I’m considering putting a lithium battery and a dcdc charger in a rifle case and mounting it on my roof rack. I have never seen a picture of a rig set up like that so I was wondering if this would be an incredibly stupid idea. Lol. I have a wife and 2 kids who travel with me so I don’t have very much cargo or cab space to give up at all. I’m hoping to have it mounted there permanently. What are your guys’ thoughts on doing this. I figured that I was going to add some solar panels and some camp lights on the roof rack anyways so I’ll already have wires running up to the roof. And I thought that since a battery box is something I wouldn’t need to mess with much, it’ll be perfect mounted on a roof rack. Is there something else I should think about?
House battery on roof top?
- Thread starter Liesejunh
- Start date
Enthusiast III
Enthusiast III
I have an 1800 watt solar generator but was considering a backup battery system as well. Also have 100 watt solar panels for mounting. The biggest drawback I see is weight. The solar generator weighs about 50 lbs. Batteries are heavy too.
Thanks. I was a bit worried about weight as well. I think I’m gonna stick to maybe 1200 watts and the battery I’m looking at only weighs about 24lbs. I’m sure the dcdc charger will add a few more pounds but I figured it would be ok. I just never seen it done before so I think I’m missing something. Lol.
Enthusiast III
lhoffm4
Rank III
Advocate I
Completely do-able! I think if I were going to do that, I'd consider one of the Harbor Freight Hard Rifle cases. It's relatively low profile, long enough to mount everything into it, and maybe even the solar panels on the outside of it, then you can leave it up there or take it down as the need arises. Add some waterproof connections and you have quite a nice power station!
Enthusiast III
lhoffm4
Rank III
Advocate I
I was tossing around the idea of adding a diesel heater to the mix, but not sure if the battery generator would like the heat... Still a cool mental exercise...
Thanks so much. I feel reassured that I’m not doing something stupid. Lol. I also have the exact harbor freight case your talking about. .
Enthusiast III
Advocate I
Only drawback is temperature. In the winter sub 0, unless it is a pack with self heating is a no-no - might not be a problem if you don't plan to camp in freezing temp.
In the summer it will get pretty hot too, that means that its life will be a bit shorter. Might charge slower - not a big issue. On the other hand you can get easy 3000 cycles out of a decent one, so that is about 8 years of continuous camping..
Some people install them in the engine compartment.. so they will work fine.
Diesel heater in the same box - if you route the exhaust and the end away from the battery, maybe add some kind of thermal padding between them , it should not be an issue.
In the summer it will get pretty hot too, that means that its life will be a bit shorter. Might charge slower - not a big issue. On the other hand you can get easy 3000 cycles out of a decent one, so that is about 8 years of continuous camping..
Some people install them in the engine compartment.. so they will work fine.
Diesel heater in the same box - if you route the exhaust and the end away from the battery, maybe add some kind of thermal padding between them , it should not be an issue.
yeah, @leeloo addressed the temperature consideration and i see you are in cali, so out west you could easily get 120 degrees inside a black plastic box mounted on the roof. lithium charge controllers usually quit charging at around 120 degrees, so the heat could be an issue during summer.
i have a 50ah lithium battery in a wood box outside and use this controller and so far so good and that is going thru a summer in south louisiana where it is very hot and humid. maybe vent the box so it gets air when youre moving. should work fine and since i still dont fully trust lithium batteries while charging, i would prefer it to be outside anyway. the major issue with lithium and heat is that some of the cells could swell up and there is an issue with gases produced that can be explosive if a cell ruptures, etc
i have a 50ah lithium battery in a wood box outside and use this controller and so far so good and that is going thru a summer in south louisiana where it is very hot and humid. maybe vent the box so it gets air when youre moving. should work fine and since i still dont fully trust lithium batteries while charging, i would prefer it to be outside anyway. the major issue with lithium and heat is that some of the cells could swell up and there is an issue with gases produced that can be explosive if a cell ruptures, etc
Traveler III
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I purchased a pretty cool battery over the summer it was a SLIM 12V 120 AH Deep Cycle AGM Battery should fit perfect in a rifle case . I use it as a secondary battery to power fridge and compressor.
I’m a bit worried about the temperature. I am hoping that a rifle case would afford me some space to insulate the battery and add a couple of fans that’ll trip with a thermometer.
Advocate I
Active cooling will be a bit difficult to weather proof.
Honestly I would go a different route. You can get something like a thule roof box, even in a small one you would not believe the amount of crap you can put in one.
It is secure, locked, when you park some place., or maybe spend the night in a hotel on occasion. It is weather proof. It will do wonders to wind noise and fuel economy compared with those square boxes. Of course, an ammo box is a lot sexier and looks more like a serious overlander.. :)
I had a medium size one, I would fit a 2 person aussie swag -those are huge - camping table, 3 sleeping bags rated at -10 - so big ones as well and 1 big camping chair for the bloody dog. That means now you will have space for your 12v system.
In the trunk I had Fridge, 2 maxtrax, 2 backpacks, another 3 small chairs, grill, stove, gas, all the small items., Ecoflow , foldable solar panel. I could not use the backseat - got a kid and a dog..
A jeep is pretty pathetic as inside space..
Honestly I would go a different route. You can get something like a thule roof box, even in a small one you would not believe the amount of crap you can put in one.
It is secure, locked, when you park some place., or maybe spend the night in a hotel on occasion. It is weather proof. It will do wonders to wind noise and fuel economy compared with those square boxes. Of course, an ammo box is a lot sexier and looks more like a serious overlander.. :)
I had a medium size one, I would fit a 2 person aussie swag -those are huge - camping table, 3 sleeping bags rated at -10 - so big ones as well and 1 big camping chair for the bloody dog. That means now you will have space for your 12v system.
In the trunk I had Fridge, 2 maxtrax, 2 backpacks, another 3 small chairs, grill, stove, gas, all the small items., Ecoflow , foldable solar panel. I could not use the backseat - got a kid and a dog..
A jeep is pretty pathetic as inside space..
