picture pulled in beside us. The truck, by the way, looks like a mini-truck in the photo, but was actually a full-size F-150 pickup with a cap over the bed. I immediately noticed the big wooden tray on the top of the truck, and the mysterious yellow wire leading to the trailer, so I had to talk to them about it. It turned out to be a solar panel array, of course, but in a mounting configuration that I had never seen.

They started off by telling us that they spend several months each year in Quartzsite, where they depend completely on solar power. But their small Casita trailer has no room for panels on the roof. Where to put the panels? Being mechanically capable, he built a shallow wooden box - a tray, really - that matches the size of the cap on the pickup. The tray rests on the cap’s roof rails, and is securely fastened to them. He removed most of the bottom of the tray, to cut weight and provide good air circulation below it. Then he built a second tray, just a bit smaller, that can drop inside the big tray. This second tray is built of aluminum angle stock, and it is also open on the bottom. The panels - 360 watts worth - are mounted to the inner tray. The cool thing - at least to my eye - is that the inner tray is secured to the outer tray using hinges with removable pins. By removing the appropriate pins, he can lift any one of the four sides of the inner tray up to a substantial angle (he said 30 degrees). This brings the panels up to the angle that best catches the sun. And since he can lift any of the four sides, he doesn’t have to point the truck in any particular direction.

The yellow cord runs from the solar panels to a set of four big golf-cart batteries on the A-frame of the Casita. The cord is short while they drive, so it doesn’t whip in the wind, and the batteries charge while on the road. In camp, the truck can be parked up to 50 feet away from the trailer, using an extension cord to bridge the gap. If they need to make a quick run into Quartzsite for groceries, for example, they can unplug the yellow cord, and take off in the truck with no worries about stolen panels.

With this approach, he has accomplished several things at the same time.
1. There is enough space for almost 400 watts of solar panels.
2. The panels are not shaded by the air conditioner, fans, etc. This maximizes solar capture.
3. The panels are easily tiltable in any direction, maximizing energy capture.
4. The system charges the batteries as they drive, something that portable panels can’t do.
5. The panels are out of sight and theft-proof - again, an advantage over portables.
6. He can easily disconnect and re-connect the panels when he wants to leave the campsite.
7. The panels themselves are protected from rocks and debris thrown up from the road. And by slipping a few blankets (or a sheet of foam board or plywood) into the outer tray, they are protected from hail.
8. The panels are securely mounted, without drilling holes in the roof of his rig.
9. The assembly does not increase the weight of the trailer (although the batteries certainly do!)
10. The cargo bed in the truck can still carry cargo. Since their Casita is small, this is important.
11. At the end of the camping season, he can lift the whole assembly off the cap, using a small hoist under the ceiling of his barn. No disassembly needed.

I like this. What do you all think?

Bill