# Putting Solar System on Truck



## mightybooboo (Feb 10, 2004)

Will have 320 watts total... 4, 95 amp AGM Batteries,2 10 amp charge controllers,1000 dollars total.I will lay out costs as installed.

Took 2 20 foot pieces of angle iron for 32 bucks.Got to steel place at 1150,they close at 12.And finished welding at sundown.BIL wanted to keep at his place and bring up Friday so he could grind welds,paint,etc as he is a perfectionist,I just wanted it workable and so rushed him,and got it home same day.Panels will go down both sides,walkway in middle starts at 8 inches and goes to 12 inches in front,lumber rack is uneven,go figure!

Still needs paint.Rack welded off the truck.

Will update as panels installed.


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## Windy in Kansas (Jun 16, 2002)

The installation looks nice----but what is the purpose of putting a solar system on the truck,
I don't see that your posts tells?

I would probably be inclined to charge the batteries as I drive down the road using the truck alternator.


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## 12vman (Feb 17, 2004)

WOW! I only have 520 on my house!.. LOL Yea, What's the purpose?


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## TnAndy (Sep 15, 2005)

mightybooboo said:


> Panels will go down both sides,walkway in middle starts at 8 inches and goes to 12 inches in front,lumber rack is uneven,go figure!



If you measure you truck bed, you'll most likely find it is also "uneven".....the bed on my 2003 Silverado is wider in the front than the back by several inches...a little fact I discovered when I was building a ladder/tool rack for it.
I assume it has something to do with aerodynamics and getting the gas mileage up by 1/10th of a mile, or maybe they simply like to screw with your mind.....but the fact is the beds do taper.


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## used2bcool13 (Sep 24, 2007)

Hey Mightybooboo,

Is your truck electric? Or will you be running power tools at a remote location, maybe a new homesite..... 

Keep us posted, this looks great.


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## mightybooboo (Feb 10, 2004)

Thanks for the super comments.Its just a place to mount up some of these solar cells I cant use right yet.

Its to provide mobile 120 volt power for using electric tools,ie,when we get the homestead property.

Also extra 12 volt I will be able to jump my own dead battery even,major cool!

Also to take truck camping we can dry camp in style with electric on demand.

World goes to pot,electric goes down? Run an extension cord into house.

Just a mobile power unit is what we are setting up.

Got rack painted Monday using a rubber glove,covered with a cotton glove.Dip glove in paint and just rub on . BIL's idea,he did his wrought iron at house this way,worked too!

Then weather got bad yesterday,raining now but if its dries up today will get panels up,got my hardware and wire nuts yesterday.

Really going to be a slick setup,very cool IMO.Im excited,can you tell,LOL?


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## mightybooboo (Feb 10, 2004)

TnAndy said:


> If you measure you truck bed, you'll most likely find it is also "uneven".....the bed on my 2003 Silverado is wider in the front than the back by several inches...a little fact I discovered when I was building a ladder/tool rack for it.
> I assume it has something to do with aerodynamics and getting the gas mileage up by 1/10th of a mile, or maybe they simply like to screw with your mind.....but the fact is the beds do taper.


Fascinating,never knew that!


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## fishhead (Jul 19, 2006)

Aren't you afraid of road hazzards trashing the panels?

I'll bet the taper is for fuel efficiency. If you look at insects that live in flowing water they taper towards the back. That's more important than the head shape.


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## mightybooboo (Feb 10, 2004)

fishhead said:


> Aren't you afraid of road hazzards trashing the panels?
> 
> I'll bet the taper is for fuel efficiency. If you look at insects that live in flowing water they taper towards the back. That's more important than the head shape.


Nope,had em on motorhome for many years as do lots of folks.They are such a quality product and really hold up well.

Actually wanted to put unisolars up but missed that offer on used ones,no glass on em to break.Then again larger panel size vrs output too.

Maybe get em up tomorrow? Had to work on car today.


