Why we added roof mounted solar
With most things modified to our satisfaction, it was finally time to add a solar panel to our Jeep camper. We don't normally spend much time parked during the day, so it wasn't one of our earlier mods, but we've since discovered additional benefits. I have worked in electrical design for over two decades, and have a bit of familiarity with solar, so I had a pretty good idea that a small panel would solve the occasional issue of our fridge sinking the aux battery voltage to an unacceptable level.
We had originally planned to run this Lensun hood mounted solar panel, but ended up cutting a large vent louver into the hood to help with an overheating issue, so that was off the table. The roof was our only hope, but it isn't flat, and we can't afford any more vehicle height if we still want to park in the garage. We needed to find the right panel, and figure out an acceptable means of mounting.
Picking the right solar panel
When we learned about this thin, durable 180 Watt Sunflare XPLOR solar panel, we knew it was the obvious choice. It has a few unusual features that make it significantly better than anything else we've seen. First, it can produce power when partially shaded because it has bypass diodes on every cell. The second cool feature is that they are CIGS (Copper-Indium-Gallium-Selenide), and not silicon panels. This is highly unusual, and makes the panel more productive in lower light conditions, which is common in forests and inclement weather. And third, these things are super tough, built of stainless steel. Combined with those bypass diodes, this makes for durable panels that are hard to damage, and will still produce, even if you destroy a cell. That cannot be said for the vast majority of other solar panels. They aren't invincible though, as they need to accept electrical connections, and to do so, they use the industry standard MC4 connectors.
Mounting the solar to the roof
To protect the MC4 Connectors from trees and things, we originally thought of making some aluminum doghouses that would mount just ahead of them, but then the project snowballed because we also always wanted some overhead lights. Fortunately the front of the Ursa Minor camper is a couple inches lower than the rear, so we had some room to work with. We ended up going all-out and building some brackets that place a series of lights ahead of the connectors. This gives us the overhead light we want, shades the hood, and protects the relatively fragile MC4 connectors.
We did a bit of research to determine the appropriate adhesive to bond the solar to the roof with. The best we found was Sikaflex 221, a very flexible bonding agent that will stand the test of time. There was still one issue though, the roof of the Ursa Minor camper has ribs, so it isn't a nice flat surface to bond to. To correct that issue, we simply filled in the low spots using 4mm Coroplast. To do this we cut strips, and fit them between the ribs.
With Sikaflex underneath to keep them in place, it made the mounting area for the solar almost totally flat, Sikaflex on top did the rest.
We then used anything flat we had in the garage, and random heavy things to weigh down the panel as evenly as possible until the Sikaflex cured:
Wiring the solar and charge controller
With the panel properly bonded, we drilled the roof, mounted all the brackets, and passed the wires through:
We sealed up the penetrations with Sikaflex, and routed the wiring through the Ursa Minor tent sides before landing them on the solar controller. For this we used a Victron Energy SmartSolar MPPT Solar Charge Controller.
The solar controller output is then wired to one of the terminals on the fuse block we have mounted under the driver seat:
Solar output and function
The solar easily produces 100+ Watts most of the time, and often much more. The Victron Bluetooth controller has been flawless and lets us see what the solar is doing. Here's what the interface looks like:
And here's that tight clearance I was speaking of - the Jeep just barely fits in our garage, and now the front end of the roof is almost as close to touching as the rear. The front is roughly 6'11", and the rear can be anywhere from 6'11" to 7'1" depending on what's loaded inside, spare fuel, water, etc. The door opening and this part of the ceiling are both right at 7'.
Final Thoughts
Adding solar to the Jeep grew into a much bigger project than originally planned, but the payoff is huge. The lighting offered a substantial improvement when doing night things, and the solar keeps the battery happy when we stay camped in one spot for a few days. As it turns out, adding this much solar allowed us to do a few things we hadn't previously thought of too. We can now boil water with an electric kettle, or even run our Nespresso machine without starting the Jeep. Previously, we'd run things like this, but it would leave the battery depleted enough that the fridge would shut down for low voltage. We used to idle the Jeep to keep things happy whenever running bigger loads like this. We can now also leave cameras, tool batteries, etc, charging without worry of depleting the aux battery. It sure is nice to enjoy the peace and quiet in camp knowing the solar will replenish the power we used doing tasks like this.
To be transparent as possible, I want to add that we bought everything mentioned here at full retail from Sunflare and Amazon. Also, we have no connection to, nor earn anything when you shop with Sunflare EXPLOR. We will however earn some commission if you buy through some of our other provided links. If you found this information useful, and want to help us out, click a link on this page to shop and we'll earn a couple percent. This does not affect the price you pay, and we greatly appreciate it! In fact, any shopping through our affiliate links, like this one to Amazon.com, and this one for Summit Racing, works the same way. For the full affiliate disclosure and vendor list, click here. I wish you the best of luck with your project - Thanks for visiting!
0 comments