Solar Panel question

[Dave_McNaughton]

Hi everyone. I bought a 12v fridge freezer for my jeep. I already have a dual battery set up to isolated it from the cranking battery. I'm looking for a suggestion of a solar panel I could use to help keep the battery topped up while I'm at camp for several days. I don't have a huge budget however don't want a poor quality one either. If anyone has a suggestion I'd appreciate the help thankyou

 

[diabetiktaco]

Hi everyone. I bought a 12v fridge freezer for my jeep. I already have a dual battery set up to isolated it from the cranking battery. I'm looking for a suggestion of a solar panel I could use to help keep the battery topped up while I'm at camp for several days. I don't have a huge budget however don't want a poor quality one either. If anyone has a suggestion I'd appreciate the help thankyou

Check into the gopower trickle charger panels.

 

[MOAK]

I bought one just like this two years ago on sale for 150. It works great and keeps batteries up nicely.. my fridge has never drawn the AGM batteries below 12.5volts..
ALLPOWERS 140W Portable Solar Panel Charger for Laptop Cellphone, Waterproof IP65 Foldable Solar Panel with MC- 4, DC, and USB Output, for Solar Generator, Power Bank, 12V Car Battery

 

[grubworm]

i have two of these on my camp trailer with a 100ah battery running everything and works great.
i also have a 50w panel on top of my camper shell and it stays mounted full time with a 35ah battery. if running a fridge, i think a single 100w panel would do fine as long as it got decent sun throughout the day
i dont use them as portable, but if i did, i would just have a long cord on it and lean it against the vehicle or picnic table or whatever is nearby.

 

[MOAK]

i have two of these on my camp trailer with a 100ah battery running everything and works great.
i also have a 50w panel on top of my camper shell and it stays mounted full time with a 35ah battery. if running a fridge, i think a single 100w panel would do fine as long as it got decent sun throughout the day
i dont use them as portable, but if i did, i would just have a long cord on it and lean it against the vehicle or picnic table or whatever is nearby.

Although I was intimidated by solar technology a few years back, it’s pretty easy stuff if one can add & subtract. Just don’t cheap out on a controller. The Renogy wanderer isn’t the most expensive, but for us average overlanders it is more than enough power at 30amps.

 

[T4R13]

Do not buy some crazy expensive portable, all in one or any of that crap. Get on Amazon and get a newpowa solar panel. A little less than a dollar a watt, 50watt would probably suffice or get a 100w. I have the 100 watt mounted on my gobi and it produces 99watts at the meter under full sun. That’s about $80 bucks, then get the smallest mppt charger you can find, 20 amp or less. probably a Renogy and your set. Aside from some wire. A lot of solar kits or overland marketed kits are just getting your money cause there wayyyy over priced. If you pay more than a dollar a watt your a fool. My dometic pulls 53 watts for about 2 minutes every 15 min. So 50-100watt panel is more than enough. You can add 100watts of solar for less than $200

 

[TrailHawkGuy]

I would go with flexible panels as they are less bulky and less weight.

 

[Viking1204]

This one was highly rated by a review I saw and gives you 180W at just over $200!

 

[KonzaLander]

i have two of these on my camp trailer with a 100ah battery running everything and works great.
i also have a 50w panel on top of my camper shell and it stays mounted full time with a 35ah battery. if running a fridge, i think a single 100w panel would do fine as long as it got decent sun throughout the day
i dont use them as portable, but if i did, i would just have a long cord on it and lean it against the vehicle or picnic table or whatever is nearby.

I use the same panel on the roof of my Land Cruiser to keep my house battery topped off.

The Renogy 100w panel with a Voyager charge controller has no problem maintaining a charge with the fridge running. I am pretty sure it could run the fridge indefinitely with good sunlight everyday.

 

[Wanderlost]

We've been using the Bugout 120 from Overland Solar for a few years and are really happy with it. Our advice, according to your needs you stated in your original post; definitely get a portable, solid or foldable, and a long cord. You said you need to help keep your battery topped off when parked in camp. I don't know about you, but I prefer to park my vehicle in the shade whenever possible. A panel permanently mounted on the roof or hood will be very inefficient in this scenario. Any panel will work best when out in full, or the most, sun and angled towards it.

 

[Cpol]

 

[Cpol]

 

[Cpol]

 

[T4R13]

Also mounting ideas. I used 4 quick fists to the cross bars. So I can angle it either way when parked. Or hang it off side of rack. Or completely remove and set up to 50’ away. Quickly and easily.