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## TnAndy (Sep 15, 2005)

mightybooboo said:


> Fascinating,never knew that!


Yeah....me either until I built that truck rack and by pure accident happened to measure both front and back....or I SURELY would have built it to fit one or the other....ahahahaaaa


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## mightybooboo (Feb 10, 2004)

Got most of holes drilled,at least the really tough ones,they had to go thru both rack and angle on passenger side,drivers side angle sits lower so just drilled angle iron holes.Starting wire preps.Had to find 4 large screws for passenger side as longer,got em.

So 2 separate systems,2 panels each to 2 batteries per system,left and right.Batteries go in the trays in outside shell openings towards the back,fit like they were made for em,cool! .

Back to work,should get em done today.Pics to follow.


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## mightybooboo (Feb 10, 2004)

Not yet finished but a preview....

These are the Left sided system panels mounted....
Click to enlarge pics



Wires in place but I will get some cover plastic tubing tomorrow to clean up the install



Left side battery,will be 2 on each side,sure fit in the spot nice!Eventually will tie a switch into batts so they may all 4 be connected,will be better when using unverter to have 4 batts online.



Should be able to finish it up tomorrow if things stay quiet on the homefront.


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## 12vman (Feb 17, 2004)

Why did you use SLA type batteries?


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## mightybooboo (Feb 10, 2004)

12vman said:


> Why did you use SLA type batteries?


Part of the used solar Ive bought.Whole system is used from Craigslist sellers.


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## mightybooboo (Feb 10, 2004)

Got the panels up and wired...








Next step will be to get these wires into the side drawers and controllers and batteries hooked up




Girl approves...


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## texican (Oct 4, 2003)

I'd probably tighten my seat belt up real tight, put on a crash helmet, and 'up' the old insurance policies, and then take it for a test drive. Go as fast as possible, and see if it's going to affect your aerodynamics any. I know with just a camper shell on the back on my trucks, when a strong cross wind is present, it get's wobbly driving down the road.

The panels might act as 'sails' and affect things... never can tell... just looking at them, that was my first thought.

If it was my rig, I'd rig something up to cover them, while traveling. I've never had my panels exposed to a sand storm, but they are stationary. Traveling down the road, who knows what the 'grit factor' would be. Even if they were free and I had an endless supply of them, I'd treat em special!

good luck!!!

oh, forgot to ask... is that a homemade camper shell? I've been toying with building one for my truck.


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## mightybooboo (Feb 10, 2004)

No,its a factory,will check model.Nice heavy duty.And heavy.Its a STAHL.
http://www.stahl.cc/

As I said,we had panels on roof of Motorhome,they travel real well,and never had a sailing problem.Or a road grit issue.Seems as much air passes over them as under.But wouldnt hurt to double check the shell is on tight,thanks for the thought on that.May add a few blots to shell.Now Santana wind,thats a thought to consider too,thanks again.

I dont foresee any problem though,BTDT.

BTW,The Cummins Diesel Dodge 2500 4x4 weighed in at 5,800 pounds with Camper Package (2 extra leaf springs in rear) before the rack mods.This is a heavy truck.I cant imagine those panels doing much and truck is surprisingly stable in high winds,really doesnt touch it much.Think these tires help that too...

BFGoodrich All-Terrain T/A KO (On-/Off-Road All-Terrain)

* Size: 33X12.5R16.5
Sidewall Style: Blackwall
Serv. Desc: 118RLoad Index 118 = 2982lbs (1355kg) per tire
Speed Rating "R" = 106mph (170kph)
Load Range: D


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## mightybooboo (Feb 10, 2004)

Texican,drove today at 60 MPH,absolutely NO stability issues.Cant even tell at all they are up there.

Picked up an assortment of various bolt solutions at Thrift today,and I am going to make doubly sure that shell is on securely.

Thanks again for that insight,its really appreciated,I didnt think of that at all!

