Thoughts on this set up?

bigskypylot

Explorer
space under panel on hood will cause air to want to be yanking the hood up all the time IMHO. You will have to reinforce and or add more hood hold downs. As to parking in sun.. yeah that can be an issue. But who says a permanent panel cant be tilted when parked. add some hinges, levers, arms or how ever you want.. to allow it to tilt along with ways to lock it down in travel. IMHO..... what we need in this world of ours is awneings. made of solar panels.

oh... and bunjee or ratched strap a panel on the hood for testing also. ESPECIALLY on a bright sunny day to see how much and when the reflection is going to be an issue.

said crazy guy has had his on for thousands of miles with no issues at all
 

joelwho

Adventurer
100w Renogy Eclipse Monocrystaline panel bolted to the hood, wired to a 30amp charge controller, to a 60 AGM solar battery, to a 12v port. Used to power a 50L fridge. Been running the setup for 9 months. Driven across country from Florida to Colorado and back. Desert trails, Colorado Passes, countless Florida trails and and ungodly amount of highway miles. Still going strong.
1e60e9c8639dd0935850d665f0e5136a.jpg

I'm considering running another panel in the 'wind dam' position, but with the option of retracting it under the roof rack


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

colodak

Adventurer
The LC from Ronny Dahl's page is adjustable, it can be angled or lay flat, if you watch the video of that vehicle, you notice it changes position.
 

broncobowsher

Adventurer
I can count on 2 fingers the time I got hit by Rocks. One put a tiny digit in my windshield. Yeah, I'm not concerned as I mentioned, it will have the ability to tilt to some degree. It won't be vertical.

Count yourself pretty lucky. I've had 2 different rock chips on two different highways inside of an hour. And the total number of rock chips over the years is way more then I have fingers and toes. If you plan on traveling far from home you need to think about what is going to happen in those places as well. But if you never leave your own back yard, you are probably going to be OK.
 

DaveInDenver

Middle Income Semi-Redneck
What about rocks flying up from behind other rigs on trail or even on highway ???
Rigid panels are various types of glass, some plate, some tempered. You could use your windshield as a model, how often do you get rock chips and cracks? Windshields are laminated so a single layer would perform differently, but that's something to compare to anyway. I don't know whether it's a good or bad idea to use a glass panel like this, I'd probably use a semi-rigid panel with a wood or metal panel or frame backing. My windshields here in Colorado are usually 2 winter affairs.
 

bigskypylot

Explorer
Count yourself pretty lucky. I've had 2 different rock chips on two different highways inside of an hour. And the total number of rock chips over the years is way more then I have fingers and toes. If you plan on traveling far from home you need to think about what is going to happen in those places as well. But if you never leave your own back yard, you are probably going to be OK.

Ive done plenty in Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, North Dakota, Wisconsin, Kentucky, Tennessee and North Carolina. I think I'm okay. You might want to re-read the part where I mentioned the part where it says it will have the provision to tilt, as in almost flat?
 

bigskypylot

Explorer
Rigid panels are various types of glass, some plate, some tempered. You could use your windshield as a model, how often do you get rock chips and cracks? Windshields are laminated so a single layer would perform differently, but that's something to compare to anyway. I don't know whether it's a good or bad idea to use a glass panel like this, I'd probably use a semi-rigid panel with a wood or metal panel or frame backing. My windshields here in Colorado are usually 2 winter affairs.

Thanks, Dave. I'll figure out something. Have a few things in mind
 

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