Solar Panel on RTT

I have a Bluetti EB55 (link below) and would like to add solar to my RTT to power it. What is the best and most affordable option? It seems that I will be limited to 200W. Please understand that I am not electrical savvy, I just saw something similar to Arkansas Offroad's rig (second link). I do not want to drill into my RTT, I want to use 3M tape or something similar.


https://www.bluettipower.com/produc...pFHIcGE8oArXUEyEHEWi-r_581HM37OwaApgEEALw_wcB

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FoxxwT6OAP4&t=1438s&ab_channel=ArkansasOffroad

 

If you’re taping it you’ll want to use a flexible panel(s). Don’t forget to add an inline fuse going from your panel(s) to the solar generator. You should be able to find all sorts of adapters to make the PV line coming from panels to the solar generator plug and play

 

Do you have a specific flexible solar panel in mind?

 

I don’t, sorry. I know a few ppl on here run the renogy 175w and seem to be happy with it. I have 2 renogy 100w hard panels and the max I’ll pull from either one is 88w. So keep that in mind.

but also think about it. Even if you’re only pulling 120w from whatever panel you choose, you’re solar generator will be charged up in no time. I’ve said it before, but it’s really more important how many watts you have in solar than the size of your solar generator battery. If you’re burning through 50ah/day (roughly size of your geneator), then you are running some crazy appliances or a ton of lights. Just some food for thought

here’s the panel
Renogy Flexible Solar Panel 175 Watt 12 Volt Monocrystalline Semi-Flexible Bendable Mono Off-Grid Charger for Marine RV Cabin Van Car Uneven Surfaces

Renogy Flexible Solar Panel 175 Watt 12 Volt Monocrystalline Semi-Flexible Bendable Mono Off-Grid Charger for Marine RV Cabin Van Car Uneven Surfaces

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B082FCZ4MD

here’s the fuse you’ll need
Renogy 20A Male and Female Connector Waterproof in-Line Holder w/Fuse, 20A, Black

$15 Renogy 20A Male and Female Connector Waterproof in-Line Holder w/Fuse, 20A, Black

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00YG2ESN8

 

You also need to think about the real estate on top of your RTT and make sure whatever you go with fits.

to give you some ideas on run time. I started off with a 100w panel and it could run my fridge 24/7 no problem during the summer. But come winter months, I was hurting and battery would run out of juice if there was little sun or a rainy spell. Added the second panel and those problems are history. If you aren’t planning on keeping your fridge (assuming you’re using this for a fridge) in your truck all the time you should be fine with one panel to supplement.

 

Sweet, yeah that was the solar panel that I was looking at. I 'll give it another 24 hours before I make a purchase to see if anyone else chimes in.

 

I too was originally going to mount a solar panel ti my RTT but ended up thinking it would be to restrictive. I ended up going with folding Panels.

$170 120W Portable Solar Panel for Power Station, 24% High Efficiency ETFE Foldable Solar Panel Charger, QC3.0, Type-C 60W, MC4 Output, IP65 Waterproof, for Outdoor Camping, RV, Emergency Power Supply

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0817V8N5P?ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title

 

That's not a bad price, u happy with that set up?

 

Yea I’d go folding panel on the ground if it were me.

 

I have solar for my camper. I highly recommend having the panels remote vs mounted on the RTT. For the panels to be most efficient, they need to be pointed at the sun -- that means the truck always has to be facing south and in direct sunlight. That can greatly reduce your choices of where you park your truck while camping. And think about this: the ideal location for the solar panels is the direct opposite of the ideal location for the truck/RTT. For the truck, you want shade to keep things cool during the day. For the panels, you NEED them to be in direct sunlight.
Also, with remote panels, you can change the direction and angle throughout the day to maximize sun exposure. In the morning, I have mine pointed Southeast and near the horizon. By mid-day I move them to pointing South and nearly straight up. By afternoon they're pointing Southwest and near the horizon again.
I went with two 100 watt flexible panels (200 watt total) mounted with ball-bungies to a frame I made out of PVC pipe. The whole thing can be broken down in less than 5 mins and stores flat.

