When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
Planning to add a portable solar power supply to the back of the bed of my current 2018 F250 for onboard power while out on the mountains with the kids. I’ve been trying to find a practical way to get away from a gas generator and having to haul around gas can when out with the fam. Came across the Bluetti AC200P. So far its been easy to use and has held a charge well throughout the day when starting with a full charge. Screen is easy to read and use. I like that there is a separate AC and DC on/off switch and that there is a separate load indicator. So far this thing has been working great and best part is the wife isn't complaining about the noise from the gas generator. Planning to find a place to mount it toward the front corner of the bed and try to find a way to setup a temporary mount for the flex panels onto the bakflip while slow wheeling on the trails.
We took it out this last weekend and use it for work while charging the kid’s Traxxas batteries all day and still had plenty of juice left, ended up around 89%. Can’t wait to get the panels in and try to mount them on the bed cover. I’ll keep everyone posted on the progress.
Flex panels aren't known for producing a lot of watts. A couple of rigid panels could easily put out up to 600 watts, but you need to size the PV for what the Bluetti will accept. There will be a Max PV Input Voltage (never exceed this) and also a nominal total wattage. The heat on the backside of the flex panels may not be acceptable to your Bakflip. Rigid panels require an offset for ventilation.
Mounting a set of rigid panels on the trailer may work better.
Thank you for the reply and the input. I'm planning to run their PV200 flex panel set. From what I see the the website, it looks like each panel might be rated at peak 200W each and looking to mount the set of three on the back of the bed cover. Thanks for bringing of the point of backside heat, will definitely test and check the back side temp on a warm day before mounting and testing on the back of the truck. Link before to what I'm planning to use and rig up. I think consider backside heat because of the different images and videos we see of these products being used, picked up and folded while out in the sun, but it definitely makes sense. On the flip side, I know I've burned my hand a couple of time on the fiberglass bedcover in the summer, will probably have to lay down something in between the two, I'll report back what I find when the panels come in.
I have a small slide in camper that uses very little power. I do a lot of beach camping in the summer. So I need a genny to run my coffee maker in the morning, I also have a trickle charger for my house battery to keep my house battery topped off while the genny is running. It would be nice to have something like this. Commenting to get updates on this set up. Lol
I have a small slide in camper that uses very little power. I do a lot of beach camping in the summer. So I need a genny to run my coffee maker in the morning, I also have a trickle charger for my house battery to keep my house battery topped off while the genny is running. It would be nice to have something like this. Commenting to get updates on this set up. Lol
Consider using ground deployed panels. That gives you charging without having to do an install on the roof. You will need a solar charge controller between the panels and the battery. Unfortunately, you'll have to transport the panels inside the camper. If they're small enough they might fit in the back seat of the truck.
HRTKD's reply about using ground panels is correct for your application and not needed to have to install on your camper. I'll post photos of the panel kit I receive. I believe they fold into thirds, which might make them easy to transport inside of the camper.
I have a small slide in camper that uses very little power. I do a lot of beach camping in the summer. So I need a genny to run my coffee maker in the morning, I also have a trickle charger for my house battery to keep my house battery topped off while the genny is running. It would be nice to have something like this. Commenting to get updates on this set up. Lol
HRTKD's reply about using ground panels is correct for your application and not needing to install on your camper. I'll post photos of the panel kit I receive. I believe they fold into thirds, which might make them easy to transport inside of the camper.
I got the panels in a couple of weeks ago and have been using them in order to get the hang of them. I will say that the initial impression that quality is good, the back of the panel was covered in a wrapper around the edges in a durable cloth like material which keeps it from feeling like cheap plastic. There is a pouch on the back which makes it easy to keep the harness tucked away when not using panels. Setting them up and standing them up on the ground is with use of the built-in stands which have a label for a 45°. Hooking them up to the electric generator is simple enough with color-coded wires and male to female plugs. Connecting multiple panels at the same time is also simple enough by daisy chaining one to the next and then coming back to electric generator. You just have to make sure to go into the settings and change the PV in that setting from call to panel. If you don’t do this you’ll get an overvoltage fault which took me a couple of days to figure out. I’ve always been a bit skeptical about how well panels do that charging for device and how efficient they are when those devices are being used. I was surprised to see that the panels manage to increase the battery charge percentage while having a couple of different devices plugged in and all being used at the same time. We had a water heater/steamer, a Milwaukee tool battery charger, a couple of phones on the wireless pads on top, portable speaker, and a couple of other small phones plug into the USB ports. While all of these devices from the same time the panel still managed to increase his percentage which was a pleasant surprise. The only downfall to this system is having to occasionally rotate the panels from the morning position to the new position, facing south, to later moving them in the afternoon so that the sun faces them directly. But I did notice the input more than doubled when rotating panels at about four in the afternoon to face the sun. I would definitely say that using these panels is a success and still looking to see how I can mount them on the back of the.
The panels measure just over 7 feet when fully extended and I have a 6 ½ bed. I’m thinking of placing the handle side of the panel towards the cab and running a strap from one bullring to the other at the foot of the bed. While running another strap across the back from one bullring to the other to keep them in place. This isn’t something I’m planning to do while trucks running over the highway, which is something to try whatever amount the kids and we aren’t planning to stay the entire day in a single campsite.