:cowboy:


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## mightybooboo (Feb 10, 2004)

Fuse Block and 10 Amp Morningstar Charge Controller.
No Rocket science here....You hook the Positive wires from Batteries and Panels to a fuse,from there to the Pos. Batt or Panel spot on controller,all is labeled.Run Negative wires from Batts and Panels to spot on charge controller.

Cost used for Power Panel-20 dollars.

CLICK TO ENLARGE





2 batteries in the side drawer.Oops,one cable too long,need to change that.Batts sit far back for good weight distribution.

Batt used,25 dollars.Each Batt cable 8 dollars,made to size at local Auto Parts store.

Will repeat on other side of truck,2 panels to 2 batteries.





Panels show 19.7 volts at charge controller,batteries show 12.7 volts.




The 'other' solar system,passenger side...






Batteries Right side....


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## mightybooboo (Feb 10, 2004)

So what did I get and what did it cost?

I have 2 individual solar systems,each has 160 watts of panels and 2 95amp sealed batteries.

Angle Iron to make ladder rack a panel rack...32 dollars

320 Watts of Monocrystalline Solar panels @ 2dollars/watt...640 dollars

2 Power panels (fuse block and 10amp Morningstar controller @ 20 each...40 dollars

4 Batteries,95amp sealed @ 50 each...200 dollars

4 battery cables @ 8 each...32 dollars

Assorted nuts and bolts ...15 dollars

Had my own wires

GRAND TOTAL....959 dollars for 2 systems,320 watts total,380 amps of batteries,installed at 2.99 a watt!


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## SirDude (May 30, 2010)

That's kind of cool, a lot of businesses (tradesmen) around me are going to box-trucks instead of vans and would have more then enough room to install something like that and have the back-up power. 

Just one question, How tight is your cap secured to the truck bed? I noticed you have one of the heavier work caps, so this might not be that big of a deal, but if someone did this on a fiberglass cap I might want to double check that anchor point. 

Cool job.


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## mightybooboo (Feb 10, 2004)

Here are the batteries with an angle aluminum tray holder I put in place with scrap material.

Also note the 300 watt inverter.It merely clamps to the battery terminals,is self fused.You can put whatever size inverter you want,but with just 2 batteries I think 1000 watt would be plenty.Follow manufacturers instructions for cable connections and fusing to batteries for your inverter.Im thinking a 2000 watt inverter and the four batteries hooked together will be just about right eventually.



Truth in advertising....I dont have top battery hold downs and on an offroad excursion,downhill,hit a little bump and front battery came a few inches out of tray.Get them securely tied down. 

What can I do with this? Let me ask you,how many times have you said "If I only had a 120 volt Duck Lamp in my truck"?
Many times I'm sure! Now you can have that and more! Just run the extension cord from side drawer from inverter into rear window and 120 volts on the fly.



I can now do things like powering my netbook,charging phones,anything less than 300 watts Im good.When I get a 1000-2000 watt inverter in there I will be able to run a lot of things,anywhere my truck can go.Like electric chainsaw,power tools offgrid....including even house lights,tv,etc in power outages.Which I do with a battery/inverter backup system at home now,but thats another story.....

To answer a question,just went on a 2000 mile road trip,up to 70 MPH on freeway,one week offroad in mud and system held up just fine.Cap is HEAVY metal and well secured.


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## mightybooboo (Feb 10, 2004)

Interesting.

Im calling around to try to get a Xantrex 2000 watt sine wave inverter for about 350 dollars.Its out of stock everywhere.

Met a guy who was chatty,he said sales have been brisk in all areas of his boating supply company,but they are turning down sales because product,across all lines just plain isnt available.He said his orders have been brisk since March,just no supply on anything!

How about that? Thought that was real interesting that manufacturing across so many industries cant supply product.

Wonder what that means to our sluggish economy and all the possible ramifications?


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