Here's what I have. It's plug and play:

$190 XINPUGUANG Solar Panel 12V 200W System Kit 100W Flexible Solar Panel Monocrystalline Battery Charger with Extension Cable 20A Charge Controller Power for RV Boat Cabin Car Trailer(200W-1)

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B082ZGKMN5?ie=UTF8

 

Very happy with them. They charge well, more than many panels do.. My only complaint is the legs in the back that hold the panel up are thinner than I’d like. However, it still works well.

 

As long as it charges well I can deal with the legs..thanks for the link!

 

I have both a folding ground panel, and a fixed panel (on my FJs hood). Depending on your year Tundra, you could look into a hood mounted panel if you want. On my FJ its attached with a lot of 3m tape, and some sika flex around the edges. Have had 0 problems with that and it keeps my FJs big AGM topped off. I havent ran a fridge from it or anything as i too have a portable power station that I plug the fridge into. With a 120w folding panel ive been able to run the fridge for 3 days, and keep both the fridge battery (mine has a lithium batt) and my goalzero completely topped off.

Benefit of a folding panel is you can move it from rig to rig, or onto a boat for example if you go out for the day. Fixed panel you install it once and dont fuss with it ever again.

Do you have a bed rack? maybe rig a fixed panel to that? If its going on top of your roof tent try to do a 160-200w panel. 3M tape it like crazy (i did my entire panel on the FJ). Lay some towels down on it and some weight to get good adhesion for a day or two. Make sure you clean the area really good before taping, and you should be solid man. You can do the sika flex too around teh edges to keep air from getting under the panel and potentially pulling on it a little but ive seen poeple without that and they dont seem to have issues. I did it as a precaution since the panel is right up front of the FJ. On a roof tent, the air probably gets pushed up and over it so there is less to worry about. Hope this helps.

 

Thanks for all of the advice! Decided to go with the rigid solar panels. I’m going to mount them on the top of my RTT. I prefer to have everything ready to go and understand that I will not be maximizing my solar potential, compared to a foldable one. I prefer it to be ready to go versus stay in my garage until I’m ready to pack it. For me, it’s one less thing to pack.

 

My rigid 160W solar panel is taped to the top of the topper. Used 3M VHB and Eternabond like in the video by Hobotech.

 

Super happy with the (2) 100W flexible Renogy panels on my canopy. Stuck them down with some 3M foam tape, which provides a bit of an air space beneath the panels.

I use a Victron MPPT controller and have a disconnect between panels and the controller. The controller charges my second battery, which will connect to my starting battery when voltage is sufficient.


It’s an awesome system. I’ve seen as high as 185W on my monitor, and my Odyssey batteries are always full. They may be as low as 12.8V in the morning, but will be 14.1-14.3 by evening. I keep a Dometic fridge full of beers at all times, and the Solar keeps it cold indefinitely.

 

CFX-50, if I remember correctly. It's a 50 liter size, which sounds small. When you no longer have to waste space with ice, it holds about what you're used to with a 72 quart cooler.
Fits about 72 silver bullets with ease...

The only thing I don't like about the fridge is the Wifi. It's a neat feature to monitor fridge temp and voltage, but my phone would hook onto the wifi and no longer work with LTE. I fixed that by turning the wifi off on the fridge... I have a volt meter where it plugs in, and can open my Victron app to see my battery voltage if it's that important. Used to be, but not since the solar.

We were gone for an entire week last week and I left my truck outside in the sun with the fridge running. 7 days later, the battery voltage was still just shy of 13V and the mountains were blue... Voltage gets as high as 14.7V and I never see below about 12.4V

 

Sorry for reviving this thread. I recently added a GFC camper to my Tundra. It came with a flexible panel taped onto the roof. I cleaned it and had it in what I thought was fairly good sun. Angled up 45 degrees, and at the sun, and it still wasn't giving me more than 5w input. Soooo, gonna remove and toss. I have three Rockpal foldable panels (100w, 120w and 200w). I've come to realize when using them on my Jackery 300 and 500, the max I'm ever going to get input is about 65-70w, as that's the stopping point for them. I also have a Jackery 1500 that I have not tested yet with the panels, but I will be soon.

The previous owner had the cable for the panel jerry rigged along the side of the GFC, and then into a corner of a side panel, covered in silicon for water. I'm removing that old cable, and am going to drill a hole in the panel between the cab. It's a fixed panel and I'll be adding a rubber grommet (

$10 200 PCS Hollow Rubber Grommet Firewall Hole Plug Assortment, Rubber Grommet kit 1/4", 5/16", 3/8", 7/16", 1/2", 5/8", 3/4'', 7/8", 1''

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08CD9KGHN?ie=UTF8)

Just curious if anyone has done something similar, either to the bed of the truck or other metal panel and approximately which size grommet worked best? Hole size for drilling? Also, I plan on just using a foldable panel on the roof. The GFC came with beef bars. I'm just going to attach each end of the panel to the cross bars and leave there when I'm camping. Then take it down when I'm not camping. Just need to find a cap to cover the grommet hole when not in use. I plan to take the cable down since it's attached to the panel when not using.

 

Whichever grommet you can snugly shove the wires through is the right size. Not all wore is the same size! For hole size, use a caliper to measure, or just measure the OD and then measure the depth of the groove with a thin ruler.

If you’re routing wire from up high, make sure you come down below your new hole and then loop back up to go through the grommet. This will help rain or other water not run down the wire and straight through the hole. Go look at how your cable or satellite wire is installed on your house. Should have a small loop before it goes through a wall. You’ll still want to seal it up the best you can.

 

Great point on the loop in the wire. Thank you.

 

You could always toss a waterproof connector up there and then either terminate your solar system panel to mate to it or make a jumper wire from the connector to your solar panels mc4 connectors. More of a plug and play setup. I used andersons for connecting a portable panel to my array but it’s also tucked under a cover away from the elements. I do believe Anderson makes some weatherproof housings tho..

 

Ditto what @dittothat said.

You're talking a pretty small current load, so a simple SAE connector with a waterproof cover would work fine.

Something like this is 10 feet. Cut it so that you have a 1 foot (or less) section to attach to your solar panel, and a 9 foot section that you can zip-tie and leave up top. Then run the cut end down and through your grommet and connect it to your load.

$20 iGreely 10AWG SAE to SAE Quick Disconnect Wire Harness - 10Ft Solar Panel Extension Cable for Trolling Motor, Automotive, RV, Motorcycle, Cars, Tractor

https://www.amazon.com/iGreely-Auto...=Hw4df&pd_rd_i=B088M9M6P4&language=en_US&th=1

 

They make surface mount sae connectors. Much cleaner and more waterproof than wires through a grommet

 

I have both a 100w Renogy flexible panel and the Harbor Freight 100w Thunderbolt foldable panels. both work great for my 880w Jackery and VL45 Iceco fridge. have the renogy attached to RTT with VHB. Use the HF when base camping without the RTT.

 

Thanks everyone. This especially.

 

@kevine0001 powerwerx makes custom cables if you need any. They also have all the mounts as well. Sometimes is cheaper to get a one-off cable made by then after you take into consideration your time and money needed for tools/terminals to make those cables

 

I use this stuff for most of my truck wiring now. Nice and flexible, protected, looks cleaner than bare wires, lots of different sizes.

$27 Striveday 16 AWG 3 Conductor Wire Power Cable Audio Cable Signal Line (Red & Black & Yellow) 33ft UL Certification

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07Y33WTXW

 

I used the passenger side grommet in the bed (I think it’s for pressure relief) of the truck to get wires into the bed. Did not want to drill holes I didn’t need to drill.

 

I thought about that, running the wire to the bottom of the bed, but that's a much longer run for the wiring, and that hole is larger than a quarter I believe. It's a large hold. I suppose I could get a grommet for it but that's still a long run for the wiring. I'll think about this before drilling...

 

Wiring run length for solar isn’t as critical as for your truck because voltage is higher. Take a look at your panel and see the max amp draw. Bet it’s pretty low. Most 100w panels are 6a or less